40g corner (new to saltwater) tank

Hoggle7828 · May 4, 2020

We have a (non-drilled)40g corner tank that used to be a freshwater community tank that we are convert to our first saltwater tank now.

quarter circle tank
radius ~24 inches
height ~21 inches

A deal is pending on a lightly used reef octopus hob 2000 for $90. It’s way over sized, but I foresee upgrading into a 75g down the road if we ever get a house and a goldfish pond. I’ll use a hob power filter for mechanical.

I’m going fowlr for now with hopes of gsp, frogspawn and/ or some zoas down the road.

For now, I’m considering using freshwater lighting until we can get good lights in the winter or spring.

Im going to get about 30-40lbs of cured live rock as soon as possible. Then we will cycle and start our clownfish tank. We will be buying rodi water from our lfs.

Stocking thoughts:
2 ocellaris clowns
2 pajama or benggai cardinals
Small cuc.

Anythoughts or suggestions?

hdsoftail1065 · May 4, 2020

Sounds like a nice build so far and stocking plan so far. Are going with sand or bare? Yellow watchman and a pistol would be a nice addition.

Hoggle7828 · May 5, 2020

I’m going to talk the folk at my lfs, but probably live sand. I hate having sand in my goldfish tank though because they are messy little beasts. So tentatively, I’m aiming for .5”-1” layer of sand. That’s probably not enough for the watchman to be happy. Correct?

New&no clue · May 5, 2020

I have a yellow watchman and pistol shrimp pair and my sand bed is 1"-1.5". They will move the sand to where they wont it. If you don't like messiness I wouldn't recommend them as they move sand everywhere. I think they are fun to watch so I don't mind.

Hoggle7828 · May 5, 2020

It’s not the messiness as much as goldfish are poop machines.

New&no clue · May 5, 2020

lol okay then probably not a problem

Hoggle7828 · May 7, 2020

We got the protein skimmer(Reef Octopus hob 2000) for $90 today.

As we budget, it looks like it makes sense to get 40 lbs live sand and 30 lbs of rock (half dry and half live). As long as the tank stays fowlr, using a Beamswork cheap light shouldn't be a huge deal right? That's what I was using before. I'd like to eventually pick up an AI Prime or a Kessel. That being said, if the money doesn't come, Viparspectra it is.

The addition of yellow watchman and pistol shrimp pair to the stocking plan seems interesting. How do they behave with hermit crabs?

Hoggle7828 · May 18, 2020

Today, I got about 17lbs of dry life rock with the plan to get 10lbs of live rock soon( is after I get the water) Also, I picked up 30lbs Caribsea black aragonite reef sand for once we have the water in.
After playing around for about an hour, I took two videos of potential formations, and I’d love some feedback. Please ignore the mess in the background, two bedrooms with 3 small kids = chaos.

F i s h y · May 18, 2020

you are on the right path. The watchman goby and shrimp should fit into your plan fine..welcome to the party! Reefing is so much fun. Happy reefing!

Hoggle7828 · May 20, 2020

Ok, got back from the LFS again today. We got the rest of the live rock and our water. Also, we got a bottle bacterial for an extra jump start. Once the water clears up a bit, I’ll post some pictures.
They said we would be fine taking home 2 (True) perculas (they had no ocellaris left). So, we have our first clownfish!

Manda0597 · May 27, 2020

Can you post a pic of how your light looks? I am getting a 90 gallon quarter circle tank this weekend and am looking for an economical light as I am not doing corals for the time being

Hoggle7828 · Jun 4, 2020

Will do very soon. Quarantine life in a small apartment with 3 little kids is hectic. Lol

Hoggle7828 · Jun 4, 2020

I went with my super cheap old beams work light. It’s not great by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s a placeholder. If all you want is something to turn on and off, it works. It’s not a pretty option though. The cheap LEDs show there colors in polka dots of light through the rock work.

We did something different with the setup from before. Instead of putting it in a corner, we put it against the wall next to our computer table which now separates the edge of the kitchen table from the computer desk. So if you sit at either the computer table or the kitchen table, you can’t really see the other. It’s a nice separation, and the round edge reduces the number of times our kids clip the edge of it.

Hoggle7828 · Jun 9, 2020

Sunday, we got our water tested and was given guidance as to how to fix some minor issues before major issues begin. Our salinity was 1.023 instead of the 1.025 like when it first came from the LFS. Also, the Ph was only 8.0 instead of the 8.3 it was when bought. We believe we found the root issue, and adjustments are being made. Everything else is thriving, and we picked out 6 little Astraea snails, 2 bigger snails and 6 little dwarf hermit crabs. The ugly days of algea have begun, and the CUC like it.

Hoggle7828 · Jul 8, 2020

Well, it’s been a while. Since the last post, we picked up two benggai cardinal fish, algae is in love with our live rock, and despite providing extra shells, the one of the hermits loves to play boot crustaceans out of their shells(2 hermits and a astraea snail which fell upside down when I was out at the store). As much as I like the hermits, I’m not going to replace any more of them for now. I’m probably going to get a third bigger snail and either a watchman goby or a pistol shrimp next.

It’s kinda funny, people always talk about the ugly stage in marine setups, but the algae provided much needed color to the super white rock. I like it better this way. That being said, it will be way better once it’s over and we have the budget to start in on some basic corals though.

Hoggle7828 · Jul 28, 2020

I’m really frustrated. The skimmer isn’t working right, and I’m struggling to get it apart for a basic inspection. Additionally, we got a watchman goby a few weeks back, and I haven’t seen it since introducing it. I’m basically assuming It didn’t make it, but I can’t find a body. Just to make things ever so much “better”, one of our oranda goldfish finally passed after never really recovering from an accidental bug spray poisoning.
The only potential positive is that we might be able to move the remaining goldfish into our 36g and shift the saltwater into the 75g which potentially has room for a sump if I can get it drilled.

ErehwoN · Jul 28, 2020

Hi Hoggle,

I started this reefing journey back in March so I'm only barely ahead of you. I clicked on your link today because of the 1/4 circle configuration. Your tank looks exactly like mine (see build thread here) which is actually a 54 gallon before strata and scape. I bring this up because as you go forward the 14 gallon difference could affect how you make changes to chemistry etc.

Having said that.... I didn't go the drill route. I went with a HOB overflow box for the tank. For me that was a better solution because once I figured out I needed a sump I didn't have a place for the tank inhabitants while any drilling might be done. Further, the tank was placed in such a way that it was prohibitive to do without a full drain. However, it looks like your tank is positioned in such a way that drilling is actually doable.

Anyway, you say the skimmer isn't working right. Can you elaborate on that? What I found is little tweaks can make a big difference but time is required to notice. What I did was minor tweak, wait 30-60 mins (unless it's overflowing), check it, make the next tweak, wait, etc, until it's dialed in. And my tweaks were about 1/25 of a rotation near the end. Hope that helps.

Good luck and welcome to the madness!

Jim

Hoggle7828 · Jul 28, 2020

The skimmer doesn't pump out anywhere near enough bubbles for it to actually skim. I don't know if something is slowing the pump, but I haven't been able to open the pipes at the base of the skimmer. After looking at it more, it looks like I will need some tools since the previous owner seems to have used a wrench or something to tighten the pipes that connect to the pump. I had it running fine for at least a month before this.

I'll be doing a cost analysis on flipping the 75g to salt: building a sump with a new skimmer, getting pumps for flow, more dry rock and substrate, and better lighting on a bigger tank.

I might wait a while and slowly build it just to carefully spread out the costs.