Newbie ?s. Any input/info greatly appreciated

[Wonf]

Hi everyone,

I stumbled upon a 100 gallon tank and decided to take the plunge into setting up a saltwater tank. I'm an absolute newbie to fish (beta fish don't count, right?) so please excuse my ignorance and possible dumb questions... (although many say they don't exist..)

Here's my current setup/plans/?s:
100 gallon tank with HOB (hang off back?) eShopps PF300 overflow into an Aqueon Model 3 ~20 gal sump with only the blue "bio balls?" setup in the middle section. Pump in the 3rd section back into the tank. I've filled the tank with salt water (RO and sea salt bought from store) and several live rocks. Been running it for a couple days now with stable water levels (yay!), waiting on delivery of 80 lbs of Fiji Pink sand (substrate?) and water tester kit.

We initially wanted to rush the setup and buy fish/coral on Black Friday (which would've given us 2 weeks to setup the tank). After researching and talking to some fish stores, decided to take it slow and do it right.

My main ?s now are:
- Once the water is "OK", we plan on adding coral. Wait a couple weeks, then add fish. (Although one or two clown fish may be put in... Thank you Nemo [I have 2 little boys]). Is this an OK plan? Should I wait longer or am I being too careful?
- The idea was to add maybe 2 or 3 large/medium sized coral and start with some "easy" fish. Clown fish for sure. I've always had an interest in the "eels" that hide most of the time and just stick their heads out once in a while. Any suggestions on other fish that the kids might enjoy?

Now for the real issue:
As I read more, I realize my setup is a "Wet/Dry". Does my Overflow count as a skimmer or do I need to buy a real skimmer and place in the 3rd section of sump?
Should I remove the "bio balls" and setup the 2nd section as a refugium? I've read different things (pros/cons) about refugiums, but don't know what is really needed to actually set one up...

Obviously trying to be as economic as possible, but would definitely like to have a nice/beautiful tank for a long time as it has already become the center piece of our living room (with only water and rocks!).

Thanks in advance for your responses.

- Excited new member

 

[143MPCo]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

Welcome to r2r!!!

The above link will aid you, we also have a great Articles area with even more useful info.

 

[dbl]

Welcome to R2R and Alex already supplied the link I would have. You've made the right decision to take it slow.

 

[inkedtx]

Welcome!! I'm new too. I can absolutely say you've come to the right place. These guys are AWESOME!!!!!

 

[Wonf]

Thanks guys. Very informative guide, but possibly 6 months for the water cycle??? Don't know if I (my boys) can wait that long...

Just saw some things crawl out of my live rock... When I bought it, the store person said the white worm looking things stuck on the outside of the rock was normal and signs of a healthy live rock, but I just noticed 2 more creatures. There are several "craters" on my live rock, I noticed 2 whiskers (like shrimp whiskers) sticking out of a crater earlier and just saw several centipede/worm looking guys sticking out for a couple seconds and going back in.

Normal or should I be worried???

 

[mcarroll]

Everything you see is both cool and awesome....try to enjoy it all!

The only thing to keep in mind is that not every organism can co-habitate with every other one.....lots of them consider each other food.

That goes for fish, coral, anemones and a host of other critters, including some that can hitchhike in on your live rock.

None of them constitute a reason to freak out.

In part, they are a reason for the 6 month lead-in time. The more time you can allow, the more chance you have to discover any "future incompatibilities" and take necessary action to re-home any unwelcomes.

Just to brace you: the whole thing should probably take much longer to set up that you have anticipated. As a newbie, I think you'd be doing you, your kids and the tank a favor if you only had one or two fish the first year....and maybe one or two corals too. Take all that time to get good at taking care of the tank to and see how healthy you can make those fish! (You will also make mistakes....starting this slow assures the mistakes will be small and educational, rather than large, catastrophic.)

I have these compilations I can offer:

mcarroll's Favorite Fish Links
mcarroll's Favorite Chemistry Links​

 

[Wonf]

Thanks mcarroll. Lots of info (my brain is starting to hurt... lol).

So I was assuming my Overflow box was also my surface skimmer. Basically removes the stuff that gathers at the top of water and draws water out of tank and into my sump. Is this totally different than the protein skimmer mentioned in the guide and the ones I see online that are installed in the last section of the sump?

 

[mcarroll]

You got it generally right....just that the overflow box...

...is a separate device from the protein skimmer...

...which provides a "final destination" for that crud that collects at the surface. (A way out.)

