Oceanic 30g Cube Setup Planning

[PK3]

Hello everyone,

 

I have done saltwater for a few years and "quit" (yes, it is an addiction ) when I moved to northern VA a year ago. BUT, the bug has caught me again and I will be setting up a tank. I just bought an Oceanic 30g cube w/ stand off of craigslist (before I found out about this site). OK, enough with the boring stuff. I was hoping that some people could give their opinions in my planning the setup (dimensions 20"long x 18"wide x 21"tall).

 

1) Lighting - I love the shimmer effect so I'm definitely going with MH, but is 150w DE going to be enough for a 21" tall tank, or should I go with 250w DE? I plan on keeping mostly softies, but also some more light intensive creatures like anemones and 1 or 2 clams (primarily maximas). The only reason why I want to perhaps go with 150w is to somewhat conserve energy.

 

2) Flow - I am currently looking at the Tunze nanostream 6025 and the Hydor Koralia 2 (both ~600gph). Which one is better? I want a large spread of flow. Would this be too much/too little flow for a tank this size? I've never seen them in action in person. I think I will also be running a Mag 5 from the sump.

 

3) Sand - Does anyone know where I can pick up 1 or 2 bags of Southdown sand? (You know, the one that some Home Depots carry from time to time that everyone uses?)

 

That's all I have on the top of my head right now. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[AQUACO]

Newfish here on the boards has a very nice 30 cube.... maybe he can post pics?

 

Hello everyone,

 

I have done saltwater for a few years and "quit" (yes, it is an addiction ) when I moved to northern VA a year ago. BUT, the bug has caught me again and I will be setting up a tank. I just bought an Oceanic 30g cube w/ stand off of craigslist (before I found out about this site). OK, enough with the boring stuff. I was hoping that some people could give their opinions in my planning the setup (dimensions 20"long x 18"wide x 21"tall).

 

1) Lighting - I love the shimmer effect so I'm definitely going with MH, but is 150w DE going to be enough for a 21" tall tank, or should I go with 250w DE? I plan on keeping mostly softies, but also some more light intensive creatures like anemones and 1 or 2 clams (primarily maximas). The only reason why I want to perhaps go with 150w is to somewhat conserve energy.

 

2) Flow - I am currently looking at the Tunze nanostream 6025 and the Hydor Koralia 2 (both ~600gph). Which one is better? I want a large spread of flow. Would this be too much/too little flow for a tank this size? I've never seen them in action in person. I think I will also be running a Mag 5 from the sump.

 

3) Sand - Does anyone know where I can pick up 1 or 2 bags of Southdown sand? (You know, the one that some Home Depots carry from time to time that everyone uses?)

 

That's all I have on the top of my head right now. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Larry Grenier]

Not familiar with the Tunze nanostream 6025 but I just bought 2 Hydor Koralia 4s and trested them out; nice wide stream. In that tank it will hit a glass surface and further diburse.

[gastone]

1) Lighting - I love the shimmer effect so I'm definitely going with MH, but is 150w DE going to be enough for a 21" tall tank, or should I go with 250w DE? I plan on keeping mostly softies, but also some more light intensive creatures like anemones and 1 or 2 clams (primarily maximas). The only reason why I want to perhaps go with 150w is to somewhat conserve energy.

Go with a nice 250w pendant. You'll leave yourself with a lot more options as far as bulb choices go. If you use an electronic ballast, it will more than likely be more efficient than a magnetic ballast. Down the road if you decide to upgrade, 250w fixtures make an easy transition while the 150w doesn't really translate to many different situations.

2) Flow - I am currently looking at the Tunze nanostream 6025 and the Hydor Koralia 2 (both ~600gph). Which one is better? I want a large spread of flow. Would this be too much/too little flow for a tank this size? I've never seen them in action in person. I think I will also be running a Mag 5 from the sump.

 

I have nanostreams 6025 modded to put out more flow. Nice little pumps, but if you want something that offers a bit more control you could go with a vortech or a 6055 w/controller.

 

3) Sand - Does anyone know where I can pick up 1 or 2 bags of Southdown sand? (You know, the one that some Home Depots carry from time to time that everyone uses?)

 

Southdown isn't available any more. Your best bet if you want to do aragonite sand is to go to one of the local lfs and purchase their bagged aragonite. It's about $1/lb, but on a 30 gallon tank, you are probably looking at no more than 1 bag tops.

That's all I have on the top of my head right now. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Sugar Magnolia]

I have a 30 cube as well. I run a 250W MH with a 15K bulb. There is a heat issue, even with my open top/back canopy so I have a clip on fan that I turn on when I turn on the halide. For flow I have a Tunze 6025, the return from my Rena Filstar xp3, the return from a HOB filter and the skimmer return.

 

Enjoy the tank! Mine's been up and running for 5 years now. The only complaint that I have is, I wish I had drilled it and put it on a larger stand so I could put a sump on it.