Newbie intro

[kpugh]

Hi Everyone!

My name is Kaley, and I just joined this forum a of couple days ago. I currently have a ~200g tank with Koi and goldfish, 3 dogs, 2 cats a pile of turtles ( I run the SK. reptile rescue) and a few snakes...

My husband and I have just recently decided we'd like a marine tank, so we are currently in the research and planning (and dreaming!) phase...Nothing set up yet.

We have several nice 33g tanks kicking around, and thought we'd use one of those (we really don't have room for anything bigger in our wee little house - we measured :( ) with a sump (probably about the same size as the tank) and protein skimmer...I want live rock and sand, some hardy inverts and some nice fish...(I know that we will be somewhat limited by the relatively small size of the tank, but it's what we can do for now!)...kinda have my heart set on a flame angel and a lawnmover blenny but that's the only plan for now! Like I said, we are still very much in the research stages of our marine adventure.

I'm really glad this forum is here - I've already learned a lot in the couple days I've been skimming posts!

I certainly welcome any and all advice!

Kaley

[Invigor]

Welcome to the board! I too started with a 33 gallon tank and for some reason I enjoyed having big fish more than corals, so I'm now at a 105gal with inspirations of a 180gal in-wall tank!

I've seen a few absolutely stunning 33gallon tanks in person crammed (tastefully crammed, of course) with colorful corals and neat rare fish, so it's definitely possible to have a jaw-dropping gorgeous tank that doesn't have to be huge!

I wish you the best with your new tank! Once you get it all setup, get a nice light for the top of it and the possibilities will be endless! Definitely ask lots of questions with your concerns and I can guarantee everyone here will help you as much as we can!

Again, welcome to the board!:wavehand:

[CrazyFish]

WELCOME to Saskreef Kpugh, if you have any questions please feel free to contact me. Theres lots of great members on this site that would be more then willing to help out.

[Ivy]

Hi Kaley!

One of the things I find really amusing is how saltwater people think a 33g tank is 'tiny'. *grin* I live in a tiny apartment and my 33g takes up half my living room. :) I came from freshwater background too, have a couple of mixed freshy fish, 2 rescued cockatiels, and a pound bunny (he weighs about a pound, also).

Advice, hmm. Everyone'll say this but it's true: don't go for the simplest/cheapest setup and assume you'll upgrade. You probably will upgrade, bu it costs a fortune. Especially with lights, I'd go pc or t5/halide right off. You may not have corals now but... and lights are frankly, stupidly expensive.

Also, if you're going to have a 30g sump, why not split it and have a sump refugium? Extra interesting and keeps your nitrates down/feeds your critters at the same time. If I started again, I'd have a plumped in 'fuge. Heck, if I could hire someone to set my tank up with one I'd get it tomorrow. :)

welcome to the site,
Ivy (short, very round, glasses, long hair, was at Bayside Friday evening)

[kpugh]

Hi Ivy,

I think I met you, eh? :icon_bigg Thanks for the advice!

And everyone else - thanks for the welcomes! It's so nice that everyone is helpful and friendly (so far ;) ) - makes everything much less intimidating!

OK - so what's the specific difference between a sump and a refugium? I sorta thought that all sumps functioned like refugiums?? Apparently I've misuderstood something!?:icon_conf

Also - is there a list somewhere of common abbreviations and terms - it's a little tough for a complete newbie like me!

Thanks again for the welcome everyone! I'm sure I'll be posting questions like mad!

Kaley

[Invigor]

OK - so what's the specific difference between a sump and a refugium? I sorta thought that all sumps functioned like refugiums?? Apparently I've misuderstood something!?:icon_conf


A sump is merely a holding space for more water in your system, whether it's below, beside, or on top of your display tank...ok beside would be pretty tricky. Most commonly the sump is lower than the display and is gravity fed by the display. Inside the sump is a pump that pumps the water back into the display to create a cycle competed by either a hang-on overflow (operated on syphon, can get tricky to explain, but works on a similar concept to aquaclear filters if you're familiar to them), or the display tank is drilled somewhere and it drains out through a pipe/hose.

A refugium is also another space for more water to the system, but is a safe place for bugs and plants to grow without predators. Lots of people use them for nutrient export by putting organisms (such as macroalgaes) in there that absorb nitrates, phosphates, etc. and help keep the overall system low in excess nutrients. It also creates a breeding ground for copepods, amphipods, (little crustaceans that fish and corals feed off) because there are no predators in the refugium to eat them.

Hope that helps!

[kpugh]

Thanks! Most helpful!!

So if I understand, a refugium is a sump with all the little stuff, but no fish in it? (Ok, that's my dumbed right down version...) That's what we had planned! More little stuff is always good, as I understand it so far!

SO, do people do a "no stuff" sump AND a refugium at the same time? Or does the refugium replace the sump entirely?

Sorry to be splititng hairs here...

Thanks again!

Kaley

[dustin]

A refugium is usually set up to be one of the sections in a sump. It can be done seperately though.

I don't have a current picture but here's my sump before I added my macroalgae and substrate to the refugium:

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m155/oneoak/sumpfull.jpg

The refugium section is the middle section with the heater and the flat piece of rock in it, and the whole thing is considered the sump.

[kpugh]

A refugium is usually set up to be one of the sections in a sump. It can be done seperately though.

Right - now I get it! :Clapping: Thanks!!

Kaley

[Invigor]

A sump is basically a dumping ground for all the equipment to hide (skimmer, heater, media, etc.) and to add more water to the system.

You add a refugium because you want to grow things in it to help reduce nutrients in the water.