30 Gallon Hex Set-Up

[fishn00b]

Hello. From the title you can see that I am planning to set up a 30 gallon hex tank. I realize hex tanks are no the best to have saltwater fish, but I am figuring that the taller type of tank would be good for either two seahorses, or a small reef with inverts and maybe two clowns. I have been thinking of the set up for some time and this is what I've come up with. Any ideas/improvements would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Substrate:

Live sand bottom (1.5 inches) with plenum. [Can someone explain how to create a plenum for a 30 gallon tank, I don't think they sell UGFs for hex's].

Live Rock:

I am planning on having a few pounds of Base Rock (how much for a 30 gallon hex, I was thinking around 10 pounds). And then having Live Rock set up around it for better filtering (I was thinking around 30 - 40 pounds of this). Would the Live Rock be a good idea if seahorses are kept in the tank? If not I will replace it with some type of plants... any ideas?

Lighting:

I was planning on approximately 200 watts with a metal halide system for the reef. If it was just a seahorse tank, perhaps less if I can get away with it. I have a question about T5 lighting though. I hear that it is just as good as metal halides for keeping corals alive? Is this true, and how many watts would I have to use of it to equal a 200 watt metal halide system.

Overflow:

Since the tank is only 30 gallons, it has not been drilled. I was thinking one of the simple overflow boxes on marinedepot.com (the cheapest one that drains 300 gph).

Sump/Refugium:

The overflow box will run to a sump or refugium. I want this to be an ecosystem filtration device but I do not want to buy the kits they have online for 500 dollars. Can I make my own out of an empty tank and their Miricle Mud? If I can how large should this refugium be?

Heater:

200 Watt Ebo Jager Heater placed in the Sump/Refugium.

Protein Skimmer:

I think either in the main tank... or the refugium just mentioned (which would be better?) I am going to place an Aqua C Remora Pro Protein Skimmer.

Return Pump:

I am not positive what return pump that I will be using, but I am eyeing the Danner Mag-Drive Supreme 3 350 GPH Water Pump. If I can use anything else, or something that works better please tell me. Like I said, I don't know much about return pumps.

UV Sterilizer:

On the way back to the tank, there will be a UV sterilizer attached to the line. This will be a Coralife Turbo-Twist 3X - 9 Watt U.V. Sterilizer.

Suppliments:

None on mind, but will I need any?

I believe that is everything. Thanks for reading this long post and hopefully you guys can comment on the set up I have. I'm trying to make this work as perfectly as possible. I'm trying for a seahorse tank, so I guess we can base the specifications off of that first, and if we realize that it isn't possible then we will go for the reef set up. If you need anything else explained please let me know. Thanks again.

[TheOldSalt]

Wow.
You've really put a lot of thought into it so far, I have to say.

Yes, you can make your own ecofilter using a small tank. A 10 is big enough in volume, but not a practical size. A 20-long is much better, but expensive. A good substitute would be a sterilite plastic tub, a long one.

The UV unit can't handle that flow rate, so you'll you'll have to make a bypass for it.

Rock is fine for seahorses, but if you can get a patch of seagrass instead, you can save a lot of hassle and expense while making a more optimum environment for horses. Down here I can just go dig it up whenever I want some, but it's hard to find in shops.

Otherwise, things are looking good with your plan.

[fishn00b]

Excellent. Thanks so much for the quick reply. I was also opting to get the UV sterilizer that is 18 watts (It handles approx. 200 - 400 gph). It's only a few dollars more, but if it won't work I'll just do the bypass as you suggested.

Any thoughts on how to make my plenum? I'm not really sure on how to do that. Thanks again.

[TheOldSalt]

Oh, right.
They make UGF's for hex tanks, sure.

Otherwise you can make one with some plastic screen cut to fit which sits atop some UGF riser tube pieces laying flat on the bottom.

[fishn00b]

Alright, that sounds good. I'll look around for some UGFs then, probably at Petco or Petsmart. Thanks TOS.

If anyone thinks of any other ideas later on to improve this I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

[Fishfirst]

well if there is one thing that I can think of its this

I'd try the clowns first, then when you get your feet wet and the tank has matured you can either get a new tank for the clownfish or sell them/give them away and make room for seahorses. As you probably already are aware of seahorses are a bit harder than most fish in this hobby.

[fishn00b]

Yeah, that isn't a bad idea. I guess I would go with the clownfish and then some inverts as a cleaning crew. Can anyone explain the difference between T5 and Metal Halide for me? Thanks.

[flamingo]

Yeah, definitely go with the clowns. Not saying seahorses are some ungodly hard to keep creature or anything but they do require a lot of thought and care and may just be too much work when starting up your first saltwater tank. With most people, and me when I started, when Setting up your first sw tank it's pretty hard enough as it is, you don't need to also worry about the requirements of seahorses at this time. Get some more experience so you'll be able to cope with everything when it shows up, things like clowns will usually go through the mistakes of "beginners" but seahorses NEED stable conditions that most people new to the sw hobby can't usually fully give right away. Let your tank establish, get more experience, maybe read my article on seahorses on the profile section lol,go to seahorse.org, and just wait and see if you really want to go ahead with seahorses. But till than start off easier ( well as easy as you can lol).

I also have to agree you've been doing your research and planning pretty well so far so you'll most likely start off pretty good lol.

