1st reef tank, needs to be done cheap (I keep freshwater planted ecosystem aquariums)

[NoahLikesFish]

I did a lot of talking to friends who have been in the reef hobby for a long time and watched father fish and asked him a couple things, he swears by deep sand beds because there is evidence about the health of the sand bed in the 1st 10” or so directly correlates with health of the reef. I’d probably do 1” of mud 2” of sand then layer a bit of rubble of shells and crushed coral

 

[NoahLikesFish]

What biotope are you going for

I’m trying to make a costal lagoon/reef with macroalgae and soft coral. Maybe lps

 

[NoahLikesFish]

The filter I have is made for a 75g tank it has like 600 gph. If I use it on 1 side then a powerhead on the other side to make random flow?

 

[ying yang]

Just curious.you are going to be 10 inch high of mud/ sand/ then crushed coral on top
How high is the tank? Maybe 15- 18 inch high on the 20 g tank ? If so you not got much room for fish or macro algae ^_^

 

[NoahLikesFish]

No it’s a 20 long 3-4” deep not like 10” substrate that would probably crash

 

[NoahLikesFish]

1” or 1/2“ of mud 2” of sand 1/2 or 1” of crushed coral and shells

 

[ying yang]

Yeah i would be wanting some flow in tank to keep that detritus moving around and allow to get in your filter as crushed coral traps detritus really badly.but if you wanting dirty tank then its ideal for you

 

[ying yang]

Ok good luck and put pictures of it up so can follow as like seeing all the different ways we all choose to run our tanks.
Some i can just admire.
Some i can steal some ideas.
And some i can think ok that way doesn't work so i wont do that way ^_^

 

[NoahLikesFish]

the Crushed coral is to boost microfauna population and make zones for fish to build nests and burrows because it holds shape better than sand. I Hope I can get all wild fish because the captive bred species wont show natural behavior. I want to get hopefully clarkii clowns wild caught because they have a lot more predatorial instinct which is fun to watch. If I keep it planted and coraled enough there will still be lots of hiding places. What kind of corals would do well in this setup? Im assuming things like Kenya tree xenia gsp and others will work. I’m starting to doubt a puffer, would a 3” leopard eat shrimp and arrow crabs and snails and things? I kinda want like cleaner shrimp and arrow crabs . Hopefully also I can make a little display refugium out of a 5G for my nightstand with things like crabs and bubbit worms. (i think bobbits are cute, anyone who says they eat coral is mis identifying or is stupid)

 

[Acros]

As per information available online, even the leopard puffer is only suggested for fish only systems (meaning they will eat inverts).

I am not sure if you are applying the 1” per gallon rule for stocking. That doesn’t really apply to saltwater (SW). The maximum you can stock is 1” per 5 gallon. You have to factor in fish growth and they grow very fast.

I have had freshwater tank for about 15 years and have breed live bearers for a while before getting into SW. The only useful information that I could apply for SW was that the tank needs cycled (just the nitrogen cycle, tank maturity is a different thing). Nothing else transferred to SW, at least for me.

You are the first one to say that they want all wild caught fish, in a long time, especially during a time where the hobby is trying to minimize their impact on the ocean. Just something to think about.

Regarding live rock, I am getting mine shipped from gulfliverock.com. That is the cheapest I found. It will take up to 4 days to ship depending on where you live.

 

[NoahLikesFish]

If it’s 1” per 5 gallons 1 pair of clowns needs 50 gallons

 

[NoahLikesFish]

No other fish

 

[NashobaTek]

You can always go real old school and use the reverse under gravel filtration system which uses power heads, and it will help keep the sand bed going. I know of several tanks like this that have been running for years with zero issues.

 

[NashobaTek]

You can always go real old school and use the reverse under gravel filtration system which uses power heads, and it will help keep the sand bed going. I know of several tanks like this that have been running for years with zero issues.

 

[NoahLikesFish]

literally 4 tiny gobies would need 20 gallons. Not including territory in that rule. I belive in 1” per gallon especially with the amount of biofiltration and microfauna I’m having. Also I’m not keeping glofish corals and crazy things that cost hundreds of dollars

 

[NoahLikesFish]

What’s reverse under gravel

 

[NoahLikesFish]

Will the mud or dirt make issues with reverse UG? Also how do I collect sand for a reef tank? Should I put it in a bucket of gulf seawater then a air stone? I live in Indiana but I’m going to Florida so I can locally source it. How long will it last. Can it be in a car?

 

[NoahLikesFish]

I would fill a 5 gallon bucket with it and a ziploc bag with mud or I’d just use soil

 

[NashobaTek]

What’s reverse under gravel

It's a under gravel filtration system with reverse flow, so instead of pulling water down through the gravel, it pushes water up through the gravel. There's several videos of them on u-tube

 

[NashobaTek]

Put the mud down first then the plates and the sand and crushed coral on top of the plates.