My Rough Start - Pics

[VahanM]

I wish I had found this site earlier and had done a lot of research prior to diving blindly into this hobby. Like many other beginning enthusiasts, I just went to the nearby LFS and told him I knew nothing about saltwater fish but I'd like to get a fishtank for my son who loves Finding Nemo. However, I told him I didn't want to spend too much money. He showed me a tank that he referred to as the "perfect" tank for me since I was new and wanted something that could do the job but wouldn't be too expensive. It was a 50 gallon acrylic tank with stand, canopy, lights, and sump built-in.

I said I would need 2 clowns, a blue tang, a yellow tang, a porcupine puffer, a royal gramma, and a starfish which are some of the fish in the Finding Nemo cartoon and I asked if this tank would be able to accomodate those fish. He said yes of course, they'll be fine. He said the best part of this tank is that the sump is built into the back of the tank which makes the 50 gallon actually more like a 45 gallon but everything is hidden from the display. The thermometer, heater, skimmer, filter, pumps, cables are all in the back.

I asked him why all the other tanks in the store were different and that none had a sump built into the back like this one. He said I can get one of those but they had to be custom-made. They had to be drilled for an overflow and the sump had to be custom-made and it involved a lot of plumbing. He showed me the sump under one of the bigger tanks and there were pipes and valves everywhere. Needless to say, after seeing how complicated and expensive a setup like that would be, I thought the tank he showed me would probably be most suitable for me since I was new and only trying to excite a 2 year old.

My son loves the tank and he spends a lot of time each day looking at the fish but I have somewhat become addicted to the hobby and I see myself upgrading to a bigger tank in the near future.

Here are the pictures of my tank which is now about 3 months old.







Notice the separation where the sump is. I measured the actual dimensions of the tank last night. The width is 36". The depth is about 10.5" until it gets to the separation and the height is 18". I did some math and got the cubic inches and converted that to gallons to find that the actual water in the display tank is only about 30 gallons!! The sump measures 36 x 4 x 18 which comes out to about 12 gallons. This discovery left me very disappointed.

[VahanM]

Anyway, moving along. These are my cheap lights. They are T12s and one is Actinic and they're on 10 hours a day.



Here is the overflow which is just some notches on the upper left corner of the blue plastic that acts as the separation between the tank and the sump in the back.



The water goes through the overflow and enters the 1st chamber in the back which contains the RIO 600 skimmer pump (200gph) and a cheap thermometer.



Then the water goes into the 2nd chamber which contains the skimmer.



The water continues on to the 3rd chamber which contains a Stealth 200w heater. The heater is set to 81 degrees.

[VahanM]

Then the water goes through the biggest chamber which is the wet-dry filter. First it goes through the polyfilter pad which I change every 2 weeks with the water changes. Then it drains down the holes of the plastic cover to enter the chamber with the bio balls.




Finally the water goes into the last chamber which contains the RIO 1700 return pump (650gph) and 2 bags of Chemi-Pure Elite carbon sitting on top of a few bio balls so they don't block the flow to the pump. I have 2 bags in there because the LFS told me 1 bag is good for up to 45 gallons and he said I had a 50 gallon. Now I know that 1 bag should be enough. I change this every month. It looks dry but that's cuz I forgot to top off the water today. Usually the bags are underwater.



The water then comes out of the sump and back into the tank from the upper right corner.



Here is the water flow I get.

[VahanM]

Here are some pictures of my livestock.






When I started to read this forum, I realized that my tank was too small for a Yellow Tang. That was back when I thought I had a 50 gallon tank. Now I know that it's way too small for the Tang since it's really a 30 gallon tank. The starfish and crab are also too big for this tank. I'm returning the crab to the LFS this weekend because it keeps eating my snails and has picked off a lot of the pointy tips of the starfish.

The point of this lengthy post is to show the experts what I have and to find out what I can do to make this hobby satisfying for both me and the living things in my tank.

Eventually I will be buying a much bigger tank. I will also be upgrading my lighting, pumps, skimmer, heater, and I will get an RO/DI system. My question is would I be able to use my current tank as a sump for a much larger tank if I just had a pipe that went from the large tank down to this current one which would go through the whole mini sump in the back and come back out with a pipe that goes back up to the large tank?

