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Help me with a new tank

6K views 43 replies 6 participants last post by  steveo9043 
#1 ·
So I am new to the salt water aquariums, actually aquariums in general. I have done a lot of research and am buying either a 55g tank and stand for $100 or a 72g bow front tank and stand with a refugium filter/skimmer that was recently used for a SW reef and fish tank. Most likely the 72G....


ANYWAYS... I would love some suggestions for coral/reef creatures. I am going for the Jaubert method.

Thanks ahead of time.
 
#2 ·
I personally prefer the Berlin method to a plenum, but that is just me. I fear in the Jaubert method if the plenum is not set up right it will have the opposite effect. A 4"+ Sand bed depth and ample amounts of Live Rock (1.5 lbs per gallon) will harbor all the denitrifying bacteria needed to keep the tank healthy when coupled with a skimmer.
 
#4 · (Edited)
#1-Dry Rock, there are a few hitchhikers on Live Rock that people want to stay away from, so they opt for using Dry Rock, or Dead Rock. Macro Rock is a good place to start looking for that. Either way you go you will need a minimum of 1lb per gallon.
#2-Replacement filter media like filter floss and activated carbon (if you get a filter) Which is really not necessary.
#3-Multiple Power heads (2 or 3) 10x your water volume for just a Fish Only With Live Rock, and at least 20x your water volume for a Reef Tank. So lets say your going reef, and you have a 100g tank, you would need flow in that tank at minimum of 2000gph, or 2 1000gph power heads.
#4-Protein Skimmer, rated at 2 times your water volume. Unless your tank is under 30g, in which case you can do 10% water changes a week to rid the system of detrius. But, you'll have to watch the water parameters close, if things go haywire, you'll have to do more water changes.
#5-Saltwater Test Kits. Reef Test Kit. Test for Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, PH, Phosphates, Calcium, ALK and Magnesium.
#6-Saltwater fish food. Mysis Shrimp, Squid, Cyclopease, Algae Sheets, Romaine . Flake food is not really a good food to feed your marine fish.
#7-Aquarium vacuum. This one is iffy. Most don't use one, if you have enough flow in the tank you won’t need one
#8-Rubber kitchen gloves
#9-Fish net. Big one if you plan on some big boys.
#10-Two, clean, never used before, 5-gallon buckets
#11-Aquarium thermometer, digital being the best
#12-Brush with plastic bristles (old tooth brush) - needed for cleaning the live rock if you don't get Fully Cured Live Rock.
#13-Power Strip, possibly GFCI outlets by the tank.
#14-Optional but definitely recommend getting a Reverse Osmosis or RO/Deionization filter for the make-up water, and a barrel for storing the water.
#15-Possibly a Quarantine Tank for your new fish. They sit in here for a few weeks to kill off parasites and bacteria, to keep it from getting in your main tank
#16-Heater rated for your size tank.
#17-Saltwater Mix. Marine Salt. Instant Ocean is the cheap Salt that beginners and Advanced use alike.
#18-Saltwater Hydrometer or even better a Refractometer, which is more accurate. There is also a Digital Meter that is way advanced if you have the cash.
#19-Aquarium filter (not absolutely necessary if running with adequate amounts of live rock, but nice to have if you need to use a mechanical filter or activated carbon, or GFO and such)
#20-Aquarium substrate such as live sand or crushed coral. Some go bare Bottom, others choose the 2-3" bottom, others, more advanced will try the Deep Sand Bed, which is over 6" deep.

