Beginning of another but first to me 58G Reef tank

manishkasera · 06/28/2009, 11:06 AM

I've been the regular visitor of reefcental for quite sometime now. I was in freshwater aquarium for few years then in 2006 I took a long leap forward and stepped in to salty world. Myfirst attempt was 46G bowfront with everything hang on. I started with FOWLR but I must say everytime you goto LFS it is really really hard to pass by all those beautiful corals and colorful creatures in reef world. So saying that I started introducing few softies and was happy with them.And yeah did I intenationally forgot or my memory is not with me but literally lost good amount of money in setting up the aquarium and pretty much repeating each step several times and nothing to say everytime you repeat steps in this hoppy is for better and in that process you loose brain, money, peach and notwhat else.
Anyhow finally maybe after 6 months I was able to stabilize the system and was happybut I just enjoyed a little less than a year and had to move out of USA TO Canada. So guessed it right now I'm in Canada.
No offense to my fellow Canadian reefers but things here are way more expensive, hard to find, not much variety and last but not the least almost negligible online stores who carry full range of products with reasonable price.
I was in the process of buying new home so upgrading the tank also before moving out of US so had following things bought and moved with me when moved from there. Following is the list of my eqipment:
58G AGA Reef tank
Current SUNPOD HQI FIXTURE 36" 2X150W14K 18 LEDs
AGA Overflow kit with 11/4" drain and 3/4" of return line
2 x Koralia 3 pump for water movement
Mag 7 pump for return
20+G sump (not so perfect as have only two chambers)
Euro Reef RS 100 Skimmer
Jager 200W Heater
ATO (http://www.jbjlighting.com/prod-ato.html)

I bought and moved to new home here in Sep'08, waited long enough and finally pulled trigger off and decided to dipped into the salty that I enjoyed alot and missed a lot.

I must say that I never kept log of anything, did not start any build thread. But reading so many build threads and learning so much from others mistakes and kind of what to do and what not to do I thought it will be a good idea to start my own thread so people can take the same pleasure as I had when reading other's threads. So fellow reefers it is your turn to chime in and through your honest opinion and provide advise that will help me being successful in the end, keeping in mind my limited capabilities with DIY.

This is my first attempt with SUMP and all the plumbing, and did I mention that I'm not at all handy person, so I wanted to keep things as simple as possible so I know what I'm doing and if needed I can redo things or fix them as things come on my way.

As of 23rd Jun 2009 I had my tank filled with saltwater, Sand and Rocks.

I bought 80 lbs of Caribsea reef grade material, this is not as fine as sand and have tons of snail shells and pieces of clams and other stuff from sea floor.

I bought 70 lbs of live rock from a fellow reefer here who took down a display tank in one shop (who went out of business), these rocks were in the main tank for 1.5 years and never exposed to any medications. He had scrub off all life from these rocks before selling them. So far only few brown polyps and few brown mashrooms that I can find on rocks after putting in tank. No hitch hikers thatI kind of like.

OK, before this single thread becomes very long and people start dumping I will stop here and stuff in other threads.

manishkasera · 06/28/2009, 11:12 AM

OK, it's just started but I am already thinking as what will I keep in the tank.

I want to keep following:
1 Blue Regal tang
1 Purple Tang
1 Pair of clowns
1 Wrassse (not sure if sixline or somekinf of fairy, any suggestion?
1 Diamond goby
Few varieties of Zoas
Hammer coral
Few varieties of Ricordia
Pumping/Blue Xenia
Want to try some SPS but not sure.

What do you guys think.

How to post some pictures here?

manishkasera · 06/28/2009, 11:34 AM

I think I figured out how to post picture...

Full tank with only night light:

Rockwork with night light:

Toddrtrex · 06/28/2009, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by manishkasera
OK, it's just started but I am already thinking as what will I keep in the tank.

I want to keep following:
1 Blue Regal tang
1 Purple Tang
1 Pair of clowns
1 Wrassse (not sure if sixline or somekinf of fairy, any suggestion?
1 Diamond goby
Few varieties of Zoas
Hammer coral
Few varieties of Ricordia
Pumping/Blue Xenia
Want to try some SPS but not sure.