Or am I better off using this one as a quarantine/hospital tank and buying/building a custom sump for the large tank.

All helpful comments are appreciated.

[tinmanny]

first that is a realy nice looking tank your son must love it. That tank is ok for the tang judging from the pictures he still has plenty of room as long as you keep the volume of fish to what you have.

as far as that being a sump maby but you will have to upgrade all the equipment it sounds like the store sold you the minimum and you will have problems if you try to run more water through it
It would be a grate hospital and a fine grow tank in the upper half
what ever you do good luck the tank looks good
Manny

[seapug]

Well, if your son is a Finding Nemo fan you sure did him justice. I also don't think the LFS did a bad job either, apart from suggesting the blue/yellow tang would be okay in that small of a tank. It will definitely outgrow it. Apart from that, the tank looks very clean, healthy and well maintained. Nice work, but as is usually the case with this hobby, one tank leads to another!

If you upgraded to a larger system, with a little modification, that tank would make a great refugium/sump that could be turned into a planted tank with macroalgae, seahorses, etc.

[dattong]

your tank is nice!!! for those little fish you have there, the yellow tang can go to a larger tank that you have in mind down the road. For a fish only tank, you don't really need lighting or anything else upgraded. I think your tank is safe with all the live rocks you have in there.

Don't spend too much right now and save all the money for the big tank that you're planning in the future. It's a very expensive hobby! I'm telling you, you'd be scared to ask yourself how much you have put into the hobby a few years later.

[BucNtears]

Thats a nice looking tank you have.You did a great job with the rock placement.I agree with saving for when you decide to upgrade to a bigger tank,for that day will come.
But your ahead of alot of reefers being you've found this site.

Welcome aboard

[ACBlinky]

I think I understand where your LFS was coming from. This looks like a nice, tidy little tank for someone who doesn't want to fuss with electrical and plumbing and is just looking for an all-in-one, plug and play type tank. It's certainly better than some things I've seen LFSs suggest, and you'll be able to use it after you upgrade - I would consider this a nice 'starter' tank. It's very clean, the animals look healthy, and you did a fantastic job with the rockwork - IME, narrow tanks are VERY hard to aquascape.

[VahanM]

Thanks for all the support guys.

The rockwork was definitely challenging and it took me 3 tries to get it to look this way. Even though it looks packed from the side view, there is still enough room in the front and sides for my mag-float to get around thoroughly.

[rkelman]

The tank looks great. I'd return the tang too. I don't know if its just the picture but his color is not good. Possibly due to the stress of the small tank.

[fezza101]

The tank itself looks kinda on par with the red sea max, same background sump theory.

As a first tank it looks lovely! Well done! Mate of mine has the red sea max and his tank is full of corals, fish and LR and looks gorgeous.

I went the other way and bought a 120g cube as my first SW tank, and trust me, its expensive! lol!

[rbtwo4]

Awesome tank! But I will make a few suggestions. That coral banded shrimp gotta go cus in due time he will eat the other 2 shrimp u have. The tang also but if ur upgrading I hope its soon if not just trade it in. And last but not least why not just move that tank to your sons room? You can make a sump for waaaaaaaaaaay more cheaper then what u spent on that tank. I think it would be a shame to make that HOT looking tank into a sump. Just my opinion good luck

[Jesusaves]

Originally posted by rbtwo4
That coral banded shrimp gotta go cus in due time he will eat the other 2 shrimp u have.

This is true, I learnt that the hard way. And your tank looks great! For not knowing how deep the water was when you jumped I'd say you came out alright.

[VahanM]

Yeah the Coral Banded Shrimp has been trying to get at everything in the tank but so far he has failed. Everything out-swims him. I might still take him back since he's very boring to watch.

Thanks again guys.

[GoingPostal]

Well you got some bad advice but it looks like you've done pretty well with it. If you're looking at upgrading anyways I would keep it as a qt tank or maybe a small fish only. As a sump I would think it would be hard to work in because of the depth and top bracing. The coral banded may be fine, I've had one for three years with a cleaner shrimp and small fish, he's never been able to catch anything but since they're nocturnal you don't seem him much. Make sure that tang gets plenty of algea sheets, he looks a little pale.

