Looking to get a new tank setup

Hey guys,

I have had a 13 gallon Aqueon tank/kit for almost a year and a half with an ocellaris, coral angel beauty, and bi color blenny. The small tank is pretty involved to take care of, plus I would like to expand my collection (I am going off of information that bigger tanks have a stronger "ecosystem" and help take care of themselves a little more). I was thinking of also putting an anemone in the new tank. I'm looking to upgrade to something with more volume, but able to fit into a 24"x20" footprint, most likely the 20x20x20 by deep blue professional (35 gal), or if they make custom, get something a little bigger, maybe like 45 gal. Anyways, since my first setup was a kit, and this new one will be pretty much starting from scratch, I was curious as to what else I will all need. Also, currently I buy the real ocean water in 5 gal boxes at petsmart, but it seems like that would be pretty expensive for anything over 25 gal. Can you buy in larger quantities or is it better to buy an RO system and mix my own? Currently I have:

• BioMaxx pump (for up to 30 gal)
• Hydor slim nano skimmer (says its rated to 35 gal)
• 13 lbs of live rock
• 5 lbs live sand
• 8 snails, 2 hermits, 2 emerald crabs

Any help is definitely appreciated!

 

hello,

If you are serious about the hobby then an RODI unit is probably better, It will hurt your wallet at first but will pay itself in the long run. a lager system does not mean it will be able to "take care of itself more" if you over stock you will face the same problems as smaller system, only difference with larger systems is that you have more time for "maneuver" as larger volumes of water take longer to foul.

if you have the space I would recommend setting up a sump system some how, this will give you many advantages as well as increasing your water volume a little more (this does not mean you can add larger live stock, base your self on the DT for fish selection)

finally about the anemone,green bubble tip anemones are awesome and hardy nems that will make an excellent host for your clowns (take not the symbiotic relation can take vary long to establish), HOWEVER.....

before even considering an anemone I would do my research regarding lighting, lighting is a MUST to keep the anemone happy...... as well as lighting anemones require a stable "mature" system so avoid adding one untill you have your numbers stable. if an anemone is un happy it can create several problems

 

Thank you for the response!

I am definitely interested in continuing with this hobby, and why I wanted to do more research. I am still new and don't know what I don't know so figured a forum was the best way to figure that out. I understand not to overstock, but I don't have a very good idea of the limitations. I usually just take the recommendations of my local store (not petsmart, they just have the water). I have roughly 1 lb of live rock per gallon of water, and a bunch of snails and crabs. I was originally looking for a goby to help out with cleaning the sand out, but because of my small tank they recommended the blenny which I found out later that they don't really do that.

I will definitely look into the sump systems. Depending on the size, I can probably set it up underneath the table the tank is on right now. Do you have a recommendation for where to start looking into sumps?

That is precisely why I haven't gotten one yet is that I understand they are much more particular with lighting, and I think lighting is my biggest problem so far. Pretty much all my rooms have a lot of sunlight, and the only way to get rid of the sunlight would be to put it in a spare bedroom, with all the windows blocked out. I haven't done this because I like having the tank in a place where I can see it regularly. If there is a way to take care of it in a room with sunlight, that is preferred, but if not then I can set it up in a darker place.

 

well Ithank you and congratulate you on doing your "home work" (or startng to at least ).... as a general rule.... advise given from someone who is directly or indirectly making money off the hobby is to be taken with a grain of salt, or at the very least double checked

people on here will be more than willing to help you figure out what live stock best fits your tank in accordance to what your hoping to achieve from your system.

lighting like Ich and nuisance algae, is perhaps one of the subjects you will find the most information on the internet about. I wont go into details about the subject because:

a) ill be honest, I dont fully understand it
and b) as mentioned there is a ton of information out there to read up on. I will say this however most companies that sell lights specifically calibrated for "reef tanks" will work. some will obviously work better than others and again a lot depends on what you are looking to keep in your system. here too plenty of the members on here will be willing to help you out...

Skimmer.....

skimmer together with lighting are two of the things you dont want to be stingy on. its better to get a skimmer thats "over kill" rated than one that fits your tank size just right

the sump....

You folks in the states have some awesome pre built sump systems, Im thinking about TriggerSystems sumps. those will save you a lot of "hassle" from building one yourself if you have the spare cash or lack the motivation to make your own. but with a little creativity you an achieve just as good results with a home made one....

in regards to sunlight, unless your tank is right next to a window where its blasted with natural sunlight 9h a day I would not worry to much about it. It would be better to place the tank in a location where you have 100% control of the light source but its not a huge deal if the tanks gets hit by the occasional sun beam...if your water is in check that is....

what are you using for lights currently?

ask away we are all here to help you and your future critters

 

Thank you! I definitely like doing things the right way I will definitely ask around here before getting anything else. A few things first, your first response said to base myself on the DT for fish selection, what is DT? And the other question is what is lch lighting?

Looking at the sumps, they seem like an awesome idea. I only got the skimmer I currently have because it was the only thing that would fit in my tank. Its rated to 35 gal, so it works, and it got decent reviews, but my options are limited. It would be perfect to put my filtration media in as well! Is there anything in particular needed to size a sump based on need?

Okay, that makes me feel a little bit better. I can definitely keep it out of direct sunlight fairly easily. Currently I am using LED lights, I'm not sure of the strength or any of the specs on them. They came already installed on the hood of my kit. Its the Aqueon LED Widescreen 13 tank kit. I have the lights on a timer, and it is on for 9 hours during the day, and they remain off the rest of the night.

 

Your off to a good start and the fact your willing to get all the info you can is assuring. Your LFS might be nice but I'd be wary of using them as a deciding factor for your fish limitations, they have to sell to stay in buisness. I would not look into a goby that sand sifts since most will starve without a well established tank with a lot of micro fauna. Good maintenance routines, a few nassarius snails and your sand bed will look good all the time. Keep in mind that the new tank will go through some ugly algae in the first year. You'll get great info here and congrats on the upgrade.

 

Thank you, I was told that about the algae, but I didn't realize it should take that long! I figured a couple months maximum. DSC, I see you're from Cocoa. I live in Viera by the Avenues, and right now the closest place to me is Incredible Pets on Wickham for anything saltwater related. In addition, I don't know if they have nassarius snails there, all of mine are turbo snails. Do you know of any place closer that sells snails and other saltwater aquarium things? If I decide to make my own sump, it would be awesome if there were a one stop shop for the majority of items.

Also, sounds like a good thing I didn't end up with a Goby, I would feel terrible if I couldn't properly take care of one of my fish.

 

Go to mad reefer in Melbourne, there's 2 locations. Don't waste your money at incredible pets, trust me.

 

If you don't mind taking a drive, you should check out living reef in Orlando. Top notch saltwater store.

 

I've been wanting to check out mad reefer, but since it was further away I haven't yet. Thank you! I will definitely check out living reef too, I just looked at the website and it looks really good.

Thanks guys, I'm pretty excited to check these places out!!!