Starting over...

[rhenson]

I’ve got a 35 gallon hex that is made up of 12” panels and 22” height. I set it up a couple of years ago and have pretty much lost everything except for a clown fish, serpent star and a few little corals; like cups – but for the most part I’ve had complete die off on the reef and have really just let the tank sit and age for a year now (maintaining basic water salinity and cleaning).

I am ready to try and tackle this again with more knowledge and some saved up money!

I think my biggest problem is lighting (running at just 2.2 watts per gallon on a deep tank) – but I wanted to post my setup and see if I could get any guidance so that I don’t just fix one thing and have problems again.

I am talking hardware here – The water changes and dosing/feeding questions will be researched and asked later– for now, I want to get all of the hardware I need in there with what I have while maintaining water quality before adding anything new…I’ve learned patience.

Current Setup:

Tank: Oceanic 35-gallon Hex

Lighting: 20” Dual Satellite 2X40w SNPQ w/ Lunar - Model #1012
(80watts total for 2.2 watts per gallon)

Protein Skimmer: Aquac Remora Hang-On (with Maxijet 1200 powerhead)
(295 gph, 20 watts)

Heater: Ebo-Jager 150W 13”

Filtration: Fluval 304 w/ Nitrate Sponge, Chemi-Pure, Carbon and bio-ballz
(185 gph, 15 watts)

Circulation:

•Rio 2100 Powerhead running open in the tank about 3” deep
(692 gph, 37 watts)

•SCWD Squid Wavemaker with Rainbow Lifegard Quite One 1200 pump
(296 gph, 25.5 watts)
(Flow into SCWD: 296 gph. SCWD TD Output: ~210 gph, 80% efficiency, 9 second switching duration)

•From Canister (Fluval 304): (185 gph, 15 watts)
•From Protein Skimmer: (295 gph, 20 watts)

Total Circulation/watts in tank:

1382 gph: (902 direct and 480 from filtration)
97.5 continuous watts

Planned Upgrades:

I’m looking at the 20” current sunpod metal halide lighting. They have a 150 watt and 250 watt setup, which would yield:

150 = 4.2 watts per gallon
250 = 7.1 watts per gallon

They recommend the 150 watt for my tank, but I wonder if the 250 would be better, or do I risk too much light?

Is my circulation good, or should I look at other solutions? I don’t really have room for a lot in the tank, or under…I’m pretty full, so I would look at replacing items instead of adding to…Maybe I can drop thw scwd and the rio 1200 for a single pump that could produce better current with less heat?!?

Well, thanks for reading all of this and for any guidance!

[Fish_wiz2]

The more watts the better so i would recommend the 250 watt because anything will survive under it but the only prob is heat (unless you have a fan) but 150 is enough for most corals. Also your flow is enough (actually more than me. . .LOL) but i would recommend trashing the fluval 304 and adding a sump with refugium so then you could use the quiet one 1200 on an SCWD for the return and put the heater and skimmer in it (saves space in your tank and hides the uglyness). Then the only thing in your tank would be the rio 2100 (enough flow) and livestock (duh).

[rhenson]

Thanks Fish_wix2, I would really love to do that, but I am confined to the stand with my tank for storage. It is a hex with a very small diameter. Back when I started up I really couldn't find a solution that worked - are they out there now?

[stevelkaneval]

just remember that watts per gallon is a rule of thumb. just couse you have lets say 8 watts per gallon, doesnt mean you gan put that monty cap on the bottom. the deeper the tank the more light you need.

[Deb91]

How much live rock and sand to you have in there rhenson?

[rhenson]

This was originally a tbsaltwater setup, so I'd followed thier recommendations other than the amount of rock - I didn't think I could really squeeze 70 pounds in there. I had 30 lbs of live sand and I think I opted for 40 or 45 lbs. of live rock - but I can't find my original order to verify. I really liked what they sent, and only note it so that the quality of the live sand and rock is known. Here are a couple of images - note that the rock has now settled to the bottom of the tank, thanks to the clown fish - she loves to move sand around - so thre is a good 3 inch base of rock that is below the sand in the images.

Full View

Tank View

Thanks for the input guys!

[rhenson]

I’ve measured the dimensions of my stand – based upon the door opening. The door opening is 6“ wide with a 23 7/8” height and a 16” depth. Any guidance on building (or where to buy) a refugium that would work with that area?

[joesfiddy]

i would get a standard rectagle tank more surface area and eazier to work with

[Zestay]

id get either a 150-175 with a good reflector or a 250 with a crappy reflector.
lose the fuval unless youve modified it somehow. and at least take out the bioballs.

for the sump... 6 inchs wide is going to be tough. maybe a 5gallon or a 2.5 might fit but thats really really small. maybe try your hand at acrlyc and build it in the stand already or something.

or if your tanking the tank down at all. remove the top layer of the stand and drop the sump in from the top.

[Zestay]

Originally posted by joesfiddy
i would get a standard rectagle tank more surface area and eazier to work with

this is also a good idea =) youll robably enjoy a 20 long or a 30 gallon reef much more than a 35 hex. for simplicity sake.

[Rustylugnuts]

Any chance you could go through a wall for a sump in the other room? Or how bout a DIY stand/enclosure behind the hex? You could make it any size (say big enough for a future 75/90g) and hide a 20 to 40 gallon rectangular tank inside.

[Fish_wiz2]

I have actually seen people put a hex sump on a hex tank. Give it try who knows?

[Fish_wiz2]

I have seen a hex sump on a hex tank on some members tank. Give it a try who knows? Might work might not.

[Rustylugnuts]

^ why didn't I think of that?