couple of tanks questions

[Bill_B]

hello

well i'm moving from my 12 gallon nano to a bigger tank. That said i have two options for tank. i am buying a 50 ish gallon hex from a friend of mine, and i have a 45 gallon freshwater tank already.

question one, move the fresh to the hex and salt in the current fresh tank? or just make the hex salt and save me a move.

question 2

i have 3 damsels, a few corals and snails in the nano, along with 10 lbs live rock and 10 lbs of base rock i added 2 weeks ago. can i simply move my existing rock over to that tank, add more base and cured live from the LFS and add the water and boom im ready? or should i get new live rock, add the base rock over and let it cycle for a while and then move the remianing live rock and the fish over?

 

[fshfrk58]

The problem with hex tanks is finding a decent light fixture to fit over it without making it look crappy. How tall is the hex tank?

 

[melosu58]

Hex tanks also are notorius for flow problems. Yes just move your rock over from the old tank and you should be OK. But do your water test to be sure.

 

[Bill_B]

the hex is 29" tall and each panel is about 12 1/2 inches wide.

my plan for now is 2 powerheads to start, move over my live and semi live (base rock thats been in the tank for 2 weeks) along with adding more base and a fresh sand base.

as time goes on I will continue to add base rock until i'm at a point i'm happy with the look (its so **** tall) and maybe add another couple of power heads if needed. The lid has 2 18" t5 bulbs so one will be acinic (sp) and the other a normal marine light.

the calculator i used put this tank at about 54 gallons, so MUCH much bigger than the 12 im moving over

anything i'm missing?

 

[pat8you]

If you plan on putting coral in the tank any time down the road i would have to agree with the others and say pass on the hex tank. The just make it very difficult to keep a nice reef for a variety of reasons. One of the very few advantages of the economy being bad is there are a lot of people getting out of their tanks. You will easily be able to find a more suitable tank and a good price on craigslist or ebay.

I don't know your level of experience and i don't want to tell you how to do things if you have everything planned out already, but be warned that most damsels are moderately to extremely aggressive. They may have put up with each other in your 12 but prepare your self for problems when you try and add new fish to your bigger tank. Those little buggers are nearly impossible to get out of a 55 with live rock once you put them in there as well.

 

[SHARPiE]

IMO - move the nano to the 45 gal, and move the fresh to the 50 gal hex.

Lighting will be easier for the corals in the 45 gal, and you shouldn't have any flow problems as you might in the hex.

 

[Bill_B]

Well think I'm gonna put the fresh in the hex. Thanks for the advice all

 

[Bill_B]

well one thing that drives me nuts iswhen someone asks for advice and doesnt follow it.... that said i'm going to use the hex. I want to put it in a visible spot and dont have room for a long tank, and dont have the money for a cube like i'd looove to have.

anyhow its up and running letting things settle out and clear up and i'll be puttin the fish over soon. Pics to come.