Need some equipment on a budget

[Phishman1]

Last had a reef tank in 2004, so I understand/understood some of the basics of cycling etc. I lost my entire 120 gallon of soft corals in a hurricane power outage because I was lazy and didn't get a generator, we'd never had power out more than a few hours.. 8 days later I saved the fish but the corals turned to mush. Then I moved to Angel Fish, freshwater and cichlids. I've not got the bug back, but I'm on a budget, read my wife says I can't spend much when I say budget. I have a 46 bowfront that houses a few cichlids, planning to give those away, clean the tank and convert to a reef tank I think. I will have to purchase clip on lightning, or lightning that mounts on the side of the tank, I don't have a top for it, its open. I thought about getting a large hang on filter for cleaning and circulation as well. I will use live sand, and get some hopefully cured live rock as well. Other than a reliable heater what am I missing. Skimmer, reading where they are not necessary per say. The lighting is expensive at my LFS and I understand the mark up situation, but where do I go to get reliable lightning on the internet? I live not too far from Tampa and saw a site named TBsaltwater and the live rock is very reasonable, however by the time I add shipping it might be better to get my own here locally in Daytona. Plus I don't know if the rock they have is cured or not? Any suggestions or anything is helpful..thanks

Jim

 

[laverda]

I doubt you will find a large hang on filter will provide enough filtration long term. It will need to be cleaned weekly to keep nitrates and phosphates from getting too high. A hang on back skimmer would be a good addition to that. A HOB filter defiantly will not provide enough flow by itself. Since your close by I would talk to TBsaltwater about picking up rock from them directly. There are lots of good lights available at reasonable prices used in the for sale forum here. I would suggest T5s or LEDs.

 

[Phishman1]

I doubt you will find a large hang on filter will provide enough filtration long term. It will need to be cleaned weekly to keep nitrates and phosphates from getting too high. A hang on back skimmer would be a good addition to that. A HOB filter defiantly will not provide enough flow by itself. Since your close by I would talk to TBsaltwater about picking up rock from them directly. There are lots of good lights available at reasonable prices used in the for sale forum here. I would suggest T5s or LEDs.

I keep getting conflicting things when I research this. First thank you for your reply. I really don't have any other means filtration other than the live rock per say and a hang on filter is my only option. Many things I've read said that obviously since the advent of the wet/dry sump that prior to that hang on filters worked fine in conjunction with the live rock...still confused on what to do..

 

[Oropher]

It can be done.
Yes you could use reef rock + sand as the main bio filtration. However you gave to go really slow to give time for bio filtration to build up.

Skimmer is not a necessity as long as you don't keep high bio load. Just one small fish (ocellaris) and maybe in the next year add another one small fish.

When you cycling the tank you don't need tank light. Also when you only keep 1 fish after tank is cycled. Powerhead is needed to move water around, preferably a DC one like Atman RX80.

Then after ugly phase is thru, you could add your soft coral. By then you could add one or two T5s.

Just be patient on going slow.
You wouldn't have a tank full of coral and many fish, for sure. However you could have a simple reef with one or two fish without fancy equipments.

I have a pico tank run without any filtration except reef rock. 2 soft coral and 3 LPS, and 2 inverts. Only with an AC powerhead and a small fluval LED. It's been running for 3 years.

 

[southerntnreefer]

Hob overflow might be up your alley then? Or have it drilled for a ghost type overflow and plumb it?

For lighting check out reef breeders, they are a great budget light.