Jump in the Waters Fine - New Reefer

[roadartist]

This is my first experience with Saltwater ( 1mo 1wk)... I must say like a lot of others there a some great members around... I have a 5 Gallon Eclipse Hex that used to be Freshwater tank at work... After a lot of research and an Awesome "LFS" here in SA, TX... (Fin-Addict) I have a system that makes me proud... I left the Eclipse filter in with the pads and BioWheel... Modified the light fixture to hold a 20W 50/50... and added a Penguin 100 to the back leaving out the filter pads and putting Fuji rock in instead and leaving the BioWheel... it has been a rush job, which I know is normally a BAD idea... the "LFS" hooked me up well... I started with the norm Live Rock and Live sand but he bagged 5 Gal's of water from his Propagation tank to help... Anyways, Thanks for all the Help and Knowledge around this site...

For all those new like myself, find a reputable LFS... I went to all of them here where I live, each is different. Cheap is good but not always better. A person with knowledge that shares is worth more than a truck load of BS and a crashed tank. (Bad freshwater experience)

Question to any who read this: I have the saltwater "BUG" bad. I am selling my reaming freaswater tank to get a large saltwater: Any suggestions for 60-75 Gal.

And how hot is to hot in a Reef tank? Read lots on this, they all disagree!
Any thoughs on BioWheels?

Will post pics of my tank later... :maitre thanks for the help

 

[sadielynn]

Biowheels are a huge nitrate factory
I agree with the cheep is good not always better theroy and the person with knowledge that shares ...Hear you will find people here know their stuffs :welcome to Nanotank

 

[EDGRAY]

:welcome and happy reefing and if thinking on big tank try to read the post from AROMANO, MIKEGUERRERO, REEFMAN & SKIMP. Great tanks and alot on info. and well you can catch some ideas from their systems. and well about temperature and all you need to know here is a link that help me alot.

http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/sbegin-setup.html

 

[djconn]

Welcome to Nanotank roadartist. It was nice meeting you at fin-addict the other day. That place was pretty busy. I need to get over there more often. Felipe is really a cool guy. We look forward to seeing your progress!

:mrgreen:

 

[roadartist]

Picture

This is the most recent Pic...

 

[skipm]

Congratulations on your tank and :welcome to nanotank!
If you decide to buy a used tank in order to save some money you will have to be able to be sure it has never had copper used in it or it won't be able to be used for corals or inverts. My main recommendation on a larger tank would be to get one at least 18" from front to back and try not to get a tank that is very deep. If you run into space problems look at breeder tanks, they have a good footprint for reeftanks. Decide what you want to keep in the new tank and then that will help you decide on the lighting needed which will also have an effect on the size tank you can buy and stay within your budget. One of the best things to do is to plan and the replan your tank before ever buying anything for it. This way you will hopefully keep from making any mistakes that will cost more $$$ in the longrun. Feel free to post any questions you have here and we'll try our best to answer them for you.

 

[Aquai]

Biowheels are a huge nitrate factory

Does this mean i should take the one out of my filtration system? I've always wondered why i sometimes got high nitrates...

 

[skipm]

You should take them out, you should get all of your biological filtration from your LR. Biowheels and other types of manmade bio filters process waste too fast and the tanks inhabitants don't get a chance to naturally eliminate any of the waste before the filters convert it, thats why its better to use the LR for your biological filter.

 

[Aquai]

Is it gonna muck up my tank taking it out now though seeing as i've already added livestock?

BTW it's not a "biowheel" as such it's a "bio active" which is like a weir wheel with sponge in the middle...But i believe it's doing the same thing...

 

[skipm]

I don't know the exact filter you are talking about. If there is a way to remove it a little at a time that is the best way.

 

[Aquai]

No way of removing it bit by bit... I'll get a picture give me two seconds...

Edit: Pictures attached

 

[skipm]

You could probably remove the biowheel but leave the sponge (on the left) alone and keep an eye on parameters. The sponge will also have some bacteria in it to keep from removing too much at once. How much liverock does your tank have in it? What kind of livestock do you have? If your bioload is light enough you may be able to remove it all at once.

 

[Aquai]

Erm,
Live rock:
5 to 6 kg

BioLoad:
1 Young TB Clownfish (1")
1 Cleaner shrimp
1 Scarlet legged hermit
1 Unknown yellow tipped hermit
2 Blue legged hermits
2 Astrea snails
1 Unknown coral colony (Looks like a small pulsing xenia in a way)
1 Green Xenia colony
2 Button polyp (literally two)

I can remove half of the sponge on the wheel? But that's the only way...
There's two more sponges in the filter as well as some carbon...

BTW - Sorry for hijacking the thread...

 

[skipm]

Go ahead and remove the biowheel but leave the rest of the sponges undisturbed for a few days keeping an eye on your parameters. When all is definitely settled go ahead and clean the sponges at least once as week.

 

[roadartist]

30 Gallon long...

Hey Skipm,

Any thoughts on a 30 long... not as big as I want to go but I have one already that is freshwater...

 

[skipm]

You can make a nice reef out of a 30, I was mainly talking about tanks bigger than a 30 because they are usually deeper and that makes aquascaping harder because either the tank looks empty or you are trying to stack rocks straight up the back wall, with a tank thats at least 18" front to back you have the room for a wider base and you can taper the rockwork as you move up. On tanks of 30 gallons or less a standard tank is fine as long as you stay away from show and x-high tanks.