just setting up a new reef tank

[GRC]

I am setting up a new reef tank. 100 gal tank, 6' long, 19" deep. I have 4 96" vho lamps for light. I put 60 lbs base rock and 45 lbs live rock in the tank with about 50 lbs of argonite sand in the tank. Tank is about 2 weeks old but was a fish only tank before.
I have read and heard a lot of different ways to design a reef tank setup, but not a complete design. I was thinking of adding a old 100gal tank for a sump with plants. I have 2 small wet/dry filters and 2 small protein skimmers still on the tank. I wanted to make sure I understand correctly, it sounds like I should get rid of the wet/dry filters and just use the 100 gal sump (with lights, plants, and sand) and no other filters?

[Doug1]

8' bulbs over a 6' tank? Sounds good otherwise tho I dont imagine 50# sand goes far in a 6x18 tank, upi might want to add more sand and get a deeper bed going then seed it with detrivores. A smaller sump may be easier to manage, I have a 55g under my 75 and it took a little custom stand building to accomadate it. Then you need to light it so macro algae will grow, plus the return pump needs a space etc

[GRC]

got the size of the lights wrong 6' lights, do I need to do away with the wet/dry bio-ball filters and just keeep the skimmers and a sump?

[OodleyBoodely]

Welcome to TRT, GRC. With a deep sand bed and live rock, and, especially with the added 100g refugium/sump you don't need the wet/dry. In fact, running it would cause a problem with a buildup of nitrate. A matured system using liverock and deep sand bed will control ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate naturally as long as the tank is not grossly overstocked. ( I don't think 50lbs of sand is enough for a deep sand bed, however. You need a depth of 4-6" of fine grained (oolitic) sand, and, it doesn't have to be aragonite - you can use or mix with silica or lava sand and just top off with some live sand. Cruise around here and in the archives for more info on deep sand beds and live sand. You really want to know more about this before you go much further with your setup. BTW, what kind of animals are you planning to keep?

[GRC]

It sounds like lps corals are the ones for starters, maybe about 8 fish - 1 maybe 2 yellow tangs, a couple of clowns, maybe 4 royal grammas. When you say silca sand or lava sand , is that diferent than sand at the hardware store? (is that silica sand?)

[Doug1]

One tang only, they are territorial and will prolly fight if you add two. Wait till the tank is at least 6 months old and stabile before adding a tang. Also you will probably have the same issues with 4 Gramma loreto tho they are small and might find safety in all the live rock. Clowns would be good, a pair of them will be OK. Get them small and let them grow up together, one will turn female eventually. The trick with a reef tank is chose fish that actually do serve an ecological niche, gobies and blennies are good, but a high fish load is hard to maintain in a young reef tank without impacting coral success

[GRC]

I also have a old 55 gal tank I could use for my sump but thought since I had the 100 gal it would be better for the sump. It would be cheaper on the cost of sand if I went with the 55 gal. I assume 8 to 10 small fish is the max for fish in a 100 gal with a 55 gal sump?

[OodleyBoodely]

A lot of reefers are using the Southdown playsand from Home Depot which is an aragonite sand.. The silica sand I use is packaged by CaribSea specifically for marine tanks.. You can use hardware grade sands, but there is the possibility of contaminants that could be harmful to your reef. If you wish to go the hardware route, research the material first - call the manufacturer for details of composition.

[GRC]

How expense is silica sand by CaribSea. Any online recommedations to purchase it?

[FishDaddy]

Hi GRC,

Good to have you with us! Sounds like an exciting project.
I would recommend LR; 4-6" sandbed; big sump; and good skimmer, without the wet/dry.
It will take the sandbed 5-8 months for a DSB to support a modest bioload by itself but the LR should do the job in the meantime. After the sandbed fully matures, in a year or more, it will be your primary biofilter for the tank. That's one of the reasons it's best to go very slowly stocking your tank, especially during the first critical 6 months as the sandbed matures and tanks gets into balance.

