Setting up my first Tank

[VBF]

Dearest bros and sis, after reading up as much as I can and getting my equipments (mostly second hand) , I am in the phase of setting up the tank. I have 2 tanks (both 60 cm x 45 cm x 30 cm x 6mm), one on top of the other on a metal frame. They were both former FW tanks and does not have overflows nor any partitions. The top tank will be the main display and the bottom use as a sump of sorts.

The water from the main tank will be siphone off using a hooked hose( water pressure will determine the flow rate) into the sump below. An external skimmer ( Weipro SA- 2014) is employed to clear most of the dissolved organics from the sump. Water is than pump through a canister filter and back to the main tank.

I have live rocks and sand( 1 inch) in both my tanks. Running one power head in the main tank also. HAve added bacteria culture to help speed up the cycle. May add a few pieces of market srimp later.

Any thing else to add in the sump? I intend to grow some macro alge in there.

I dun intend to add a chiller as there is simply no space left. Can I still have corals??

Anything else to add?

I am sure I have made a lot of mistakes. OK can shoot me now. I am ready

[Dazza]

hihi vbf, just a word of caution cos yr tanks are converted fw tanks, the glass thickness maybe thinner than most marine tanks. So if its below 10 mm , be wary of accidental rocks falling n kncocking the glass as may crack..

[VBF]

ok noted thanks.

As the first person to reply to my first thread I buy u kopi when we meet in the future ya??

Have place the LR against one cornor in a slopping manner so any that falls will just roll to the bottom and not hit the side walls. Added extra sand as padding at the bottom to cushion any falls.

[VBF]

upz

[monki]

Hi VBF,

Welcome to SRC. I think it would be good if you can post a picture of your tanks to enable fellow reefers to give you comments / suggestions.

For sump, you can add macro algae like Chaeto, Ulva etc. And i know sump is good for keeping those hitch hiker-crabs found in your LR (if any).

You might want consider a chiller (mayb at a later stage) cos the Singapore weather is hot. Temp can go as high as 31 C.

Oh how about lightings? What kind you getting? Cos if you want Corals, you have to have sufficient light.

Do share with us what you fishes / corals you intend to get?

Have fun setting up.

[FionaFiona]

Hi VBF, welcome to this hobby,

(Other reefers, correct me if I m wrong)

Since you intended to use the bottom tank as a sump tank, you do not need the canister filter. A compartment in ur sump tank can be designed to take the role of the canister filter already. check out some of the reefer's personal tank threads on how and what they put in their sumps, you will get a better idea.

Regarding tank thickness, dun worry much since the length of your tank is not that long, so the pressure at the centre of the length wun be sufficient to rupture it. Of course, be gentle when handling rocks.

Since you are cycling your waters with liverocks now, and have added bacteria culture to speed up the process, thats good enuf already. Do not add mkt prawns in to rot later, you either add in now, or dun at all. adding in at a later stage to rot will only slow the cycling down.

Chiller-wise, if you dun intend to install one, just get a fan to bring down the temperature. A fan will be sufficient for your tank size to keep temperatures between 27-29 degree celsius. You can still have corals.

As a starter, just stick to the lower-level corals like mushrooms, zoanthids, sun corals, star polyps.

yep, sis monki is right, Singapore weather beri hot. You can consider chiller at a later stage ya? For the time being, just focus on cycling ur waters and testing them with test-kits. One point to note for using fan is that you just have to top up little amt of water daily to counter for the evaporation rate.

Lastly, lights. If possible, T5HO at minimum, if u wanna keep better corals. of course, if budget is a constraint, then a grade lower like T5NO should not pose much of a problem for certain more hardy and les light-demanding corals.

[VBF]

Thanks for your replies

Not using the bottom for sump now already, too lazy to make an overflow properly, wqit for my pals to come back first than beg them to do one for me.. So will just use the canister to filter the water and the output will go throught the protein skimmer and back to the tank.

The bottom will be for QT and use to grow the macro alga, have already install lights at the bottom tank. Will manuelly use a scope to swop water from the top tank with the bottom everyday before I go to work.

I do have MH lights in place. But they tend to be very very hot. scare heat up my water.

