First steps into SW with a 30 gal tall

Alright so I've finally decided to jump into the SW madness. I found a 30 gal tall tanks several months ago and got the entire FW set up for a steal.. Luckily it fit onto my 20 gal pine base that i bought about a year ago, so it works perfect.. its a cool looking tank imo, its 12x24x25 inches. I thought a tall tank like this would allow me to get a full spectrum of light in a nano package because of the height I can have different levels of PAR. So we'll see how it goes :-)
Friday night I began drilling the back to install 2- 3/4 inch overflow bulk heads and a single 3/4 inch lockline return and after measuring and remeasuring and sealing with silicone this is what Ive got so far.
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I've got the lines running into a 10 gal tank right now but have plans on building a custom 14.5 gal acrylic sump under in the next couple weeks
Since this is my first SW tank, I could really use any advice or pointers.. any help is always gladly received!

Drilled and ready to go! Nice!

What kind of lighting are you using and what are your stocking plans for the tank? What type of filtration will you be using?

Right now I have a 24 inch T-5 light putting out 48 watts total, but I'm considering adding some stunner strips for extra punch soon, because its a little weak for coral I think, but right now It does the job
Since I'm pretty new to SW I'm still researching, but id like to keep some LPS, softies, and zoas.. maybe an anemone in the future.. Some firefish, clowns, if possible a red mandarin, and I'd really like a flame angel but it all is negotiable at the moment
This is the sump design I think i might go with, I want to get a huge area for a fuge, and be able to run a Remora C skimmer Ive got waiting for install. Suggestions??

anybody had any experience with an apex jr on a nano tank?

So I thought I would do an update on the build.. I painted the back black and and added an overflow box.. built my sump, set up the skimmer, powerheads, return pump, and have everything set up except for some sand I'll pick up in the morning.. Thanks again to B_Bailey for the awesome rock! Just a couple more weeks and I'll have it set up with some livestock

Oh nice! I love that rock! :-)

Can't wait to see it age.

Great looking rocks. Are you going to put egg crate under them?
Looks like you will have some nice water movement around the columns too.

thanks, when I saw them I snatched them up really quickly lol
I don't think so.. I'm going with a 3-4 inch deep sand bed, so I'm hoping itll be enough to distribute the weight.. i'm Crossing my fingers tho
I really wasn't sure about what to do with flow, bc of the height, but I stopped by Lonestar today and picked up a Koralia nano 425 for the lower and a Koralia nano 240 for the upper as well as my return which will do about 300GPH into the tank.. I'm thinking of getting a wave maker, but I'm not sure if I'm really goin to need one.. anyone have any experience with wave makers?

So I've finally got the system up and running right now and has been running for about a week now.. this is a pic of the sump area


this is a pic of the tank itself

i think we're gonna wait at least a couple more weeks until we decide to go look at stockin options.. probably start out with a good clean up crew..then live stock and coral
the water is a little cloudy right now..Idk if thats typical since this is my first saltwater tank..I've got a some live rock in there right now.. I'm not running my skimmer right now either.. It needs to build up some good funk i think before i get it goin.. plus theres no bio load yet.. if ya'll have any suggestions let me know!!

I would start with maybe 1-2 damsel's or clowns very hardy and you will probably keep them

Looking good!

Yeah for sure.. My wife loves "those nemo fish" lol I'd love to find a mated pair of clowns

Hey I'm having a problem with my salinity being to low.. I think it's at 1.021 right now.. Any suggestions on how to get it up? I'm thinking about adding saltwater to my ATO then measuring each day and changing it back to freshwater when it gets to where it needs to be.. What do y'all think?

That's how I would do it.

Sounds about right, just make sure you check it regularly.

The water is pretty cloudy right now but seems to be cycling properly.. Should I run my protein skimmer at all or wait until i get more in the tank? Ive got an aqua c remora that's rated for a tank twice my size so I'm just not sure :-/

I must admit I wouldn't go with Damsels, unless you have a home for them afterwards. I've found they are cantankerous, mean bullies, and that's in a 75G tank, with only 2 of them in there.
I would be concerned that when you came to add any other fish, that they would regard them as invading their territory and harass and nip them to death.

Anyone else have an opinion on Damsels or Clowns to start the tank off?

Thanks for the heads up yeti.. I don't want a little bully in this tank lol hat about chromis? I was thinking about adding a couple of them since my wife likes their color

I haven't had any luck with Chromis even though if you look them up they are related to damsel's as far as damsel's it would depend on what else you plan to put in the tank? I had 2 in my 75 and the wife now has them and 2 more in her 65 and she loves the colors she wants 2 yellow ones next

oh cool..i'm thinking of a couple clowns to start out with.. then some type of dwarf angel fish like a flame or potters.. midas blenny, firefish, purple firefish, and some kind of wrasse.. haven't decided yet.. I also have a good bit of coral also that b_bailey is holding on for me..but we both like how chromis school and swim in the current.. how would they do with those fish above?

Chromis would have to be added before the flame angel I believe? but after all the rest

I don't know if you have seen on LiveAquaria, but they put the Flame Angel's compatibility with Coral as "with caution".
I seem to recall that some folks on the forum have had them, and that with caution probably means it's hit and miss as to whether you get one that nips at coral, or not.

I agree with Yeti as most have had good luck with them, also the flame I believe needs more than 30G space, but to start I think it would be ok?

Yeah I saw what you mean.. I'm a little weary on adding anything of those sorts, but I've talked with a few ppl including lonestar and they seem to think that itll be okay.. I worry most about there being a territorial dispute between any angel and whatever else we stock with.. It seems like flames like to sit along the middle and lower portions of the rocks, so if I stack the swimming areas with fish that don't really go in each others level I should be alright? If not I guess I need to start another tank to keep the unfriendly fish lol :-p

bigeflashgordon wrote: I've talked with a few ppl including lonestar and they seem to think that itll be okay..

Lonestar thinks it's ok because they sell them. I've had two flame angels and I didn't have any problem with aggression but they both nipped at corals. I'm not trying to talk you out of getting one but depending on if you value your corals or fish more you may end up having to remove some corals or the angel. Like everything in this hobby YMMV so give it a shot if that's the fish you want. Just be prepared to get the fish out if needed.