15g long switch from fw to sw questions

[Reygan2]

I've got a 15g long planted tank I'm wanting to convert to a sw and ultimately a reef tank. On hand I have an eheim 2213, a spare AC 70, a fishneedit T5HO fixture, a couple of Koralia circ pumps and a heater. My questions for now are, which filter should I use, can I use pfs, and will that fixture be sufficient for corals if I add the right bulbs?

 

[Reygan2]

Ok I'll narrow this down. Anyone ever use pool filter sand in a sw setup?

 

[Billbug68]

Still a newb to salt, but if it were me, I'd use the aquaclear filter and not the canister. They can be easily converted to a small fuge to house some live rock rubble and/or macro algae, and still have room to use some filter pads and chemical media. About the sand, I'm sure you can use it, but I'd use live sand instead. The dual t5 ho should be fine to grow some corals down the road.

 

[Reygan2]

Still a newb to salt, but if it were me, I'd use the aquaclear filter and not the canister. They can be easily converted to a small fuge to house some live rock rubble and/or macro algae, and still have room to use some filter pads and chemical media. About the sand, I'm sure you can use it, but I'd use live sand instead. The dual t5 ho should be fine to grow some corals down the road.

Thanks. I'm thinking the BB would eventually colonize in the pfs, which is a heavier grain that wouldn't be easily blown around by good flow. I like the look and the cost of it too.

 

[Billbug68]

Thanks. I'm thinking the BB would eventually colonize in the pfs, which is a heavier grain that wouldn't be easily blown around by good flow. I like the look and the cost of it too.

It's pretty much up to your preference... There are different grain sizes of live sand. Are you planning on using live rock or dry/base rock?

 

[Reygan2]

It's pretty much up to your preference... There are different grain sizes of live sand. Are you planning on using live rock or dry/base rock?

Definitely live rock.

 

[Reygan2]

I'm looking for the best type of bulbs to support coral for my 24" dual T5HO fixture. Any suggestions?

 

[carey]

I'm a big fan of ATI bulbs. You will be somewhat limited with corals with just a two bulb setup though. I would use an ati aquablue special (white bulb) and and ati blue special. It will give you a nice hue to your tank and my corals love it.

 

[carey]

I forgot to answer the pool filter sand question. I have a deep sand bed of it in two of my tanks and have never had any issues with it at all. I prefer the carib sea fiji pink for color but love the pool sand's texture.

 

[Reygan2]

I'm a big fan of ATI bulbs. You will be somewhat limited with corals with just a two bulb setup though. I would use an ati aquablue special (white bulb) and and ati blue special. It will give you a nice hue to your tank and my corals love it.

Thanks. I will ultimately switch to LED's but I have to use this fixture for now. I've read so many good things about ATI bulbs.

 

[Reygan2]

I forgot to answer the pool filter sand question. I have a deep sand bed of it in two of my tanks and have never had any issues with it at all. I prefer the carib sea fiji pink for color but love the pool sand's texture.

How deep do you recommend my sand bed be? I'm referring to a 15 long which I think is around a foot tall.

 

[carey]

I went with a monster deep sand bed on mine to try out the deep sand bed fad. lol But a normal sandbed should be about 3 inches deep I believe. My dsb are like 7 inches deep!

 

[Reygan2]

I went with a monster deep sand bed on mine to try out the deep sand bed fad. lol But a normal sandbed should be about 3 inches deep I believe. My dsb are like 7 inches deep!

Wow! I'll stick with 3" lol. I've been online all morning trying to find a somewhere to order those ATI bulbs without paying an arm and a leg for shipping and handling. I finally called my nearest lfs and he carries the exact bulbs you recommended. Wish I had done that first. I'm thrilled he has them. I'm a little concerned about only running two bulbs, but it's such a shallow tank so hopefully it will be sufficient until I can upgrade.

 

[carey]

You'll love the ATI bulbs. Such a great color.

 

[Reygan2]

You'll love the ATI bulbs. Such a great color.

Nice! Thanks for the recommendation. Another question: what do I use as filter media in the AC 70?

 

[carey]

I used to use the filter foam square, carbon and filter floss on top. If need be you can run gfo in a filter bag if you experience any phosphate issues. Just be sure to clean out the filter when you do water changes or at least change out the filter floss. Another option is to run chemipure elite instead of the carbon baggie. The chemipure replaces carbon and has gfo already in it and doesnt need to be changed but every few months.

 

[Reygan2]

I used to use the filter foam square, carbon and filter floss on top. If need be you can run gfo in a filter bag if you experience any phosphate issues. Just be sure to clean out the filter when you do water changes or at least change out the filter floss. Another option is to run chemipure elite instead of the carbon baggie. The chemipure replaces carbon and has gfo already in it and doesnt need to be changed but every few months.

Thanks. I'll have to buy either the chemicpure or the carbon, I don't use carbon in my fw tanks so I usually toss the bags after a while. Am I kidding myself thinking the AC 70 isn't gonna turn my tank into a swirling sand storm? I could move things around and use a 30, but I'd really like to find a use for the 70.

 

[carey]

You could use it as a refugium in a way. Use some live rock and maybe some chaeto macro algae.

 

[Reygan2]

Ok, I have my tank set up, sand in, salt mixed and added to the tank, AC 70 up and running, circ pump installed, and those glorious ATI bulbs in my fixture. Refractometer indicates 1.025 salinity. I'm heading to my not so local fs tomorrow for lr. Would someone please suggest a really good test kit? I'm so dang new to sw and the info out there is overwhelming. I do plan to keep corals so I'm thinking I'll need 2 kits?

 

[Jschier]

I've used the nutrafin and the API, both similar but I found the API easier to see the color change. Make sure you get ammonia, nitrates and nitrites as these are your indicators of a cycled tank. After you can pick up pH, calcium, phosphates and others. A refractometer is a very nice to have.