Starting up a new aquarium

Well, this is gonna be a first for me. The first time I try my hand at a saltwater aquarium and my first post on 3reef.com.
I purchased a 20 long aquarium and set it up with some crushed coral from my local fish supplier with a little whisper 2 back pack filter. I want to make this into a refugium / wet dry filter for a larger 90 gallon acrylic tank I am purchasing later this month. My goal is to put some Chaetomorpha macro algae, live sand and some small critters into it and get it established. Then set up the 90 gallon around the first week of October and start using the 20 long as a wet dry after modifying it slightly by putting in some divider plates, a submersible pump, and a wet dry tower from http://www.aquacrylics.com/ I have the aquarium stand at home which I purchased from this person http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20755&item=4319302984&tc=photo I have even bought some Coralife 48" Lunar 4x65 260 Watt Power Compact LED lighting. I'm pretty sure I want a mainly reef type aquarium with only a couple of fish. Do you experts and experienced saltwater people think I am on the right path or am I overlooking something obvious that us newbs forget? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank You

 

Do away with the wet dry idea and buy a high quality skimmer and live rock instead. We dry's are not nessessary in a reef aquarium and are generally not a good filtration method for this type of tank. They work well for fish only tanks but in a reef end up becoming more burden that benifit and become a nitrate factory. Live rock will become the basis for your biological filtration and the skimmer will basically be your mechanical filtration.

The light will be ok for soft corals for the most part on a tank that large but many stoney corals will require a brighter or an additional light source

 

Pretty much what Shawn said.

Hope you are staying dry down in Florida.
Welcome to 3reef!
[smiley=2thumbsup.gif]

 

Ok, Now I really feel like a newb
I looked at all the reef tanks in my LFS and saw all those wet dry filters and thought that was the way to go. ;D
What if I forgo all the bio balls and just put a cloth filter in the wetdry box and put a skimmer beside the return submersible pump? Will this turn into a nitrate factory?
Thanks for the reply Guys, I appreciate it.
TIA
Jim

 

No prob.
Cloth filter? Is that a filter pad?
I'd put that after the skimmer, gives the skimmer the raw stuff and the pad will take up some of the micro bubbles.

EDIT - Now that I am thinking about it, you might need to put a piece of plastic or plexiglass in place of the bioballs to act as a ramp for the water. This will cut down the noise and bubbles from the water falling.

 

Thanks for your input. ;D
I can't wait to get the main tank going, but I am trying to take my time and do it right rather than throwing everything in at once and watching it all die. Saltwater is NOT cheap. I'm sure I'll have more questions down the road.
Jim

 

There are manufacturers that make acrylic sumps for Belin Type Set-ups. These sumps have what they frequently call a "sock" (filter pad shaped like a sock hanging on the end of the input flow). Once water makes it through the sock (filter pad) it falls into the sump and flows into the protein skimmer. Personally, I would eliminate larger particals before they hit your skimmer. The Berlin approach promotes nothing more than live rock and a skimmer.

I've had a saltwater fish only tank for many years and run a wet/dry and a skimmer. For my new reef I decided to go to the other end of the spectrum Using an Ecosystem brand Filter (a refugium) and no skimmer (Ecosystem claims you do not need one with this apprach and a number of reef dealers seem to agree (many feel the skimmer removes nutrients needed by the corals), so I figure what the hell, I can always add one later if it turns out they are wrong.

Bottom line is if Ecosystem is correct, you don't even need your skimmer. Anyway.. what ever you decide, good luck !

 

THanks for bringing up the filter sock aseidman00. That's a good alternative that I didn't think about.


[quote author=Diver_1298 link=board=Newbie;num=1094493336;start=0#5 date=09/09/04 at 08:13:43]I can't wait to get the main tank going, but I am trying to take my time and do it right rather than throwing everything in at once and watching it all die. Saltwater is NOT cheap.[/quote]

Good approach Jim. Patience is key!