Help please

[phantom28000]

I ONLY WANT THE TRUTH PLEASE as you see it. I am thinking about starting a 29 to 30 gal. Reef. I have fresh water tanks (58 & 75 gal) now & am extremely good at taking care of them. My fish live 5 to 7 years. So back to the Reef tank. I have read a bunch from many people. I am going to build the Bullet proof from GARF I think. Lighting they suggest seems to be expensive over the long hall. NO's for now & then VHO's in a year with the ICE ballast. If I have read correctly the VHO's get very hot & are expensive for their life span. I am looking toward the T5HO's. I would think a 65w 12000K & a 65w actinic would be great for now & the future. Please correct me if I am wrong. The T5's are cheaper to run to if I am correct & cooler. I have also read that the items in a reef live only a couple months (can't belive this one). I think it depends on how you take care of your tank. I would also like to NOT have to propogate a bunch. Is this something that everyone has to do a lot of? Any oter help with what kind of rocks & substrate to start with would be helpful. I know I am asking a lot here. Help if you can. Thank you.

 

[rcupak]

Where are you getting your info from? Settle down and start from the beginning because the more you rush a SW tank the more heartache you have...the first thing you have to realize is that there are 6.5 billion opinions on what to do with your new tank and they're all right in their own eyes....that being said BigAl07 has helped me alot and has a ton of GOOD knowledge, same goes for lcstorc. I have a 30 gallon oceanic cube that is doing AWESOME under two Current T5 2x18 HO. I also have kept freshwater tanks (currently have a 10 YO Frontosa in her own 55) but then again freshwater is pretty much plug and play with a few exceptions. Let us know what kind of 30 you want and we can go from there....relax....it's all good and you're in for a ride

 

[SJS]

The best thing to do is slow down and READ READ READ... There are many different ways of setting up a tank, but from experience I can tell you - set it up once - setting up a tank for the 2nd or 3rd time is a real pain! I have T5's and have great luck with them - happy tank, happy corals.
As for items living only a few months in a reef tank - only if you are really careless in buying and taking care of your livestock. Research where your livestock comes from before buying. Buy tank cultured or maricultured corals rather than wild harvested. Find a good source for fish who are not cyanide caught and mistreated prior to getting to you.

 

[SJS]

As for rocks and substrate - my opinion is - get a small amount of live sand and live rock from a good source. Tampa Bay Saltwater seems to have a great reputation. Then add the remaining amount of sand and rock from a cheaper dry souce and let the tank run for awhile without adding any livestock, the entire amount of sand and rock will then be "live"...

 

[BigJay]

. I am looking toward the T5HO's. I would think a 65w 12000K & a 65w actinic would be great for now & the future. Please correct me if I am wrong. The T5's are cheaper to run to if I am correct & cooler.
.

sounds pretty darn good to me for a 30 gallon tank. Of course there are lots of bulb combinations depending on what you like and what types of corals your keeping.

.
I have also read that the items in a reef live only a couple months (can't belive this one). I think it depends on how you take care of your tank. .

Grossly false. If things only live a few months in your tank there is something seriously wrong. Most things that are considered short lived would last 1-2 years. Most fish live longer then a decade. Corals as long as they are kept in the right conditions should never need replacing.

. Any oter help with what kind of rocks & substrate to start with would be helpful. . Thank you.

Substrate is partly personal choice and partly dependant on what you plan to keep. Some sand sifters need a smaller grain sand to pass through thier gills when they eat. Some people prefer no sand bed. Others prefer a slightly larger grained sand. My general recomendation is to stay somewhere between .5 and 2mm grain size. Make sure and physically look at the different sands so you know what you like. Most also agree that crushed coral should be avoided in the reef tank.
Rock all depends again on your personal tastes. Many reef rocks from around the globe. Some are denser some are more pourous. Most will agree the more pourous the rock the better. Just do not use rocks that were not meant to be in the ocean. While some people have used man made rocks in reef tanks most naturally occuring rocks can be very dangerous for a salt water tank.

Great job on asking questions. Give it some time. You'll know when it all clicks and then thats the time to start really considering buying. Until that point keep studying and reading. And don't let the overwhelming variety of opinions get you frustrated. I generally recomend someone in the beginning to educate themselves with all the factual information they can then find one person they feel is honest to guide them. Sometimes getting wrong information from one person is better then getting wrong information from 10 different people and your tank is constantly undergoing adjustments. Reefing is about slow and STABLE.

