60 gallon tank questions...!!!!

[arcab4]

hey guys,

so i just picked up a 60gallon tank. i know it's not an ideal size but the guy was selling it for 150 so i couldn't pass it up.

anyways...just wanted to get you guys feedback on some stuff...

1. give me any tips or helpful information!
2. i'm planning to use a cpr bakpak. that should be fine right?
3. going with RIO powerheads. how many should i get and how powerful should they be?
4. gonna order my lights from ahsupply.
5. marinedepot.com, flyingfishexpress.com - any other online sites out there?
6. anything i'm missing...hehe.

thanks!

johnny

 

[dattack]

Did you already buy the CPR back?  If so, I think it should be fine for a 60 gallon but not much bigger.

What kind of sand are you planning to put in your tank?  Aragonite?  They sell it at stores for almost 2$/lb.  But there is someone in Chino Hills selling southdown sand 50lbs for $15.

If you plan on getting lighting, marinedepot and ahsupply is very good deal.  But did there is another store in orange county, that I buy and pickup and its 10$ off every 50 dollar purchase.  It was advertised in the recycler not too long ago and advertised in different reef websites.  There is usually a coupon floating around for it but I would just call up and say that you got the ad from the recycler.  

http://www.lampsnow.com/

I have to go now but will be back and give you more info on other deals.

 

[dattack]

Oh yes go with the maxijet instead of the RiOs for powerheads.  Maxijets are more reliable and put out lots of power for its size and it's very cheap.  You can get that or the rio at  http://www.exoticfish.com/   which is also based in southern california.  I drove there to get some corals.
You can sign up under there mailing list and they have monthly sales.

 

[arcab4]

thanks for the help.

for lighting i'm going with 2x95watts from ahsupply. picked up some extra bulbs also for my freshwater29gallon.

for filtration, i'm going with a wet-dry. it's the CR-90 or something...comes with overflow..etcetc. got it at premiumaquatics.com - i got the wet-dry filter for up to 125gallon. (i like to overdo it on the filtration - more room for error plus in the future if i want to get a bigger tank..hint hint...)

also i'll be adding in a skimmer later from AquaC - the urchinpro i believe.

thanks for the help. i'm going to do some more research. no rush..cause i still have to repaint the canopy and stand. and in this hobby..it's all about being patient.

 

[dattack]

Is this a fish only tank?  Or is this for some corals also?  
Because you actually don't need a wet/dry filtration or any type of filtration if you decide to use a deep sand bed.  My tank actually have a 10 gallon sump that just circulate water and hold my skimmer for my 45 gallon tank.  The 45 gallon tank has 5 inch DSB that does the biofiltration itself.  
So stop buying equipment unless you know what you plan to do.
I can help you if you tell me what you plan to keep in your tank.

 

[arcab4]

i was going to keep some fish and some coral with liverock. not entirely a full-reef tank but something that's easy to manage. i was going to go with about 2inch of livesand for the substrate.

 

[dattack]

I personally wouldn't buy live sand itself but buy "dead" aragonite sand which is much cheaper.  When people advertise live sand it usually just mean that it has beneficial bacteria in it.  But if you buy live rock, it will seed your "dead" sand and in a few weeks it will be considered live.  That's why I buy a 50lb bag of playsand from another reefer for only $15.  It's made of aragonite which is the same stuff for like 25$ for 20 lbs.
Most people actually don't use wet/dry filters in their reef anymore because it's a nitrate factory and actually not very beneficial to corals.  If you have 4-6 inches of sand plus live rock, that's all the biological filtration you will need.  You can actually set up a system with only sand, live rock, and some powerheads and you are set.
But if you already bought the wet/dry, people actually don't use the bioballs but rather add some caluerpa, sand, macroalgae in the wet/dry.

BTW, Marinedepot is located in Santa Ana and they will match any price on the net.  Although premium aquatics is a very good deal.

 

[arcab4]

thanks for the info. i didn't know that about the live/dead sand. interesting. for the wet/dry i was going to remove the bioballs cause of the nitrate problem just like you said.

i was actually going to go down to marinedepot this weekend to check it out. i didn't realize they were local. my friend ordered a skimmer on monday and it just came yesterday. very quick.

 

[dattack]

Here are some local net businesses here in southern california.

http://www.lampsnow.com/

http://www.marinedepot.com/

http://www.fishsupply.com/

http://www.exoticfish.com/

 

[dattack]

I am not sure if you can get into this forum but is  at reefcentral.com and Dr. Shimek might give you some insight into the bioball stuff.  Check it out.

http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14065&highlight=bioballs