Getting free saltwater tank...

[Ginevive]

My man's cousin just upgraded to a larger saltwater tank, and is giving us his 30-g setup for free. Just when I set up my little 10g tropical project, more fish on the way. But we always wanted to start getting into saltwater; had no extra cash to do so, and l feel lucky. He is giving us "everything but the fish" but works at a local pet store and will point us in the right direction for some fish.
I guess the tank now holds a few fish, the coral and live rock, and a lot of algae Any suggestions? We might get it this weekend, or this week if not. I know we should keep the water from it (bring it home in buckets, right?) I am going to read-up more on this too, as I don't want to jump in without knowing anything; though I have a friend around the block that keeps and can help us out.. I am excited though!
All this, and we are also adopting a few gouramis, tetras, and algae eaters from another friend! (going in different tanks, heh.) I will be living in a pet store (minus the financial profit!) in no time.

[SPJ]

Welcome to the world of having no money anymore.


Take out all of the corals, rock and fish. Scrap the water (it will be full of nitrates and phosphates since there is an algea problem) except for enough to transport the stuff. Get a bristle brush and get rid of all of the algea on the rocks and in the tank. Pick up some instant ocean mix and make up a new batch. Check and double check the SG and bring it to the correct temp before using it.
Pick up some red leg hermits and nassarius snails. You can also get asto and turbo snails. Don't get a mithrax crab no matter what anyone tells you. They eat algea but also eat coral and will munch fish.
Change out the bulbs. The spectrum shifts after a few months and can cause algea problems.
Get a protein skimmer (do not get the crap ones with air stones. Go with a Berlin or a Remora). Make sure it is a counter current venturi or spray induction and rated for at least a 100 gallon tank (trust me on this one, they WAY overate the skimmers on the market for what size tank they can handle). Stay away form backpacks. They are bubble facotries and overflow. Smae with Knop skimmers and the various knock off types of the same design.
Get a powerhead to provide a current in the tank. It helps the corals and algea is not fond of the turbulence.

Any questions, let me know. I have found out the hard way over the years just what works and what doesn't.

[recycling goddess]

i disagree. she definitely doesn't need a protien skimmer on a 30 gallon tank. way too small of a tank to bother with one. we have a 90 gallon salt water with no protien skimmer and it's doing great.

since you aren't going to have any fish in there i would definitely change out at least 50% of the water. since he works at a petstore you can probably get a few buckets of salt water that's already made up (to save you the hassle).

i would definitely give the tank a good scraping with a razor blade before you reset it up.

it does cost a lot to run a saltwater tank, but i'm sure you'll have lots of fun as well... after all a 30 gallon tank is pretty small as far as salt water tanks go. you can probably have 3 or 4 fish in a tank that small.

trust us though... it is a money pit. you just keep dumping money in... and dumping money in,.... and dumping money in LOL

[SPJ]

You will want a protien skimmer on any size tank.

A remora HOB will fit fine on a tank that size.
The skimmer makes it so much easier to maintain water quality. It removes pollutants before they become a problem.

I have gone the plenum route, the no skimmer route with heavy wet/dry filtration, the LR and DLSB route with no skimmer, even the refugium route over the years. The best way I have found has been using LR, a DLSB, and a skimmer with passive use of carbon and good water flow from the use of powerheads.

[jknudson]

Congrats on your new saltwater tank Jen! I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun keeping your first salt tank.

I have to agree with Aleesha that a protein skimmer wouldn't be necessary for a tank as "small" as a 30 gallon as long as you are willing to do a weekly water change of at least 10-20% of the total volume.

I've personally kept a 20 gallon reef that way, using only a HOB filter and liverock for filtration, making sure to change out 4-5 gallons weekly and change carbon at least monthly. Another thing I can recommend to you is try to create as much flow/circulation in the tank as you can....meaning you'll want at least 10x turnover rate (300gph)...but generally more is always better, it'll keep particulates in suspension in order for your filter to remove them...and keep unsightly algaes from settling on the rockwork (eliminate dead flow areas).

I would have to say I'd use at least 50% of the established tank water, and mix 50% new saltwater to same SG, pH, and temperature with Reverse Osmosis De-Ionized water (most tap/well water contains phosphates and nitrates that will just aid to algae growth.) Yes a skimmer would help to polish the water especially if you're generous with feeding, lazy with water changes, or keep a mixed reef with a mixture of soft corals and hard corals that will compete for space with chemical "warfare"... etc...but definitely not a necessity. With any tank, any filtration setups, the key to success is always going to be water changes!

Another thing to think about to help eliminate nuisance algaes/free flowing parasites would be a UV sterilizer run inline with a canister or other sort of pump.

If you have any questions what-so-ever feel free to PM me and ask away...just remember there are a million ways to "correctly" keep a saltwater tank so take all advice is stride, the previous advice is just what has worked for me the last 2.5 years.

Just remember to have fun! You've already got the major expenses done with.



-Jason

[Ginevive]

I am unsure if he has a skimmer on his current tank. I know that he had 2-3 fish in there last time we were over; one looked like a butterfly fish but was black/purplish.
I really like those scooter blennies, and the smaller, brightly-colored clownfish. Either clowns, or butterflies.. thanks for the tinfo guys, and I plan on reading, reading, reading!