Newbie questions

javdog2001 · 02/15/2013, 11:33 AM

Hello this is my fist post.

I have a 75gallon bowfront tank with about 75lbs of live rock, 2 1/2 to 3 inches of live sand. Lighting is a 48 inch coralife with 10000 watt light and also a 'purple light'...I run the white lights about 8 hours a day and the purple 2 hours a day. My water levels are pretty stable. Water changes I am doing 15 gallons/10 days as my nitrates were around 40 or so. I have also recently figured out that i needed to raise my skimmer in order to be able to tune it better. This has greatly increased my effectiveness of my skimmer and should help out with the nitrates.

I am confused about what i refer to as my 'sump' or refuge. It is 40 gallons, 3 chambers. The water comes from the main tank into 1st compartment which holds the protein skimmer and heater, the 2nd compartment has some live rock and also I have some carbon in here, 3rd compartment has the pump returning water to the main tank. Is this considered a sump, or refuge?

Currently in the tank I have:

1 Ocellaris clownfish
1 Bar gobi
1 blue/green chromis
2 firefish (these are new additions, so far seem to be doing well)
1 cleaner shrimp - I think its coral banded shrimp...
I also have what I believe is a bubble tip anenome, its pinkish in color and recently it split into two, so now I have two of these. They rarely move and are kind of positioned now behind a rock near the bottom so difficult to see. The clownfish hangs with the original anenome where its at, so frequently he is out of sight...
I have a couple of rocks with mushroom corals on them.

Any thoughts on what i have going are appreciated. Also am looking for suggestions on another nice fish to feature in the tank. Possible a tang, something really nice looking that will draw some attention. I have had two yellow eyed tangs (not at the same time) when I first got my tank going about a year ago. Both died very quickly. However that has been at least 6 months since I last tried that and I think that my tank is doing a lot better now...

Thanks in advance for any thoughts/advice...

newby30gallon · 02/15/2013, 11:43 AM

your 1st question, its considered a sump or life support system. i like the team you have created. with your sandbed might i suggest a pisol shrimp/goby combo, if you have never had one it is really fund to watch. plus your pistol shrimp will help "redecorate" your sandbed from time to time. also be aware of the anenome if he goes mobile watch out for the corals.

TomTheWicked · 02/15/2013, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by javdog2001

Is this considered a sump, or refuge?

It's really a technicality that differentiates the two really. A sump is simply an external tank (like what you have) that is used to put things like heater, skimmer, etc. A refugium is usually a part of the sump that is used to host certain types of algae (or anything really) and a place for other things that wouldn't do very well in the display tank (Copopods, Amphipods, etc).[/QUOTE]

_shorty_ · 02/15/2013, 01:08 PM

So far the only thing that sticks out at me is your lighting. Not that it's wrong, just curious mostly. First, my guess is that you mean 1000 watts? That's still some pretty serious lighting. Do you know what type of lighting it is? Are there a couple metal halide bulbs in there?

The blue lights are typically called 'actinic' - which ususally suppliments a nice blue color into the system.. Helps with looks - in making certain corals and colors really stand out - but it also promotes certain types of growth, such as coraline algae. I THINK, the majority of coral growth energy comes from the whiter lighting, but both are good. Either way - You might be backwards on your light cycle. I let my actinics come on for an hour or so before metal halide daylight lights come on - then turn them off an hour or so after daylights go off. I think it more simulates a sunrise and sunset and also allows you to run your most expensive daylight bulbs a little less than full day cycle, extending life a tad.

hogfanreefer · 02/15/2013, 01:58 PM

Could he mean the lights are 10,000K instead of watts?

javdog2001 · 02/15/2013, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hogfanreefer

Could he mean the lights are 10,000K instead of watts?

Yes, thanks for correcting me.

02/15/2013, 11:33 AM	#1
javdog2001 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Los Alamitos, CA Posts: 37	Newbie questions Hello this is my fist post. I have a 75gallon bowfront tank with about 75lbs of live rock, 2 1/2 to 3 inches of live sand. Lighting is a 48 inch coralife with 10000 watt light and also a 'purple light'...I run the white lights about 8 hours a day and the purple 2 hours a day. My water levels are pretty stable. Water changes I am doing 15 gallons/10 days as my nitrates were around 40 or so. I have also recently figured out that i needed to raise my skimmer in order to be able to tune it better. This has greatly increased my effectiveness of my skimmer and should help out with the nitrates. I am confused about what i refer to as my 'sump' or refuge. It is 40 gallons, 3 chambers. The water comes from the main tank into 1st compartment which holds the protein skimmer and heater, the 2nd compartment has some live rock and also I have some carbon in here, 3rd compartment has the pump returning water to the main tank. Is this considered a sump, or refuge? Currently in the tank I have: 1 Ocellaris clownfish 1 Bar gobi 1 blue/green chromis 2 firefish (these are new additions, so far seem to be doing well) 1 cleaner shrimp - I think its coral banded shrimp... I also have what I believe is a bubble tip anenome, its pinkish in color and recently it split into two, so now I have two of these. They rarely move and are kind of positioned now behind a rock near the bottom so difficult to see. The clownfish hangs with the original anenome where its at, so frequently he is out of sight... I have a couple of rocks with mushroom corals on them. Any thoughts on what i have going are appreciated. Also am looking for suggestions on another nice fish to feature in the tank. Possible a tang, something really nice looking that will draw some attention. I have had two yellow eyed tangs (not at the same time) when I first got my tank going about a year ago. Both died very quickly. However that has been at least 6 months since I last tried that and I think that my tank is doing a lot better now... Thanks in advance for any thoughts/advice...

02/15/2013, 11:43 AM	#2
newby30gallon Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 58	your 1st question, its considered a sump or life support system. i like the team you have created. with your sandbed might i suggest a pisol shrimp/goby combo, if you have never had one it is really fund to watch. plus your pistol shrimp will help "redecorate" your sandbed from time to time. also be aware of the anenome if he goes mobile watch out for the corals.

02/15/2013, 01:08 PM	#4
_shorty_ Registered Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Decatur, IL Posts: 1,048	So far the only thing that sticks out at me is your lighting. Not that it's wrong, just curious mostly. First, my guess is that you mean 1000 watts? That's still some pretty serious lighting. Do you know what type of lighting it is? Are there a couple metal halide bulbs in there? The blue lights are typically called 'actinic' - which ususally suppliments a nice blue color into the system.. Helps with looks - in making certain corals and colors really stand out - but it also promotes certain types of growth, such as coraline algae. I THINK, the majority of coral growth energy comes from the whiter lighting, but both are good. Either way - You might be backwards on your light cycle. I let my actinics come on for an hour or so before metal halide daylight lights come on - then turn them off an hour or so after daylights go off. I think it more simulates a sunrise and sunset and also allows you to run your most expensive daylight bulbs a little less than full day cycle, extending life a tad.

02/15/2013, 01:58 PM	#5
hogfanreefer Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Conway, AR Posts: 2,117	Could he mean the lights are 10,000K instead of watts?