[VahanM]

I've been giving them Spirulina Flakes, Mysis Shrimp, Brine Shrimp and a Formula 2 cube on a daily basis. I change the green seaweed sheet each day and the brown seaweed every few days. My cleaner shrimp seems to love the green seaweed as well.

I feed the starfish a piece of Krill every other day and he loves it.

I'm going to buy some Formula 1 pellets this weekend along with some Selcon to soak the food in.

[Lotus99]

It looks like it's a Uniquarium. Not too bad.

You could add some powerheads for some more flow in the tank.

[VahanM]

I know this is going to be a dumb question but I'm a bit confused about powerheads. Do they suck the water in or do they blow it out?

I thought they blew the water out but I've read about a lot of fish being sucked into the powerheads.

[rkelman]

They suck in one end and blow out the other.

[capn_hylinur]

You've done really well
Could you post your water parameters?

These are by no means criticism--just points that will help you with that size of tank:

With the wet dry filter--suggest you throw out all the medium and just run carbon in it. The carbon will reduce the dissolved organic compounds and doesn't become a nitrogen trap(as long as you change it once a month)
Get rid of the bio balls !

that protein skimmer looks really grungy inside--you need to take it out and apart and soak it in vinegar. Are you changing the cup contents every three days?

Are you performing 10 per cent water changes every two weeks?

[VahanM]

Ok I think I got it. So then the RIO 600 I have that goes to my skimmer is acting as a powerhead.

[cdentii1]

Yes powerheads Suck in from the bottom and the output is on the side. Fish can get sucked however that is very very rare now slow moving inverts is another story such as snails, anemones (which you have nothing to worry about), Starfish ect.....
Now there are plenty of ways you can improve your water flow with out adding powerhead(s) 1. Get a larger return pump (just make sure it will fit in your sump before purchasing it) 2. You can also get a eductor there is a hole thread on them here it is.
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...readid=1099596
This may work well in your case providing you have room. 3. then there is always the old closed loop there are many different ways of these just do a search in the DIY forms and be prepared to read alot as there are soooo many of them.
I really like your tank and to say only 3 Tries with the landscaping well you have to be some kind of a natural. The tang IMO/ IME is going to have to go sorry to say it my friend but any Tang should not be housed in anything less than a 6' tank as they need the room to swim. another one of my concerns would be the star fish you have in there as they are opportunistic predators and can catch small fish such as your firefish which speaking of be sure to keep a cover or lid on your tank as they are jumpers.

[VahanM]

Originally posted by capn_hylinur
You've done really well
Could you post your water parameters?

Temperature = 81 degrees
Specific Gravity = 1.023
PH = 8.1 - 8.3
NO3 = 20

I know my nitrates are kinda high. They've always been this high so I'm not sure if it's the bio balls or maybe i'm feeding too much.

The LFS only gave me the Hydrometer and PH and NO3 test kits and they said that's all I need to test. They are the cheap Tetra Test Kits. I will be buying a bunch of new Salifert test kits very soon.

With the wet dry filter--suggest you throw out all the medium and just run carbon in it. The carbon will reduce the dissolved organic compounds and doesn't become a nitrogen trap(as long as you change it once a month)
Get rid of the bio balls !

I have done lots of research about this and it seems like there are mixed results. However more people suggest removing the bio balls. I'll remove them slowly and see what happens.

that protein skimmer looks really grungy inside--you need to take it out and apart and soak it in vinegar. Are you changing the cup contents every three days?

I empty and clean the collection cup every other day and I wipe the top of the rim of the skimmer and usually that makes it look crystal clear. I remove the skimmer and pumps once a month and clean them thoroughly but haven't used vinegar yet. I'll do that next time.

Are you performing 10 per cent water changes every two weeks?

I change 10 gallons of water every 2 weeks which makes it 20% of the entire tank volume. I purchase pre-mixed saltwater from the LFS.

Thanks a lot for all the advice and suggestions guys. This is exactly what I was looking for.

[cdentii1]

BTW that tank is way to nice to use as a sump Hummm maybe a REEF Tank is in order for it in the future With some mods of course.