Planning Diary

(I add to the end of this article when I update, so scroll down!)

7/16 I went to my LFS (local fish store) to look for a tank, telling the owner what my plans were. I mentioned that I'd like to start off with a 50 gallon system and go from there - could I hang with it, and that I already have a 16 gallon freshwater system at home.

(insert freshwater tank pics here, after camera battery is recharged/replaced)

Much to my surprise, the LFS guy said "You know, reefs can be tricky, and you really want to avoid taking on too much at once. I'd suggest starting off with your 16 gallon tank, that way you don't have so much to take care of all at once, and if you find out you don't want to take care of it, you won't be out a lot of money." This made sense - you need 3-4 lbs of live sand per gallon of water, and the cheapest I've seen so far is $10/lb.

You can use less live sand, and propagate live sand creatures into dead sand, but more live sand is better. So, let's say I go with 1/4 of the live sand I need, that's still 12 lbs of live sand...that's $120!! OK...there's a cost I hadn't fully contemplated, but you get the picture - the LFS guy saved me a big bundle of trouble already.

Bottom line - I'm starting with my 16 gallon tank. After some calculations, I come to find out it's actually 15.698 gallons, but for my purposes 16 gallons is close enough. The only danger I can forsee is this - the consensus online is that although small systems are cheaper, because of their low water volume things can go wrong very quickly. A 10 gallon sump might not be a bad idea if I can fit it in the stand, I'll prolly endup with a 5 gallon sump.

So, I need to start thinking about things. A couple of stores sell sand bed seeding kits, and dead sand is actually quite cheap, the key being to get appropriate sized sand to be a useful environment to sand bed plants and animals.

Dead sand:
I'll talk to my LFS for this, as the thought of paying for shipping of dead sand kinda rubs me the wrong way.

Live sand seeding kits (see my DSB research):
IndoPacificSea Farms: SurfZone Live Sand Activator Plus $49.95 + s/h ($39.95 if you order something else), should kick start my dead sand. IPSF carries lots of neat stuff for later.
Inland Acquatics: Detritivore starter kit is $70
GARF: Garf Grunge live sand seed kit is $5/lb. (click on Marketing link)

OK...so that should be sufficient for the sand bed. If I get just these things, the sand bed will cost $125, but will be extremely biodiverse and likely need it's own feeding regimen.

Sump

I'm thinking a 11-12 gallon sump would help out a lot, given that the water volume of my main tank will be low due to DSB and live rock. Sump dimensions will be 22.5" wide x 10" deep x 15" tall (water height will be 13-14"), based upon the inner dimensions of my stand cabinet, and that I'll need to also install a shelf to hold tank care goodies.

Along with the sump will be an overflow box. Since this is siphon based, it will increase the overall water volume, probaly by a significant about given the current volume.

Siphon Flow Rate Calculations can be seen here, which should be useful for figuring what kind of return pump I'll need.

7/26 Sump Planning Continues:

top/bottom dimensions: 22.25" (1.85') w x 9.725" (0.81') d = 1.5 ft^2 x 2 pieces needed = 3 ft^2
side dimensions: 9.725" (0.81') d x 12" (1.0') h = 0.81 ft^2 x 2 pieces needed = 1.62 ft^2
front/back dimensions: 22.25" (1.85') w x 12" (1.0') h = 1.85 ft^2 x 2 pieces needed = 3.7 ft^2

Total ft^2 of acrylic needed 8.32 ft^2, so at least 2 2'x4' sheets, and very optimal cutting!

Here's a cutting diagram. Keep in mind, the saw blade is 1/8", so I left room all around. Also, the second sheet isn't going to waste, as I'll need material for the baffles and refugium area.




8/1

After a discussion with the wife, I've come to re-realize that the reef tank is my project. The issue came up with regards to feeding - reefs need diverse food sources, and you likely can't just give them fish flakes, AND there's the issue of me not being around to feed the system.

So...I've been looking into live food sources, and how to culture them. This sure is a lot for a little 16g reef system. Maybe flake and pellet food is OK by itself? Are these sufficient for corals? Hopefully this is the case, so I can just set up an automatic feeder, and supplement with plankton as time permits.

Ultimately, I need to keep this all in perspective - this is going to be a small experimental system. I'm already getting into the realm of over-engineering it by adding a sump, but IMHO, with such a small tank, adding volume is a cheap way to better chances of success.

Setting up the reef - be sure there are some low flow and shady areas.

I read some notes about overflow rates:

"Flowrate; shoot for 800-1200gph net. Make sure you get a quiet pump. I have had good luck with Mag-Drives; seems that my Mag18 runs quieter than an Iwaki MD although it is less efficient. The Euro-Reef skimmers run more quitely than the AquaC (although I'm a big fan of AquaC)."

from this thread on the BAR forum on reefcentral.

8/2

I got an interesting idea today...since I'll be setting up a small tank, and the area where it will sit has room, why not set up a stand next to the main tank, and put the sump/refugium there? I mean, everyone seems to want to hide all the stuff that makes the main display tank look nice, while I really like the "building an ecosystem" aspect of this hobby...so why not show the whole system off?

To date, I've done no research on lighing. Here's a great forum thread.

More lighting articles:
http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/
http://www.cnidarianreef.com/lamps.cfm
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/iss...003/feature.htm


Along those lines, I need to start thinking about corals and critters, cuz lighting will be key, especially for the corals.

Good Beginning reefing thread. <--- this is the new reef tank bible! 8/3 Here's a killer forum on raising live food.


8/8

In addition to cocepods, raise amphipods as well!

Here's a link to an article from DT, one in what looks like a very good series on raising live food.



8/19

I started a thread on ReefCentral and soon learned about another piece of the reef tank ecosystem - a "cryptic" filtration portion. Search on Tyree cryptic zone filtration for more info.

Basically, this is a portion of the system that's specifically designed to allow spunges and "sea squirts" to propagate. These creatures apparently remove the need for protein skimmers, and remove all sorts of harmful stuff from the water.

In my RC thread, SharkDude said he had a cryptic zone in his refugium. Basically, and area with live rock, and very low light.

7/22/06

Refugium Macro Algae - consider using Chaetomorpha Macro Algae - it doesn't go sexual like caulpera, and forms dense foliage, which is nice for raising amphipods, copepods, and mysid shrimp