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So you want a Reef Tank
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Written by Tim Stetson
So you want a Reef Tank
By Tim Stetson
Welcome to a world that will be very addictive! Sometimes tiresome, sometime discouraging, But in the end, Wonderful.
This article contains a few things you might want to keep in mind before you go out and get a glass box and put water in it, as well as helping those that may have already made their initial purchases.
This is not a cheap hobby; most of us try our best to cut down the cost, including a lot of do it yourself (DIY). I will try and touch base on things you should try and keep in the front of your mind. As you read along you will notice some phrases or words in dark blue. You can click on these blue links if you want more information on that topic.
The placement of your tank or tanks is very important. Knowing where you want to place the tank will also help you decide what size a tank you can have, Or if it is going to be glass or acrylic. Once you figure out this you can move on to what you want to have in it or what type of tank, a Fish Only With Live Rock (FOWLR) or a reef.
After you have figured out the size and placement of the tank, and what you want to keep in it, you need to think about how much live rock (LR) you want. The rule of thumb is 1 Lbs per gallon. Now you need to add the weight of your empty tank, the weight of the LR, and the weight of the saltwater (S.G. x 8.33 x tank size). For example, the weight on my 120-gallon tank and 50 gallon sump with approx. 30 gallons of water = 1.025x8.33x120= 1024.59 Lbs. 1.025x8.33x30= 256.14, so a total of 1280.73 Lbs of just water!! . Also adding the weight of your stand/ lights/ canopy and then add another 50 Lbs. For extra things you may add later on. For the mathematically challenged you can try out this calculator for a rough estimate. Got that number in your head?
Time to check the floor where it will sit. Are you in a house? Which way is the floor joist running? You want the load of the tank set up to run perpendicular instead of parallel to the joists. Living in an apartment? Checking with the landlord or management would be a good idea if you were thinking of a large tank.
Now that you have all of this figured out, it is a good time to start reading as much as you can and making friends with the Local fish store (LFS). The more you read the better off you will be. Another great source of information is the World Wide Web. You can look up just about anything and access Internet forums like this one. There you will be able to tap in to the experiences of others who share your love for reef tanks. Keep in mind, what works for one person?s tank may or may not work for yours.
Equipment that you will be reading about and may use for your reef tank:
1. Lighting
NO - Normal output. These are the lights that came with the tank when you first bought it.
HO ? High output
VHO -Very high output lighting
PC - power compact lighting All four are considered fluorescent bulbs or tubes; some of the names commonly used are T5, T8, and T12.PC?s have a round or square pin plug in.
MH -metal halide lighting, they produce a very intense lights used for deeper tanks and specific life forms
Moonlights
Before buying any type of lighting, Figure out what is going to live in your tank; Some corals require a more intense lighting than others. Be sure that whatever you select will be good tank mates.
2. Skimmer ? protein skimmer. A great way to remove dissolved organics from your water.
Figure 1. Two typical skimmers. One the left is a beckett skimmer and on the right is a venturi style skimmer.
Photos courtesy of Greg Taylor.
3. Mechanical and Biological filtration ? This can be the Hang on the back filter (HOB) for smaller tanks, to the bag of carbon lying in the sump. Your Bio filter will be the LR in your tank and refuge.
4.Water movement ? Power heads (PH) are used in both the FOWLR and reef tanks. Another great way to have water movement is a closed loop system (CLS). It is a loop from your tank to a pump and back to the tank.
Figure 1. Outside and inside view of a very thourough closed loop system.
Photos courtesy of motorslave.
5. Sump - This could also be considered water movement. It is an extension of your display tank and a nice place to hide some of the equipment that would otherwise be main display.
6.Refuge ? a separate tank or sometimes part of a sump that is used for algae export.
Figure 1. Two examples of refugia.
Photos courtesy of Btang (left) and Casey (right).
7. Auto top off system ? this is something you will want to look at once everything is up and running. Your Tank will evaporate water, leaving the salt behind. You will need to add freshwater to it, NOT SALTWATER. By using an auto top off system you are saving yourself a headache, because you need to keep the specific gravity the same, if you dump in a few gallons of freshwater you will cause havoc in the tank. This can hurt or kill corals, fish and invertebrates.
8.Water
Reverse osmosis (RO) water
Deionization water (DI)
Tap/well water.
You really want to use the cleanest water you can for setting up and maintaining your tank. This will be either RO or RO/DI water. Using Tap or Well water is asking for problems.
9. Test kits ? These are a must have, relying on someone else to tell you what your tank levels or parameters are is not good, using a LFS as a back up if something is wrong is a good thing. Never add anything to your tank if you cannot test for it. Check the side of your salt container, you will find most add trace elements already.
At AquariumGuys.com you can find the aquarium test kits you need to maintain a healthy and thriving reef tank.
As you can see there is a lot that goes on before water ever hits your tank. Three main rules in reef keeping that holds true.
Read, read, read
Ask questions. The only bad or stupid question is the one you did not ask!
Slow is very good in a reef tank. Don't get impatient.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References;
Pet education conversion charts
All Glass Aquarium technical sheet / public information
Aquarium fish magazine; June 2000, April 2004
Reefs.org Internet public access library
Natural reef aquarium; John H. Tullock TFH publications 2001
Reefs.org Internet public access library
thereeftank.com public internet forum
The Marine Aquarium Handbook; Martin A. Moe Jr. Green turtle publications 1992
The saltyzoo website
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
User Rating: / 23
PoorBest
Written by Tim Stetson
So you want a Reef Tank
By Tim Stetson
Welcome to a world that will be very addictive! Sometimes tiresome, sometime discouraging, But in the end, Wonderful.
