Sumps/bioload clarification, stock selection help

[Element]

Ok, I think I'm going crosseyed I've been researching this stuff for so long so intensely lol. Three days straight now with every free moment I've had (which has been since 5:30PM Friday til the wee hours of the morning) and even then some all week long. So much information to take in, I love/hate being new to a hobby lol. Just keep telling myself everything I've tried was confusing at first and I just need to keep reading about it and it will eventually make sense (and some hands on would help).

I'm ready to interact a bit and figure while I go to the bookstore I would post a thread. I hate asking stuff that has been answered before but as I said, my mind is not sure what to make of all the information overload lately lol. So maybe if I get some feedback here it will help focus it a bit and let me come up with more specific questions...then I can branch out from there once I have a base to compare to.

Anyway...I am pretty much set on getting a salt water tank set up and going, just haven't decided on exactly which tank yet. I was looking at the 24g Nano Cube DX as one of the local LFS's carries them (the other LFS I didn't like how their stocked fish tanks looked and haven't found the employees too friendly) and it looked pretty nice. However, as usual, after doing some research on the 'net about peoples' experiences with them I'm not positive that's what I should go with. I'm debating doing everything from scratch but having a hard time figuring out exactly what I would need...but I'll get it!!! lol

My question is concerning sump pumps/tanks. As I understand it these are used on small tanks to increase the available volume of water in a system which A) makes it easier to control fluctuations in water characteristics and keep problems in check *like a larger tank would* and B) allows you to have a little higher bioload in your tank. Is this correct?

I haven't decided exactly what I would like to put in my tank yet (I try to look at the selections available but keep getting sidetracked on technical aspects) but I would like to have some coral and a few fish. I'd definitely like a clown fish, a goby, and something else (would love a puffer but from what I gather they need a little bigger tank and aren't the best for reef setups). As for coral...I haven't researched much as far as they go so any suggestions would be great (SPS require more specialized lighting than LPS right?)! Here is a little list I threw together last night as potentials (from liveaquaria's site) but admittedly I have not checked compatibility yet or lighting requirements so feel free to give me some advice

Fish:

Sailfin Blenny (saw one of these at the LFS...entertaining as heck)
Neon blue (or gold) Goby
Court Jester Goby
ok...I have a lot of Goby's on my list, might be easier to say which ones to avoid lol
A Firefish (I like the purple ones but due to the long fins I might need to be considered about nippy fish?)
Six Line Wrasse
Bicolor and Fridmani Pseudochromis
Ocellaris Clownfish

Hard Coral (again, no idea about coral...these just looked cool to me):
Green Birdsnest Coral (wow)
Green Fluorescent Mushroom
Green Striped Mushroom (see a pattern? lol...I love blue and green)
Spotted Mushroom
Blue/Green Ricordea Mushroom (good for beginners?)
Platygyra Brain Worm
White Bubble Coral
Trumpet Coral (apparently needs to be acclimated to MH lighting)

Soft Coral:
no idea...suggestions?

As for CUC...I'm leary of snails because I've always heard horror stories of snails taking over tanks although from what I've read over the last week this seems to be due more to poor tank maintenance and the aquarist not knowing what they are doing. I'm not opposed to them, they seem to be a necessity but how easily do they reproduce?

I'm sure I"ll have more questions later on...I have a ton now I just can't think of which ones are really pertinent to my situation right now lol.

Thanks everyone (seems like a very friendly forum too)!

 

[Trogdor]

I'll try and answer some of these to the best of my knowledge. What you will/have found is that there are 1,000,001 ways to run a tank. You have to find what works best in your tank(s) because what works in someone's may not work in yours.

First step is to take a look at this guide. It has a TON of good info on what works with the size of tanks.

As far as lighting is concerned, I would go ahead and purchase metal halides or T5 lights. They are more expensive than power compacts but will open your options with coral much more.

Fish: As I said above, check out the guide for fish as it will tell you how many and of what kind of fish to harbor together.

Coral: Again this will depend upon lighting that you choose. The more light that you have, the less limited you will be on coral selection. Some of the corals that you listed were in-fact considered soft corals. The mushrooms and ricordias fall into that category. Check out http://liveaquaria.com and http://marinedepotlive.com for more information on typical corals and their categories.

Marine snails rarely reproduce in captivity so they don't take over the tanks. Snails play a few vital roles in your tank. Nassarius snails will bury in the sand bed causing the top layer of sand to be constantly stirred (good thing). Cerith snails will bury in the sand as well and also eat algae off of the glass. Astraea snails will clean the rocks and glass of algae. Normal rule of 1 snail per gallon and I typically do a mix of all three of these snails. There are others that you can get but those three are my normal clean up crew. A couple of crabs are good for the tank as well. Just get a handful of larger empty shells so that they can grow into them. (or they may kill your snails for their shells)

Hope that helps a bit. Feel free to post more questions.

 

[The Kapenta Kid]

Well you have certainly being doing your homework which is an invaluable asset before you begin.
I don't feel qualified to answer your more specific questions about what aquaria etc, but on the general points I'd say this.
Your understanding of sumps is entirely correct. They are essentially just a means to increase the water volume of your system by using a (usually) hidden tank which is plumbed into the one you see, the display tank. There are other advantages like the sump being a place to install filters, heaters, and other equipment that you don't want cluttering up your display tank, but the increase in total system volume is the key point.

As far as I know snail infestations are only a problem in FW tanks, SW snails are not nearly so prolific, you should be happy if you get them to breed regularly.

For fish check out this informative article:

http://www.nanotank.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2758

 

[Element]

thanks trogdor! Especially for the snail info and yeah, you're right...that's the hard part, there are no specific answers since everything is so situation dependant.

I had started to read that guide last night actually but somewhere along the line around 3AM or so I got sidetracked by who-knows-what lol.

I picked up a copy of "The Saltwater Aquarium Handbook" by George Blasiola (published by Barron's) while I was at Barnes & Noble. Looks to have a good bit of information for someone such as myself.

Would I be right in saying that the best way to determine the largest bioload a tank can handle is to slowly add fish (and other critters) and stay on top of testing the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels. If the levels stay good and any increase is short lived then the bioload is within acceptable limits. But if they start straying higher or the levels do not decrease quickly then you're probably pushing the limit and need to reduce the bioload or increase water volume (sump?). This is all assuming that the critters have ample room to swim/live and there aren't any major territorial issues.

edit: just saw your post Kapenta Kid, thanks for the sump info I'm still debating if I should design my own tank or try one of those all-in-ones. But from what I seem to read people end up upgrading these anyway so why waste the money.