Building a 40g Breeder FOWLR tank for GSP

[Hillehaus]

Hello,
I've got my GSP set up pretty comfortably (its between 1.5-2 inches, currently) in a 29g brackish tank. I've recently acquired a 40g breeder that I'd like to slowly (read, on a budget over the course of this year) build up into a FOWLR tank. The GSP will relocate to the 40g, the dwarf puffers will claim the 29g once it is back to freshwater, and the 20g tank will (???) probably be converted to a planted food raising tank with shrimp and snails.

After doing some research I've come up with a list of items I believe I'll need:
Tank - purchased
Powerheads - I have 1, need another
Salt - target salinity between 1.020-1.022
Sand - I have about 20 lb aragonite sand unused. I'll likely need another 40lb? I'm looking for about a 1" bed
Base Rock - 25lb
Live rock - 25lb
HOB Skimmer - I have a Nano Skimmer good to 30g that I planned to use on the 29 gallon tank in a couple months when the salinity is correct...obviously I will need another, larger one.
Heater - Purchased. 200W Eheim.
Aquarium stand - as soon as the weather is nicer I'll build one.

I am aiming to get all of the hardware purchased over the next few months. Looking to get the sand after that. Followed by the base rock and finally the live rock. My goal is to seed the base rock with the live rock over the course of a few months, and then move the GSP into the new tank.

Am I missing anything? Am I setting myself up for failure with my woeful understanding of SW tanks? Any advice/suggestions would be most welcome. Thank you again for all your help!

[bertie 83]

I would personally up the live rock a bit. I got big lumps of base rock for the bottom but used 80% + live rock. A sump is an incredibly useful bit of kit too

[dma1976]

+1 on the sump.

What are your plans for filtration other than the skimmer? In my experience Puffers are dirty eaters and you need lots of filtration. You could use your 20 gal for a DIY sump possibly or buy a 10 gal for this. Or even buy a ready made sump. It doesn't have to be a crazy, extensive setup but the more filtration the better. You can even put your skimmer/ heater in there if you have room and give you more room in the display tank.

Otherwise I think you're in good shape!

[Hillehaus]

Would you suggest 50-60lb of live rock with the remaining 10-20lb base rock?

Regarding the sump, I'm still wrapping my head around this seemingly simple but, mind bending piece of tech. I actually hadn't considered using one but, it seems that you are right...I will have a spare 20g tank sitting around idle. I'm not sure how the sump would fit into the proposed area with all the plumbing associated though I haven't built the stand yet so I suppose I could hide most of it. Are sumps absolutely necessary for an aquarium this size? I understand that more water = more stability. I thought I read somewhere (the source is eluding me at the moment meaning it probably wasn't a good one to begin with) that sumps were optional and could be added at a later date. I'm not ruling one out at this point, as I stated earlier all I have set in stone is a 40g breeder, a suitable heater, some aragonite, and a powerhead all of which I already own.

I assumed that I would be the main source of filtration other than the skimmer, removing excess food from the tank and performing routine water changes. I suppose a mechanical filtration (HOB or Canister) is out of the question for a marine, non-reef tank? Even if I would be cleaning it every 2 weeks or so?

Could an experienced someone lay out a "typical" cleaning regiment for a non-sump vs. sump FOWLR tank? I.e. % water changes + frequency + general maintenance?

Cost is a factor but a minor one, as I am not building this tank for immediate set up. The cost will be spread out over several months lessening the ouch factor for me if that matters. Well, provided my GSP doesn't hit a massive growth spurt in the near future.

Thank you all for helping me brainstorm.

[bertie 83]

Ok. To start throw as much cured live rock into the this project as you can afford ( thank me later for this lol), if the rock is not fully cured you need to cure it first and that's a whole new question. If you lift rock out it's holding tank and sniff it you will know if it's cured or not, rock that is cured smells like salt water ish, uncured rock makes you want to vomit. That is only a rough guide so you need to give it 48 hrs plus in a tank as it might have just arrived etc. a sump in my opinion is far too useful to skip from the get go, you can not only hide equiptment but you can boost space in your display by putting vital kg/lb of live rock in there. A sump is an ideal place for a fuge too for nutrient export. I added mine after setting up the tank, couldn't put it under cos my homemade stand leaves no way to fit it without tearing apart the tank which I don't want to do. You could build a tank into the stand and use a hang on overflow and simple return pump. A sump is also a great place to keep some nasties like the stone crab I got by accident that ate lots of expensive fish.

[Hillehaus]

Great advice here once again.

I guess it is now time to start researching sumps or at least plan my stand around having one in place at some point. Thanks everyone for your input! I'm looking forward to putting this advice into practice over the next few months.

[bertie 83]

You can use any tank for a sump, the bigger the better, google diy sumps and you will find a ton of ideas. One very important thing when adding a sump is to prepare for failure on the overflow syphon ( if using a hang on overflow) and also failure of return pump. You need to allow a little space for water to go either way without an overflow onto your floor. It may sound like I am trying to put you off but I'm not, they are worth it. A little forethought can save from disaster is what I am trying to say

[Pufferpunk]

www.melevsreef.com

[Hillehaus]

Thanks, Bertie.

Just as in a house, or any application, proper plumbing is important. I'll definitely be going the HOB route.

[Hillehaus]

Not to necro a week old thread but, it didn't make sense starting a new one over a simple question.

Lets talk power heads and circulation for a 40g Breeder. What sort of circulation am I going to want for the above mentioned FOWLR with a single GSP? Conventional 15-20x turn over? That would put me around 600-800gph of circulation. I am envisioning 2 power heads at opposite ends of the aquarium, adjusted based on the rock set up to generally point at each other to square away dead spots and give a decent current for exercise. I currently have a Cobalt power head that is rated for 295gph.

I've read good reviews of Koralia products and will probably stick with this brand, unless the following posts recommend otherwise.

Here is what I was thinking as my options:
1 Koralia Nano circulation pump @ 425 gph and the cobalt Powerhead at 295 gph = 720gph
or
2 - Koralia Nano circulation pumps @ 425gph each = 850gph
or
2 - Koralia 1 @ 400 gph each = 800gph

Additional pumps that will be on this tank will be an Accela pump connected to the CPR BakPak protein skimmer. Eventually that will be moved down below to the sump when I finish making it, replaced by the discharge of the return pump.

Am I overthinking this? I'm also kind of trying to set this tank up based on what is available on the second hand market through people's breakdowns, CL, and Ebay. That should explain some of the randomness of my questions.

[Pufferpunk]

I've had nothing but problems with the Koralia pumps. Look into the Jeabos (sp?), they have a nice controller, too.