[apexifd]

I want to convert my 30gal freshwater tank to reef tank. Here are what I am planning to get:

to buy:
25lbs of live rock
Coralife super skimmer 65
10gal sump
30 lbs live sand
power head(please suggest a good one for the tank size)

reuse:
AC50
jagger 250 watt heater

I think that's the all..

any feed back will be greatly appreciated.

 

[tab]

What about lighting?

 

[apexifd]

What about lighting?

eh.. 24" regular fluorescent light??? planning for stock for some fish, shrimp and soft coral

 

[Rogue9]

you're going to need more than a 24" flourescent for soft corals.
and I would get a better skimmer.

for powerheads I use the hydor korelia nano's. small but good widespread flow. not like a jet nozzle from a maxi or similar.

 

[tab]

Will need more light for coral.

 

[upster]

you're going to need more than a 24" flourescent for soft corals.
and I would get a better skimmer.

for powerheads I use the hydor korelia nano's. small but good widespread flow. not like a jet nozzle from a maxi or similar.

I agree 100%. From personal experience, do not get a Coralife skimmer. You will end up getting frustrated, having to "will" it to work properly or keep it from overflowing. Trust me, you will end up getting rid of it after a year. Spend the extra 50 bucks for a reliable in sump skimmer like a Vertex in-80.

Start slow and buy used/trade so you won't break the bank. A lot of people end up upgrading pumps and lights as their tank and experience grows. That being said, a good quality skimmer is a very important part of your system. You would be well served to get it right the first time.

 

[upster]

Oh, I almost forgot!

Before anything else, get a refractometer. Don't bother with the swing arm hydrometers. A set of test kits (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) are important to use while you are cycling your tank. After that you can look into getting kits for Alkalinity, Calcium, and magnesium if you start looking into LPS and SPS.

The value of live sand is debatable. Most of the beneficial pods and critters are long dead. It's good to seed your sand bed with a small amount of sand from an established tank anyway, so dry aragonite sand will work just fine. I'm in Richmond too. PM me and I can give you some sand when the time comes.

 

[Rogue9]

and live rock is usually 60% of retail cost used.
just make sure the person hasn't used any medications and that it's not TOO badly coverd with hair algae or bryopsis or aptasia.
Hair algae not TOO much of a worry it's the easiest of the 3 to get rid of. a good sea hare will do it, however sea hares (pretty much all inverts) need to go into an established stable tank, not just fresh out of cycle.
Bryopsis has been an impossible battle for me. I can't get rid of all of it without nuking the rock its on. (knock on wood) aptasia has never shown itself in my tank.

 

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I would also go with a 20g sump, since 10g is very small & will not only limit the size of skimmer you can have in there, but leave you with not enough spare volume in case your power goes out and water from your display drains into the sump. Usually, good idea to have 10-20% of your display volume as extra capacity for the sump. A larger sump will also give you more space to put equipment like heaters & the return pump.

You didn't list return pump (btw) in your original list.

I agree also that spending on a quality skimmer now will save you headaches & the need to upgrade later.

Lighting, you could get away with a couple of T5HOs to keep low light soft corals on this size tank. A normal fluorescent is only good for fish-only.

Use aragonite & seed with a cup or two of live sand from someone's tank. One of the members offered this & I would take him up on it.

 

[icecool]

I'd get a Tunze 9002 skimmer. Roughly betwee 80-130 used. For a 30G, you should use at least 2 Koralia nano.