new here

so my heater broke and now i want to go coldwater i have a 24 cube with a sump skimmer and all the other stuff what will i need to add to go cold water thanks

Step 1......buy a chiller.

Step 2.....ummmm......

Step 3......Profit.

i jest traded my led set up for a 1/4 horse chiller what kind of light will i need halides

and what you mean profit ?
i live on the puget sound so easy to get stuff so thats a plus

Lol, I was just kidding it was a reference to an old episode of South Park

Honestly for lighting you won need much except viewable light, unless you are going with some kind of macro algae. Me personally I'm going fully non photo synthetic. I'm using LED lights over my tanks since they dont put off as much heat as anything else, at least the low watt LEDs dont.

Light in temperate seas is much dimmer (both due to sun angle and lower water clarity). So any lights will work for algae as long as it is the right spectrum. So, save some money on lights, and halides are HOT so I would avoid them on account of both cost and that the temp works against your new chiller!

i already have a 250 halide could i rase ir my tank is a 24 cube and im getting a 1/4 chiller will that work

hey, use what you got!

cool i am excited and have always wanted to do one my heater broke and crashed my tank so now is time time to wait out a cycle again

Unless your going the route of macro algaes or tidal anemones and such, I would completely avoid large amounts of light.

My tank is only going to get light when I'm looking at it.

Actually during the summer in temperate seas, i.e. California, it is extremely sunny so depending on where you are I would recommend using very strong lighting. Also to deal with the micro algae problem just have a good CUC.

Hi! I recently started a temperate setup. I decided to keep macroalgae and intertidal anemones, so I am running 4 x 24" 24W T5HO bulbs, 3 actinic, 1 daylight. Some of the red and purple macroalgae looks spectacular under actinics. Of course, it remains to be seen whether I will be able to keep them alive, so I can't really offer any advice at this point.

well i got my chiller a sealine sl300a and the temp is dropping should i got to the beach and get some rocks and a cup full of sand to seed the tank? i live in olympia wa right be the puget sound

I have read that sand from the beach can be risky due to contaminants. I would use rocks and pebbles from the shore. If you want sand then you might consider buying it from your LFS.

ok ill jest use rocks

I went with 1/2 inch and larger rocks for all of my substrate.

cool ill get that size then and thanks for all the info looks like this will be my new hang out

moto826 wrote:cool ill get that size then and thanks for all the info looks like this will be my new hang out

I only went with the larger rock because I have a false bottom in my tank that houses the coolant coil for the chiller so and small substrate would fall down through the grates.

ok got ya what do you think will work best ?

I would collect from deep rocky areas if you can, I ended up getting mine near a jetty but I rinsed all my rocks prior to puting it in the tank just for fear of contaminents. If u collect from deeper down u should be fine. Also beach sand conpacts really hard, another reason to avoid it.

Check out what Steve used in his tank, that might be more what your looking for.
http://www.temperatereef.forumotion.com/reef-discussion-f26/a-few-pics-t304.htm

Welcome! I hope you enjoy the site!

I like sand substrate..

I became really frustrated with sand in my first marine aquarium. I found it hard to keep clean and I was getting high levels of nutrients even with frequent water changes. I find it much easier to limit the nitrates and phosphates (and algae) with a bare bottom tank. On the other hand, sand looks great. I think my mistake may have been using too thick a layer. I have since read that you should either use very little (1/2") or a lot (4"+). Anywhere in between and the sand acts as a "nitrate trap".

cool thanks i am thankfull for all the info i can get

No problem.

Hi nice to meet you