What do you guys think.

How to post some pictures here?

Neither a blue regal nor a purple tang will work in a 58, let alone both. I tried it many many years ago (( only one each )) and it just didn't work. They got too big, stressed, and mean.

Nereaga · 06/28/2009, 01:37 PM

I agree with Todd on the Tangs, try a smaller species...

I LOVE the rock work! Did you glue the rock together?

Brad

chasekwe · 06/28/2009, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by manishkasera
OK, it's just started but I am already thinking as what will I keep in the tank.

I want to keep following:
1 Blue Regal tang
1 Purple Tang
1 Pair of clowns
1 Wrassse (not sure if sixline or somekinf of fairy, any suggestion?
1 Diamond goby
Few varieties of Zoas
Hammer coral
Few varieties of Ricordia
Pumping/Blue Xenia
Want to try some SPS but not sure.

What do you guys think.

How to post some pictures here?

Ok, even the smallest tangs really aren't appropriate for a 58g. However, despair not, there are other "show" type fish that will work well with your tank. The dwarf angelfish being the most commonly recommended.

As for your wrasse, (could go with more than 1 btw) a fairy or flasher will be preferable as a sixline can be quite the tiny terror.

And for the clowns, you could go with most anything but Ocellaris tend to be the least aggressive and, personally, if I were in your shoes...

manishkasera · 06/28/2009, 08:37 PM

Toddrtrex - I had the blue tang in my 46G bowfront and she was really nice and active and never felt she was stressed. She couldn't survive a power outage of few days in winter. And kids really want it, so I might try a small blue regal tang until she getsbigger then I will have her find new home. I can definitely not have both at the same time.

Nereaga - Thanks, no I did not glue them, I ust tried to fit them together and they are pretty sturdy.

chasekwe - I tried to keep Flame angel twice in my 46G but couldn't keep them, they never eat food and within few days/weeks they could not survive so I gave up. But I always love the bright color of flame, may be I can give it a shot in this new home. I like the idea of fairy wrasse, I always wanted to have that. Wht did you say sixline can be a terror? I had that with great success never saw her chasing anyone.

I had my water parameters checked yesterday and following were the readings with ATP testkit:
SG : 1.024
PH: 8.0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0-5

I did not check my Calcium.

I'm using crystal reef salt.

Tank is up and running for almost a week what should I do? Let it run like this or feed the tank?
I have my halide run for 6 hours everyday (from 16:00 - 22:00).

Any suggestion how to cycle my tank? As most of my rock came from nice tank I doubt that I'll have any big cycle at all.

I already have watermelon Zoa and Orange Zoa and they are opening nicely without any issue. I'm feeding them phytoplankton.

Any good suggestions?

Toddrtrex · 06/28/2009, 08:42 PM

Of course it is your tank, and you can do what you want. However I will drop the tang subject after this --- Back when I was married my wife bought me a Hippo blue tang for my 58. In less then 6 months it was over 5" long, and I was getting stressed watching it swim in a 3' tank. Ended up taking it out --- which was a huge hassle -- and sold it.

I currently have a Pink Skunk pair, a Potters angel pair and a golden algae blenny in my 58.

manishkasera · 06/28/2009, 08:55 PM

Toddrtrex - How do you find potter angel? Would you rate Flame or Potter easy to keep?

Toddrtrex · 06/28/2009, 09:08 PM

I found the male (( larger one )) in the Diver's Den section of Live Aquaria. The female (( small to tiny )) one --- I had my LFS order it so that I could pair them up.

I have always found Flames to be easy to keep. I have had two over the last 7 years. I lost the first one when I moved -- it was crushed by a rock during the move. The current one is doing great.

Potters can be easy, once you get past the 2 month mark. They are difficult to get them to start eating -- having a mature tank with a good amount of live rock for them to pick at helps. But, they have been known to die over night, eating fine and all that one day, and dead the next morning.

manishkasera · 06/29/2009, 05:06 AM

Toddrtrex - What do you feed to your flame?

