New to hobby.

Gabernator · 11/07/2009, 12:50 PM

Hello All,

My name is Gabe. I am only 6 months into the hobby. I have started my second tank. It is a 225 gallon reef tank. I have 200 lb. of live fiji rock. 150 lb. of live sand. 3 250 w metal halide lights. Planning on adding 65w*4 actinic lights. I am planning on keeping lps corals in this tank since I have been told the the three 250w bulbs would not be enough to keep sps corals. I am not sure though. I don't know if it will make a difference once I ad the actinic lights.

The Tank has a 20gal refugium. I have some eco system mud and live sand along with some algea to grow in the refugium. It has a light that is light 24/7. Next the refugium is the sump. It is about 40 gal. It has a large Euro skimmer in it. Next to that is a filter. With large pads and carbon media in it. I do have a uv filter that is not plugged in at the moment. I do plan to put it on a timer and have it on for 8hrs a day.

I have a large cleaning crew on board for this this tank. In cluding 4 emerald crabs. I think one of these emerald crabs attacked and killed my lawnmore blenny. Is that possible? I also have 8 blue green chromis in the tank. I also have 4 small corals in the tank. Their polyps open up every day. All is well in the tank, except for the death of my blenny.

I am looking to build this tank up slowly. Mostly with frags. Thanks all in advanced for you input.

Gabe

flying_dutchman · 11/07/2009, 02:05 PM

You could keep SPS at the top right under the MH, the actinics won't make any difference, except the look.SPS require a good amount of flow however. What are the dimensions of the tank? 3 MH might not be enough without some T5 at the sides. How big are the emeralds? When they get bigger they may kill fish a corals

DetroitCrow · 11/07/2009, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gabernator

Hello All,

My name is Gabe. I am only 6 months into the hobby. I have started my second tank. It is a 225 gallon reef tank.

I wish at my 6 month I could have a 225 gallon.

Welcome to the site m8

dalston · 11/07/2009, 04:02 PM

To Reef Central

I agree SPS should be fine at the top, stable params are also key.

sassyfrassy · 11/07/2009, 06:08 PM

dalston - totally off the subject, but what kind of blenny is that in your picture?

dalston · 11/07/2009, 06:23 PM

Tompot blenny

lancer99 · 11/08/2009, 02:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flying_dutchman

the actinics won't make any difference

Really? Why not?

-R

lordofthereef · 11/08/2009, 09:23 AM

Welcome!

How deep is the tank? IMO that will tell you more about what you can keep under those lights. That said, I would get a little more under my belt than 6mo experience before tackling SPS simply because they tend to be more demanding. Not saying don't go for it, but just take it a little slowly

dalston · 11/08/2009, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lancer99

Really? Why not?

-R

Actinics have a very low PAR value. They make your corals look nice but that's about it. SPS really benefit from a good 10K or 14K daylight lamp.

Gabernator · 11/09/2009, 10:38 AM

Thank all of you for the great advise. The tank demensions are 72x24x30. I only have a few frags of hardy soft coral and 5 blue/green chromis in the tank. I don't have power heads for strong flow as of yet. Any suggestions? The crabs seem fairly small about an inch each. I had a lawnmore blenny in the tank.

11/07/2009, 12:50 PM	#1
Gabernator Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 11	New to hobby. Hello All, My name is Gabe. I am only 6 months into the hobby. I have started my second tank. It is a 225 gallon reef tank. I have 200 lb. of live fiji rock. 150 lb. of live sand. 3 250 w metal halide lights. Planning on adding 65w*4 actinic lights. I am planning on keeping lps corals in this tank since I have been told the the three 250w bulbs would not be enough to keep sps corals. I am not sure though. I don't know if it will make a difference once I ad the actinic lights. The Tank has a 20gal refugium. I have some eco system mud and live sand along with some algea to grow in the refugium. It has a light that is light 24/7. Next the refugium is the sump. It is about 40 gal. It has a large Euro skimmer in it. Next to that is a filter. With large pads and carbon media in it. I do have a uv filter that is not plugged in at the moment. I do plan to put it on a timer and have it on for 8hrs a day. I have a large cleaning crew on board for this this tank. In cluding 4 emerald crabs. I think one of these emerald crabs attacked and killed my lawnmore blenny. Is that possible? I also have 8 blue green chromis in the tank. I also have 4 small corals in the tank. Their polyps open up every day. All is well in the tank, except for the death of my blenny. I am looking to build this tank up slowly. Mostly with frags. Thanks all in advanced for you input. Gabe

11/07/2009, 04:02 PM	#4
dalston Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Mesa, AZ Posts: 1,336	*To Reef Central* I agree SPS should be fine at the top, stable params are also key. __________________ The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never know if they are genuine - Abraham Lincoln An Englishman, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue of one - George Mikes

11/07/2009, 06:08 PM	#5
sassyfrassy Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Kings Mountain, NC Posts: 912	dalston - totally off the subject, but what kind of blenny is that in your picture? __________________ Faith, hope, and love abide; but the greatest of these is love. Current Tank Info: 40g breeder DT LR & Macro Algae - 2" sand, 6 T5s & 2 fans in hood; 30gL sump/fuge w/MSX 200 skimmer & other equip.; (mangroves in DT - roots are great look)

11/07/2009, 06:23 PM	#6
dalston Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Mesa, AZ Posts: 1,336	Tompot blenny __________________ The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never know if they are genuine - Abraham Lincoln An Englishman, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue of one - George Mikes

11/08/2009, 09:23 AM	#8
lordofthereef One reef to rule them all Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Leominster, MA Posts: 5,299	Welcome! How deep is the tank? IMO that will tell you more about what you can keep under those lights. That said, I would get a little more under my belt than 6mo experience before tackling SPS simply because they tend to be more demanding. Not saying don't go for it, but just take it a little slowly __________________ "A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself" ~ Josh Billings Visit My Home page for current build thread (click my user name and select "Visit LordoftheReef's Homepage" in the drop down menu!

11/07/2009, 02:05 PM	#2
flying_dutchman Moved On Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: San Francisco Posts: 1,319	You could keep SPS at the top right under the MH, the actinics won't make any difference, except the look.SPS require a good amount of flow however. What are the dimensions of the tank? 3 MH might not be enough without some T5 at the sides. How big are the emeralds? When they get bigger they may kill fish a corals

11/09/2009, 10:38 AM	#10
Gabernator Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 11	Thank all of you for the great advise. The tank demensions are 72x24x30. I only have a few frags of hardy soft coral and 5 blue/green chromis in the tank. I don't have power heads for strong flow as of yet. Any suggestions? The crabs seem fairly small about an inch each. I had a lawnmore blenny in the tank.