Lots of questions for someone looking to start a reef setup

[Jolio99]

I have been looking at the reef aquarium hobby for about 2 weeks now and I was interested in starting my own setup. Anyway I had a lot of question that were not answered in numerous FAQ's and websites. Here are the questions I could think of right now (There will be a lot more in the future, trust me)

1. I have a 30 gallon aquarium and was wondering if this was big enough for a small reef setup

2. I have a slight idea of what I want to do. I was thinking of putting down a base of live sand, then a large live rock in the center with 1 or 2 anemones and a few clown fish. Am I getting in over my head here?

3. Filtration? What should I use? I was thinking of using a protien skimmer in conjuction with a canister filter and 1 or 2 powerheads to keep water circulation. Would this work?

4. How long should I wait until I add Live sand? Live rock? Anemones? and fish to the aquarium?

5. What kind of lighting should I use with this setup?

6. Salt? What is the best to use and how much to use?

Thats all that can think of right now. Any information is appreciated. Thanks

-Tyler

[lgordon]

HI! I still very new at this, but did you look at the Forum Entitled "Education and Startup?" here's the actual address
http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/fo...?forumid=45
Im sure almost all of your questions are in there!

I wish I could be of more help...

[Mickadee]

1
a 30 gallon can be used as a reef tank just need to test the water quailty more often than with larger tanks. the larger water volume gives you a little more room for errors
2.
the anemones will need stronger light and excelent water coniditons to survive long term. if you want to get them for the sake of the clowns they do not need them to survive.
3.
most will recomend a DSB 4"6" opf sand and LR as filtration with good circulation.ask before you do it and people will tell you if its a good idea or not mostly from experience.
4.
the LR and sand can be added when you start the tank the fish and other livestock should wait until the tank has cycled completely or can and stress the animals ans most of the time lead to death.as far as anemones very very good water quality and lighting. some will say a mature tank more than 1 yr old
5.
depends on the creatures that you intend to keep. anemones will need a stronger light than others. a lot of people will say you need to have MH lighting for intensity of the lights for them
6.
I use instant ocean alot of people do. I cant comment on other salts becasue I havent personally used them.

HTH

others will make comments the best thing you can and will do is ask questions and a lot of research before making a leap or it could end up costing a lot of money and lives in the long run..
Mike

[podman]

i will add that you need not waste your money on filtration as per canister/wetdry kinda stuff. do the skimmer though.

i would also recommend the halides, that way you can keep what you wish without worrying about the light later. one 175w should keep most things, a 250w or dual 175w would be best though.

be forewarned, they do consume the juice.

one other thing, try to find tank raised anemones and all your future inhabitants for that matter. it isn't difficult to find a bubbletip that has split from a captive specimen and tank raised clowns are everywhere.

cheers

[tweaker]

for that small of a tank i would recomend two tings. one is use CF lights, they will produce plenty of light intensity for your anemones. second, with such a small systen you may want to look at alternate water circulation methods, power heads are eye sores and take up space. also, i once had a bubble tip move too close to a power head inlate...he survived but is much smaller now.


mikey

[Alice]

You can make a wonderful reef from a small tank. Just remember, things you put in the tank when they are small have a tendency to outgrow the tank. An anemone in 30 gallon tank is going to take up at least half the tank, not much room for other corals. If you want a pair of clowns, go for Perculas or Occelaris, preferably tank raised. These clowns stay the smallest and are much more docile with tank mates than a pair of Maroons, Tomatoes, ect. Breeding clowns will defend their territory pretty vigorously, though.

Many people are drawn to SW by the image of clown fish nestled in an anemone. They do look cute. However, as was said, they don't need an anemone. If they feel like hosting with something, they'll "adopt" darn near anything as a host. Mushroom corals, polyps, brain corals, colt corals, featherdusters... You still get the look without a difficult to care-for animal. Not all clowns will host with all anemones and some of their natural hosts in the wild are notoriously difficult to care for in our tanks. Research is key. The book "Anemonefish and their Host Anemones" by Joyce Wilkerson is a good place to start.

Do some reading, and if an anemone really is your goal, figure on waiting at least 6 months for your tank to mature. The initial nitrogen cycle is just the first phase in tank maturation. I'd go with a single 250 w 65K or 10K bulb with power compact actinics on a 30 if it were me and I was thinking anemones or SPS corals. Ditto on ditch the canister filter but go with a skimmer and at least 30 lbs of rock, more if you aren't going to go with a deep sand bed.

Welcome to The Reef Tank. We're here to help. Please feel free to ask questions as you go along. We've all made mistakes here and hopefully, we can help you avoid many of them.

Alice