Setting up a new 40gal SW

[rennocneb]

Hi,
i have a 20 gallon reef tank and im looking to do a 40 gallon long SW FOWLR tank. what should i look into filtration wise?

 

[aresgod]

Live rock and a good skimmer,

 

[rennocneb]

ive got about 40 pounds of rock that is available between my smaller tank that im taking down and my aunt that has a large tank. Any suggestions on the skimmer?

 

[S.Reef]

I would get like a Bakpak by CPR or maybe a Aqua C remora. You could also use a few powerheads. Maybe a HOB filter for mechanical filtration.

 

[aresgod]

i have an Aqua-c remora, like it alot, does a great job

 

[rennocneb]

i got a good deal on a red sea prizm deluxe which i know isnt the best but should work i think. Im looking at lighting now id like to keep a few soft corals like mushrooms what type of lighting should i be looking into

 

[1979camaro]

power compacts

 

[S.Reef]

Yeah...power compact, maybe even regular fluorescents.

The skimmer should be fine for a 40 gallon.

 

[rennocneb]

Hi the shop im purchasing my stuff from is telling me i should go with 260w of power compact which if thats what i need i will but if i can use less electricity that would be great. That seems like a lot of heat and energy to eat up lighting a fairly shallow tank.

 

[1979camaro]

if a 40L is 48" which i assume it is that is probably the only wattage fixture which is designed for the tank in PC...might as well go with it, the more light you have the more stuff you can keep...besides, the difference between 160w PC and 260w PC in terms of power usage is minimal

 

[aresgod]

yea and actually you will want more than the 260W PC fixture on a 40 long, I know i do....but it does the job

 

[S.Reef]

Well...all he really wants is mushrooms and a few leathers.

 

[aresgod]

yes thats what he says now, but inevitablly most people want more...but if you only want shrooms and leathers then just get the 160W

 

[rennocneb]

Well ive been doing reef tank for awhile and im sure all i want are the softer corals and fish. The shop has a 130w and a 260w fixture basically for double the price. And really im more worried about heat and power usage as its in a small room with a computer in it as well. Right now im deciding on lighting will be using the prizm skimmer and a Filstar XP2 with biostars in it. gonna start out lightly stocked with about 30-35 pounds of good live rock for now.

 

[1979camaro]

with PCs you probably don't need to worry about heat...might as well ditch the filstar and just run powerheads (imo) and rely on the live rock for biological filtration. I would strongly reccomend getting the 260w...the 130w may seem like a lot but you will notice much better growth with the 260w

 

[aresgod]

yea, and I have a 40 long and i had 115 watts on it when it was cycling and it had dark patched in the tank and really didnt look very good at all, just My opinion, and yea ditch the filstar, not necesarry

 

[S.Reef]

Get rid of the biomedia in the canister filter, if you use it run it without anything.

 

[rennocneb]

OK i bought a ORBIT 260w with the moonlight in it last night and began setting up the tank. 50lbs of live sand so far and about 25pounds of fiji live rock with about 15 pounds of base to get things started. How many powerheads should i be running if i do no canister filter? i was looking to use the canister to help with bio filtration and mainly to polish up the water and keep it crystal clear. Ive also been considering going to a tidepool system on the tank so i can hide the heater skimmer etc. But not sure the advantage is worth a couple hundred bucks.

 

[1979camaro]

well, i presonally like having a sump to hide the equipment...as far as bio filtration the canister is not necessary (you will have more than you need in the LR) and the media will tend to cause nitrates to build up (which is bad). generall you want to turn your water over at least 10x per hour in a SW tank so you want at least 400gph out of the powerheads. of course, you can use the canister filter for part of that, i would just reccomend taking out all the media

 

[rennocneb]

ok will i be ok with only about 25 pounds of live rock and 15 pounds of lace rock to start the tank since the bio load will be low. And i think im going to go pure powerhead for circulation as that is much easier than plumbing the canister filter. so your saying if i go with a sump use it only to hide equipment and for water volume then? I have a spare 20 gallon tank am i correct in thinking i could simply use this with a mairenland over the back overflow and a return pump? One concern i have about the sump is possible leakage in a power failure or if the overflow becomes blocked is there a way to set thi up to prevent uch a possibility?