16 Gallon BowFront reeftank

BlackwaterMerk · 01-11-2009, 01:39 AM

Alright. I bought a 16 gallon tank the other day. I added salt/ de chloronized it and now have tweaked it to the correct PH, Temp, and Salinaty. I have a 20 gallon power filter, a tank heater, and a small powerhead to increase water movement. Im going to be buying uncured liverock on tuesday and starting the curing proccess, and I have a few questions. First of all how much should I buy for a 16 gallon tank? Second, after I have cured the liverock how do I put sand in? Do I just get a bucket with saltwater and put them in there while I put sand in? Also is so called "Live Sand" any better than normal salt water tank sand?

OneDummHikk · 01-11-2009, 02:13 AM

Dechlorinized water. Your gonna hate me and a lot of other people. Drain it out and throw it away. Use RO/DI water from an LFS, Distilled water from Walmart (or similar) but don't use dechlorinated tap water. The minerals and metals in it will cause you more headaches than it is ever worth.

16gallon tank I would start with about 12-14 pounds and see where that gets you as far as the look you want. There are so many different types of rock that its hard to say how many pounds since different types of rocks weigh different amounts for the same size rock. The 12-14 will get you enough to get an idea of how much more you need. Then you can add a little more at the time from an LFS so that you can try to pick pieces to finish your aquascaping.

Adding sand. If the rocks are already in, remove the rocks and the water. Put it in temp containers. Then put the sand in. The add the water very slowly. Then put the rocks back in. Make sure you rinse the sand thoroughly before adding it.

Live Sand. Don't buy live sand unless you can't get dry sand. Find someone local to you that can give you a cup or two of sand from an established tank. Within 4-6 months or so your sandbed will then be "live".

I think I got them all but if I missed one, beat me for it

Oh, and welcome to TRT! Watch out for that Hikk guy, hes a nut case sometimes

BlackwaterMerk · 01-11-2009, 02:19 AM

Dang are you cereal? I just got everything perfect lol. but if it will help in the long run I might as well. So will I need a protein skimmer since its such a small tank? my finished tank I want to have.

1. Liverock
2. Anemone's
3. Some different corals
4. 1 or 2 clownfish and 1 dwarf flame angel
5. Some cleaner snails or crab

OneDummHikk · 01-11-2009, 02:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackwaterMerk

Dang are you cereal?

Bran flakes with lots of nuts thrown in

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackwaterMerk

I just got everything perfect lol. but if it will help in the long run I might as well. So will I need a protein skimmer since its such a small tank? my finished tank I want to have.

1. Liverock
2. Anemone's
3. Some different corals
4. 1 or 2 clownfish and 1 dwarf flame angel
5. Some cleaner snails or crab

Don't add anything to try to control the pH either. It will naturally fluctuate based on light cycles and typically when pH gets out of whack, there is something else causing it that needs to be fixed instead. pH is usually a pretty good indicator of some other things.

No, you won't have to have a skimmer. You will have to keep up with water changes (weekly) without a skimmer on it.

What kind of lights are on it now? And, what brand tank is it?

BlackwaterMerk · 01-11-2009, 02:39 AM

Lol hmm, I threw the box out but it was bought from Petco and the brandname started with aqua. The current light is just one uv light that lights the tank up quite well.

OneDummHikk · 01-11-2009, 02:51 AM

Can you take a picture of the tank and the light? The light isn't a UV, probably a compact flourescent. Might be a T5 but probably a Compact Flourescent on a tank that size.

You won't be able to post images until you get to 15 posts but you attach them. Click the Go Advanced button, scroll down the page to "Manage Attachments".

OneDummHikk · 01-11-2009, 02:55 AM

hmmm, Marineland. They make the Eclipse series of tanks.
http://www.thereeftank.com/gallery/b...r=21912&page=9

Does it look like the pics on that page?

BlackwaterMerk · 01-11-2009, 02:55 AM

I can get some pics up tomorrow. Im going to get some shuteye, So for water changes, do I add distilled water then add some salt? or do I mix the distilled water and get the salinity/gravity correct and then put the water in?

OneDummHikk · 01-11-2009, 02:57 AM

For water changes, you put the water in container then add the salt. Let it mix, adjust salinity/temperature to match the tank, then do the water change. And you always add the water into the bucket first then add the salt last.

BlackwaterMerk · 01-11-2009, 06:25 PM

Alrighty heres some pics. See the attachments

BlackwaterMerk · 01-11-2009, 06:46 PM

Also I got home today and my thermometer was at the bottom of my tank, I picked it up and now it only shows that its like 121 degrees. Guess I should have payed more and got a digital one

OneDummHikk · 01-11-2009, 06:47 PM

Thats a T8 bulb and what kind of bulbs you can get and what you are going to be able to keep in the tank is going to be very limited. Its mainly a fish only light or for freshwater. Can you post a picture of the filter system in it?

BlackwaterMerk · 01-11-2009, 07:13 PM

Alright heres some more pictures. Also, what type of lighting would I need for 10-12 pounds of liverock and a whole bunch of different corals?

OneDummHikk · 01-11-2009, 07:52 PM

Probably the easiest thing you are going to find to is going to be PC lights. Simply because of size. You could remove the current light fixture from the canopy and then "retro fit" a PC fixture into the canopy. Going to be hard to find T5'es in that length and be able to get bulbs in the spectrum you want it in.