up grading from a 29 tall to 40 long

[ggoodwin]

Awhile back i came across a guy that was selling his fish room out at a extremely low deal
to say the least i ended up with more tanks than i will ever need this includes 30 40 gallon long tanks and many more smaller tanks and all the 40s are drilled in the back

anyways i have built an overflow box myself out of Plexiglas and I’m am going to use a 20 gallon long as my sump and have a 500 gph pump


1. i have about 20 pounds of live rock in my 29 tank
can i just get dry rock and then add my live rock with it or do i need to go out and get all live rock

2. also im not using sand as my base in my 29 im using crushed coral
but i am wanting to switch to sand do i need to buy live sand also

3. what size protein skimmer would u use.

Thanks

 

[carey]

You can get just regular old aragonite sand, no live sand need.
You can put all the 29g tanks live rock in and the rest can be dry, base rock.

As far as the skimmer, in my mind you are on the line as far as needing one or not. if you want one though reef octopus makes a decent skimmer as does bubble magus I hear. I also have had very good luck with my eshopps skimmer, it has a small footprint and does a killer job on my tank.

 

[ggoodwin]

Thanks aslo what lights would be the best for the tank

 

[carey]

What do you want to keep? Corals or anything like that? If it's fish only with no coral then any ole light will do. If you want corals then thats another story. For corals I would suggest a 4 bulb T5 light fixture. if it's a regular 29g tank then you need a 30" one.

 

[ggoodwin]

ok thanks i had some one give me a coralife ballast with the reflector and i think its 4X65watts the only thing is i have to buy the bulbs......also i can get a sea clone 100skimmer brand new for 65$ is this a nice skimmer ?

 

[carey]

Seaclone isnt known to be good so I would pass on that one.

 

[bskerrichard27]

I got a sea clone 100 in a cl deal I got it on my 55 I have it in a Sump it produces like a 1/4 skimate in a week lol I have 5 fish many inverts and coral seaclone junk stay away if u want one that bad when I upgrade u can have mine lol

 

[ggoodwin]

All right well I'll scratch that what would u recommend for a 40 gallon

 

[carey]

You could look at these skimmers:

Eshopps PSK 100 In Sump Protein Skimmer, 75-100 gal. tank - AquaCave

Reef Octopus NWB 110 Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer - AquaCave

You should look to get a skimmer that is rated for double your tank volume. the ones I linked would be good skimmers in my opinion.

 

[ggoodwin]

Thanks another question what all do I need in my refugium. Plant wise

 

[carey]

You can add whatever macro algae you like. I have live rock, sand, cheato and some caulpera in my refugium.

 

[ggoodwin]

for the lighting i need 4 bulbs 65 w how would u divide the the bulbs up 2 10000k with 2 420nm or do 5050

 

[carey]

For a reef tank i would go with 2 actinics and either 2 10k or 2 14k. The blue will kinda wash out the yellow from the whites.

 

[ggoodwin]

Ok thanks do I need to get coralife bulbs or can I get knockoffs? Also
where is the best place to get them

 

[carey]

Your best bet is to buy quality bulbs. You can try:

Aquarium Supplies, Reef Aquarium Supplies, Aquarium Products, Fish Tank Supplies, Freshwater Aquarium, Marine Aquarium
Pet Supplies | Dog Supplies | Fish Supplies | Bird Supplies | PetSolutions
Pet Supplies | Dog & Cat Supplies, Pet Meds | DrsFosterSmith.com Pet Products
Bulk Aquarium Supplies - Reef Aquarium Supplies | BulkReefSupply.com
Aquarium Pet Fish Supplies, Tank Accessories, Products & Equipment

Check out some of those sites and see what you can find.

 

[CleverBs]

get some ATI (Brand) bulbs dont waste your time or money on any other brand imo

 

[ggoodwin]

120$ in bulbs
Would I be better of buying a t5 light fixture

 

[carey]

on the bright side you won't have to change the bulbs til next year.
new fixtures generally come with crappy bulbs which you will most likely want to replace anyway. I use ATI bulbs over all my tanks and really like them.

 

[EriksFish315]

You get what you pay for and ati bulbs are quality and last a year which isn't that expensive if you think of the importance of them.

 

[carey]

For ATI bulbs I would go with bulk reef supply. in fact if you sing up for the group buy i set up for next week you can save a buck or two on each bulb.