first time

[armymedic]

Hey All,

First post here so be gentle!! : ) I just picked up a 28 gallon JBJ tank with a sunpod 70 watt metal halide lighting and a single 235 gph single pump. The person i bought the tank from didnt have any of the original equipment that comes in the filter area. He said i probably wouldn't need it. Can you please advise on what/how i should equip the tank for a basic small reef with very easy to keep corals and a few fish as the end result? I know i need to start with some more basic equipment since the tank ony has one pump in it and other basic neccesities. So please fire away and help me to get this thing off the ground! thank you very much!

 

[L8 2 RISE]

...first, welcome to wamas, when I read the title though I thought you had found the wrong forum.

 

second, the main thing for nano's is water changes. Most skimmers for nano tanks just aren't worth it IMHO so to have a good, healthy reef, you need to keep up the water changes. In other words, I think you have all the equipment you need, what you want to focus on when you get your tank set up though is water changes.

[armymedic]

Do you think the 70 watt MH is enough for the 28 gallon tank? also how much live sand should i start with. I am assuming you put the sand in first to help with the cycling proces?

 

 

[BowieReefer84]

70watt metal halide is fine for soft corals (the easy ones like mushrooms, xenia, and green star polyps, etc.). What bulb is it? That makes a difference. The more blue the less powerful, more or less... I would put an inch of sand, not sure how many lb's that would be. Also, buy some liverock that is already cured at a local store (they may even "give" you some rubble rock that will help seed the tank). I would shoot for 30-40 lb's of live rock. This will help your water quality through biological filtration. Don't add any fish/corals/inverts for at least the first 3-4 weeks (depending on how quickly your rock cures). Over this period do weekly water changes of 20%. Update your location to your profile to help people help you.

 

Welcome.

[L8 2 RISE]

You want to put your live rock in first, then put your live sand. That way, the rock is on the bottom of the tank so any fish that decides to try and burrow underneath it won't have to worry about the rock collapsing on it. A general rule of thumb is 1.25-1.5 times the volume of the tank in weight of live rock. I think you'll be alright with most corals with your light...

[Coral Hind]

Welcome to the board.

 

What skimmer do you have for this setup?

[zygote2k]

From my own experience with small tanks, as long as you do regular weekly 10% water changes religiously, the tank will do fine without a protein skimmer. Start your cycling process by filling the tank with water and salt, go get some live sand- enough to cover the bottom about 1.5". Get a few pieces of live rock- don't worry about weight of the rock, just make sure you don't fill the tank more than halfway up with rock. You'll want to save room for corals and allow the fish some swimming room. After a few days when the water has cleared and your tank looks empty, go get a small hardy fish to start the cycling process. Pick a fish that won't terrorize other fish and isn't too shy. Feed this fish twice a day for 2 weeks- you did 2 water changes in those 2 weeks didn't you? Test the water for Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. Keep the salinity between 1.023 and 1.025.

If Ammonia and Nitrite are low, buy another fish and observe for 2 more weeks. Your tank will finish the initial cycle in 3-6 weeks depending on bioload. During this time there is no need to buy clean up crew (CUC) like hermits or snails or starfish.

Remember- the secret to pollution is dilution. Do regular w/c and you can't go wrong.

Welcome to WAMAS.

[zygote2k]

Your 70w MH is enough light for that small tank to grow any kind of coral that you see in any tank. If the bulb hasn't been changed in the last 8 months, now would be the time to do so. Any bulb color like 10k, 12k, 14k, or even 20k will be sufficient to grow corals. It all depends on the overall color that you like. In reality, lighting doesn't grow corals as much as excellent water chemistry does.

[gwweber]

you know that the filter media is pretty cheap on line. Perhaps you should get the foam and carbon and biological media. After you get the tank up and running you can use this media or develop a hybred filtrition and choose diff media like pads instead of sponges. I think the goal is to get you up and running. You dont need a protein skimmer but a small instant ocean skimmer can be gotten cheaply on ebay and if you can find a place in the tank with cosistent water level it will do a pretty good job for cheap, just have a small cup.

[armymedic]

This is great stuff. Thanks alot guys!!! I will be adding the water, live rock and live sand today when i get home from work. I will have to pick up a small skimmer, according to most it appears a small one wont hurt. And since i have no filtration yet that might be a good thing. I will also look at getting some media for the back such as the little pvc looking pieces? and maybe some carbon? not sure if that should be early or later.

 

 

[Chad]

Hey All,

First post here so be gentle!! : ) I just picked up a 28 gallon JBJ tank with a sunpod 70 watt metal halide lighting and a single 235 gph single pump. The person i bought the tank from didnt have any of the original equipment that comes in the filter area. He said i probably wouldn't need it. Can you please advise on what/how i should equip the tank for a basic small reef with very easy to keep corals and a few fish as the end result? I know i need to start with some more basic equipment since the tank ony has one pump in it and other basic neccesities. So please fire away and help me to get this thing off the ground! thank you very much!

