[judobadger]

I have kept African cichlids for years, but I want to try saltwater and corals.

I have an empty 75 gallon drilled in the back, two new aquaclear 110 filters, heaters, a danner mag 9 pond pump, an old compact florescent 48" fixture with two 96 watt bulbs, and some older power heads.

What I dont have is a large budget ( I am Dad to 3 toddlers ) or the knowledge and skill to pull a frugal start together.

What have you learned, what tips do you have? Can I star a simple setup without burying a thousand dollars in equipmet, rock, and sand?

 

[on the spot]

So torn here - a 75 is a good size first tank. quite tall though, which will limit what you could reasonably expect to accomplish with CFLs.

If you could find some metal halide ballasts cheap enough...Gull wing reflectors are pretty cheap, and still available. ebay bulbs work pretty good, and cheap too.

So to "on the cheap" this some more, PVC can work for the structure of the tank. I'd use sand for bacterial colonization. A good two inches or more.

You could use the mag pump through the drilled holes as a closed loop for circulation. This "drilled through the back" include an overflow box?

It'll likely look quite rough this way. It'll work though.

HTH

 

[judobadger]

I asked for frugal and you delivered. I want to aim a bit higher, but its very important to know that I can get started one way or the other.

I am trying to sell off a few items to help fund this project. No guarantees.

I dont have an overflow box, but I do have a 30 tall I could use for a sump. It's a bit tall in my stand, but workable.

We are installing a 75 gallon ro filter for drinking water so I have water taken care of.

The Danner Mag 9 (900 GPH) pump was my return pump a long time ago. It had a tee with a valve to reduce flow since the flow was too much for my overflow. Would it be too much for a closed loop? I also found a danner mag 7 (700 gph) pond pump hidden away.

The tank has 1 hole drilled high on the right. Its plugged now, but I thought it would let me move to a sump in the future.

I think I need to plan for rock one way or the other. I want to make sure this looks appealing in the long run. I know I can get dry rock 3-4 bucks per lb. Is there much chance of finding a good deal on used rock from someone?

I will star looking around at lights. Any more advice is absolutely welcome. I should have RO installed this weekend and will be thinking on next steps.

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[on the spot]

You can valve the output of any magnetic pump without damaging the pump. The losses from plumbing alone would likely be enough throttle though.

Dry, used rock turns up frequently around here. Typical selling price is closer to $1/pound. Patience and a sound prep regimen will help.

 

[judobadger]

There is a listing for live rock around 2 per lb now. May be worth thinking about assuming ro goes well this weekend. Is not having decent lights right away isnt an issue

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[weimers75]

If your tank is drilled you don't need an overflow box. You'll simply need to plumb your sump into the drilled holes. Usually though, tanks are drilled on the bottom and not the top, so you'd need to look for ways to make that work.

Check out sump designs...since you have a 30 you can make a sump out of that, but tanks are pretty cheap and the bigger sump you can go with the better in the long run. You'll store a lot of equipment there so its not in your main tank, and it adds a lot of water volume.

Dry rock on here typically goes for $1 a pound, live rock about $2.

You can usually pic up used fixtures on here as well if you plan to do corals in the future. Compacts will work fine initially for fish and maybe mushrooms and other low-light corals.

 

[judobadger]

Update I now have the following. I think I am in good shape for setup and cycling.

Sand 2 bags and Dry Rock 80 lbs
MarsAqua 165w x 2
AquaC Remora Skimmer
RO filter
Salt
Test kits including CA, KH, Phosphate, Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite

I am not setting up a sump right now. I think it will be an easy upgrade in the future since the aquarium is already drilled high in the back.

Is there anything I am missing due to inexperience or oversite that jumps out at you? I will have some time cycling and plan to use it getting used to mixing water, testing, top off etc. Do you have suggestions for reference material or things I should review? My goal is to get to the point where I have an aquarium full of only salt water, but ready for some life.

 

[weimers75]

If the sand is dry you'll need something to seed the tank with. A live rock or two or a handful of sand from an existing tank will work. You'll have enough die off on the dry rock that you won't need to add any food to kick-start the cycle. Please don't use any live fish for your cycle!

After about a week you can begin testing your water...then every other few days until your ammonia and nitrates are zero.

 

[judobadger]

The cycle will be interesting. I started setting this up as a freshwater cichlid tank before deciding to switch to saltwater. I have been doing a fishless, ammonia fed, cycle on the tank with freshwater. I plan on draining, aquascaping, and refilling with saltwater, while leaving the filter media in place. My hope is that the freshwater cycle will finish in saltwater. I dont know if the bacteria are different between the two, but will find out.

Worst case is the switch over kills of the bacteria and I start a new cycle. Best case the cycle is much shorter.

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[judobadger]

Rock with my daughter for scale.

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[weimers75]

If you tried to put a pic in there it didn't go thru...

 

[judobadger]

Weird I see them. Is there a setting?

 

[on the spot]

I see them too.

Cute.

 

[weimers75]

That's weird...I see nothing

 

[judobadger]

Sand, dry rock, saltwater, equipment and a little bit of live rock all setup. Cycle is started and thinking about how to hang my lights.

Found a 12 dollar tv mount that should do the trick.

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[judobadger]

Question. I have the two AC110 filters on the back, and I am cycling. I ham having problem with micro bubbles from the 110s and from my skimmer (aquac remora with maxijet 1200). I know that is typical, but it started me wondering. Should I even be running the ac110s? I have a skimmer, 80 lbs of rock, and enough flow. Would I be better of with or without the ac110s?

 

[on the spot]

It's likely better off without them - at least full time. Salt spray and creep will prove exceptionally annoying.
They are nice to run small quantities of carbon or GFO as needed though.

BTW the tank looks good.

 

[on the spot]

that 12 dollar TV mount working out?

Don't leave us "hanging" here...

 

[judobadger]

It worked awesome. Mounted lights to it with aluminum channel.

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[Commerce Reefer]

Very innovative way to hang lights. Haven't seen anyone do this before. I'm not sure what you ended up doing for sump but I would caution against using a tall tank depending on height of your stand. I used to have a 75 gallon with 30gal tall sump and it was a pain to get equipment in and out to clean it especially skimmer