Although they are very complimentary, a protein skimmer does not require a surface skimmer to work....

Tunze makes independent in-tank models like this that have integrated surface skimming:

 

[Wonf]

Ah, now I see. And of course it makes perfect sense now... The overflow box collects/removes the protein scum (?) from the top of the water and the protein skimmer in the sump fully removes it. So... I'm assuming that means the wimpy cylinder/sponge filter in the overflow box, the bio balls, and another wimpy blue sponge between sections 2 and 3 of the sump is clearly not enough to truly filter the water.

Are there other filters I should/could be adding?
Thoughts on replacing the middle/section 2 of the sump's "bio balls" with a refugium? Is there maybe another detailed guide about the pro's con's of a wet/dry with bio balls vs a refugium?

 

[Wonf]

Reading up on ATS', refugiums, and protein skimmers.

Is it true having an ATS and fuge is the same/similar to having a protein skimmer? Meaning, if I install a protein skimmer I don't need an ATS and fuge?

 

[Salty1962]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[Brew12]

Reading up on ATS', refugiums, and protein skimmers.

Is it true having an ATS and fuge is the same/similar to having a protein skimmer? Meaning, if I install a protein skimmer I don't need an ATS and fuge?

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

On larger systems it would be very unusual to not run a skimmer. It is common to see both skimmers and fuges on the same system. Some people will replace the fuge with an ATS and others will run all 3. ATS's are still fairly uncommon but I think we will start seeing their popularity grow quickly.

It would be unusual, but I'm sure there are people out there that use none of the 3. It is going to boil down to your fish loading, feeding habits, and maintenance practices. You can make up for not having the above devices if you only have a few fish and do large regular water changes.

 

[Chrisfish]

Welcome to R2R, you've come to the best place looking forward to seeing pictures of your set up.

 

[mcarroll]

So... I'm assuming that means the wimpy cylinder/sponge filter in the overflow box, the bio balls, and another wimpy blue sponge between sections 2 and 3 of the sump is clearly not enough to truly filter the water.

Thankfully, it's not that cut and dried.

If you stock your tank within the limits of the space and filtration, almost anything can work.

Most folks seem more interested in breaking the limits or setting records rather than using limits as "proper" guidelines.

Figuring out the limits is something you have to spend time doing....and most people skip the step entirely and just go straight to a full load of livestock, numbers chasing, and getting on every filtration bandwagon that comes along because they have to.

That doesn't mean you have to play it that way. Going really slow is OK – probably better than OK. Like if you had only a fish or two and a small handful of corals after the first year, you'd be advancing at a good rate!

Are there other filters I should/could be adding?

Possibly, but not necessarily. Read about all of them, but remember there are no magic bullets.

Thoughts on replacing the middle/section 2 of the sump's "bio balls" with a refugium? Is there maybe another detailed guide about the pro's con's of a wet/dry with bio balls vs a refugium?

There's nothing wrong with bio-balls per-se.

They will increase oxygenation and work well at quickly converting ammonia to nitrate.

Thing is, if you run a skimmer along with having some live rock and/or a sand bed, you already have these functions satisfied.

I would look at bioballs as competition for your corals vs looking at them as a problem. Corals will also consume ammonium by preference (as well as nitrates and most other nitrogenous compounds). Maybe remove them gradually as your coral population increases over the years?

Reading up on ATS', refugiums, and protein skimmers.

Is it true having an ATS and fuge is the same/similar to having a protein skimmer? Meaning, if I install a protein skimmer I don't need an ATS and fuge?

Maybe similar, but also different in some important ways.

One, for example, is that algae will "dose" the tank with sugar compounds – excesses from high rates of photosynthesis.

In other words, they will to some extent dose your tank with a carbon source like vodka, sugar or vinegar.

A skimmer also removes compounds from the tank whereas algae sequesters (cycles) nutrients within your system.

I haven't experimented with them yet, but I really like the idea of an ATS as well as a macro algae refugium and people have gotten great results with both. An ATS seems to give more consistent results from tank to tank.

Working in something like a "chamber" I kind of imagine an ATS being easier to implement. It seems like a good macro algae refugium requires at least a little space – surface area for lighting and gas exchange, specifically. (An ATS addresses these needs by design.)

 

[Wonf]

OK. Was secretly hoping for a "one size fits all" definitive answer but knew it didn't exist.

Thank you all for the great info, will post some pics once the tank has some residents.