 

 

Welcome to the boards! I highly recommend you join WAMAS and become a full member, getting access to the far sale forums will be the wisest $20 you spend on your tank this year!!

 

I agree with zygote2k about the water changes, when you set your tank up you should think about the method you plan on doing water changes, and make it as easy as possible. The simpler it is to do it, the more likely you will do it consistently in the long term.

 

Things to think about to make the water changes easy:

Easy access to both a drain and a water source.

A place to store water (in your case, all you will need is ~ 3-5 gallons weekly).

Easy access to all the equipment needed to do a water change (siphon, turkey baster, whatever else you use, and I mean just dont store it in the back of a closet behind a shop vac that is a pain to get to).

Remember, if you think about long term maintenance when designing your system and you make it easy to do, you will do it.

 

Finally, I recommend finding someone somewhat near you who has had their tank for more than two years or so and latch onto their methods and follow their advice soley for your first year or two. One of the things that can be overwhelming about this hobby is the vast body of knowledge and the many ways (read many times conflicting ways) to accomplish a successful reef. I recommend following one successful person's advice until you have a solid base (1-2 years) after that, you can/should start experimenting and finding a method that works best for you. My two cents!! Happy reefing!

[Chad]

And since i have no filtration yet that might be a good thing.

 

Ahhh, one more thing... (for now anyway!!! )

 

Based on this comment, it makes me think that you have somewhat of a background in freshwater... Am I right?

 

The reason I say this is because there is a fundamental difference in "filtration" between fresh water and salt water... Basically in fresh water, the idea is to mechanically filter gunk out and physically remove it from the system, in salt water, much of the stuff that should be removed cannot be removed by these means, hence a protein skimmer or water changes which remove mostly stuff that is dissolved and cannot be 'seen'. Stuff that you can see, the gunk, should be kept in suspension with high flow in a reef tank and is often used as food for the corals.

 

Long story short, many salt water systems run quite successfully with no mechanical filtration at all, it isnt needed

[BowieReefer84]

Note, if you do not go with a protein skimmer (which is ok either way) you are going to have to find a way to keep the PH up around 8.1-8.3 I stopped running my skimmer for a couple months on my 29 gal, and it lowered my PH to 7.9 So, I would recommend some type of skimmer, even if it is cheap and not pulling much skimmate out, because it will help with your PH by adding oxygen to the water... Or find another way to add the oxygen.

 

IMO

[Origami]

Welcome to WAMAS. I'm glad that you found us. One thought that I have that hasn't been touched on is topping-off with fresh water (typically RO/DI or distilled) to compensate for loss of water through evaporation, and stability. Stability is probably the hardest part to keep up with in a nano. Evaporation raises your salinity and your lights may induce large swings in temperature. These can have a complicating effect on your livestock and may limit what you should choose to populate your aquarium with. As for top-off, you may want to look into building in an auto-topoff system if you've not already got one with this cube.

 

As already mentioned, keep up with your water changes. It's best to have some saltwater pre-mixed for at least 24 hours beforehand as saltwater from synthetic mixes needs times to "age" so it's chemistry settles out.

 

As you've received a recommendation or two to join WAMAS as a full member, I encourage you to click on the link ("Why join WAMAS?") in my signature to read a testimony from one of our members of the reasons that she (and others) had for joining the club. People go in and out of this hobby, but while in, WAMAS pays high dividends.

 

Happy reefing!

[armymedic]

Ok, first of all I just took care of the membership issue. I am now an official NEWBIE member!!

 

Placement of this tank in my study area will make it a bit more difficult to maintain, however, i am ready for that. Of course i say that now!

 

Thank you everyone for a warm welcome and great ideas thus far.

First things first, where is a good place to get the live sand and live rock in waldorf, MD???? I actually live in accokeek, but its close to Waldorf.

 

 

I do want to buy a small skimmer. I prefer to let the equipment do as much as the work as possible. Less for me to screw up! : )

 

I do have a RO unit. i havent used in years. I might need to get a new filter for it. I did have a 55 gallon tank many years ago. Mostly FOWLR but small things like xenia. I didnt have the experience or the right equipment/lighting so after many crashes i gave it up.

 

I can easily mix up 5-10 gallons of pre-mixed water with the RO unit and have it on standby.

 

I am anxious to get some water, sand and rock in this puppy and get it cycling. I still have about 200 pounds of base rock from my old tank...never threw it away, but i guess i can add that later after i get a really good base up.

[silverspringnano]

If you're interested, I have a small airstone driven bio cube skimmer that will fit in the back chamber of your nano. Its yours for the taking if you feel like making the trek up to Silver Spring.

[armymedic]

Thanks!!!!

 

I really appreciate that. I am actually still in the army and stationed at Walter Reed which is probably not far from you. Just let me know when/where is good for you and i can be there. thanks again!!!

 

[jason the filter freak]

welcome