Some semi-beginner questions

[Llarian]

Hello all,
I've been posting off and on, but so far nothing reef related since I don't own one yet, so I suppose its time to change that.

First, thanks to mojo and Chuck for the best reef board I've found yet. Most of the other are either way too large to sort through the useful information, or the signal to noise ratio is way too low. I'm thrilled that this one happens to be local. =)

Now, some questions. Most of my planning has been targetting an SPS tank, but due to space limitations in my apartment, I'm going to scrap that for a smaller 50G soft coral tank for now. From what I've read, I should have a much lower flow rate for the soft corals to be happy. I'm looking at something in the neighborhood of 350-400 gph from the sump, and 2 ~250 gph powerheads in-tank for water movement. Does that sound reasonable for soft corals? My inital plan is just 2x96W PC lighting, but I may consider adding some LPS in the future to this tank, which I believe requires more lighting.

Question #2, if I do a bare bottom with a reduced flow rate, am I going to have detritus problems? I assume I'd have to blast off the bottom more often, but lacking a spraybar or any closed loop outlets at the bottom of the tank behind the liverock, I'm concerned that could be an issue.

Question #3, I'm looking at getting a glass tank for this one. I'm reading more and more that external overflows are much more reliable than they used to be (particularly Amiracle and Lifereef), and I prefer the look of glass overall, particularly for longevity. Is putting LR directly on the glass tank bottom going to cause stress problems? Most of the people I see running BB setups are using acrylic, which is stronger.

That should be enough for me to finish planning. I'm looking forward to finally getting to experience the reef adventure myself rather than just drooling over all the amazing setups I've seen posted here.

Thanks,
Dylan

 

[NaH2O]

Dylan - congrats on finally taking the plunge. I'll answer a couple of your questions. Having a BB, with reduced flow isn't that big of an issue, as long as you understand what maintenance needs to be taken. As you stated, you will probably have to blast off the bottom more often, and you can use a power head for that. Siphon up the detritus, too. In the Let's Talk About ~Aquarium Husbandry~ you'll find some good information. On page 4 there is an awesome DIY project that seems pretty easy to do - post by DonW. It is a siphon system, that allows you to siphon the detritus up without doing a water change.

As far as putting LR on the bottom of a glass tank, some people use a product called starboard, which is white cutting board type material. I thought about having a piece of acrylic cut to the size of my tank's bottom. Others use PVC racks, too.

Good Luck & I'm excited for you!!

 

[wooddood]

i use starboard as my substraight in my 120 and would highly recomend it. heres a link to were i bought mine. www.usplastics.com . also i bought the 1/2 in thick pieces and they were 18 x 30 so i had to put it in in 3 pieces. hope this helps some.

 

[reedman]

I have a glass tank with nothing between my rock and the glass. I haven't seen any problems, nor would I expect any. The tanks are designed to hold alot more than just water. It's more an aethetic issue for the bottom. Do you want white, sand color, or glass? All will get covered in coralline algae eventually.

You can do a closed loop without drilling your tank. I do this on mine. You have to run the plumbing up and over the tank lip. It works great for me. I have a spraybar across the back bottom forcing all the detritus to the front of the tank.

If you are planning to go SPS eventually, I would start your 'bigger plan' now and buy pieces of it to use on this tank. What I mean is, buy your lighting so that you can just add to it, not scrap it and start over. Get your pumps so that you can add more flow and still utlize what you have on a bigger system. If you do it this way, you won't have near the upgrade costs when you get bit by the big-tank-bug.

With a 50 gal tank you could set it up with medium flow (either a couple maxijet 1200s or a small closed loop of some kind) and some PC or VHO lighting. This would allow you to keep almost any soft coral, most LPS, and a few SPS. The other alternative is to get MH lighting now (you'll end up here anyway) and you could keep any coral you want (from a lighting standpoint).

I would recommend getting the flow planned out for your larger tank idea (SPS that you talk about). From there see what you can use on the 50. Same for the lighting. I've seen some very nice SPS tanks that are 30-50 gallons. It doesn't take a 500 gallon tank to have SPS.

 

[JWallace]

If you are interested in getting starboard here is a local shop that you can pick it up from:

Fiberglass Mart
12619 Highway 99
EVERETT, WA
(425) 743-0332

 

[NaH2O]

The starboard is used to evenly distribute the weight of the rock on the bottom glass, so there aren't any "pressure points". There are plenty of hobbyists that don't have anything under their rock, as well.

 

[jazznreef]

egg crate works too. you can buy that at any home depot/lowes near the acrylic section. it's easy to cut to fit and cheap. also, i second the opinions on setting up your first system with plans to upgrade later. if you truly think you are in this for the long haul (and why wouldnt you be considering its so addicting?), then make the necessary decisions for upgrades later. you will very likely end up wanting more flow and higher light output later. i do think it's a great idea to start with softies and lps. that way you can get a handle on the husbandry, systems and chemistry and not be concerned with much more delicate animals. sps tanks are much more difficult to keep so start out slow and get your feet wet to start. you will do so much better once you are ready for more difficult animals. besides, softies and lps's are pretty cool and i have always enjoyed keeping them.

 

[Llarian]

Thanks for the answers everybody! Sounds like starboard is the way to go just for some peace of mind.

For the future upgrade thing, my goal with this tank is to only keep soft corals and maybe an LPS (my girlfriend really likes brain coral). No plans to keep SPS in here at all, that'll wait for a second tank.

If PC or VHO lighting is sufficient for soft corals and some LPS, I don't see any reason to go with MH on this tank at all. Is there a flaw in my logic with regards to lighting somewhere? =) (Other than saying I'll wait for another tank before wanting SPS. I'm a patient person.)

Thanks,
Dylan

 

[reedman]

Sounds like a good plan. My point is that it is better to pony up the money once and recycle the equipment on the next tank, rather than buying for the smaller tank only to start over on the bigger one.

It sounds like you are on the right path. You can use the VHO or PC as supplemental lighting when you do go to MH.