Someone school me on SW

[ScaryFatKidGT]

So I have a big 150g planted fresh tank and I want another tank, I was and still am planning on a custom 50g hillstream tank but I'm thinking I might do SW instead?

1 reason I don't like SW is mixing up all the water and salt, like every week for a WC you would need to mix up like 5 buckets of water a day ahead of time for a WC on a 75g.... so I would like to keep the tank fairly small but idk what size, I've always thought a 120g would make a cool reef right in the middle but thats a big tank. Also you pretty much need to use RO water right? So I have to either buy it or buy and RO machine?

Also you pretty much need a sump and there fricken expensive too, like 3-4 hundred, around as much as the tank..... -.-.

I've always liked the walls of live rock, makes it look more like looking at a painting rather than looking into a bowl. Looking for a way to do something like this with fresh water too.

What else do I need to know? I have a 48" Aquatic life 6 bulb T5 HO light currently on my 150 I could use for SW and a 48" Fluval marine and reef LED light laying around that came with the tank. Having these makes me think a 55 or 75 would be good but 55's are so narrow.

How do 29 biocubes work with no sump? Are they just small enough they don't need it? I would like something a little larger, maybe like a 40 breeder, but nothing that small is drilled, do you need to use a HOB overflow?

 

[reeffanatic12]

I set up my sump for 200 on a 30 so you may spend 250.mixing salt is not a hassle as it sounds


-The Reeffantic ??

 

[reeffanatic12]

I also have a hob overflow an love it


-The Reeffantic ??

 

[Brookster123]

There are some great 20t nano reefs out there, bribo has a stunner. IMO can't go wrong with a couple clowns and coral.. i know nothing of their art so that's all I got. Seems the bigger the tank the more $$ you'll be spending, not like planted tanks though, the costs grow exponentially. .

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

So I have a big 150g planted fresh tank and I want another tank, I was and still am planning on a custom 50g hillstream tank but I'm thinking I might do SW instead?

1 reason I don't like SW is mixing up all the water and salt, like every week for a WC you would need to mix up like 5 buckets of water a day ahead of time for a WC on a 75g.... so I would like to keep the tank fairly small but idk what size, I've always thought a 120g would make a cool reef right in the middle but thats a big tank. Also you pretty much need to use RO water right? So I have to either buy it or buy and RO machine?

Also you pretty much need a sump and there fricken expensive too, like 3-4 hundred, around as much as the tank..... -.-.

I've always liked the walls of live rock, makes it look more like looking at a painting rather than looking into a bowl. Looking for a way to do something like this with fresh water too.

What else do I need to know? I have a 48" Aquatic life 6 bulb T5 HO light currently on my 150 I could use for SW and a 48" Fluval marine and reef LED light laying around that came with the tank. Having these makes me think a 55 or 75 would be good but 55's are so narrow.

How do 29 biocubes work with no sump? Are they just small enough they don't need it? I would like something a little larger, maybe like a 40 breeder, but nothing that small is drilled, do you need to use a HOB overflow?

1. Just get a large food safe plastic storage bin/ brute trash can and mix water in that. It's honestly as easy as pouring in ro/di water adding the salt and put in a heater and power head and let it sit for about a day.

2. If your planning on a reef, yes ro/di is a must, but units are pretty cheap now a days and will pay for themselves in short order compared to buying water.

3. Sumps don't have to expensive, a 55 or 40 b from the next petco sale is all you'd need, silicone in your own baffles and it could be built and plumbed for $100.

4. Aquascaping is up to you, if you like rock walls you can look up making your own custom one, couple good vids on YouTube.

5. The fluval light isn't going to support much in terms of corals, low light softies only. But the t5s work great and would let you keep some of the lower light sps. You'll want different bulbs though for this, if you decide to go that way I can give you some good combos of bulbs, just let me know.

6. The all in one tanks basically have a "mini" sump behind a false wall in a tank, while personally not a fan of these they do make decent beginner tanks. And who told you you can't drill a 40b? I'm 2 for 2 on drilling them no problem, just have to be careful (highly recommend buying a cheap 20-30 g to practice on).