I have tested the water PH (7.5) is rather low so added some PH buffer to bring it up to about 8.5.

NH3 = 0.05

NO3 = undetectable

N02 = undetectable

Will bring some water back to the lab for more accurate tesing.

With nothing in the tank how to have NH3 spike??

[pop]

I think you will need a separate pump for your skimmer. The direct output from the cannister may not be efficient enough to operate the skimmer.

[VBF]

Hi Pop,

I have tested the setup, the skimmer seems to be working fine, the foams forms up well and needed to be tuned down using the output at the skimmer. I do have a few spare pumps but would like to save electricity here and minimism any unnessary parts.

However I am unsure what consitutes good enough for the skimmer. How do one guage whether the pump is strong enough. I only know the canister pump is rated for 300g/h. And my tank has about 108 litres of water.

Thank you for your feedback

[pop]

If you can get good skimmate and foam in the collection cup from it, then i think it will be alright then.

[VBF]

Hi all for all the advices. I got the chiller started liao and water temp is between 27-28 C cause using timer so factuate a little. Not using MH any more bcos its just too hot for the tank. Using 1 white and 1 blue PL.

Just use one pump for the whole system. Got to tidy my pipes and take a few photos for all the kind pple who helped me.

Unfortunately my mom cannot tahan and brought 2 crown fish and a damsel(tank no life inside very bad fengshui). Tank only 1 week plus old (LR all cured and got from an established tank) dunno fish can survive a not. Good thing is the mushrrom in the tank are opening up well

Tested water paramters. So far NH3/NH4 not detectable , N03 and N02 also cannot find. Dunno whether I use the test kit properly a not. I am using a Azoo multi test kit. They say put one spoon of powder ...... (there are 2 spoons in the box , use big one or small one ???)

Is it possible my skimmer too strong?? so all the bio waste gets filtered out before ANN cycle can even start??

[princesseve]

Hihi... i juz started tis hobby nt long ago and i got lots of question and confusion...

Hopefully i able to get help frm here....

first, abt the MKT prawn dat u all r saying abt, can i know wad does MKT stand

for??

Next, i have run my water for 1 week , can i put in cleanser prawn now into the tank?

thanks...

[Dazza]

hello princesseve... mkt = market... those prawns that are sold at the market for human consumption.

i take it that cleanser prawn u r referring to = cleaner shrimps? if it is , i think better not put in until u hv checked the ammonia, nitrite n nitrate.

Patience is the key to success in this hobby.

[monki]

Hihi... i juz started tis hobby nt long ago and i got lots of question and confusion...

Hopefully i able to get help frm here....

first, abt the MKT prawn dat u all r saying abt, can i know wad does MKT stand

for??

Next, i have run my water for 1 week , can i put in cleanser prawn now into the tank?

thanks...

Hi Sis princesseve,

Welcome to SRC. Glad to see another female reefer.

If i am not wrong, MKT actually refers to market...hence market prawn.

As for cleanser shrimp, although they are quite hardy, they are super senstive to water condition. Furthermore, your tank only cycle for a week. I think it's best to wait at least another week and i think you have to buy test kit to test your water condition first.

Btw, how big is your tank. U can start your own thread under member's tank forum.

[princesseve]

thanks for help... Dazza and Monki~~

Hmm... maybe i shall start a new thread on my tank itself soon so as nt to flood here.

[VBF]

Hi guys , my 2 by 2 by 1.5 tank is approaching 3 weeks liao. I test the water every couple of days but I can never seem to detect any NH3/NH4 , NO3 , NO2 leh. I have 2 damsels and 1 clown inside plus a few mushroom and a purple sponge. All seems to be doing well.

ANN cycled completed???

intending to add some cleaner srimps and a sand shifter or brittle star as clean up crew by end of the week. (starting to see brown stains on the sand and LR)

Any good hardy and colourful corals to recommend?

[Soul]

add slow and steady, 1 coral 1 fish per week then monitor coral and fish behaviour. Whats the colour of ur skimmate?

[VBF]

Not much skimmate. Usually wait till they turn blackish(dry) before I wash them. Dun know good or bad but one of my corals (either the blue sponge or mushroom) seem to have given off a stream of milky goo. didn't know they can do that.