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How to set up the flow in 36 gal

L

Lialla

Hi,

I have 36gal bowfront tank. Well, I'm just starting with it. Would like to know how to set up the flow, how many and which powerheads to use and where to place them.

Also, how to secure the rocks so that they won't fall in the tank? The tank is cycling now with rocks and live sand but with no lights, they are on the way now, will have them in 5 days, will it harm live rocks to be without the light for more than a week? And do I need to put any supplements in the water for the rock right now?

Thank you!
 
Phyl

Phyl

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
What type of corals would you like to have in the tank eventually? Do you want/need sand in your reef? What fish will you have? The live rock doesn't need light and when you do get them, increase the photo period slowly as to not rush the tank into an algae bloom.

No supplements are needed until after you have more than just the occasional starter coral in the tank.

My rocks are just jammed into the tank. Wedged together in an interlocking manner. Sometimes that works... sometimes something rolls. Mostly it works. Some people use PVC or acrylic rods to hold their rocks together. I can't help you there, but a search should bring you some options.
 
L

Lialla

I plan to have hard and soft corals as well, couple of fish, and eventually anemone, will start with clownfish. I have sand in tank already , 1,5-2 inches.

Thanks for your help!
 
Phyl

Phyl

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Anemone & SPS (hard corals) will do best if kept under intense (150MH? or better) lighting. Softies and LPS will do well in almost any lighting.

The hard corals & anemone will want flow that is roughly 20x the tank volume so for the 36g tank you'll want at least 700gpg worth of powerheads (or closed loop, all the better) in the tank. Oscillating flow (other than a SCWD, which I don't like) would be ideal. This works best if you don't care for a sand bed. Keeping sand under such flow requirements becomes a battle to keep it in place.

LPSs will prefer maybe 10x tank volume in flow. With a small tank like a 36g it is harder to have areas of differing flow (really high for the SPS and really low for the LPS) so mixing them make keeping both in such a tank a bit more of a challenge, though certainly attainable, given the exact right position of powerheads and returns from the sump.

To mix leathers/zoas into this mix you'll have to deal with the alleopathy (or toxic coral warfare). To do that you'll need lots of large water changes and carbon running in the system to absorb the war as it takes place.
 
L

Lialla

well, SunPod 250W HQI is on the way, hope this will be enough ;D

i'm doing sumpless, with Remora skimmer and it comes with 1200 pump. Will it be enough for flow, or I need to add another powerhead or two more? Which one in this case 900 or 600 or 1200 ::)? ??? And where it is better to place powerhead? In the bottom or closer to the surface?

Thanks for the info, for a newbie like me this information is invaluable! As I'm just starting, I guess you'll see a lot more questions :D
 
S

sinkingbeach

If your considering sps corals down the road, I'd use 2 nano streams 6025 placed on the rear corners of the tank blowing toward the front center glass. One placed lower in the tank the other higher. You can get them at PA http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...duct_Code=T6025.000&Category_Code=Tunze_pumps

If you don't want to spend that kind of money go with 3 maxi 900s, strung along the back of the aquarium. I say the 900s because they use much less wattage then the 1200s and the 1200s only give you a few more GPH. I'd put the 900s on a strip also available at PA http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...ct_Code=NATURAL-WAVE&Category_Code=Wavemaking
 
M

mladencovic

Lialla said:
I plan to have hard and soft corals as well, couple of fish, and eventually anemone, will start with clownfish. I have sand in tank already , 1,5-2 inches.

Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...


Current prevailing wisdom in the reef community is that depth of your send bad is not good. You should make it either less the 1-1.5" deep or more then 3-4" . It all has to do with the nitrogen cycle and I would recommend you the following article:

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/deepsandbeds.htm

As for the placement of, powerheads, there are two things you should do:

First, make sure that there is a sufficient disturbance of water surface (place at least some outflow on the top). It is important for proper exchange of gasses in and out of water and for improved skimming.

Second, vast majority of corals prefer what is called turbulent flow. Since powerhead produces laminar flow (straight stream), you need to disperse it in some way. The preferred way is to point it into flow of another powerhead or return pump and let them collide. So, it is better to have several smaller powerheads/ close loops/returns then one big.
 
S

sinkingbeach

Lialla said:
sinkingbeach said:
I say the 900s because they use much less wattage then the 1200s and the 1200s only give you a few more GPH. I'd put the 900s on a strip also available at PA http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...ct_Code=NATURAL-WAVE&Category_Code=Wavemaking
Click to expand...

ok, considering this, what should I choose then for the skimmer, they come either with Maxi-Jet 1200 or Rio 800 Pump?
Click to expand...

I've had a very bad experience with Rio's customer service early in my fish keeping days and will never purchase another product of theirs. Maxi-Jet 1200 ;)
 
S

sinkingbeach

The 1200 is a better pump for the Remora Skimmer, it pushes out 295GPH against Rio's 211GPH. I'm not sure of the wattage difference between the two but I'm wouldn't think there would be a large discrepancy. Where as for flow the 1200 uses 20watts to give you 295gph and the 900 uses 8.5 watts and gives you 230gph.
 
L

Lialla

so Maxi Jet 1200 for Remora it is :))

Hydor powerheads are cool! Unfortunately, they are out of stock in most places, so I'll go with Maxi Jet 900.

mladencovic thanks for the tip about sandbed, will add more sand, but first I need to figure out how to put sand in the tank with the water, rock in it and try not to make a sand storm ::) ;)
 
S

saltwater4life

Well if it's full of water and your adding more sand, I'd just grab a hand full of sand out of the bag (or you can use a cup) and slowly lower it to the bottom then drop it. It won't make as big of a mess as just pouring it in.

One thing about saltwater is don't rush. You can make mistakes :-[ that way... If you want Hydor then get on some waiting list. IMO

Best of luck and welcome to the forum/hobby, ;)


Nick
 
Phyl

Phyl

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
We keep 1.5-2" of sand in our tank as well. It has worked for us for over 3 years and I like the look of it. My sand moves a lot due to the flow in the tank and critters I have crawling in it. You've got a while before you'll need to extra flow (while you're cycling) so you COULD wait for a hydor at this point. No need adding flow to the tank until you have animals that need it.

In the past as we've needed to add sand to an existing tank we pour it down a PVC pipe. Doesn't ELIMINATE the sand storm, but it does reduce it somewhat.
 
M

mladencovic

Lialla said:
...
mladencovic thanks for the tip about sandbed, will add more sand, but first I need to figure out how to put sand in the tank with the water, rock in it and try not to make a sand storm ::) ;)
Click to expand...
That is easy, you put the sand in a big cup, pour some water in until it is fully wet, and no air in the sand. Slowly lower the cup to the bottom and slowly pour the sand out. Or, you can find a wide tube or a pipe, place one end of it on the bottom and slowly pour the sand in the other end. I have done both and if you do it patiently you will create at most a very small sand disturbance.
 
L

Lialla

thanks for your advice everyone! Now I'm waiting for my light, skimmer and powerheads to arrive. That's the hardest part - waiting ;) Also, added more sand.

What would you suggest for reading for a beginner? Except forums ;) Any books worth buying?
 
E

eric65

I personally keep a copy of: Marine Fishes: 500+ Essential-To-Know Aquarium Species by Scott W. Michael in my glove compartment to prevent me from making dumb purchases.

Eric
 
mynd

mynd

That depends on the cross bar. Is it made out of brown plastic? Clear acrylic, or Glass? Obviously it is going to stop some of the uv if it is glass and gets worse from there with doing nothing if it is brown plastic. Any pictures of the tank?
 
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