Here are some excellent articles and resources re sandbeds:
http://www.gifs.net/animate/jmcwelcome.gif
http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/a.../1/default.asp
http://www.wyx.com/iheo/tank/new.htm
And a very good recent thread on TRT :
http://www.thereeftank.com/cgi-bin/u...c&f=7&t=000034


As for the type of sand; small-grained Aragonite is considered the best but other sands, even silica, can be used. Southdown Play Sand from Home Depot is the same as the $$$ Aragonite sold by reef stores and lots cheaper.
One of the problems with regular silica sand is that it may contain other minerals or even contaminants that could be harmful for your tank.

The depth of the sandbed is very important....at least 4"; up to 6" is better so that you can have an anoxic zone at the bottom for anaerobic bacteria and room in the upper layers for areobic bacteria and sand bed inverts.

What books do you have? If you don't have them already, I would highly recommend Robert Fenner's
The Conscientious Marine Aquarist and THE book, IMHO, for coral reefkeepers, Eric Borneman's Aquarium Corals.

Again, Welcome to TRT!!
Dick

[OodleyBoodely]

The CaribSea sand I bought was from the LFS and cost as much almost as aragonite at about $26 a bag (20lbs, I think). Going the hardware route is definately cheaper if you can get a clean source. good luck.

[GRC]

My books are 10 years old and I guess very outdated. I have got to logoff for a while, but will check back in a couple of hours.

[Doug1]

Dont feel bad, a lot of my books are closer to 30 than 10, humerous reading at times but not a lot of usefull info except for fish stuff, Tho the taxonomists have a field day with name changes
Right now is the most critical period in the development of a reef tank. You are on the right track planning it out in advance and posting the plan for feedback. Unlike LFS(local fish stores) we have no financial interest in your tank so for the most part youre going to get advice on what works and doesnt from people who have already been down the path you are embarking on. The most important thing I can impart to you is to understand the difference between a marine aquarium and a reef tank. There are of course a lot of overlap in some areas but basically a FO tank is designed to support fish only, Usually in numbers and or conditions(overcrowded) that they would not be subject to in the wilds. This is an easy one, Filter, Skimmer, and water changes will keep most fairly happy and healthy.
A reef tank on the other hand is an attempt to recreate one of the most diverse and complex environments on the planet. Given the area of even a huge home aquarium, size is always going to be a limiting factor, you can't get everything into the space you have and expect it to function flawlessly. Always strive for perfection but accept that it aint going to happen. The best we can hope for is a well thought ought series of compromises that will allow us to capture a small bit of the wonder that a reef is. The more one knows about the proccesses the easier it gets. We are fortunate to have many experienced reefers here and a few people that are educated in the field of marine biology. Not everyone agrees, there are several approaches to reef keeping that work, so find one that works for you and always think in terms of the long run. A reef is definatly a long term commitment, in time, money and education, but the rewards are many and definatly worth while

[Brooke]

I find that the 1" of (adult size) fish per 5 gallons is a pretty good estimate for most reefs. Here's an example:

Tank Capacity..100g..divided by 5 is 20" of fish:

1 yellow tang- (modest adult size of...) 6"
2 percula clowns-3 each- 6"
2 banggai cardinals 3 each 6"
1 bicolor blenny-2"
----------------------------------------------------
6 fish = 20"

Your yellow tang may only be 3" when you get him...but they will grow. Use adult sizes when calulating room in the tank...not the size the fish is now. So as you can see 8-10 fish is going to be hard to do. Also, take compatibility into consideration when thinking about stocking. You could add 8-10 dottybacks...but they would all likely kill each other.

Welcome to TRT!!
Brooke

[GRC]

if I have a 100 gal sump on a 100 gal tank (200 gal total) would the same caculation work. 200 gal divided by 5 = 40 inches of fish? or do you just caculate just the main tank?