brainstorm with me

runningreefer · Jan 19, 2014

so i am not necessarily new to the hobby. i have been a hobbyist on and off for 20 years but even when i dont have a system set up, i am always reading and trying to stay on top of whats new in the world. but i have been out of the hobby for 3 years now. had to tear down my last system due to crash/relocation for a job/family. so my system crashed just as i was getting ready to move but i have been dying to set up a new tank since then but with chasing around a baby ( now almost 3 year old and still chasing literally ) i am ready and have convinced the wife to let me set it back up. gonna go alittle different route. originally wanted to do a reef ready 75 but the money to set up a brand new system like that just isnt there right now so going about things alittle differently. gonna start alittle smaller then as the year(s) go by eventually upgrade down the road. so long story short need some help refreshing my memory on things.

1st i have old substrate and old rock that was set up in the old system 3 years ago. been dry ever since so i was curious about reuse of this. what would i need to do to make it all usable again?

2nd i have my old t5ho fixtures that i am gonna do new bulbs in. it would be a 6 bulb fixture @ 39watts per bulb. puts in me in the ballpark of 234 total watts. so what would be the kinda corals i could do under this kind of lighting? i am gonna be using a 40 gallon breeder.

beyond that if anyone has any refresher points they wanna add by all means shoot. like best salt to use now, etc always helpful.

gonna do a hob filter for cost. but what is the difficulty of possibly later on drilling the tank for a sump later.

chefb_5 · Jan 19, 2014

It's all doable. drilling and using old rock and sand. i know there is a acid u can get from Menards not sure what it is, but i'm sure someone will fill u in what kind of acid to put ur rocks in. As far as corals u can grow sky is the limit with that many lights over ur 40 breeder.

EW_Fish · Jan 19, 2014

You can use the old sand and rocks. I would give the rocks a 24hr bleach bath, 24hr prime bath, then 24hr rodi bath and again a 48hr sun bath. You should be able to keep anything you wanted with a 6 bulb on a 40 breeder with an awesome bulb combo will bring out some nice colors.

Now asking about salt your asking for tons of opinions. For me I was a big Instant ocean guy and loved the price of the salt but with a fully stocked sps tank I went ahead and started using red sea pro salt which I wouldn't ever go back to IO now. (enless money was an issue)

I would go ahead and get a hob filter and a hob skimmer.

Drilling the tank is good but you don't have to. Keep up with your water changes and drilling you tank would only mean you want to hide your equipment.

runningreefer · Jan 19, 2014

any specific lighting k i should be shooting for? can i get away with a clam? ive always wanted one but have never taken the leap.

runningreefer · Jan 19, 2014

is there anything i need to do to the substrate? rinse it out under water or just put it in there and go for it?

crystal181 · Jan 20, 2014

I'm new to the hobby but I would def. rinse the substrate.

Dalmatia · Jan 20, 2014

runningreefer said:
so i am not necessarily new to the hobby. i have been a hobbyist on and off for 20 years but even when i dont have a system set up, i am always reading and trying to stay on top of whats new in the world. but i have been out of the hobby for 3 years now. had to tear down my last system due to crash/relocation for a job/family. so my system crashed just as i was getting ready to move but i have been dying to set up a new tank since then but with chasing around a baby ( now almost 3 year old and still chasing literally ) i am ready and have convinced the wife to let me set it back up. gonna go alittle different route. originally wanted to do a reef ready 75 but the money to set up a brand new system like that just isnt there right now so going about things alittle differently. gonna start alittle smaller then as the year(s) go by eventually upgrade down the road. so long story short need some help refreshing my memory on things.

1st i have old substrate and old rock that was set up in the old system 3 years ago. been dry ever since so i was curious about reuse of this. what would i need to do to make it all usable again?

2nd i have my old t5ho fixtures that i am gonna do new bulbs in. it would be a 6 bulb fixture @ 39watts per bulb. puts in me in the ballpark of 234 total watts. so what would be the kinda corals i could do under this kind of lighting? i am gonna be using a 40 gallon breeder.

beyond that if anyone has any refresher points they wanna add by all means shoot. like best salt to use now, etc always helpful.

gonna do a hob filter for cost. but what is the difficulty of possibly later on drilling the tank for a sump later.

You should be more than fine with you LR but your LS I would give it a nice rinse before adding it to your newly cycling tank. Your dry LR is perfect to recycle as it completely dryed out. All the dead matter will recycle and your rock will be live once again. Make sure you go through all the stages of curing, I know you've been in it before but remember to have patients! Ammonia to nitrite that to nitrates, water change, make sure no ammonia after and your ready for a hermit or something hardy? Don't recommend a fish cause that's just mean

runningreefer · Jan 22, 2014

thank you dalmatia. what are your thoughts on what corals i can/cant do in this? recommendations for filtration? flow?

tyler1503 · Jan 22, 2014

If your looking to drill the tank eventually, I'd personally buy a new/newish tank for drilling purposes.
I got a guy I know (a professional glazier) to drill the lid for my 24gal so I could run a HOB skimmer, but keep jumpers in the tank. It shattered EVERYWHERE. The older the glass, the more brittle it gets. It may not be such an issue on thicker glass, but just something to consider.
You should be more than good with the 6 bulb t5 for any coral/clam/anemone you could imagine

Filtration should be easy enough with a HOB and some carbon and maybe a phosphate removing media you like in some bags.
Regarding flow, you'll get 1000 different answers. The basic rule of thumb is 20-29x turnover for fish only and softies, 30-39x turnover for LPS and 40+ for SPS.
I'd do a good RODI soaking of the sand and rock. Maybe a bleach soaking too, but I haven't done that before so I don't know how it's supposed to work. Since they've been dry for so long I wouldn't think there holding anything nasty in them, so a simple soaking should loosen up any dust or whatever may be in there.
The kelvin rating with lights, again you'll get 1000 different answers. The basic rule of thumb is a lower kelvin (10k, 12k etc) will give good growth but bland colour and a higher kelvin rating (18k, 20k etc) will give great colour but slower growth. Most people seem to be happy around the 14k-16k mark, but it's mostly personal preference.

Dalmatia · Jan 22, 2014

runningreefer said:
thank you dalmatia. what are your thoughts on what corals i can/cant do in this? recommendations for filtration? flow?

Personally I run a Berlin system tank, consisting of only LR and flow for filtration but I do use a HOB Aquaclear 110 and skimmer for 150 gallon reef.
For a 40, your good with maybe 2 hydor 1150 or less, Aquaclear 70 (put in floss filter and take out everything but the ceramic rings cause they are just like LR, wash/rinse every week the floss not the rings) and maybe a skimmer. As lighting goes your well off for a 75g

I'm sure there are people against this method of filtration , but they have never ran it for sure and my water parameters are very stable and clean (for 6yrs now)