Planned 4ft Reef

ok so not going closed loop or anything? just making sure as im sure you are going to have this tank for some time..
 
Closed loop means drilling some extra holes in the tank and plumbing in an external pump. This deals with flow in the display and means you don't need any ugly powerheads in site ;)
 
So do I need a chiller? My water temp in my 400L tank goes up to 29 degrees in summer... That's with my heater set at 26. Granted, it might be the MH lights being fairly close to the water and no fans on the tank...

That wouldn't be so cool... I guess I'll have to monitor it during the cycling phase...

Hmmm...
 
its difficult to say at this point if a chiller is needed, but in the aquaculture industry the motto is " temperature is king" as it influences all other parameters EG: increase in temp = increase of co2 = lowering of oxygen levels = ph droppingnearer to acidic levels etc etc.. each of these have further effects in their own area's

if temp can be stabalised, sudden swings in other areas are less likley to happen..

owing to the complexity of salt water make-up there are obviously other factors that can cause these types of occurences aswell but temperature is in my opinion the main one to worry about..
 
Cool, I found them. They are R300 each for fans with ball bearings instead of sleeves. They will be delivered to me at no charge, LOL! Gonna get 2 of them. One to blow over the tank and one to suck hot air out of the tank.

Now... I've been having a look at corals... Looking at some good ideas for softies. I'd love one of those Kenya Tree type corals. Are they relatively easy to keep?
 
star polyps, xenia, kenya tree's and most mushrooms are pretty undemanding.. so basic water changes are adequate for supplementation..
 
Cool... Thanks for that. I'm busy looking at some really nice ideas on the forum. There are really so many choices out there. But these choices for corals, limit the kind of fish one can keep as well... It really is an incredibly interesting hobby... I don't know why it's taken me so long to come to the "other" side of fish keeping.
 
Ok, my next question.

With the arrival of the new tank fairly imminent, I have bought Brightwells NeoMarine salt. What are the water parameters to look out for in the beginning?

Obviously salinity, from what I've read 1.024 is a good salinity?
What about Alkalinity, PH, KH, GH, Etc.

What are the main test kits that I should be investing in from this early stage? In fact what test kits am I going to need for this tank? I have a refractometer already.
 
as for the salt im not sure but test kits should include

ammonia
nitrite
nitrate
ph
alk

these are the very basic ones with ammonia and nitrate very rarely used unless there is suspition that you have encountered a mini cycle due t adding uncured Lr or have changed something dramatic..

other tests include..

magnesiun
iodine
and the list goes on..

test from the first week with ammonia and nitrate untill they subsude.. nitrate will kick in from about the second week and hopefully subside whe your DSB becomes functional (6 month mark onwards).. other parameters should be tested monthly at least..
 
Cool, thanks Les...

I have some of those tests already, I'll go grab the ones I don't have this weekend.

I have been considering an algae scrubber as well. I am fairly confident that I can make one, what will the advantage of a scrubber be in the first few weeks of the cycle process? Would it prevent algae build up in the DT from the word go? Does an algae scrubber even prevent algae growth in the display tank?
 
Cool, thanks Les...

I have some of those tests already, I'll go grab the ones I don't have this weekend.

I have been considering an algae scrubber as well. I am fairly confident that I can make one, what will the advantage of a scrubber be in the first few weeks of the cycle process? Would it prevent algae build up in the DT from the word go? Does an algae scrubber even prevent algae growth in the display tank?

im sure it would most definatley redirect the algae growth from the DT. but algae will grow if there is dirt left in the system so circulation of getting waste to the skimmer and the rest to the scrubber will be important aswell. Other advantages are that it can be used for cooling if a fan is added. i have no doubt that you could easily DIY one..
 
Thanks again Les...

I'm going to my local shop this weekend to get some plumbing supplies. I'll use normal shade cloth for the scrubber. Plump a pipe over it and I'll install the 2 54 watt T5's in the canopy and use it like that. I also found someone with lots of Chaeto, so I'm going to pop some of that in the DSB as well. It's all starting to come together now. I'm very excited.
 
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