New guy here (1 Viewer)

[dead wait]

I new to the saltwater game and new to this site as well. Some of you guy's and gals I know from another site. Most of you, I do not. So, my name is Bill and I live in Sugarland.

I have a bit of a dilema. I've been working on a 40gal tall tank. I see that most people do 40gal breeder tanks. I also have a 75gal that I could use as well. Bigger just means more money. I think I would be more satisfied with the 75gal though.

But, I guess my question should be, being that i'm new to this, should I stick with the 40 or go with the 75?

If you think small is good, tell me why. If you think I should go with the bigger of the two, tell me why.

Also, this will be a Fowlr tank to start with endless possibilities.

Thank's in advance.

 

[below radar]

IMO, larger tank to start because you have a larger margin for error with your water chemistry.

 

[dead wait]

Can you explain alittle bit more.

 

[Slayer311]

I would go with the 75 over a 40 T for a couple reasons. first, I personally do not like the footprint of the 40 tall. Second, when you are first starting out it is good to have that little bit of extra water volume to help keep your parameters stable. And a 75 gal is not SO large that it is over whelming, or that the equipment is that much more expensive. Just my take on it... Welcome to Marsh BTW

 

[below radar]

If you try to make an adjustment on a small tank, it will have a greater effect on water chemistry than messing up on a larger tank. Larger water volume will take a smaller turn than a smaller tank.

 

[dead wait]

Slayer311, this makes perfect sense. Thank's a bunch for the info. below radar, i'm getting it now.

Is a 20gal sump big enough for a 75gal tank.

 

[Slayer311]

Just make sure it is big enough for your skimmer, and to hold the extra water if the tank loses power or break syphon and back flows into the sump... I made that mistake early on and flooded the second floor of my parents house... I thought they were going to kill me.

 

[below radar]

+1 on the large sump. From what I've gathered, it seems as though the more experienced reefers use large sumps. I've also heard to use 20% as a rule of thumb. You want your sump to be AT LEAST 20% of the volume of your tank.

 

[Slayer311]

Yea that is the general rule of thumb. I have a 75 gallon sump for my 180 DT just for an example.

 

[dead wait]

So, a 20gal sump should be plenty big enough? Right?

 

[below radar]

Oh yeah, I forgot. These guys have as many acronyms as the military so get ready.

 

[Slayer311]

It should be... Again just make sure that when you are doing your water levels that you test the sumps ability to hold the extra back flow of the tank. Make sure you actually cut the power to it and see that it does not over flow the sump with the level that you are keeping in the sump for your pumps. PM me if this does not make sense and I will try to explain better.

 

[dead wait]

Oh yeah, I forgot. These guys have as many acronyms as the military so get ready.

Lord, don't I know. It took me forever to figure out what Fowlr was. And, that's really all I know. LOL

 

[dead wait]

Hey Slayer, I actually did a test run in my driveway about a week ago. I'm sure glad I did. Not because of the water part but, because, when I let it run for about 15 minutes, my return pump burnt up. I had everything hooked up and it was whistling dixie when all of the sudden, the water starting getting smokey and poof. No more return pump.

 

[Slayer311]

Lol, I was even trying not to use a ton of them either. DT= display tank

 

[Slayer311]

Oh bummer! Yea it is always good to test out your equipment like that, but unfortunately these things happen, and it can happen at any time even when the tank is rolling along smoothly... Just part of the hobby.

 

[TiAg]

The 75 will be too small in a few months if you add any coral to it, but since it's a FOWLR you should be ok for a bit

Your sump should be big enough, though it's as small as you "should" go. Heck you could do a tank with a 2 gallon HOB (hang on back) and a couple e-heims but you loose the benefit of a real sump/fuge configuration.

More water does a few things for you, keeps the temperature more stable, the salinity more stable and when you dose (if you need to) adding a bit too much isn't catastrophic where in a smaller tank it could be. Also with a big sump, that increases your water volume in addition to giving you a place to hide all the ugly stuff. So everyone I've ever heard says go as big as you can. The only downside to larger on a small tank is there isn't room underneath for other things you might want to add later. Again, with a FOWLR, not as big of a deal.

 

[dead wait]

One last question for the day. I think.
I'm leaving to go out of town at the end of the month. So, i've been kinda putting this off for a bit. Do you think that it's best that I wait until I get back before I set it up?

I still need live rock, sand. Oh yeah, and another return pump.

 

[below radar]

I would wait. When I set mine up , I tried to babysit it as much as possible. Especially in case something goes wrong. You can be there to atop a fire/spill etc.

 

[Slayer311]

If you are just going to set it up and let the water start running, get the live rock and sand in and let the tank start cycling it is probably ok to set it up. And I would recommend above all things take your time and let it cycle properly before adding a bunch of fish. If you start adding stuff too quickly you could have an amonia spike and loose a bunch of livestock early. And I will be the first to tell you I did it, most of us have at some point. Which is why I speak from experience and recommend that you let it cycle out before adding fish.