NewReefer455
Community Member
I’ve been out of the aquarium game for a few years due to moving apartment to apartment while I’ve been in school, but I am finally in a place I will be for a while so I decided to finally set up a tank and want to delve into saltwater.
I am planning on a 25 gallon mr.aqua cube with a 20 gallon sump. Sump will have socks, an SCA-301 skimmer, 125W jager heater, a downstream lighted rock and chaeto fuge with a 6" deep sand bed followed by a bubble trap and finally an eheim 1250 return pump. 5 or so gallons will be partitioned off for use as an ato bringing my working volume to around 40 gallons. I would like to side drill for the drains on the back left side of the tank with a small overflow box attached utilizing a herbie and have the return on the opposing side of the tank. I am planning on all pvc for my piping. In the display tank I will have a livesand bed and about 20-35 lbs of liverock. For lighting I am looking at the ai prime as it seems to be a favorite for smaller tanks and has endless adjustability. For inhabitants I want to keep a fire shrimp or two, a pair of ocellarus clowns, a few smaller snails on clean-up crew and possibly a goby, 6 months to a year down the line I might start delving into smaller hardy corals. Does that seem overstocked for a 25 display with what will be a lot of filtration? The tank is primarily being built around the shrimp so, if anything, changes will be made in their favor.
The only thing I am really stuck on is tank substrate and drain/feed line size. I am thinking two 1” bulkheads in the overflow box would be more than enough, and maybe a 3/4 feed from the pump to the display tank. As for substrate I want to keep sand but I am not sure on type, grain size or depth. I want this tank to be as maintenance free as possible and want to set it all up that way from the beginning if I can. My big issue is water changes, I want to keep them minimal if possible. Any and all advise is appreciated because I want to do it once and do it right without the hassle of buying inferior equipment and changes it a few months down the line.
I am planning on a 25 gallon mr.aqua cube with a 20 gallon sump. Sump will have socks, an SCA-301 skimmer, 125W jager heater, a downstream lighted rock and chaeto fuge with a 6" deep sand bed followed by a bubble trap and finally an eheim 1250 return pump. 5 or so gallons will be partitioned off for use as an ato bringing my working volume to around 40 gallons. I would like to side drill for the drains on the back left side of the tank with a small overflow box attached utilizing a herbie and have the return on the opposing side of the tank. I am planning on all pvc for my piping. In the display tank I will have a livesand bed and about 20-35 lbs of liverock. For lighting I am looking at the ai prime as it seems to be a favorite for smaller tanks and has endless adjustability. For inhabitants I want to keep a fire shrimp or two, a pair of ocellarus clowns, a few smaller snails on clean-up crew and possibly a goby, 6 months to a year down the line I might start delving into smaller hardy corals. Does that seem overstocked for a 25 display with what will be a lot of filtration? The tank is primarily being built around the shrimp so, if anything, changes will be made in their favor.
The only thing I am really stuck on is tank substrate and drain/feed line size. I am thinking two 1” bulkheads in the overflow box would be more than enough, and maybe a 3/4 feed from the pump to the display tank. As for substrate I want to keep sand but I am not sure on type, grain size or depth. I want this tank to be as maintenance free as possible and want to set it all up that way from the beginning if I can. My big issue is water changes, I want to keep them minimal if possible. Any and all advise is appreciated because I want to do it once and do it right without the hassle of buying inferior equipment and changes it a few months down the line.
