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Saltwater Tank Ideas

Discussion in 'Saltwater Fish Forum' started by Anthony, Sep 7, 2008.

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  1. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    Okay, I went out again today looking at tanks/stands and comparing prices tank sizes.

    I went back to Pet Forum in Charlottesville and looked at their tanks again. They have a 40 gallon breeder with light, covers, and wrought iron stand for about 240.00. I wouldn't use the lighting fixture that came with that package so that's a waste. PetsMart has the 40 gallon tank by itself for 130.00. The problem is that they don't carry the stand for it so I'd have to buy it from Pet Forum for (I think) 160.00 which is way overpriced.

    While I was looking at their tanks I noticed a 20 long is only 30 bucks. Up north I paid 54 for a 20 gallon tank. So then I started thinking about getting that with a wooden stand. It would be more cost efficient with filling it with corals to begin with and then I could set up a larger tank a few months later and have corals from the 20 to use.

    I think Pet Forum had a 30 gallon long with an iron stand for 154 which seems like a good deal too. Maybe that's the better route to go.

    My main concern is buying a larger tank and when the time comes that I'm able to buy coral for it that I would have to spend another 800+ to fill it.

    I just wanted to bounce ideas off of you guys and get your opinions on what I should do. Keep in mind I have to buy EVERYTHING for this tank.
     
    Anthony, Sep 7, 2008
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  2. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

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    You know as well as I do a small tank turns into a larger tank and a small tank. ;)
     
    Anonymous, Sep 7, 2008
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  3. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    I know I know. :)
     
    Anthony, Sep 7, 2008
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  4. trajik ink

    trajik ink New Member

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    give me until tomorrow to answer this one.....i'll have a financial plan for you all made up.. :)
     
    trajik ink, Sep 7, 2008
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  5. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    Okay, that would be great. LoL
     
    Anthony, Sep 7, 2008
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  6. gangstafish

    gangstafish Member

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    You should be able to get everything off of Craaig's
    list. For tank have you tried Glasscages.com?
     
    gangstafish, Sep 8, 2008
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  7. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    I checked CraigsList and there aren't any tanks I'd be interested in around here.

    I've looked at glasscages.com before. The only problem with them is that they're expensive to one shipped last I checked. I'll look again though.
     
    Anthony, Sep 8, 2008
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  8. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

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    I go on craigslist every day looking for tanks. Sometimes I see great deals and sometimes I don't but its still good to go on there and look in general and pets, usually they're in general though.

    I would start with the biggest you can possibly get in your price range at first just because after everything is set up, its always "darn I wish I went bigger"
     
    Anonymous, Sep 8, 2008
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  9. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    Yeah, I know how that goes. :) Space is the issue with this tank. I want to put it in the sun room and I only have one wall it can go on because of how it's set up.
     
    Anthony, Sep 8, 2008
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  10. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    Okay, I have until Friday to figure out what I'm going to do. Friday morning I'm going to buy something. I can't wait any longer. :)
     
    Anthony, Sep 8, 2008
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  11. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

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    well don't make any silly decisions because of your impatience ;)
     
    Anonymous, Sep 8, 2008
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  12. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    I'll try not to. :D
     
    Anthony, Sep 8, 2008
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  13. trajik ink

    trajik ink New Member

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    ok, anthony i came up with that plan.......
    buy the tank new...if you look around should find one that's cheap enough.
    i think building a stand for the 40 gal. shouldn't be a problem for someone that's handy and it shouldn't cost more than 60 dollars.
    next your going to need a protein skimmer....if your planning on stocking your tank with a heavy bioload....DON'T skimp out on this!!!! the majority of the money is going to be on the protein skimmer....which is the most important peice of equiptment.
    next get yourself some koralia 3's for you flow....which is another inmportant part.....if you buy cheap pumps then you'll be in trouble in the long run....
    as for lighting power compacts should be well for some anemones and soft corals.....you can find them for pretty cheap money.....
    i would find a used sump or make one out of a ten gal. you might find or have laying around.......a rio pump in the sump should do well for a 40 gal.
    your going to need a overflow box which can get pricey at times but for the size of the tank your using you can probably find one for like 30-40 bucks.
    DON'T go buy the rocks from the lfs....it's better to wait until someone is selling them for cheap, you need at least 50 lbs.
    sand is always available, you'll want about a 3'' bed.
    then comes setting it all up and waiting and waiting ...... ...... ..... ... .... ..
    well you get the picture....lol.
    and always keep in mind what your trying to keep for livestock when buying.
    all this should cost around $800
     
    trajik ink, Sep 8, 2008
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  14. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    Thanks for all that info Will. I think I'm going to get a 30 long. I can get that with a stand for 150.00 which I think is decent.

    I thought about getting this for the skimmer, what do you think ?
    [​IMG]
    <a class="postlink" href="http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp19172/si2219838/cl0/tomskimmerboxautostopandstart" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ct ... opandstart</a>

    As far as the koralia's go. Wouldn't the 3's be too much ? I'm not sure how strong they are. What about two nano's with controllable pumps ?

    I think I'm just going to buy a canister filter and not bother with the wet dry thing, for now at least. Between the canister and that skimmer/filter I think it should be sufficient. I can always work on that in a month or two. I want to get it set up ASAP to start getting it cycled.
     
    Anthony, Sep 8, 2008
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  15. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    I just realized the Koralia Nano I was looking at that had a controllable flow rate only worked with the wavemaker. The normal Koralia Nano has a flow rate of 256 GPH. These are the type that the cord doesn't actually go in the tank, correct ?
     
    Anthony, Sep 8, 2008
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  16. trajik ink

    trajik ink New Member

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    that's more of a refugium than a skimmer.....forget the canister it's going to give you nitrates, that's what happened to me as you can recall.
    i didn't mean to get a wet/dry a sump is a totally different thing.
    check it out on the net and get back to me.
     
    trajik ink, Sep 8, 2008
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  17. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    Okay, so that is out.

    Yeah, I know what you mean. I just accidentally typed wet dry because I was thinking about uncwnell's wet dry problem.
     
    Anthony, Sep 8, 2008
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  18. trajik ink

    trajik ink New Member

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    well the koralia nano's are nice and yes the cord is outside, i guess 2 of those will be fine for a 30 gallon.
     
    trajik ink, Sep 8, 2008
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  19. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    If I do a sump at a later time what type of filter should I use for now ?

    On my 10 gallon I just used two small HOBs at each end of the tank.
     
    Anthony, Sep 8, 2008
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  20. trajik ink

    trajik ink New Member

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    for a 30.....i would say 1 penguin 350 bio wheel filters....and get a killer protein skimmer because your going to need it later on....trust me on that one.
     
    trajik ink, Sep 8, 2008
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