I still do not see any change in my water parameters, what do you guys think I should move, should I wait another week or two before putting any CUC as I really do not have anything in the tank. And then wait another week to put my first fish?

Toddrtrex · 06/29/2009, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by manishkasera
Toddrtrex - What do you feed to your flame?

I still do not see any change in my water parameters, what do you guys think I should move, should I wait another week or two before putting any CUC as I really do not have anything in the tank. And then wait another week to put my first fish?

I fed it a mix of Rod's food (( 3 different types )) LifeLine's herbivore mix, Prime Reef, Angel formula and Spectrum pellets.

manishkasera · 06/29/2009, 07:54 PM

Toddrtrex - Thanks, I'll try that.

Today I noticed some brown algae coming on some of the rock pieces. So I guess cycle has started. Tomorrow I'll be going away for 3-4 days so I'm sure by the time I'll come back things will change a lot, hopefully for better.

If I see a lot of algae coming I will put some CUC.

What is the ideal size of CUC for this size of setup? Also what should be there?

Toddrtrex · 06/29/2009, 08:32 PM

I always like to use less of a CUC then more retailers recommend.

In my 58 I have one "turbo", 5 Cerith Snails, 3 Trochus, 6 nass (( 2 Tongan, 4 normal ones )). I may have a blue leg hermit or two in there, haven't bought any hermits in about 4 years.

IMO, it is better to start with with less, and add more if needed --- compared with starting off with too many, and having them starving to death after all the algae is consumed.

manishkasera · 06/29/2009, 09:10 PM

I agree.
Most probably on Sunday I'll go and buy some.

Finally today I started seeing some foam in my skimmer, so far there was none, I guess finally it is breaking in.

OzarksReef · 06/29/2009, 09:43 PM

Nice looking start - I love this size tank!

The water level in your sump looks pretty high - is there a reason you've filled it more than 3/4 full? Have you tried a power out test yet? Generally, the water level should be maintained at the height of the short baffle.

manishkasera · 06/29/2009, 09:51 PM

OzarksReef - Thanks.
Yes I did try the power failure and still there was room in sump, no overflow.

Is there a reason that water should not be filled more than lower baffle? Since this my first sump setup any advise will be helpful.

manishkasera · 06/29/2009, 09:53 PM

Can someone shed some light on how to tweak Euro Reef to get best out of it?

heard about gate mod but usually want to avoid as not sure how to do that and if i can do it.

OzarksReef · 06/29/2009, 10:00 PM

That's good - water on the floor is no fun! It looks like you wouldn't need the stand for the skimmer if you lowered the water level in the sump. Keeping it at the baffle level keeps the water surface moving and prevents a "scum" buildup on the water - should also help with removing bubbles that make it back into your display.

You'll want to check into a couple of mods for the skimmer:

1. Mesh mod - this will increase the volume of bubbles in the skimmer dramatically, resulting in much better skimming.

2. Gate valve mod - this will allow you to adjust the water level much more precisely, while keeping your hands out of the water.

Both of these mods are easy to do and make a big difference in skimmer performance.

manishkasera · 06/29/2009, 10:13 PM

how to do mesh mod?

OzarksReef · 06/29/2009, 10:19 PM

Here's a link with some pretty good instructions:

http://www.newengland.reefbuilders.c...mer-100-a.html

manishkasera · 06/30/2009, 05:22 AM

OzarksReef - Thanks for the link that is simple and with proper instructions and step-by-step pictures even I can do it.

manishkasera · 06/30/2009, 06:49 PM

FULL FRONT TANK SHOT

WATERMELON ZOA

ORANGE ZOA

MUSHROOM: CAME ON ROCK - ID PLEASE?

Does anyone know what is that red feeder duster kind of thing next to mushroom?

BROWN POLYPS: CAME ON ROCK - ID PLEASE?

TANK'S RIGHT HAND SIDE SHOT

Toddrtrex · 06/30/2009, 06:53 PM

Looking good.

