40g sump-less breeder Idea/build/journal thread.

[luvthereefer]

Hey everybody im relatively new here, and its time to see what y'all think of my plans..:)


like the title states i am putting together a 40g sumpless breeder.
for lighting i have a Current usa 4x39 watt t5ho fixture.

for flow im not sure if its going to be two or four powerheads, koralias i think.

i will be adding a cpr hob refugium, if im lucky i can afford the one with the skimmer built in.

I plan on purchasing about 30-40 lbs of LR from OA or JL( im leaving room for coral that come on LR.
sandbed wont be too deep maybe 2", one thing im not too sure about is if im going the eggcrate route or not.

speaking of corals i know i want some GSP, frogspawn, hammer etc. nothing too serious.

for livestock ive decided on a pair of clowns, a goby/shrimp, royal gramma
a mandarin down the road, and maybe a few chromis. not sure if i have room for those though, i would like to have some small schoolers. i am open to suggestions;)

i know there are mixed opinions about sumpless/skimmerless setups, but i am going to do this by the book and take things very slow...

so thanks for reading, and please feel free to give me your opinions and constructive critiicism.

thanks again,
matt

[outacontrol]

Just remember nothing good happens fast in reef keeping, only bad things happen fast. Take your time and go slow.
I ran a 33 gallon (36x12 foot print) with no skimmer and no sump for about 5 years and had pretty good success, LPS grew well in the tank, I was even able to keep some SPS in the tank but the SPS growth was very slow.
The tank started off with 4x21 watt t5 regular out put bulbs, then 4x39 watt and then 6x39 watt for the last year in prep for the upgrade to my current 60 gallon (36x18 foot print).
I used a few different things for flow and had the best success with 2 koralia pumps, a k1 and k2, if I was going to do this again I would use 2 Koralia evolution 750 pumps for flow.
I did a 10 gallon water change every 2 to 3 weeks. I used tap water with prime water conditioner and instant ocean salt.
I personally think sumpless/skimmerless is an excellent way to start in to reef keeping.

Edit. PS the chance of chromis schooling in a tank is very low.

[luvthereefer]

i was thinking 4 koralia 750s just because of the extra width of the breeder, i would like to add a DA controller one day for some wavemaker functions.

are there any fish suitable for my tank that would school?

i will be using IO salt mix and will be using aged tap water with prime for w/c and top up.

[syncro]

are there any fish suitable for my tank that would school?


Shoaling Fishes for Nano Tanks:

http://www.reefsmagazine.com/forum/reefs-magazine/93785-randalls-anthias-part-2-shoaling-fishes.html
http://www.reefsmagazine.com/forum/reefs-magazine/100584-shoaling-fishes-part-3-gobies-dartfishes.html

I can't find part 1 of the article, I remember having to search quite hard for it. Post it if you find it useful. I can't remember the difference but shoaling is the "proper" term so you might find additional info searching with it. I've read the Chromis shoal/school will constantly pick on the weakest member killing it until only a pair remains. Apparently this is common to many species. The shoals we see in public aquariums are successful because they have 10+ members so the bullying is spread across more individuals. I've also read an article where the author had success with shoaling by feeding constantly throughout the day. Don't remember the source though (Advanced Aquarist maybe?). Hope this helps.

[syncro]

sandbed wont be too deep maybe 2", one thing im not too sure about is if im going the eggcrate route or not.


Research on sand bed depth and plenums (is that what the eggcrate is for)?

An Experimental Comparison of Sandbed and Plenum-Based Systems
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/6/aafeature
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/7/aafeature

Cliff notes:
- plenum: does not add value
- deep vs shallow sandbed: shallow (2.5cm) had twice as many deaths as deep (9.0cm)
- coarse vs fine sand: coarse was slightly better

[NastayNatron]

If I were you I would add 30lbs of dry rock and 10lbs of live rock. The dry rock will cost around $3.00/lbs and the live will be around $10.00/lb. This will save you a lot of money on rock that you could put into something else for the tank. Just a thought!

[luvthereefer]

i was going to get LR right when it comes into the supplier to try and get the most bio-diversity.

although alot of people say its not worth the price.

[Nano]

You could go all LR but with dry rock it'll seed very fast and pods reproduce rapidly too.

[luvthereefer]

well after an almost three year hiatus im getting back into the hobby and reviving this build with a few changes.

so i have a 40g breeder never and a current usa 4x39 watt fixture both never used.

im planning on running a sump and fuge.

im unsure about what size of sump and skimmer to run. im also wondering about a separate tank for the fuge.

any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.



cheers.