Questions on tank ideas

[joshua09]

Hello everyone, new here!

Had a few questions i hoped someone could answer. I currently have a nano tank, and have found i am running out of room. I want to set up a 40 breeder tank, heres my ideas, and my questions.

40 Breeder
10 Gallon Sump
Current Nova Extreme Pro 36"; 234 watt

Would this be enough for a BTA tank? At 40 Gallons its about 5.9 watts per gallon. Not counting in water displacement for sand and rock, maybe 6-6.5 wpg with counting that.

I plan to keep a low bioload in this tank for a good long time, would i be fine with no skimmer? (At least for awhile) Im talking 2 clownfish, bta's and a few zoa's spread around here and there on my live rock that i will be transferring over. Will i be able to transfer this all over with my fish after a few days of setting up? I know i will need an extra 10lb or more of live rock also.

I already have the 10 gallon, and 30lb +- of live rock.
Already have heaters (though i might want to upgrade) and one koralia 1 (which i will need to grab another one, or a higher strength)

Dont be harsh, im trying to get a feel for what i need in advance before i buy something that ends up being worthless.

To recap to make this easier to answer:
1. Lighting sufficient for BTA's
2. 10 Gallon sump ok?
3. No skimmer with 2 fish and a bta or 2 to start?
4. How long to transfer nano and LR over to 40b?
5. Overflow size, 1inch? return size? 1 inch?
6. Pump recommendations for return?

If you dont know the answer to all of them, but do for a few, feel free to respond anyway!

[Seamore]

The lighting is more than enough for your plans, 10G sump is fine but will that be big enough to fit a skimmer in down the road? A 20G might be a wiser investment, I use a 20 on my frag tank w/home made partitions for a skimmer area. The size of the return is not as critical as much as the size of the overflow, it must be able to handle the return pump's volume with a little room to spare. You can start without the skimmer but you will have to do more water changes more often to strip nutrients from the water so I'd add one as soon as a decent used one shows up on the net. A mag 5 would work as a return IMO. Start the 40 w/10-15 lbs of live rock, seed it with some sand from the existing tank (a cup or two and a few pieces of small rock from the old tank to kick the bacteria into gear) let it cycle until the water perams look good and are stable ( be patient on this ). Once it is stable you should be able to transfer from the smaller tank over a few days w/some of the water from the existing tank to cushion the transfer for the livestock. I moved my livestock from a 37G to a 75G this same way w/no casualties. Just be patient w/the cycling.

[jenglish]

Lots of Questions First Welcome to TRT.

A nova extreme Pro will be enough light, but you may want to look at one that comes with better reflectors or better bulb choices. The reflectors really make a fixture work and Novas are not the best. The bulbs that come with it are pretty low output. THey are a solidly built fixture and it isn't that it is low quality like going to burn your house down, but it is just entry level. But it will keep a nem. Oh and forget about watts per gallon, it really doesn't mean much.

Keeping the water clean enough for a nem without a skimmer may be more of a problem. I'm not saying that you can't keep a nem without a skimmer but it is going to take lots of waterchanges and careful monitoring.

The other issue is timing. You won't want a nem for at least 6 months. The tank may not take as long to mature since you have some mature rock to start with.

I would look at a eheim 1250 for a return pump.

[joshua09]

Originally Posted by jenglish

Lots of Questions First Welcome to TRT.

A nova extreme Pro will be enough light, but you may want to look at one that comes with better reflectors or better bulb choices

Any suggestions on other lighting fixtures? I would like to stick to t5 (i dont want to make the jump to MH)

On a side note, my aunt has had a 55 Gallon with stand sitting un-used for YEARS, not sure of the condition, or if it holds water. Thats why i planned to go with a 40B. I dont plan on SPS or LPS. I for some reason am just obsessed with anemone's. (And i wont mix species i promise!)

Also thank you Seamore for your input, i will be taking notes!

[jenglish]

Maybe it is just me looking at my Nova and wishing it was a Tek fixture . It will be plenty of light for what you need, I think I just look at them as less of a bargain than I did when I bout mine a year and a half ago.

[Seamore]

I used the standard Nova extreme 4 bulb one reflector on my 37 and was growing SPS with no problems at all and now use this same light with it's twin over my frag tank and once again I have very good results growing anything I want in it. Not saying there aren't better units out there but if you are using the pro version you will not have any problems with nems or softies. You can always upgrade the bulbs in the unit when it is time to change them but I have kept using the current 10K and actinic to replace mine because for me it works nicely and if it ain't broken.... There are many wise people one this thread and jenglish is one of them so it is worth listening and looking at the options before you spend, it is always cheeper to buy once what will fill your needs than have to upgrade down the line.

[joshua09]

Yeah thats what i want to do this time around listen and get what i need in the beginning, i want to get it right. I started with a nano, which is nice, but i find myself running out of room to put things. I wish i just started with something big in the first place. I have some extra money coming up soon (that isnt going to bills for once) so i will start to shop around and price things out.
Thank you again for your help, and im sure i will be back again with more questions.

[Loverotties]

Take your time and do it right the 1st time!

[Jadinop]

If you like the dimensions of the 40 breeder, this is the way to go.

http://www.reefbuilders.com/2009/04/...eo-walkaround/