Do you plan on having any corals on that top shelf/bridge rock? If so, you may want to lower it one level. The way it is now, there isn't a whole lot of room for upward growth of any corals.

manishkasera · 06/30/2009, 06:56 PM

Thanks Toddrtrex.
So far I do not have plan on keeping anything on top of that bridge, it is purely from aesthetics purpose.

06/28/2009, 11:06 AM	#1
manishkasera Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Vaughan ON, Canada Posts: 148	Beginning of another but first to me 58G Reef tank I've been the regular visitor of reefcental for quite sometime now. I was in freshwater aquarium for few years then in 2006 I took a long leap forward and stepped in to salty world. Myfirst attempt was 46G bowfront with everything hang on. I started with FOWLR but I must say everytime you goto LFS it is really really hard to pass by all those beautiful corals and colorful creatures in reef world. So saying that I started introducing few softies and was happy with them.And yeah did I intenationally forgot or my memory is not with me but literally lost good amount of money in setting up the aquarium and pretty much repeating each step several times and nothing to say everytime you repeat steps in this hoppy is for better and in that process you loose brain, money, peach and notwhat else. Anyhow finally maybe after 6 months I was able to stabilize the system and was happybut I just enjoyed a little less than a year and had to move out of USA TO Canada. So guessed it right now I'm in Canada. No offense to my fellow Canadian reefers but things here are way more expensive, hard to find, not much variety and last but not the least almost negligible online stores who carry full range of products with reasonable price. I was in the process of buying new home so upgrading the tank also before moving out of US so had following things bought and moved with me when moved from there. Following is the list of my eqipment: 58G AGA Reef tank Current SUNPOD HQI FIXTURE 36" 2X150W14K 18 LEDs AGA Overflow kit with 11/4" drain and 3/4" of return line 2 x Koralia 3 pump for water movement Mag 7 pump for return 20+G sump (not so perfect as have only two chambers) Euro Reef RS 100 Skimmer Jager 200W Heater ATO (http://www.jbjlighting.com/prod-ato.html) I bought and moved to new home here in Sep'08, waited long enough and finally pulled trigger off and decided to dipped into the salty that I enjoyed alot and missed a lot. I must say that I never kept log of anything, did not start any build thread. But reading so many build threads and learning so much from others mistakes and kind of what to do and what not to do I thought it will be a good idea to start my own thread so people can take the same pleasure as I had when reading other's threads. So fellow reefers it is your turn to chime in and through your honest opinion and provide advise that will help me being successful in the end, keeping in mind my limited capabilities with DIY. This is my first attempt with SUMP and all the plumbing, and did I mention that I'm not at all handy person, so I wanted to keep things as simple as possible so I know what I'm doing and if needed I can redo things or fix them as things come on my way. As of 23rd Jun 2009 I had my tank filled with saltwater, Sand and Rocks. I bought 80 lbs of Caribsea reef grade material, this is not as fine as sand and have tons of snail shells and pieces of clams and other stuff from sea floor. I bought 70 lbs of live rock from a fellow reefer here who took down a display tank in one shop (who went out of business), these rocks were in the main tank for 1.5 years and never exposed to any medications. He had scrub off all life from these rocks before selling them. So far only few brown polyps and few brown mashrooms that I can find on rocks after putting in tank. No hitch hikers thatI kind of like. OK, before this single thread becomes very long and people start dumping I will stop here and stuff in other threads. Last edited by manishkasera; 06/28/2009 at 11:40 AM.

06/28/2009, 11:34 AM	#3
manishkasera Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Vaughan ON, Canada Posts: 148	I think I figured out how to post picture... Full tank with only night light: Rockwork with night light: Last edited by manishkasera; 06/28/2009 at 12:13 PM.