 

[ScaryFatKidGT]

1. Just get a large food safe plastic storage bin/ brute trash can and mix water in that. It's honestly as easy as pouring in ro/di water adding the salt and put in a heater and power head and let it sit for about a day.

2. If your planning on a reef, yes ro/di is a must, but units are pretty cheap now a days and will pay for themselves in short order compared to buying water.

3. Sumps don't have to expensive, a 55 or 40 b from the next petco sale is all you'd need, silicone in your own baffles and it could be built and plumbed for $100.

4. Aquascaping is up to you, if you like rock walls you can look up making your own custom one, couple good vids on YouTube.

5. The fluval light isn't going to support much in terms of corals, low light softies only. But the t5s work great and would let you keep some of the lower light sps. You'll want different bulbs though for this, if you decide to go that way I can give you some good combos of bulbs, just let me know.

6. The all in one tanks basically have a "mini" sump behind a false wall in a tank, while personally not a fan of these they do make decent beginner tanks. And who told you you can't drill a 40b? I'm 2 for 2 on drilling them no problem, just have to be careful (highly recommend buying a cheap 20-30 g to practice on).

Then how do you get the water out of the garbage can and into the tank?

Yeah I want to do a reef, I've never understood RO water, isn't there like nothing in it? Do you need to add minerals and stuff in it or just salt?

The LFS have a really nice bow front tank with 2 Fluval LED's on it either 2 36" or 3 48" ones full of corals and stuff. How much light do you need? My 6 light T5 HO is to much for my planted tank I only ever run 4 at a time but its still a lot.

Ohhh how do those mini sumps work? I was looking at Innovative Marine tanks. I kind of want something Squarish with a center reef.

A 40b is going to be about the size of my tank or a 65g? I think... what would be a good sump for it? An Aqueon ProFlex sump 3 is $239 (the 2 is only $229 so i'd probably get the 3).

 

[carey]

I use a pump that runs from my brute garbage can to my tanks. I also use that same pump to get the water OUT of the tank for water changes. Easy peezy

You want ro/di water, not just ro water. You start with pure water and add salt which has everything that is needed in it. Thats the reason for stripping the water using a ro/di unit. Dont need prime or anything like that either.

I would think that 6 bulb t5 will be fine for almost anything you would want to keep, as long as you use common sense when placing corals as far as high to low based on their light requirements.

I have a 40b that is drilled and use a 10g tank as the sump. Its really not that hard as it seems. i was scared to death to do a sump but now I will never NOT do a sump. lol

Innovative marine has some awesome tanks, a little pricey in my opinion, but still awesome. lol You would have to invest in a decent light though if you went that route.

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

Then how do you get the water out of the garbage can and into the tank?

Yeah I want to do a reef, I've never understood RO water, isn't there like nothing in it? Do you need to add minerals and stuff in it or just salt?

The LFS have a really nice bow front tank with 2 Fluval LED's on it either 2 36" or 3 48" ones full of corals and stuff. How much light do you need? My 6 light T5 HO is to much for my planted tank I only ever run 4 at a time but its still a lot.

Ohhh how do those mini sumps work? I was looking at Innovative Marine tanks. I kind of want something Squarish with a center reef.

A 40b is going to be about the size of my tank or a 65g? I think... what would be a good sump for it? An Aqueon ProFlex sump 3 is $239 (the 2 is only $229 so i'd probably get the 3).

1. A cheap pump
2. Yes the ro/di is pure, which is what you want, all the necessary minerals for a reef tank are found in quality reef grade salt mixes.
3. The t5s won't be to much for the coral, they need a lot stronger light than plants. And if you want to spend $500 on fluval LEDs, there are WAY better lights out there, the key to LEDs is units that use powerful individual LEDs (3watts usually) and the fluval a use .25w LEDs ......
4. The back of the aios is usually a 3 chamber set up, water enters the first chamber flows over and under a couple baffles and into the next one which is usually where they'll have there media rack, then through a coupe more baffles and into the 3rd which houses the return pump.
5. Honestly the bigger the sump the better, most usually get whatever the biggest tank they can fit in the stand under the display. There's honestly no need to buy a premade sump, they're easy to make and can even be made out of plastic tubs, a lot if people with large tanks use the big tubs they use to feed/water horses.