 

[yungreefer2410]

can you keep everything under the 130 watts of t5? NOs are not the best choice for reef tanks. lighting is not something to want to skimp on. i was gonna go garfs way for my 55 gal but now i am doing it my way after all the knowledge i have gained (still gaining) from this website

 

[BigJay]

I posted that response about your lighting choice without paying much attention to the wattage you mentioned. 65w would probably be a Power Compact bulb not a T5 bulb. I have no idea of the width of the tank your looking at but I'd say something with individual reflectors and figuring it to be a 36" wide tank that would probably be a 4 x 39w.

 

[BigJay]

can you keep everything under the 130 watts of t5? NOs are not the best choice for reef tanks

Not sure what that means. But in a small 30 gallon tank there wouldn't be much I'd hesitate to put under 130w or so of T5 lighting with individual reflectors.

 

[phantom28000]

Thanks to everyone for the info. I am sorry if I sounded as if I was in a hurry. I am an engineer (guess cause I can spell it) so that should tell you how much I am going to research this undertaking. I am devoted to animals & not people, sorry if that offeds, but I have plenty of exp. with animals & I will not let them suffer if at all possible. ALL OF YOUR INPUT will be considered. To answer one of the questions here, I am going to start small in tank size. My choices are either 29-30 gal or turn my 75 into a reef. I know from experience that the larger ones are easier to stay on top of but cost wise this would be very high. I do understand that the water quality comes first & lighting is a close second. Have not delt much with lighting except I have investigated into it to find the best bulbs for my freshwater needs. Thanks to all again. I feel your are all telling it like it is & that is what I want.

 

[phantom28000]

Thanks so much for all the input. I WILL CONSIDER ALL before I am ready to do this.
I will get back to you individually as I have the time with many questions. Thanks again.

Phantom28000

 

[new reefer 03]

for a reef tank i would go 55+Gallons for a starter reef, if you want corals only and NO FISH then 30 would be great. if you want to have a nice yellow tang, and a pair of clowns + more bright fish i would go 55-100 gallon, for a starter i would get 55, thats what i got but my lighting is poor for now its only PC's

 

[lcstorc]

Welcome to RS!
Sounds like you are doing a great job on researching various options.
I originally considered the GARF method and decided it wasn't for me. I have seen some beautiful tanks using their method but we each have our own preferences.
You are correct that water and lighting are among the most important things. I would say liverock is right up there in the priority list. One of the best things to go ahead and do in the beginning is set up a RO/DI unit for all of your water. Doing this first will save you a lot of grief in the long run. This is one of the many places where saltwater is different from freshwater. In saltwater you need to start with extremely pure water. Freshwater from what I remember you just need to remove the chlorine.
There are a lot of opinions around but many agree on some basic principals so that is where you start.
I am married to an engineer so I understand the way you think.

 

[yungreefer2410]

i have a 29 gaL and i am fine with it. i have three fish but if you really like fish i would go bigger

 

[phantom28000]

Thanks yong reefer. I am trying for corals & not many fish. I have learned that fish can become quite large if you take care of them but they can cause lots of problems when they overgrow the tank. Can't take the saltwater ones to the lake if they cause to much trouble in the tank & I am not one to flush 'um. Just my opinion & all probably do not agree.

 

[nikkipigtails]

You're right in that the larger the total water volume, the easier it is to maintain. But it's not just that, it's more forgiving to people who aren't a diligent with water quality.

IMHO, the size of the tank doesn't matter as long as you're patient with setting it up, ie: taking time to properly cycle the tank before adding livestock, and as long as you're responsible in stocking and not overfeeding. Keep in mind that the stocking limit is different with SW than with FW. With SW, it's 1" of fish per 5 gallons of water. Personally, I take it one step further and use a 1" of ADULT fish per 5 gallons of water. I want to make sure I can keep all the fish I put in there and not have to tear my tank apart to get fish out that have outgrown it. The fish that do outgrow the tank stay extremely stressed and I just don't want to see a fish go through that. Besides, it's the tanks that are overstocked with fish and/or understocked with a CUC that have the biggest water quality issues.

 

[erawling]

One thing I have learned is that it don't pay to get cheep stuff.
It might sound like a good buy at the time but chances are you will end up replacing it in the near future.
Do not skimp on equipment like protein skimmers, If I remember garf on there bullet proof system recommend a real cheap skimmer. Trust me it don't do the job I didn't have any luck at all with it.
Good equipment will pay for itself in the long run,this is a very expensive hobby to get into, my wife still regrets giving me a 10 gal fresh water setup for my 20th birthday lol.