06/28/2009, 08:42 PM	#8
Toddrtrex Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 23,162	Of course it is your tank, and you can do what you want. However I will drop the tang subject after this --- Back when I was married my wife bought me a Hippo blue tang for my 58. In less then 6 months it was over 5" long, and I was getting stressed watching it swim in a 3' tank. Ended up taking it out --- which was a huge hassle -- and sold it. I currently have a Pink Skunk pair, a Potters angel pair and a golden algae blenny in my 58. __________________ Click my name and then "visit toddrtrex's homepage" for tank pictures Current Tank Info: 210g reef and 65g reef

06/28/2009, 09:08 PM	#10
Toddrtrex Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 23,162	I found the male (( larger one )) in the Diver's Den section of Live Aquaria. The female (( small to tiny )) one --- I had my LFS order it so that I could pair them up. I have always found Flames to be easy to keep. I have had two over the last 7 years. I lost the first one when I moved -- it was crushed by a rock during the move. The current one is doing great. Potters can be easy, once you get past the 2 month mark. They are difficult to get them to start eating -- having a mature tank with a good amount of live rock for them to pick at helps. But, they have been known to die over night, eating fine and all that one day, and dead the next morning. __________________ Click my name and then "visit toddrtrex's homepage" for tank pictures Current Tank Info: 210g reef and 65g reef

06/29/2009, 08:32 PM	#14
Toddrtrex Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 23,162	I always like to use less of a CUC then more retailers recommend. In my 58 I have one "turbo", 5 Cerith Snails, 3 Trochus, 6 nass (( 2 Tongan, 4 normal ones )). I may have a blue leg hermit or two in there, haven't bought any hermits in about 4 years. IMO, it is better to start with with less, and add more if needed --- compared with starting off with too many, and having them starving to death after all the algae is consumed. __________________ Click my name and then "visit toddrtrex's homepage" for tank pictures Current Tank Info: 210g reef and 65g reef

06/28/2009, 11:12 AM	#2
manishkasera Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Vaughan ON, Canada Posts: 148	OK, it's just started but I am already thinking as what will I keep in the tank. I want to keep following: 1 Blue Regal tang 1 Purple Tang 1 Pair of clowns 1 Wrassse (not sure if sixline or somekinf of fairy, any suggestion? 1 Diamond goby Few varieties of Zoas Hammer coral Few varieties of Ricordia Pumping/Blue Xenia Want to try some SPS but not sure. What do you guys think. How to post some pictures here?

06/28/2009, 01:37 PM	#5
Nereaga Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Oley, Pa 19547 Posts: 1,513	I agree with Todd on the Tangs, try a smaller species... I LOVE the rock work! Did you glue the rock together? Brad

06/28/2009, 08:37 PM	#7
manishkasera Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Vaughan ON, Canada Posts: 148	Toddrtrex - I had the blue tang in my 46G bowfront and she was really nice and active and never felt she was stressed. She couldn't survive a power outage of few days in winter. And kids really want it, so I might try a small blue regal tang until she getsbigger then I will have her find new home. I can definitely not have both at the same time. Nereaga - Thanks, no I did not glue them, I ust tried to fit them together and they are pretty sturdy. chasekwe - I tried to keep Flame angel twice in my 46G but couldn't keep them, they never eat food and within few days/weeks they could not survive so I gave up. But I always love the bright color of flame, may be I can give it a shot in this new home. I like the idea of fairy wrasse, I always wanted to have that. Wht did you say sixline can be a terror? I had that with great success never saw her chasing anyone. I had my water parameters checked yesterday and following were the readings with ATP testkit: SG : 1.024 PH: 8.0 Ammonia: 0 Nitrite: 0 Nitrate: 0-5 I did not check my Calcium. I'm using crystal reef salt. Tank is up and running for almost a week what should I do? Let it run like this or feed the tank? I have my halide run for 6 hours everyday (from 16:00 - 22:00). Any suggestion how to cycle my tank? As most of my rock came from nice tank I doubt that I'll have any big cycle at all. I already have watermelon Zoa and Orange Zoa and they are opening nicely without any issue. I'm feeding them phytoplankton. Any good suggestions?

06/28/2009, 08:55 PM	#9
manishkasera Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Vaughan ON, Canada Posts: 148	Toddrtrex - How do you find potter angel? Would you rate Flame or Potter easy to keep?

06/29/2009, 05:06 AM	#11
manishkasera Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Vaughan ON, Canada Posts: 148	Toddrtrex - What do you feed to your flame? I still do not see any change in my water parameters, what do you guys think I should move, should I wait another week or two before putting any CUC as I really do not have anything in the tank. And then wait another week to put my first fish?

