New to hobby. Need advise on new 30g reef setup

[findingnemo]

Hello folks.

New to salt water. I have a 46G fresh water tank with blood parrot and bala sharks or 5 years and I change 20% water weekly.

I live around Pet Shanty / Ocean Gallery II / Red Sand. Been there and spoke to the owners. They all gave helpful but different advise.

I want a reef tank. I scuba dive and love to bring the reef to my home. I also have small children. They will love to see beautiful fishes.....and this will be a family project together. I have seen a lot of 30G/nano set up online full of beautiful corals and fishes. i know it can be done. I want to start small (~30G) due to budget ($$$) and size of my living room.


Here is what I want:

• About 30 G aquarium
• will need to keep soft coral from day 1
• eventually add hard coral and anemone
• need to eventually keep 20-30 inches of fishes. (different colorful fishes for children and wife)

I was told that i can do it

• without getting sump and protein skimmer
• all i need is live rock, live sand, LED light and simple filter
• i will get cured LR, LS and water from store. So i need to cycle the tank
• but i must change 10% water weekly

Is it right?
I was looking into all-in-one system. But it seems without the LED light, i will also need a chiller($$$).

I am new and still researching. Let me hear you out.

 

[Edwardw771]

Welcome. Your on the right track but one thing you wrote stands out

need to eventually keep 20-30 inches of fishes. This is way to many salt water fish for a 30 gallon. You maybe able to keep 10 small fish max in there. I'm sure the other guys will jump in on how many is a good number.

 

[findingnemo]

great thank you. I got the 30 inches from freshwater's one inch per gallon rule. It probably doesn't apply to saltwater.

what about weekly water changes and skip protein skimmer and sump. Is it ok?

 

[howze01]

Hi and welcome! I keep a 30g AIO tank (for now). I think that the "wants" you have may all be a bit hard (or impossible) except for the hard corals and anemone. Edward is right about the stocking guidelines. I have maybe 15" of fish in my tank and it's pretty full. With my tank I have to take into account the rock, sand and filter chamber on the back. All told I probably have 20g of water. I think a tank like mine would be the right thing for you. There are a few different choices from different companies like the Bio-Cubes or Solanas.

If you want, I am pretty close to you (since I'm close to those 3 stores as well), you are more than welcome to drop by sometime and we can talk reefs. We could even meet up at one of the stores.

 

[howze01]

what about weekly water changes and skip protein skimmer and sump. Is it ok?

No sump is doable in a tank but I would get the skimmer since it sounds as though you may lean towards a heavily stocked tank.

Now that I think about it, I always think of my tank as being sumpless but with the filter section in the back, it kind of acts like a sump. Even still tanks always look cleaner when you have a sump. That way you can hide all the heaters under the tank.

 

[findingnemo]

@howze01.....thank you for your offer. I interested in checking your reef tahnk. Let me do my research first before I stop by your place.

So protein skimmer is necessary if I want to quite a bit of fishes.

Why do you prefer AIO instead of simple setup???

 

[qwik]

You will want to run a skimmer sooner or later so include it in your plans now . You do not need LEDs unless you want them. If you do decide on LEDs get a brand name product with proven par . I think you would be just fine with t5,s. Difference will be about $200 between a t5 setup,4 bulb, and a led unit. I would still expect a small cycle even with using live everything. I would give it a while before adding corals. Everything you rush in the beginning will end up taking more time and money to get right later.
Frequent water changes will help with a larger than normal fish load ,but there is a limit. A bunch of small fish would be better than a few large. You should also consider "working" fish that graze,sift,nip pests,etc.. In my opinion if they do some good they offset some of there space need.
It is a great hobby to share with kids,enjoy !

 

[Fish Brain]

Welcome! I am also close to all those stores so we are around the same area.

From the sound of it, you want something like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0036ITD9M/ref=aw_d_iv_pet-supplies?is=l

The tanks that have the HQI inside the hood and 2" off the water need a chiller or you will have seafood soup. I think the new HQI cubes, like the one I posted, are a little better on heat not having the light so close to the water. RedSea Max 130 is another AIO Option.

You can do it without a sump but I would get an all in one in that case. If you want to do SPS and have fish like you said, you will need a protein skimmer or you will be doing 20% water changes every week.

I've done just about everything at this point; HOB no skimmer, HOB with skimmer, internal filter, sump with skimmer, you name it, I've done it at this point.

There is a meeting tomorrow If you can make you should stop by and meet some of the other members. Or like Howze01 said, we can have a little mini meeting and talk tech.

 

[mnat]

First off welcome to the club. Secondly, just want to give you a big kudos for looking for knowledge before you set your tank up. Too many times people jump in and ask questions later but it becomes almost impossible to help at that point.

I just broke down my 30g cube so I have some insight into that sized tank. There is really three ways you can go with this. Get an all in one system like howzes or Red Sea max, get a 30g tank reef ready with a sump, or run HOB equipment off of a non reef ready tank:

All in one systems:
Pros:
Plug and play systems are very easy to setup and are a great way to get into saltwater. You don't have to agonize over which piece of equipment you want or how much is costs. Outside of the HQI (metal halides) you should not need s chiller
Cons:
You are limited in upgrading the equipment if you decide down the road you want to change something. As howze alluded to above just because it says it is 30g, you have to take into account that they really are not because you lose room to filtration. You really need to pay attention to what equipment comes with the tank and what sort of mods you can do to the tank.