I'm not the lighting expert here but i'll tell you what i've seen, heard, read, and all that:

T5 lighting and metal halide both are very good lighting choices. They have they're advantages, and disadvantages. With most reef systems they will suffice to keep most things alive but in bigger tanks you can mix the two and will make most things thrive, like clams. A lot of people suggest putting t5 lighting on smaller tanks since metal halides get muchj hotter and it's a lot harder to control the temps in smaller tanks than bigger tanks. All around I would try to get the lowest price things since your probably not going to be getting into clams or anything, which isn't recommended for a first tank, unless you really know what your doing.That's really all I know so just keep asking questions and researching. lol.

For the sump: go with TOS's plan and get a plastic tub. You get more quantity for your money. Look around and you'll find those 30 gallon tubs for 16-3- dollars, 20 gallons are what now? lol. Section the tub off intoabout 3 or 4 areas. One the bubble trap, intake, skimmer section. The others for a little fuge, sump, and pump housery. Don't know fully how to explain this since I got the idea off of a site. I made a diagram type thing showing what I was going to do but with the addition of mangroves, may still have it but prolly lost it since I never went through with the idea. Preety neat idea and MUCH MUCH MUCH cheaper than buying those little tidepool things that are 150 when I can make a sump and all for less than that. All Most of the things are is cheap plastic containers or acrylic that can be made as long as you can get ahold of materials.

I would put the skimmer before the fuge. Macroalgae and all that good stuff will get rid of organics, to a point. Put the skimmer first so it gets rid of most of the bigger organics and all so the fuge only has to deal with the smaller stuff. Also I wouldn't put in an undergravel filter, highly unrecommended for saltwater tanks. had one once on my saltwater and it's pretty bad lol.

Ah well Typed alot there and missed a lot but hope I explained some of the stuff ok lol. Of course I know I made at least one mistake so feel free to correct me anyone, probably read some stuff wrong lol.

[Daniel]

ebay for your lighting some stuff is being given away-check feedback before purchasing

[Fishfirst]

Also make sure you get food grade plastic containers... I believe these are the most safe and won't leach stuff into the water. And about the UV sterilizer... if you get horses eventually, you'll want the sterilizer before the fuge or attached seperately. You won't want to be killing all those pods that get sucked up do you? Pods are good horse food too.

[fishn00b]

I guess I will look around for a large bucket then. I read on another post here that if I was going to make it into an ecosystem filter that I would have to have the tank completely covered so no other light gets in except for the light strip on the top. Is this true? And how would you recommend I do it.

Also I've been reading on seahorses for a very long time, and have read your article, Flaminonhot, as well as everything on seahorse.org, as well as some other articles I could find on the internet. I wasn't planning on using an under gravel filter, I just needed the bottom so I could place the live sand on top and create a plenum. Although I am having trouble finding a UGF for a 30 gallon. And also the more I think about it, I'm worried that the slits in the UGF that allow the water to go below it, will that be small enough so the live sand does not fall through (if you understand what I'm trying to say)?

[Fishfirst]

I really thought of that before too... although I'm sure the old salt knows what he's talking about, I'm wondering the same thing. I'm setting up my new bosses 180 display with a plennum/skimmer/and small fuge... I was possibly going to use 3 UGF plates if it'd work out right...

[fishn00b]

Yeah, I've just been having alot of trouble finding a place that sells 30 gallon UGFs. So I haven't been able to see if the sand will fall through or not (let alone buy it). If worse comes to worse I'll just have to make one out of something else.

Although for the refugium, I'd much rather use a 20 gallon long then a Rubbermaid.

[TheOldSalt]

Live sand sits on top of a UGF plat no problem. Sure, a wee bit falls through, but it clogs up very quickly.
Most big mailorder places carry ugf's in many hex sizes. Hmmm... Foster/Smith doesn't. How odd. I'd think that pet Solutions does, though, or maybe ThatFishPlace is an even better bet. If not, though, once again you can just make your own plenum from small mesh plastic screen & riser tubes. More work, but probably cheaper if you can avoid buying a whole roll of screen.

Have to keep the tank completely covered...???
Uhm..no.
All you have to do is keep the always-on light from the filter from getting into the main tank at night. There are many ways to do that, depending on any given setup's configuration.

[fishn00b]

OH... I read in one of the other posts where the ecosystem was mentioned that the sump must be covered at all times. I must have looked into it wrong, thinking that maybe because of the extra light coming during the day would cause the caulpera to go to "sleep" at night with the lack of light (even though the refugium light was still on). Thankfully I don't have to cover it.

As for the hexagon undergravel filter.... I found one on petco.com but I will look at the sites you recommended TOS. The one I found on petco did not seem to fit properly. My tank dimensions are (according to Oceanic's website) 20 x 17 x 25.5.

Thanks again guys.

[fishn00b]

Also I found a lighting system on Hellolights.com

http://www.hellolights.com/aqadhatamo.html

can someone tell me if this would be good for the 30 gallon hex? I'm having a hard time finding something that would fit the top of the tank since it is only 20 inches long. I might want to also get some lunar lights too, but I'm just worrying about this now. Will this do, is there anything better/cheaper out there that I can get that will work just as well?

Sorry about the double post.

[Fishfirst]

It should be okay, how deep is the tank though? Penitration for a 150 watt light is kinda short. If its deeper than 24 inches I'd get a 250 watt model or possibly a 175 if its on the border... Otherwise if you are just happy having a 150 watt light I'd just put lower light corals on the bottom of your liverock and the higher light corals at the top.

[fishn00b]

The tank is about 25.5 inches deep (I'm guessing from the dimensions given). So I'm guessing that after the plenum and sand is added the rocks/coral will rest at around 24 inches. I will look for a 250 watt model then. Thanks.

[Fishfirst]

eh, as long as you don't mind not having high light corals down deep you shouldn't have a problem with those lights.