New Custom 93G Starphire Cube Built, finally!!! :)

[chaaban]

Hi all!

After lots of research, and help from this great Forum and the knowledgable people who helped me with so many question, I finally was able to finish setting up my reef tank.

It took a while but i wanted to make sure i had everything i wanted before starting.

-Tank: Miracles custom 93G Starphire 30" x 30" x 25"

-Sump: LifeReef Sump with 2 cylinder reactors
-Refugium: LifeReef Refugium
-Skimmer: LifeReef Skimmer
-Return pump: Blueline 40 Hdx external pump

-Lighting: Sfiligoi Infinity XR6 powering a Radium 250W 20K

Other Equipment:
-Apex
-2 x Tunze 6055
-2 x heaters

Heres What it looked like during the brain storming:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2307952

And now:











- Its been running since Feb, 1st. Everything is clean and new and nothing but dead rock and sand in the tank, I added fish food daily. Today, I added 3 pieces of Live rock (purple in the picture). Do you think my tank is ready to go? I have a pair of clownfish in a QT waiting to go in.....


Also are any of these bad? I removed them from the live rock pieces before adding to the tank...just incase. Dont want anything bad in my tank.


Thanks for looking!

[SloppyJ]

Sweet setup. I'm in the process of gathering the last bits and pieces for my 93g build too.

[chaaban]

Thanks ! Part of the fun is getting all the necessary pieces that work for you. Good luck

[Crooked Reef]

The two stars are asterinas. Could be benificial or bad depending on the species, but there are very few species that eat corals. They can reproduce rapidly though and crowd a tank.

[cakemanPA]

Nice set up. Have you been testing for nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia? I would not rush to get your first fish in the tank.

[dkeller_nc]

After only 3 weeks, it's a bit uncertain whether your tank has cycled enough to add fish. However, if your fish are in a bare QT, then it might be better for them if you put them in the DT and simply monitored the ammonia levels and changed water in sufficient quantities to manage it as you would in a QT. It means you might be changing a much higher volume of seawater than would be necessary to manage ammonia in a 10 gallon QT, but overall seawater is pretty cheap compared to other expenses in this hobby.

All that said, I would not add any corals of any kind to the tank yet. At a minimum, you will want the tank up and running with a small fish load for at least 6-8 weeks before introducing even tough, easy to keep corals (such as zoas and mushrooms).

[chaaban]

Originally Posted by Crooked Reef

The two stars are asterinas. Could be benificial or bad depending on the species, but there are very few species that eat corals. They can reproduce rapidly though and crowd a tank.

Well im kinda glad i removed them then...thx!

[chaaban]

Originally Posted by cakemanPA

Nice set up. Have you been testing for nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia? I would not rush to get your first fish in the tank.

Thankyou. I have only been testing for ammonia, using the API kit and really havent noticed any changes, as of now its still showing up Yellow which is 0..... hopefully after adding these 3 pieces of live rock it will kick start it some more.

[chaaban]

Originally Posted by dkeller_nc

After only 3 weeks, it's a bit uncertain whether your tank has cycled enough to add fish. However, if your fish are in a bare QT, then it might be better for them if you put them in the DT and simply monitored the ammonia levels and changed water in sufficient quantities to manage it as you would in a QT. It means you might be changing a much higher volume of seawater than would be necessary to manage ammonia in a 10 gallon QT, but overall seawater is pretty cheap compared to other expenses in this hobby.

All that said, I would not add any corals of any kind to the tank yet. At a minimum, you will want the tank up and running with a small fish load for at least 6-8 weeks before introducing even tough, easy to keep corals (such as zoas and mushrooms).

Thanks for all the help! I think ill be adding my clowns after the prazipro treatment is over, and to answer your question, yes the QT is bare bottom....

I dont plan on adding any corals as of yet, waiting to get my fish in the tank and i guess i will wait 6-8 weeks after that.

[chaaban]

I noticed this came along in the couple pieces of live rock i added yesterday....leaving it is fine? I dont want species coral that takes over my tank

[Crooked Reef]

Looks like green star polyps. Some people have had issues but I have never had them overtake a tank. If they start to grow too many just frag them and sell them back to your LFS or on craigslist. Alot of polyps can become a nuisence in certain tanks. I have even seen some that have zoanthids growing out of control. Either way these will not try to take over overnight or anything. I would leave them as they are a very easy to care for beginner coral.

[chaaban]

Thanks, I will leave it the way it is for now

[jroovers]

Looks like you are off to a great start! I would leave the GSP in for now, or peel them off and isolate them to a separate rock. That way, you can guage your water chemistry with the GSP while you wait to add fish, and then eventually add other corals. They will spread and move all over the place if you leave them on your rockwork, so you potentially want to move them at some point. I know a lot of people say they leave a small chunk of GSP in their tank specifically to help them guage their water chemistry - if they fail to open one day it may indicate that something with your parameters are off. That said, now that you have them too, would be nice to have something to look at other than the rock

[BigCountry74]

Man don't put that thing in the corner! Your missing out on viewing!!!

[chaaban]

Originally Posted by jroovers

Looks like you are off to a great start! I would leave the GSP in for now, or peel them off and isolate them to a separate rock. That way, you can guage your water chemistry with the GSP while you wait to add fish, and then eventually add other corals. They will spread and move all over the place if you leave them on your rockwork, so you potentially want to move them at some point. I know a lot of people say they leave a small chunk of GSP in their tank specifically to help them guage their water chemistry - if they fail to open one day it may indicate that something with your parameters are off. That said, now that you have them too, would be nice to have something to look at other than the rock

Thanks for your feedback! I will definitely peel them off and put them in a small isolated area, i don't want my rock to be over taken with the GSP... lol

[chaaban]

Originally Posted by BigCountry74

Man don't put that thing in the corner! Your missing out on viewing!!!

haha...i wish i could but maybe when I move out from my parents house i will do that (I'm 21 lol ), for now, 2 sides will have to do

[BigCountry74]

hehe just messing with ya.

Lemme know how that 250w works out. I am building a 36x36x9 cube and have a 150w to get me started.

[chaaban]

No worries I'll keep you guys updated with results !