HOB system:
Pros: Much more control over equipment as you can essentially buy anything that can hang on the tank. Don't have to worry about possible floods and is a bit more complicated than all in ones but still pretty easy.
Cons: Your tank can look messy with a bunch of stuff hanging off of it (trust me I ran tanks this way for years). Not every manufacturer makes HOB stuff so you are a bit limited in what you can get.

Reef ready system:
Pros: Completely uprgradable and no restrictions on any equipment. Looks very clean as all the equipment is down in the sump. Added water volume in the sump gives the tank more stability and should make it easier for you.
Cons: Can be more expensive and daunting given all the choices out there. Brings into account different issues (microbubbles, flooding, etc.)

The choice is really up to you, all of these systems can be run and be very succesful. 30g tanks (all nanos for that matter) need constant small maintanence to make them successful. Weekly 10% water changes I feel are the key to small tanks. Doing 20% every other week is just too much change in such a small tank. Ironically, the smaller the tank the more difficult it can be to keep levels in check.

As others said an inch per gallon does not work in saltwater, do your research first and find out which fish will fit in a 30g. You can still get a nice variety of fish, you just have to be more careful which ones you put together. I have run a 12g, 20g, 30, 45g, and 57g tanks and never had a chiller. A chiller would only be needed if the space you have your tank in has a high ambient temperature. If the room in the summer time stays over 80 degrees for a long time then you will need a chiller, but if not then you don't need one.

If you don't go the AIO route, my recommendation would be a 45g cube. They are 2x2 so they don't have a big footprint, are not incredibly expensive, can be purchased drilled or not drilled, are a good size water volume wise, and they look great. Keep asking questions.

 

[SHLUZER]

You do not need LEDs unless you want them. If you do decide on LEDs get a brand name product with proven par . I think you would be just fine with t5,s. Difference will be about $200 between a t5 setup,4 bulb, and a led unit.

Regarding the price of lithing: initial cost of LEDs could be higher, but you don't have to replace lamps every year, so in couple years prices are about even, and then LEDs become the 'cheaper' option.

 

[findingnemo]

@howzel01....thank you for the offer to visit your aquarium. I am interested. Let me do more research before i take you for that offer.

And I will need a protein skimmer if I want to keep more that a few fishes. I will definitely get it.

Judging from everyone's comment, i am better off with a AIO system. Thank you again.

Since i want to get anemone and hard coral eventually without getting an expensive chiller. I probably will need a LED AIO and it seems the JBJ advanced LED is the only option for anemone and hard coral. Please let me know.

(Btw, i replied your post last nite. But the reply is stuck in mod?!?!?!?!)

 

[findingnemo]

howzel01....thank you for the offer to visit your aquarium. I am interested. Let me do more research before i take you for that offer.

And I will need a protein skimmer if I want to keep more that a few fishes. I will definitely get it.

Judging from everyone's comment, i am better off with a AIO system. Thank you again.

Since i want to get anemone and hard coral eventually without getting an expensive chiller. I probably will need a LED AIO and it seems the JBJ advanced LED is the only option for anemone and hard coral. Please let me know.

(Btw, i replied your post last nite. But the reply is stuck in mod?!?!?!?!)

 

[findingnemo]

@qwik...thank for your advise.

Since I want to stock the tank with many beautiful fishes....i need to get teh skimmer.

Regarding LEDs, i was told that it is the only option with coral (soft + hard) and anemone. HDI is just too hot and i will pay ($$) for a chiller later. Plus LED is lower electric cost and no bulb change.

t5 is just weak for coral. True or not???

 

[findingnemo]

@qwik...thank for your advise.

Since I want to stock the tank with many beautiful fishes....i need to get teh skimmer.

Regarding LEDs, i was told that it is the only option with coral (soft + hard) and anemone. HDI is just too hot and i will pay ($$) for a chiller later. Plus LED is lower electric cost and no bulb change.

t5 is just weak for coral. True or not???

 

[findingnemo]

qwik...thank for your advise.

Since I want to stock the tank with many beautiful fishes....i need to get teh skimmer.

Regarding LEDs, i was told that it is the only option with coral (soft + hard) and anemone. HDI is just too hot and i will pay ($$) for a chiller later. Plus LED is lower electric cost and no bulb change.

t5 is just weak for coral. True or not???

 

[findingnemo]

@thermosts. Thank you for advise.

I like the biocube and it was my original intend. However I was told that it has a leaking issue. And the lighting is weak. from previous post, i want to get LED since HQI is too hot and too $$ (electric) And other ones are weak for coral.

Thanks again.

 

[findingnemo]

@thermosts. Thank you for advise.

I like the biocube and it was my original intend. However I was told that it has a leaking issue. And the lighting is weak. from previous post, i want to get LED since HQI is too hot and too $$ (electric) And other ones are weak for coral.

Thanks again.

 

[findingnemo]

thermosts. Thank you for advise.

I like the biocube and it was my original intend. However I was told that it has a leaking issue. And the lighting is weak. from previous post, i want to get LED since HQI is too hot and too $$ (electric) And other ones are weak for coral.

Thanks again.

 

[findingnemo]

all my post are stuck in mod. Looks like I can't use the reply function. And only do "Reply to Thread" and no special characters either. Still learning......

 

[howze01]

There are plenty of upgrades you can do to pretty much any AIO to give them LED lighting. Or if you hunt down one like mine that doesn't come with a light/hood you can get whatever light you want. I don't run a chiller on my tank but I do have a fan that blows on the halide pendant I have and that seems to keep my tank at about 81°.