step by step from fresh to a reef

[Gouramiman]

step by step: from freshwater to a reef

ok... here it is. i am transfering my 40 gallon freshwater into a 40 gallon reef. For filtration i will be using a refugium. after much research i will be usiong an old 10 gallon i have lying around into the refugium. in this i will also use a sea clone 100 protein skimmer(wich i really regret buying after reading the post on it) for lighting on the refugium i will be using the 20 watt NO flourescent fixture i have on the tank now.
For lighting on the tank i will be using a 400 watt metal halide
(http://www.hellolights.com/40m1methalre.html)
with a 20,000 k bulb.
20 lbs of live sand and 40 lbs of Aragonite.
45 lbs of fiji lr

corals:
Lps
Sps
and others (not sure)

Fish:
Flame angel
coral beuty angel
gold head goby
and some others (not sure yet)

thats pretty much it for now.
this weekend i am taking down the fresh water and drilling the bottom for the overflow.

tell me wat you think

the tank now

 

[Gouramiman]

this is the light i am using for the refugium

 

[Gouramiman]

this is the 10 gallon that i am using.

 

[1979camaro]

sounds like a good plan to me...my only possible qualm would be the angels...probably not a good choice to keep two

 

[aresgod]

thats alot of light....plus u will be generating alot of heat and that will make lots of evaporation just make sure it is well ventilated

 

[Gouramiman]

yea i forgot to add the part about the 4 4" fans that will be going on the hood.

 

[S.Reef]

I would think the refugiu would need a little more light...another fluorescent strip? Also the angels will probably fight, so I would stick with just one. Everything else sounds fine.

 

[1979camaro]

i think the lighting on the refugium i probably suficient unless he plans to grow macroalgae...not sure what he is doing with it though

 

[1979camaro]

oh wait, now i remember the other post (vaguely...been a smidge sick)...sam is right about another flourescent tube

 

[Gouramiman]

yea i was also thinging that i would get one from home depot . is there certain bulbs the should be used for that or are 6,500 k be ok?

 

[1979camaro]

6500 should work well for growing the algaes...might compare prices at the LFS with the HD, a lot of times their standard size strip lights are actually fairly cheap in my experience

 

[Gouramiman]

well i have sween them at the lfs and they are $35 for a single one. i can get a single one at hd for $15 or a double for $30. they also have 6,500 k bulbs there specialy made for aquarium use.

 

[1979camaro]

sounds like the way to go then

 

[dbacksrat]

hmm...can't wait for the more "technical" updates--i think that's my favorite part of the hobby...putting all the stuff together
keep em coming--and good job so far

 

[Gouramiman]

me too. well tomorrow we are taking down th tank to get it drilled. then sometime time this week we are glueing in the overflow and the baffles for the refugium. all this i will take pictures of

 

[dbacksrat]

YES!!! (in a sick enthusiastic laugh)
what return pump will you be using? what about the flow rate through the overflow?

 

[Gouramiman]

i ahve no idea about the flow rate through the overflow. but the return pump i bought is 560 gph. i think this might be a bit of overkill but i will just put a ball valve on it to keep down the flow. protein skimmer should be comming in sometime this week. then i can begin making the refugium. tomorow i am going to take down the tank and possibly get it drilled for the overflow wich will be black plexiglass. after that i will do a wet test in my garage. then move it upstairs to be set up. i will take pics tomorow.

 

[1979camaro]

well, you want to turn over at least ten times your tank volume every hour...so taking into acount the head you are probably in a pretty good range...how big is your overflow going to be in inches? if you got it drilled for a 1in bulkead it can probably handle around 600-700gph...so as long as your return pump doesn't overmatch the amount of water the overflow can handle you shouldn't have any problem

 

[S.Reef]

Yeah, it should be fine.

 

[Gouramiman]

ok today i took down the tank (almost had a death )and cleaned it up really good. i also screwed the light under the stand for the refugium and put the 10 gallon in there to make sure it fit (that would suck if it didnt) i took a load of pics. i think i am going to go with a 4 x 4 overflow. i would go bigger but i am not using a pre filter because i heard they are just nitrate traps. instead i am getting a little bag thingy that hangs on the side of the sump i saw it at the lfs. heres the pics