Doratus' 40G - updated 4/29/2012

Update: I will add updates to my tank here in this thread in reply posts.

Hello all,

My tank is quite simple at the moment, and some of my equipment will need replacing, but its a start.

40g breeder is the tank, right now I'm using a fluval 305, as you may spot in the picture, which has a UV sterilizer attached to the output of that. I'm using a simple heater, which is going to be replaced on christmas (;D). The lighting is an Odyssea 2x39w T5 had for $50 on ebay. (top of the line, right?)

I started the tank about 4 weeks ago. The substrate is play sand from home depot, I wouldn't use it in a reef tank but for fish only I'm really not all that worried considering my pH is right where it should be. I added about 15lbs of live rock along with a cup of water from a friends' tank. Just a couple days ago my nitrites dropped low enough for me to feel comfortable adding a couple of Damsels and so far they eat and seem happy enough.

I know canisters are detritus factories and so are therefore not ideal for saltwater. For the time being what I did was empty everything out of the canister, even the media cages, so now it is essentially just a powerhead/uv sterilizer. I'll be adding a protein skimmer just as soon as I can find one that I can afford that isn't also a piece of junk. (see the wanted section if you have one! ) I'll be adding more live rock of course, and probably swap the canister for a sump.

When dealing with aquaria, especially in the saltwater realm, the saying 'You get what you pay for' is particularly valid. My new $50 T5 (2x39w fixture w/bulbs) might actually be a rare exception. The finish is what seems to be a powder coat in black which actually looks and feels really cool in my opinion. I've read some posts about fire hazards with these things but so far nothing is on fire.

Now that I think of it, my entire setup was relatively cheap...
Tank - $40 from petco $1 for 1g sale.
Fluval - $70 used from ebay
Lighting - $50 new from ebay
UV - $30 from ebay
Damsels - $8
Sand and live rock - $13
Heater and testing supplies - laying around from old tank

Of course there is the added cost of continual feeding and water changes, and I still need some equipment, but I guess my point is that saltwater doesn't have to be as difficult and expensive as we all make it out to be. I think the problem is that most of the time we like to buy the latest and greatest gear and not only that but we want it yesterday. So we pay inflated retail+tax for everything, do we not?

UPDATE: 12/28/201 - Added base rock and a Starry Blenny. No pics of the Blenny yet, he's hiding.



UPDATE: 12/26/2010 - I've added two Blue Knuckle Hermits and a cleaner shrimp. I replaced the heater with the stealth pro that you can hardly see in the back. Re-arranged a few things...taking it slow.

Here's a few more pics for your viewing pleasure.





Original pic 12/18/2010

 

Nice start.

I agree regarding price set-up, you can do it a lot cheaper, but you have to know the limitations of your set up.

I love the 40 gal breeders, I think they make wonderful mixed reefs. Decent HOB filter, pc lighting, couple korailas and your good to go.

 

The canister isn't a total loss.

Run it like you already have without any filtering media ie., polishing pads,bio max,etc. Just continue to use carbon in the trays. I used to run ROWAphos(phosphate removal) in mine also in a media bag,which isn't the preferred method but it worked. Since you don't plan on keeping corals you may not need that.

Good luck and stay tuned to 3reef!

 

Ahh, brings back memories. My first reef tank was a 40 breeder, well, actually it was a 20L that was filled with corals within two weeks, but I don't count that one. Lots of brown and beige corals.

One issue that you will have with the canister is a lack of surface skimming, and a film will eventually cover the surface. You can dab it up with paper towels, but it gets to be a pita after a while.

The other thing to keep an eye on is the playsand. It's fine for now, but keep an eye on it as you add fish. If they stir it up, it will work it's way into your filter and damage the impeller. That was a $230 dollar mistake for me.

I was anti-sump for a while. I started with only powerheads and no fish, only corals. It worked well for a while, but as my needs changed, a sump was necessary.

Your headed in the right direction, though, and you have a good start!

 

You have a great start. I would look into replacing the test kits because they become unreliable after a couple years after manufacture date. The fire problem with Odysseas was the MH units. For fish only it is more than adequate. You will most likely want to add two more bulbs if you get corals to allow greater light coverage. You can save money at this point by purchasing dry base rock instead of live.

 

Corrailline - thank you

Nismo400rgtr - thank you as well, I'll try the phosphate removal

barbianj - Would you recommend a HOB overflow for the tank that I have? ebay link

2in10 - My original plan was to have a single procupine puffer, although the more research I do I realize that a 40g is probably too small. It was going to be either the puffer or corals....so I'm really not entirely sure how I want to move forward.

Again, Thanks to all! Karma all around.

 

I have another question about the HOB overflow box. Has anyone ever tried to attach one of those to a canister filter? My assumption is that the canister would suck the water out of the overflow box faster then the water could overflow into it. It has me interested none-the-less.

Here's a couple more pics. The first is of the live rock, which is quite nice by my estimate. The other is of a hermit crab that I added today.

 

Like 2in10 said, buy dry base rock to save money from now on. Also, less nasty hitchhikers that way.

If you don't want to drill the tank, that type of overflow would work fine. You just have keep snails out of it and check for trapped air in the U-tube.

If you're not planning an upgrade soon, try to stick with nano-size fish. Damsels can be very aggressive, so be careful with those. If you want a puffer you may be better off looking at a Toby. In any case, try to get an idea what direction you want to go and build slowly from there.

If I were in your position, I would work on the sump part, while surfing and learning to get a better idea what I want to do with it. It's not as glamorous, but I always remind myself to work on infrastructure first.

And, get a magnifying glass to check out all of the little critters that grow in your tank. You'll be surprised.

 

I've been thinking about it quite a bit and here is a preliminary plan. HOB overflow feeding into a 20g sump, uv sterilizer and protein skimmer in sump. A couple Koralias in the tank and by then I can get the 'big fish' i want, whether it be a puffer or something else. I really don't want to deal with constant dosing and maintaining exact water parameters, so I'm going to stick with FOWLR, one way or another.

Thanks for the advice!

 

Doratus

if your using a cannister filter, then at present you dont need an overflow box

an overflow box, would link the DT to the sump and the water is carried down the piping via gravity
and a pump in the sump pushes the water back into the DT

a cannister just needs to collect water from one place in the DT and return it to a different place in the DT

nice looking set up by the way

Steve