Saltwater

[arabianmagicat]

So, I'm a newbie! I bought a 50 gallon drilled tank with a 20 gallon sump. Also inherited fish tank from boyfriend's brother when he moved to Korea. Clownfish died, and leather coral because the light stopped working. We had it in the house we bought and haven't moved into yet, because of our schedules and trying to finish painting.

Anyway, I'm going to set up the 50 gallon where it isn't in front of the window. The feather dusters on the live rock are still alive. The sand is yucky looking, so I think I'm going to get new live sand.

How do I get rid of bristle worms? I get they are supposed to be good for the tank, but. . They creep me out..

Equipment wise, I want these lights:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/332735618839.

I ordered this:

https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...l1cjTGwVCNI4kmFemzVixCdFjXwF3aihoCbG0QAvD_BwE

And have a heater (see attached pic).

For live sand I want to order CaribSea Arag-Alive Fiji Pink Sand.

Any suggestions for a quiet protein skimmer and return pump?

 

[davocean]

Ok I'll take a crack at some of this for ya, but you'll get and need assistance along the way I'm sure, so consider a build thread.

I would use the live rock you have, but dump the sand for new, and I usually prefer dry sand to live, it will seed plenty fast enough w/out dieoff live typically comes with.

For return pump, I like about 5x tunover, being a 5og I'd shoot for something just over the 300gph range to allow for some head loss.
I'm still an ac pump fan for returns, eheim, tunze, sicce, fluval all good options there, all quiet, but I'm sure some will chime in on dc pumps as well.

Skimmer, many many choices, but I'd shop used reefoctopus probably, best bang for buck I think, many people are going to dc pumps there too so many used floating around(my thoughts on dc pumps are same as returns, I just don't think they are there yet, but just my opinion)

Bristleworms, I hate big ones, they are ugly, small ones can stay, big ones gotta go, so they sell traps for like $9 at marine depot and such, or you can make a trap, there was one posted in DIY forum recently.

Lights, all electronics eventually fail, get something that you know can be fixed, meaning ebay may not always be best, check reviews before you buy.
If I were starting new I'd probably get a T5 fixture, probably used, many out there still in good shape, ATI maybe, and I'd want to add LED's to it later, or many are just going to LED's only, that's an option.

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/diy-bristle-worm-trap-how-to.68/

 

[arabianmagicat]

Ok I'll take a crack at some of this for ya, but you'll get and need assistance along the way I'm sure, so consider a build thread.

I would use the live rock you have, but dump the sand for new, and I usually prefer dry sand to live, it will seed plenty fast enough w/out dieoff live typically comes with.

For return pump, I like about 5x tunover, being a 5og I'd shoot for something just over the 300gph range to allow for some head loss.
I'm still an ac pump fan for returns, eheim, tunze, sicce, fluval all good options there, all quiet, but I'm sure some will chime in on dc pumps as well.

Skimmer, many many choices, but I'd shop used reefoctopus probably, best bang for buck I think, many people are going to dc pumps there too so many used floating around(my thoughts on dc pumps are same as returns, I just don't think they are there yet, but just my opinion)

Bristleworms, I hate big ones, they are ugly, small ones can stay, big ones gotta go, so they sell traps for like $9 at marine depot and such, or you can make a trap, there was one posted in DIY forum recently.

Lights, all electronics eventually fail, get something that you know can be fixed, meaning ebay may not always be best, check reviews before you buy.
If I were starting new I'd probably get a T5 fixture, probably used, many out there still in good shape, ATI maybe, and I'd want to add LED's to it later, or many are just going to LED's only, that's an option.

The dry sand looked about the same price as the live at the moment. Also, should I consider getting an RO system..? Such as the picture I added?

And it did come with this pump, (see pic) obviously I don't know how it works yet. I haven't seen any used ones pop up, there is the reef one on amazon for 235.

Lights I still dont know! I want something that has those cool lighting effects and all, like LED. But my tank is also 36 inches deep, which makes it slightly more difficult.

 

[davocean]

I'm not a fan od Rio pumps myself, I know they had a lot of issues years ago and I have not seen many lately.
I'd save that for mixing water or backup.
I'd stick to what I mentioned if going ac pump

If tank is 36" front to back/deep lights are not hard, I prefer a mix of T5 and LED myself, but there's lots of options. If it's actually 36" deep then a little trickier, but I don't think that's what I'm seeing in pic.

That's a slightly older reefocto skimmer, but it's fine.

BRS or spectrapure, or buckeye field supply for RO/DI would be my choices

 

[Captain Quint]

Welcome to R2R arabianmagicat.

+1 with davocean on the Rio pump you have probably not long-term to give you good results but would be okay for mixing your saltwater in a brute or similar mixing vessel.

Lighting advice is going to vary depending on each person's preference and you'll get lots of opinions and again I agree with davocean on the eBay light you're considering might not be easy to repair or hard to get repaired.

You have a good deal to consider for sure such as the RODI unit. Again solid info from davocean. Many good ones out there.

I've not seen dry sand about the same price as live sand but if you have I'd buy the live sand if it is the same price. If you buy the dry sand rinse, rinse, rinse until it is clear and not cloudy water. It is easier to do in buckets rather than the tank itself. Tapwater will be fine and then rinse a couple of times with RODI freshwater before putting it in the tank.

Please keep us updated and I'm sure plenty of the good members here would chime in to assist if possible.

Again, welcome aboard and we are glad you're here.

 

[ReeferReefer]

Yes, get an RODI system, I suggest the BRS system.

As mentioned, Reef Octopus Skimmers can be easily found used for much cheaper so I would look at those before buying used. At that price you can get a Bubble Magus Curve 5 new.

 

[arabianmagicat]

Yes, get an RODI system, I suggest the BRS system.

As mentioned, Reef Octopus Skimmers can be easily found used for much cheaper so I would look at those before buying used. At that price you can get a Bubble Magus Curve 5 new.

Should I get a bubble magus curve 5? There are no reef ones that are used in my area sadly.

 

[ReeferReefer]

I haven't personally used it but I know it's a popular budget choice.

Here is more information on it than I could give you.

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?ur...&share_tid=105827&share_fid=1020&share_type=t

Should I get a bubble magus curve 5? There are no reef ones that are used in my area sadly.