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Looking into starting a reef tank for my first time. As of now, I'll be using a 40 breeder. I've been peeking around and been finding some of these Seaclear or comparable tanks that are 40-50gal with built in 4chamber wetdrys along the whole back. Are these worth looking into for a simple (hopefully on the cheap) salt setup. I'm hoping I can get something set up around 500-600 out of pocket. I was told doing something like a 40gal is better than starting off with an 8gal nano or something
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I think it'll be easier to go with a larger tank due to less rapid changes in parameters. That's about all I know about salt stuff!! But good luck and pleeeease to keep us posted so noobs like me can learn.
All bleeding stops eventually... -
Yeah, that's what I thought too. It's going to be a slow process. Still working on getting rid of my smaller breeding tanks and livestock so I can add this new salt tank, and a second troph tank.Comment
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The tanks with cambers in the back are called AIO or all-in-one set ups.
They are proven set-ups. People normally put LR or cheato back there.
Personally, I would not set up a tank like this. They normally limit you to what you can do later.
I would drill the 40b and set up a sump.I ate my fish that died.
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Would I need to drill for a sump? Or do they work different than a wet/dry with an overflowComment
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Well, I guess either way, I can just bring it to citypets, have them drill and fit it with bulkheads or whatever is required. That shouldnt be a big worry of mine. My big worry is cost of lighting. Anything I should look into for lighting? I see people selling 24-30" 2-4 T5HO fixtures, sometimes with moonlights for 100-150. Would something like that be sufficient if all of the live rock are within that 24-30"?
Still not 100% on if im doing soft/hard corals of what yet. I guess that makes a difference with lighting as wellComment
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Sump on a reef tank is exactly like a wet/dry without the bioballs. So you can run the overflow however you want. I always think drilling is cleaner. Check out glassholss.com.
Regarding lights, you will need at least 4 bulbs. Two will keep corals alive but growth will be super slow. Try to find one with independent reflectors for each blub. This feature greatly increase par. Just remember, if you got t5 then you should replace the blubber once every year.I ate my fish that died.
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Makes sense outside of the "blubber" part. Do you mean replace bulbs yearly? I can't even find anything on google in terms of blubber for t5 lights, hah. I've only ever used regular florescent t8s and LEDs thus far, no experience with t5sComment
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If you want to go salt I recommend doing it right and getting the right stuff for what you want or what you might want. Which means don't do it if you want to be cheap. You can find good used parts but it will still cost you more than a FW. Light I would go with the best one you can find for the size for what you could possibly want in the tank. I would go with MH or T5 with ind reflectors to keep any LPS or SPS you want.Comment
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What corals did you want to keep?Comment
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Really I'm not sure yet, Probably soft.Comment
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Of you are just keeping soft then lights can be PC but if you ever want harder corals then you will have to upgrade the lights later.Comment
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Right now Im more or less starting a list of equipment that I will need and keep an eye out for. I have the 40g breeder and stand. A 20T that I can convert into a sump. I also have the Koralias and heater. I'm assuming i won't need to use my eheim for anything other than a possible mechanical filtration and water movement.
So a light fixture is the big one. Outside of that is just a skimmer right? Well, obviously there are always additional bells and whistles you can add, but in terms of requirements?Comment
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Deffinitly you'll need an ro/Di filtered water is a must bulk reef supply sells good onesComment
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