This article contains a few things you might want to keep in mind before you go out and get a glass box and put water in it, as well as helping those that may have already made their initial purchases.
This is not a cheap hobby; most of us try our best to cut down the cost, including a lot of do it yourself (DIY). I will try and touch base on things you should try and keep in the front of your mind. As you read along you will notice some phrases or words in dark blue. You can click on these blue links if you want more information on that topic.
The placement of your tank or tanks is very important. Knowing where you want to place the tank will also help you decide what size a tank you can have, Or if it is going to be glass or acrylic. Once you figure out this you can move on to what you want to have in it or what type of tank, a Fish Only With Live Rock (FOWLR) or a reef.
After you have figured out the size and placement of the tank, and what you want to keep in it, you need to think about how much live rock (LR) you want. The rule of thumb is 1 Lbs per gallon. Now you need to add the weight of your empty tank, the weight of the LR, and the weight of the saltwater (S.G. x 8.33 x tank size). For example, the weight on my 120-gallon tank and 50 gallon sump with approx. 30 gallons of water = 1.025x8.33x120= 1024.59 Lbs. 1.025x8.33x30= 256.14, so a total of 1280.73 Lbs of just water!! . Also adding the weight of your stand/ lights/ canopy and then add another 50 Lbs. For extra things you may add later on. For the mathematically challenged you can try out this calculator for a rough estimate. Got that number in your head?
Time to check the floor where it will sit. Are you in a house? Which way is the floor joist running? You want the load of the tank set up to run perpendicular instead of parallel to the joists. Living in an apartment? Checking with the landlord or management would be a good idea if you were thinking of a large tank.
Now that you have all of this figured out, it is a good time to start reading as much as you can and making friends with the Local fish store (LFS). The more you read the better off you will be. Another great source of information is the World Wide Web. You can look up just about anything and access Internet forums like this one. There you will be able to tap in to the experiences of others who share your love for reef tanks. Keep in mind, what works for one person?s tank may or may not work for yours.
Equipment that you will be reading about and may use for your reef tank:
1. Lighting
NO - Normal output. These are the lights that came with the tank when you first bought it.
HO ? High output
VHO -Very high output lighting
PC - power compact lighting All four are considered fluorescent bulbs or tubes; some of the names commonly used are T5, T8, and T12.PC?s have a round or square pin plug in.
MH -metal halide lighting, they produce a very intense lights used for deeper tanks and specific life forms
Moonlights
Before buying any type of lighting, Figure out what is going to live in your tank; Some corals require a more intense lighting than others. Be sure that whatever you select will be good tank mates.
2. Skimmer ? protein skimmer. A great way to remove dissolved organics from your water.
Figure 1. Two typical skimmers. One the left is a beckett skimmer and on the right is a venturi style skimmer.
Photos courtesy of Greg Taylor.
3. Mechanical and Biological filtration ? This can be the Hang on the back filter (HOB) for smaller tanks, to the bag of carbon lying in the sump. Your Bio filter will be the LR in your tank and refuge.
4.Water movement ? Power heads (PH) are used in both the FOWLR and reef tanks. Another great way to have water movement is a closed loop system (CLS). It is a loop from your tank to a pump and back to the tank.
Figure 1. Outside and inside view of a very thourough closed loop system.
Photos courtesy of motorslave.
5. Sump - This could also be considered water movement. It is an extension of your display tank and a nice place to hide some of the equipment that would otherwise be main display.
6.Refuge ? a separate tank or sometimes part of a sump that is used for algae export.
Figure 1. Two examples of refugia.
Photos courtesy of Btang (left) and Casey (right).
7. Auto top off system ? this is something you will want to look at once everything is up and running. Your Tank will evaporate water, leaving the salt behind. You will need to add freshwater to it, NOT SALTWATER. By using an auto top off system you are saving yourself a headache, because you need to keep the specific gravity the same, if you dump in a few gallons of freshwater you will cause havoc in the tank. This can hurt or kill corals, fish and invertebrates.
8.Water
Reverse osmosis (RO) water
Deionization water (DI)
Tap/well water.
You really want to use the cleanest water you can for setting up and maintaining your tank. This will be either RO or RO/DI water. Using Tap or Well water is asking for problems.
9. Test kits ? These are a must have, relying on someone else to tell you what your tank levels or parameters are is not good, using a LFS as a back up if something is wrong is a good thing. Never add anything to your tank if you cannot test for it. Check the side of your salt container, you will find most add trace elements already.
At AquariumGuys.com you can find the aquarium test kits you need to maintain a healthy and thriving reef tank.
As you can see there is a lot that goes on before water ever hits your tank. Three main rules in reef keeping that holds true.
Read, read, read
Ask questions. The only bad or stupid question is the one you did not ask!
Slow is very good in a reef tank. Don't get impatient.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References;
Pet education conversion charts
All Glass Aquarium technical sheet / public information
Aquarium fish magazine; June 2000, April 2004
Reefs.org Internet public access library
Natural reef aquarium; John H. Tullock TFH publications 2001
Reefs.org Internet public access library
thereeftank.com public internet forum
The Marine Aquarium Handbook; Martin A. Moe Jr. Green turtle publications 1992
The saltyzoo website
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