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http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html
 
#5 ·
#1-Dry Rock, there are a few hitchhikers on Live Rock that people want to stay away from, so they opt for using Dry Rock, or Dead Rock. Macro Rock is a good place to start looking for that. Either way you go you will need a minimum of 1lb per gallon.
#2-Replacement filter media like filter floss and activated carbon (if you get a filter) Which is really not necessary.
#3-Multiple Power heads (2 or 3) 10x your water volume for just a Fish Only With Live Rock, and at least 20x your water volume for a Reef Tank. So lets say your going reef, and you have a 100g tank, you would need flow in that tank at minimum of 2000gph, or 2 1000gph power heads.
#4-Protein Skimmer, rated at 2 times your water volume. Unless your tank is under 30g, in which case you can do 10% water changes a week to rid the system of detrius. But, you'll have to watch the water parameters close, if things go haywire, you'll have to do more water changes.
#5-Saltwater Test Kits. Reef Test Kit. Test for Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, PH, Phosphates, Calcium, ALK and Magnesium.
#6-Saltwater fish food. Mysis Shrimp, Squid, Cyclopease, Algae Sheets, Romaine . Flake food is not really a good food to feed your marine fish.
#7-Aquarium vacuum. This one is iffy. Most don't use one, if you have enough flow in the tank you won’t need one
#8-Rubber kitchen gloves
#9-Fish net. Big one if you plan on some big boys.
#10-Two, clean, never used before, 5-gallon buckets
#11-Aquarium thermometer, digital being the best
#12-Brush with plastic bristles (old tooth brush) - needed for cleaning the live rock if you don't get Fully Cured Live Rock.
#13-Power Strip, possibly GFCI outlets by the tank.
#14-Optional but definitely recommend getting a Reverse Osmosis or RO/Deionization filter for the make-up water, and a barrel for storing the water.
#15-Possibly a Quarantine Tank for your new fish. They sit in here for a few weeks to kill off parasites and bacteria, to keep it from getting in your main tank
#16-Heater rated for your size tank.
#17-Saltwater Mix. Marine Salt. Instant Ocean is the cheap Salt that beginners and Advanced use alike.
#18-Saltwater Hydrometer or even better a Refractometer, which is more accurate. There is also a Digital Meter that is way advanced if you have the cash.
#19-Aquarium filter (not absolutely necessary if running with adequate amounts of live rock, but nice to have if you need to use a mechanical filter or activated carbon, or GFO and such)
#20-Aquarium substrate such as live sand or crushed coral. Some go bare Bottom, others choose the 2-3" bottom, others, more advanced will try the Deep Sand Bed, which is over 6" deep.

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Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums
I am going to create a spreadsheet with that info, thanks!
 
#9 ·
So I am new to the salt water aquariums, actually aquariums in general. I have done a lot of research and am buying either a 55g tank and stand for $100 or a 72g bow front tank and stand with a refugium filter/skimmer that was recently used for a SW reef and fish tank. Most likely the 72G....


ANYWAYS... I would love some suggestions for coral/reef creatures. I am going for the Jaubert method.

Thanks ahead of time.
This method.
 
#11 · (Edited)
The Jaubert method is putting a plenum, or almost an airspace, underneath the substrate. Most people using this method would modify an undergravel filter to make a space between the bottom and sand bed. In this plenum an anaerobic bacteria resides that completes the nitorogen cycle. Nitrates are broken down by this anaerobic bacteria into nitrogen gas that will leave the aquarium naturally.

I use a 4"+ sand bed to have the same effect as the plenum, as denitrifying bacteria (anaerobic) resides in the deepest part of that sandbed. That is why you do not disturb the sandbed as the aquarist; you do however use reef creatures (snails, gobies and starfish) to turn the top layer over and clean the sand.
 
#16 ·
RM is right, softies would be the way to go with this lighting. I know that bowfronts tend to be higher, so if you plan on keeping more light dependant corals in the future, you will have to keep them higher in the tank, as T5's do not have the penetration power that Metal Halide does. Not a huge deal, placement is something that every marine aquarist has to take into consideration.
 
#17 ·
Cool! I added a bunch of new rock the other day so my pile is actually getting quite high in the tank. Should be plenty of light for some soft easy corals them. I'm not sure I'll really get into the more delicate harder to care for ones as I'm really just trying to get a basic reef tank going. I would like an anemone though at some point down the road. I hear they can be kind of difficult.
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