 

[ScaryFatKidGT]

I use a pump that runs from my brute garbage can to my tanks. I also use that same pump to get the water OUT of the tank for water changes. Easy peezy

You want ro/di water, not just ro water. You start with pure water and add salt which has everything that is needed in it. Thats the reason for stripping the water using a ro/di unit. Dont need prime or anything like that either.

I would think that 6 bulb t5 will be fine for almost anything you would want to keep, as long as you use common sense when placing corals as far as high to low based on their light requirements.

I have a 40b that is drilled and use a 10g tank as the sump. Its really not that hard as it seems. i was scared to death to do a sump but now I will never NOT do a sump. lol

Innovative marine has some awesome tanks, a little pricey in my opinion, but still awesome. lol You would have to invest in a decent light though if you went that route.

Isn't RO water and Deionized 2 different things?

1. A cheap pump
2. Yes the ro/di is pure, which is what you want, all the necessary minerals for a reef tank are found in quality reef grade salt mixes.
3. The t5s won't be to much for the coral, they need a lot stronger light than plants. And if you want to spend $500 on fluval LEDs, there are WAY better lights out there, the key to LEDs is units that use powerful individual LEDs (3watts usually) and the fluval a use .25w LEDs ......
4. The back of the aios is usually a 3 chamber set up, water enters the first chamber flows over and under a couple baffles and into the next one which is usually where they'll have there media rack, then through a coupe more baffles and into the 3rd which houses the return pump.
5. Honestly the bigger the sump the better, most usually get whatever the biggest tank they can fit in the stand under the display. There's honestly no need to buy a premade sump, they're easy to make and can even be made out of plastic tubs, a lot if people with large tanks use the big tubs they use to feed/water horses.

Well I already have 1 Fluval marine and reef light and the 6 T5 HO light but there both 48".

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

The di is the most important part, it's what completely purifies the water. And I'd go the t5 route so you can support more varieties of coral.

 

[ScaryFatKidGT]

The di is the most important part, it's what completely purifies the water. And I'd go the t5 route so you can support more varieties of coral.

I could but that would require me getting like a 75g tank

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

I could but that would require me getting like a 75g tank

I don't see the connection, thought you already have a tank

 

[ScaryFatKidGT]

I don't see the connection, thought you already have a tank

No I don't? My 150's staying fresh

I want another smaller tank for salt, like non nano, big enough to work but not huge, and I want it squarish with a reef in the center and it will probably go at the end of a couch so people can walk all the way around it.

I was thinking like a column tank, Marineland 45g rimless cube, 40 breeder or the Nuvo Mini 38.

 

[bribo12]

One of these would be plenty of light over all those options.http://m.ebay.com/itm/181489553430?nav=SEARCH


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

Might be pushing it for the 40b but would work great for a cube

 

[bribo12]

True 2 would be better for the 40 lol. Oops


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[ScaryFatKidGT]

I should just get this Complete Saltwater Aquarium 40 Gallon Breeder

 

[All_fish]

I think that would be great if you can transport it.

 

[ScaryFatKidGT]

I think that would be great if you can transport it.

Comes with the light and everything.

Yeah I really don't get what people expect when they are selling a up and running fishtank with all the stuff in it? I mean its probably only about 400lbs? Might be able to move it half full?

 

[Sillyfishies]

Comes with the light and everything.

Yeah I really don't get what people expect when they are selling a up and running fishtank with all the stuff in it? I mean its probably only about 400lbs? Might be able to move it half full?

I was able to move a 90g reef with just me and my dad. We moved all the rock into seperate buckets and drained all the water tho.