jnguyen4007

From what I've read so far, it seems the only difference between keeping fish only with live rocks and reefs only is that with reefs, you have to invest in a good lighting system and worry about the calcium level in the water. James

LOL yes. That 55 gal is my first tank and I currently have my angels in it. Kinda partial to them at the moment. Also, since I'm just starting to venture into a salt water reef tank, I don't want to be too overwhelmed with the additional overhead cost of having and maintaining a salt water tank. A guy at reefs central suggested that I don't even need a sump or a fuge for a 30 gal tank. He said that as long as there are plenty of live rocks, it can take care of the nitrification process. He also mentioned that if I want to use an HOB filter such as the one I have available at home, the Emperor 400, I can do it as long as I don't use any filter because that would increase the nitrate level. What do you think of this? Does this sound right? James

I'm only running a 30 gal tank. I have another question. If I buy a 30 gal container, how can I tell up to what point is the amount of water I put into it is actually 30 gal and not 28 or 32 or something like that if the container doesn't have a measurement marker on it? This is the problem I have with my 55 gal container that I used to store aging water for my tropical fish. There is not a measurement marker on it so I can tell how much water was used or left inside in the container. The best that I can do so far is guess. James

I'm planning on buying RO/DI water from LFS and get the sea salt wherever it's on sale. What do you guys use to mix and store your salt water? James

Jason and lletellier, Thank you for the warm welcome. I'm not sure if you can tell from the picture, the wooden frame in which the 30 gal sits, above it is where my 55 gal tropical fish tank will sit once I move it over. Unfortunately I'm running out of room in my basement to build another stand to accomodate the 30 gal tank and a sump or a fuge beneath it. That is why I have the 10 gal on the floor behind the 30 gal tank. There are a few glass shops within 2 miles of my home that I can take the 30 gal tank to have it drilled. That is why I thought of having it drilled on the back and have a pipe run into the 10 gal tank. then have a pump to pump the water back into the 30 gal tank. As for if I can put anything else back there beside the 10 gal. The reason why I use it is because I have it on hand that I used to use it to QT new and sick tropical fish. If you think I should use something larger, I suppose I can buy a 20 gal and use it in place of a 10 gal. I can take a look around and see if there is a used 20 gal tank somewhere that I can buy for relatively cheap. Someone from another site suggested that I set up a fuge to provide a better biological filtration. I'm just not sure how to go about doing that so I will have to read up into it. My main goal is to set up a good biological filtration for my reef tank. Any additional information you guys can provide a newbie to reef water tank, I greatly appreciated. James

This is a picture of my 30 gal tank. What I'm thinking of doing is to drill the back of the tank and put an overflow there and have the water flow to the 10 gal tank behind it. What do you think of this idea? James

Hi, I just signed up today. Currently have 3 tropical fish tanks, 1 african cichlids tank, 1 discus tank, and 1 angelfish tank. I've always wanted to start a salt water reef tank, so I've been reading up about it as much as I can and taking in lots of valuable advice and insights. Still not wanting to jump into something that is too big or too hard to handle, I decide to start on a reef tank in a 30 gal tank and see how it goes. I live in Manassas off of Rt 28. James