Setting up a prop system

[coolfishy101]

Hey everyone, my buddy and I are getting interested in setting up a system. This will not be for profit, just for fun. I have a whole lot questions on how to do this.

This will be a 10 gallon tank with 3 racks- Top for sps, Middle for lps/rics/zoas, Bottom for shrooms, GSP's, zoas,etc.

It will be lit by a 96 watt pc light-85$ I have a lot of experience on this and know to get best at first, But I am only limited to 100$ for lights. If there is a better solution that will work that will not cause other problems (heat, space/size, cheap, energy efficient,) I can't get halides, so the sps will mostly consist of different types of montipora.

I will not have a skimmer on the tank for about 2 months if there is a problem with that, then maybe I could spend less on something to get one.

There will be about a 1/2 inch to 1 inch of sand on the bottom with a small amount of live rock in the back for natural filtration.

The filter will be either a penguin biowheel 170 or an aquaclear hang-on power filter(50).

We will have one rotating powersweep-125gph and one mini jet 404.

My friend might be upgrading to a sump in January so we might be able to put a refugium w/ a protein skimmer built in on the prop tank.

Is it a good idea to put crabs/snails/inverts in the tank?

If you could give me some advise on lighting, filtration, skimming, do's, don'ts. And some pics to help me visualize how to make this work. (sorry about all the reading )

[K_one]

Hey hey.

In my opinion, i would wait until you get more money. You do want halies, the much quicker growth, coloration and intensity, they are the best if you are proping. BUT, will such a small tank and limited $$$, then pc's will work, but you will be losing out of good growth from the halides.

For filtration needs, i would go with a skimmer for sure. In my prop setup, which will begin in about 2 months, im going to have a large fuge, large skimmer and no sand and about 24lbs of live rock in the sump. This is hope will cover the filtration needs.

In the actual prop tanks, try going with snails rather than any crabs, you dont want clumsy hermits pestering the frags.

if i were you, i would go get some rubbermaid tubs, spend a little money and just make youreself a quick little sump and skimmer. then you will have room to expand in the future, if you want to. try and get more flow through that tank, frags heal up much quicker and grow better with good flow.

a question, will the prop system be connected to the main tank? will it share the same sump? will the prop tank be seperate?

good luck, keep us posted, and send some pictures or sumthing.

K

[coolfishy101]

The tank will not be connected to any thing. It will be in a basement at my buddy's house. His parents want it to look good so we can't really use a tub we've allready did the pros and cons on that. a 10 gallon is only like 11$. If I can find some cheap/used halides I might be able to get some. We are only 16 and have a very tight budget.

Will some small snails like some as live rock hitchhikers do? The skimmer will have to wait, but could I start with the easier corals without one? and, do you feed you corals anything. (cyclopeeze, golden pearls, dt's phytoplankton)

Hopefully I can get some pics but we aren't going to buy anything for 2 weeks just thought I'd ask before I buy.
thanks for the help.

[bleedinorange]

coolfishy101,

I currently use a 10 gallon tank with 96 watt quad PCs. K_one is right the growth rate is slow on zoos and the bulbs will need to be replaced more frequently than MHs. I am currently saving up for some MHs to put on my 75 gallon.

[K_one]

Im in the same dillemma as you! Im 18, so money is tight aswell!

Ok, so you want a functional yet affordable yet nice looking tank... dont we all

Youre PC's will do, dont get me wrong, but as bleedinorange said, growth is slow and replacement bulbs are a hassle. The problem with such a small system volume is that many soft corals will be chemically "fighting" each other. This is a huge concern when you want to get good growth, because the constant battle for nutrients and space and so on will take up much more energy which could potentially be used for growth. I suggest that you get a skimmer. If you are only growing say your zoas and rics and soft coral range, then i guess you could skip the skimmer, but good biological filtration (ie, live rock, live sand, refugium, so on) is a must! BUT you are going to have to stock lightly and water changes at least weakly.

Is there any way you can hide the sump/tub? build yourself a little table stand type thing, just shove the tub underneath, no biggie?

If i were you, buy another 10G and make yourself a nice fuge with your live rock and i suggest some chaetomorpha, connect it to the other 10G and make sure that the fuge is set up and running nice before attempting to stock your frag tank.

Thats about the only advice i can give to you, but keep us posted, im interested in what ya can do!

I will post a diagram of my wannabe prop setup that i will make soon.

Later

K

[coolfishy101]

Just talked to him yesterday, we will try to use a halide (if something else doesn't come up) probably the coralvue 10k with a coralvue electronic ballast. Most likely a 250 watt since it is only about 10$ more. But then we will upgrade to a 20 gallon long with the same filtration as on the 10 gallon. (this might post-pone the project another week or 2) also more powerful water flow.

There will be no leathers in the tank. Mostly sps and zoos, a few rics and polyps, possibly mushrooms. There will also be heavy carbon filtration to keep crystal clear water, and a skimmer later on.

[K_one]

Good choice on the 250W halide and te 20L!

Sounds good, and if it takes you longer, thats cool, its better that way. Just step up the flow in the tank a bit, then you will be on your way.

Good luck, keep us posted.


K

[Reeftreasures]

just so you know zo's and SPS don't reallymix well SPS need perfect water and zoo's like water that is rich with nutrents i had a skimmer on my 20L zoo prop tank and got no grow as soon as i took off the skimmer zoo's started to spread and brighten you should really talk to some propagators to get a feel for this before starting i did this by talking to local reefers and it helped a lot if you have any questions feel free to pm me and ask or checkout my website www.reeftreasures.com

[coolfishy101]

I think it depends on the type of zoas. In my 55 I've got some zoas growing like mad and some that do nothing, meanwhile, I've got sps growing at a reasonable rate in the same tank with pc's. We've decided to use heavy carbon too. Sps catches a higher price than any other coral, if we decide to sell any.

[Reeftreasures]

shoot this guy an email and he'll give you some info on propagating he has an amazing setup jimfitz1@verizon.net and checkout his stuff at www.undergroundreef.com

[Reeftreasures]

sorry wrong link i'll have to find it and repost it for you