setting up 55

[RevClyburn]

Hey everyone

what's the best way to set up a reef tank with sand. I use the Jaubert style, with plenum, what or how are you currently set up?

edwin

 

[Phyl]

Rock first then sand. We have it all just sitting on the bottom of the tank. I guess I'm new enough to the hobby not to know of any other way!

 

[RevClyburn]

Thanks Phyl

I think most people do it that way. I used the jaubert plenum style on my 90 and it works well, just want to do something different this time. I'm going to breakdown the 90, sell off whatever l/r I have left and just go with the 55 for a while. Can't do much else, with oak floors, a new baby and no time to really keep up with the tank, I need to tone it down a little.

Any other ideas?

Rev

 

[DaveK]

It's got to break your heart to tear down a larger reef and have to make do with a smaller one. but that's the way things work out sometimes.

My thoughts would tend to lead to not use a deep sand bed with a jaubert plenum in a 55. The take is only 18 inches high, and the typical 2" plenum with a 4" DSB on top is going to take up a lot of space in the tank. I have a 30 gal reef with just a 4" DSB and I sort of regret doing it, because the water volume loss is almost 1/3 of the tank.

Have you considered going with a bare bottom tank and building a refugium in something like a 10 or 15 gal tank, and putting the DSB and some macro algae in that?

BTW, the 90 still has it's uses. When I got my 90 and it was still empty, my nephews visited, and I told them I was going to keep cranky nephews in it. - evil grin.