First of all, thanks to everyone for being so welcoming and generally just awesome. Great community of people on here!
That said, I am a complete newbie and while I have read for countless hours online, have a stack of books from the library, and have planned and re-planned setup’s…I still seem to have lingering questions. I think many of the questions come from so many differing opinions out there from different books/authors to different LFS’s. For example, I went to a LFS that is close to me the other day and they don’t run a single protein skimmer in their shop and don’t advise to run one at all. From what I’ve researched, that’s very rare! Went down to Elite Reef that same day and sure enough, skimmers are the equipment of choice.
The remaining questions come from obstacles to my current build I’ve already run into. So…here I go with some questions and my soon to follow build thread. Please bare with me since I think I’ve only retained about 20% of what I’ve researched based on overload.
Here are my specs so far so you know what I’m dealing with: 110g Acrylic, single overflow, canopy with 6 retrofit T5’s.
1) Should I steer clear of using live sand and live rock from individuals in order to steer clear of issues/hitchhikers?
a. I have probably 60lbs of dry rock to use and Elite Reef suggested using about 10lbs of live rock to seed it.
b. Elite Reef also added that their rock would be free of hitchhikers/issues…is this possible to “guarantee”?
c. Using above method, is this going to take me substantially longer to cycle my tank rather than using live sand and more live rock? If so, how much longer (approximately of course)?
2) Sump questions/issues: I have a maximum width of 13 inches for the cabinet to store a sump/refugium. The back is open but has a center brace that gets in the way.
a. Is there a way to cut off/remove the rear center brace to install a larger sump and then re-attach, without losing structural integrity?
b. If not, how should I get the biggest volume sump/refugium in the cabinet? The tank length is 60”, so the cabinet interior is going to be just shy of that.
3) Should I do a basement sump instead?
a. Anyone wanna help?!? (I actually have a lead on a guy who is selling his whole basement setup)
4) Any problematic reasons not to use some sort of epoxy/“glue” to build rock structures or hold together? Or is most everyone just stacking securely? I saw Instant Ocean had a “glue” of some sort that is supposedly reef/aquarium safe, at Petco today.
5) I’m assuming CUC should go in after tank is cycled? Or during cycling? I’m not going the damsel route, just a shredded piece of shrimp to cycle.
I’ll have many more questions I’m sure…just wanted to start with these since I’m falling asleep at the computer anyhow! On the sump though…a great LFS that everyone loves wants about $240 just to build a two tank sump with drilled holes to connect the two, alleviating my center brace issue. However, that is a lot of cheddar for one 29g and one 20g tank with two drilled holes (plumbing not included in price). With Petco having the $1/gal tank sale, that would only cost me $50 for the tanks. However, I’m not seasoned enough to drill and place baffles. Can anyone with experience chime in on what it would cost me over that $50 in tanks to drill, plumb and baffle these tanks? The 29g would be probably all refugium, so maybe I could get away without baffles in that?
I know you all will have awesome feedback for me so I want to say thanks in advance!!
That said, I am a complete newbie and while I have read for countless hours online, have a stack of books from the library, and have planned and re-planned setup’s…I still seem to have lingering questions. I think many of the questions come from so many differing opinions out there from different books/authors to different LFS’s. For example, I went to a LFS that is close to me the other day and they don’t run a single protein skimmer in their shop and don’t advise to run one at all. From what I’ve researched, that’s very rare! Went down to Elite Reef that same day and sure enough, skimmers are the equipment of choice.
The remaining questions come from obstacles to my current build I’ve already run into. So…here I go with some questions and my soon to follow build thread. Please bare with me since I think I’ve only retained about 20% of what I’ve researched based on overload.
Here are my specs so far so you know what I’m dealing with: 110g Acrylic, single overflow, canopy with 6 retrofit T5’s.
1) Should I steer clear of using live sand and live rock from individuals in order to steer clear of issues/hitchhikers?
a. I have probably 60lbs of dry rock to use and Elite Reef suggested using about 10lbs of live rock to seed it.
b. Elite Reef also added that their rock would be free of hitchhikers/issues…is this possible to “guarantee”?
c. Using above method, is this going to take me substantially longer to cycle my tank rather than using live sand and more live rock? If so, how much longer (approximately of course)?
2) Sump questions/issues: I have a maximum width of 13 inches for the cabinet to store a sump/refugium. The back is open but has a center brace that gets in the way.
a. Is there a way to cut off/remove the rear center brace to install a larger sump and then re-attach, without losing structural integrity?
b. If not, how should I get the biggest volume sump/refugium in the cabinet? The tank length is 60”, so the cabinet interior is going to be just shy of that.
3) Should I do a basement sump instead?
a. Anyone wanna help?!?
(I actually have a lead on a guy who is selling his whole basement setup)4) Any problematic reasons not to use some sort of epoxy/“glue” to build rock structures or hold together? Or is most everyone just stacking securely? I saw Instant Ocean had a “glue” of some sort that is supposedly reef/aquarium safe, at Petco today.
5) I’m assuming CUC should go in after tank is cycled? Or during cycling? I’m not going the damsel route, just a shredded piece of shrimp to cycle.
I’ll have many more questions I’m sure…just wanted to start with these since I’m falling asleep at the computer anyhow! On the sump though…a great LFS that everyone loves wants about $240 just to build a two tank sump with drilled holes to connect the two, alleviating my center brace issue. However, that is a lot of cheddar for one 29g and one 20g tank with two drilled holes (plumbing not included in price). With Petco having the $1/gal tank sale, that would only cost me $50 for the tanks. However, I’m not seasoned enough to drill and place baffles. Can anyone with experience chime in on what it would cost me over that $50 in tanks to drill, plumb and baffle these tanks? The 29g would be probably all refugium, so maybe I could get away without baffles in that?
I know you all will have awesome feedback for me so I want to say thanks in advance!!
