46 Gallon Bow Front Setup

H

hmath10

I am new to SW and setting up my first tank. I would like to start with FOWLR. We recently inherited a 46 gallon bow front with an Amiracle SL-150 Wet/Dry sump, Mag 5 pump, two heaters (not sure on the wattage), a Powerhead 802, an over the side overflow and about 10 lbs of dry liverock. I also got a protein skimmer that looks like it is missing pieces and I can not find any manufactures info on it (I think it is headed toward the trash).

I set the tank up last week and am now questioning some of my choices. Currently I have 40 lbs of live sand, the dry live rock that came with the tank (I rinsed in SW before adding to the tank), I added 10 lbs of live rock from LFS. The Amiracle Wet/Dry has a large quantity of bio-balls in it. I am thinking that I need to remove the bio balls from the sump and add more sand to the tank. I also think I need to replace the skimmer and am trying to weed through reviews and comments to figure out what one to buy. Every LFS I talked recommends the one they have on the shelf.

I have seen life starting to come out of the live rock, three small starfish, small tube worms, a couple of bristle worms and several other small creatures that move too fast to get a good look at them.

My water results as of yesterday were:

PH: 8.2
Temp: 77.5
SG: 1.025
Ammonia: .5 ppm
Nitrite: .5 ppm
Nitrate: 3 ppm
Calcium: 500
dKH: 12
Phosphate: .5


Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Hank
 
Well your water results look about right for a week old set-up. On my 40 it took about 4 weeks almost five to fully cycle.
Just don't get discouraged when something goes wrong, because something will unfortunately go wrong..The best thing to do is be prepared for it!!!
READ,READ, READ, and most definitely read some more... right when you think you have done all the research in the world, you'll learn something new!!
GOOD LUCK!!!!
 
Welcome! Sounds like you are doing well with your new setup. Give the tank a few weeks to fully cycle and have fun.

FYI I have the same tank! As far as protein skimmers go I have had 3.

1) Remora HOB - worked o.k. was a real PITA to adjust the cup height for a dry skim. Plus I didn't like having anything that big hanging off the back of my relatively small tank. I don't have a hood to hide it and it was hard to adjust! If you have a sump look for something that would go in sump (IMHO).
2) I tried the marineland in-sump protein skimmer. Honestly I would not recommend this product unless you have very tight control over your water level (Automatic top off would be required to use effectively). It skimmed well when adjusted properly however it takes constant fiddling to keep it adjusted. The worst "feature" of this skimmer is that it was prone to over-flow. If I shut my return pump off without first shutting off the skimmer it would overflow into my sump in under 5 seconds! Second if I floated two fish bags in my tank for temperature acclimation it would also overflow! Not worth the hassel (IMHO).
3) This is my current skimmer (Pro Clear Aquatics Pro 150). This skimmer is actually pretty decent (had it about a month). It broke in quick, is easy to adjust, skims great, is not sensitive to water level changes in the sump, has a large collection cup and is easy to clean. I chose this skimmer because it has a small foot print (my skimmer section in my sump/fuge is only 5.75 x 12) So I had very little space to play with. For the $$$ 185.00 at LFS with pump this is a great buy and performs well!

If I had the space in my sump I would have gone with the Reef Octopus DNWB-110. It was just too large for my sump. The nice features about this skimmer is that it's a recirculating skimmer, can be fed directly from the overflow is easily clean... I have heard great things about it as well...

One issue I had with this tank is that it's a little small... If you try and add two-three power heads and an overflow and return you will quickly run out of room (especially if you use a HOB skimmer). I switched to a sump/refugium with the skimmer, heater and UV sterilizer in my sump which cleaned up the display a lot. I also removed two power heads and am using a SCWD directly off my return pump. I had to up the size of the return pump but eliminating two power heads and getting the oscillating flow made a big difference in usable space and my corals and fish seem to be really happy. I kept a single power head to move the water around in the event my main pump failed (which it has) as well as to blow behind my rock stack to keep water from stagnating behind the rock pile.

Being relatively new to the hobby I can tell you the follow:

1) Be patient.
2) Be patient.
3) Read a lot.
4) It is a ton of fun!
5) You will spend more $$$ than you thought possible.
6) Prepare for things to go wrong (I have a few doozie stories to tell)
7) Don't be afraid to ask for help online or at your LFS. Fish keepers are some of the nicest people I have met.

Let me know if I can help you on anything else...

-LeoD

I hope this information helps you in some way....
 
So far it has been fun, my kids stand in front of the tank watching the live rock to see what is coming out of rocks. Every time we get home they go to the tank and look. They are being very patient about getting fish, I think more so than I am. My daughter read about how to trap a bristle worm and now is kind of obsessed with that idea.

I quit smoking recently and am hoping the costs of the tank don't exceed my former cigarette habit. I am starting to think a replaced on addiction with another. But the math on quitting smoking works out to: 1.5 packs per day x $6.00 per pack x 365 days=$3285.00 per year that I can spend on my tank (I hope my wife does not see this).

I have download Reef Con and started logging info into it. Should be interesting to see how it all works out.

Hank
 
My kids enjoy the tank as much as I do! Their favorite thing to do on the weekend is to go into Dallas North Aquarium and look at all the new fish and corals. My 9 year old daughter has taken a real interest in the tank. She help's with water testing regularly and loves to feed the fish! Now she is starting to ask me for her own tank! It's actually a fun family hobby. I am sure you and your family will enjoy it as much as we have.

-Leo
 
The kids and I keep looking at fish and now we are trying to decide what fish we want to get. Any suggestions for a good first SW fish? I realize I have a couple of weeks before we can get one but would like to start looking into what to get. I am also thinking about setting up a quarantine tank, I have a couple of different tanks available to use a 10 gallon and a 20 gallon. I keep reading about quarantine tanks but not really how to set one up. Maybe I am just missing something.

Hank
 
umm i can't really give advise on quarantine tanks... I personally don't get the whole concept of one, they sound like a ton of work , well maybe not a ton, but double the work! I have never had a ich nor any marine disease break out in my tank and have quite a variety of species!

YES first fish!!!
ummm These were my firtst SW fish...
1.. 4 stiped damsel....Was told he was going to be a hellian, but was totally wrong and is scared of his shadow!
2.. True percula clowns! Hardy and will eat anything! and have fascinating way of sexing themselves!
1. fire fish... beautiful and is pretty hardy
1. orchid dottyback-amazing!
Great starters!!!
I recently added a yellow tang!!! He is doing FANTASTIC
 
Everything looks to be running along fine. Ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, show 0 ppm most of last week. We added two small ORA clowns on Sunday, have been checking water daily and have not seen any rise in ammonia. So far it looks like things are working as they should.

The kids and I are now discussing the future and what we want to add down the road. I think we are going to stay FOWLR for the next 9-12 month but would like to look at going to a reef setup at that point. Can anyone give me recommendations on lighting and other equipment required? I would like to start making my wish list now and try to purchase components while enjoy our fish.

Thanks,

Hank
 
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