06/29/2009, 07:54 PM	#13
manishkasera Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Vaughan ON, Canada Posts: 148	Toddrtrex - Thanks, I'll try that. Today I noticed some brown algae coming on some of the rock pieces. So I guess cycle has started. Tomorrow I'll be going away for 3-4 days so I'm sure by the time I'll come back things will change a lot, hopefully for better. If I see a lot of algae coming I will put some CUC. What is the ideal size of CUC for this size of setup? Also what should be there?

06/29/2009, 09:10 PM	#15
manishkasera Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Vaughan ON, Canada Posts: 148	I agree. Most probably on Sunday I'll go and buy some. Finally today I started seeing some foam in my skimmer, so far there was none, I guess finally it is breaking in.

06/29/2009, 09:43 PM	#16
OzarksReef Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Springfield, MO Posts: 418	Nice looking start - I love this size tank! The water level in your sump looks pretty high - is there a reason you've filled it more than 3/4 full? Have you tried a power out test yet? Generally, the water level should be maintained at the height of the short baffle.

06/29/2009, 09:51 PM	#17
manishkasera Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Vaughan ON, Canada Posts: 148	OzarksReef - Thanks. Yes I did try the power failure and still there was room in sump, no overflow. Is there a reason that water should not be filled more than lower baffle? Since this my first sump setup any advise will be helpful.

06/29/2009, 09:53 PM	#18
manishkasera Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Vaughan ON, Canada Posts: 148	Can someone shed some light on how to tweak Euro Reef to get best out of it? heard about gate mod but usually want to avoid as not sure how to do that and if i can do it.

06/29/2009, 10:00 PM	#19
OzarksReef Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Springfield, MO Posts: 418	That's good - water on the floor is no fun! It looks like you wouldn't need the stand for the skimmer if you lowered the water level in the sump. Keeping it at the baffle level keeps the water surface moving and prevents a "scum" buildup on the water - should also help with removing bubbles that make it back into your display. You'll want to check into a couple of mods for the skimmer: 1. Mesh mod - this will increase the volume of bubbles in the skimmer dramatically, resulting in much better skimming. 2. Gate valve mod - this will allow you to adjust the water level much more precisely, while keeping your hands out of the water. Both of these mods are easy to do and make a big difference in skimmer performance.

06/29/2009, 10:13 PM	#20
manishkasera Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Vaughan ON, Canada Posts: 148	how to do mesh mod?

06/29/2009, 10:19 PM	#21
OzarksReef Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Springfield, MO Posts: 418	Here's a link with some pretty good instructions: http://www.newengland.reefbuilders.c...mer-100-a.html

06/30/2009, 05:22 AM	#22
manishkasera Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Vaughan ON, Canada Posts: 148	OzarksReef - Thanks for the link that is simple and with proper instructions and step-by-step pictures even I can do it.

06/30/2009, 06:49 PM	#23
manishkasera Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Vaughan ON, Canada Posts: 148	New pictures on 30-Jun-2009 FULL FRONT TANK SHOT WATERMELON ZOA ORANGE ZOA MUSHROOM: CAME ON ROCK - ID PLEASE? Does anyone know what is that red feeder duster kind of thing next to mushroom? BROWN POLYPS: CAME ON ROCK - ID PLEASE? TANK'S RIGHT HAND SIDE SHOT Last edited by manishkasera; 06/30/2009 at 07:33 PM.

06/30/2009, 06:53 PM	#24
Toddrtrex Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 23,162	Looking good. Do you plan on having any corals on that top shelf/bridge rock? If so, you may want to lower it one level. The way it is now, there isn't a whole lot of room for upward growth of any corals. __________________ Click my name and then "visit toddrtrex's homepage" for tank pictures Current Tank Info: 210g reef and 65g reef

06/30/2009, 06:56 PM	#25
manishkasera Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Vaughan ON, Canada Posts: 148	Thanks Toddrtrex. So far I do not have plan on keeping anything on top of that bridge, it is purely from aesthetics purpose.