new gal on the board

[dlsmith21]

Hi All, I am just getting into saltwater (been a month on my 75g FOWLR tank) and was hoping to get some help with my new tank coming which is a 55g that I wanted to start as FOWLR and later convert to reef. I was going to put my 2 damsels ( a domino and a 3 stripe) I used to cycle my first tank in the new tank but I am going to give them back to my LFS afterward. I want fish that will stay fairly small and will be reef friendly in the future. After the cycle I wanted to put my gramma, watchman, scooter and blue damsel in. Are all of these reef friendly and will a pajama cardinal work with them? I wanted to also get a few cleaner shrimp. How long should I wait before introducing them to the tank? I have a book coming all about saltwater but was wanting to find out some opinions also. Trying to research everything on the net is giving me a headache. Most websites give different information for each fish and I don't know which one to believe. My local fish guy told me about this place to get accurate information.

[2farNorth]

To Reef Central

Hi there! Well you came to the right place for pretty much all the info you could ever want!!

Granted I'm still considered a Noobie, but from My experience I could probably give some opinions on a couple of your questions...

Just my opinion, if you get uncured Liverock, or even cured Liverock,, you don't need the damsels to cycle your tank... from my experience, you will have trouble getting them back out... unless you plan on taking all of your liverock back out.. granted there are other ways, but that's probably the quickest...

I'd wait a while for the Scooter, they tend to be a little picky with food....

And unless you had your heart set on a Blue Damsel, scratch that one too, they tend to get really aggressive,, I set up a tank just for a Blue Damsel,, (and other misfits)..

Otherwise, the Pajama should get along with the others, they are pretty laid back fish...

The cleaner shrimp should probably wait awhile after your cycled, and your nitrates read next to nothing...

The best thing you can do is take your time..and do plenty of testing.. after your cycled with the Liverock, wait a couple weeks, add a fish,, (probably the Cardinal, or some other peaceful fish, you don't want to add your most aggressive fish first) test some more, if all looks good, add another... by then you should be able to add a clean-up crew..

Just take your time, and do research..... your already off to a good start if you found this place!!!!

I'm sure others will chime in soon... you'll get plenty of advice!!

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

Originally posted by 2farNorth

To Reef Central

Hi there! Well you came to the right place for pretty much all the info you could ever want!!

Granted I'm still considered a Noobie, but from My experience I could probably give some opinions on a couple of your questions...

Just my opinion, if you get uncured Liverock, or even cured Liverock,, you don't need the damsels to cycle your tank... from my experience, you will have trouble getting them back out... unless you plan on taking all of your liverock back out.. granted there are other ways, but that's probably the quickest...

I'd wait a while for the Scooter, they tend to be a little picky with food....

And unless you had your heart set on a Blue Damsel, scratch that one too, they tend to get really aggressive,, I set up a tank just for a Blue Damsel,, (and other misfits)..

Otherwise, the Pajama should get along with the others, they are pretty laid back fish...

The cleaner shrimp should probably wait awhile after your cycled, and your nitrates read next to nothing...

The best thing you can do is take your time..and do plenty of testing.. after your cycled with the Liverock, wait a couple weeks, add a fish,, (probably the Cardinal, or some other peaceful fish, you don't want to add your most aggressive fish first) test some more, if all looks good, add another... by then you should be able to add a clean-up crew..

Just take your time, and do research..... your already off to a good start if you found this place!!!!

I'm sure others will chime in soon... you'll get plenty of advice!!

To Reef Central
what he said, i second that, good luck and keep us posted with pictures too ok...

[lvreefer]

All of those fish will work. I would cycle the tank without any fish. Take your damsels back now and get credit towards your PJ cardinal. If you get pre-cured live rock you could get the PJ right away. Either way I would introduce the PJ first. After a week or slow introduce your other fish. If possible the watchman and the scooter first. Than a week later the damsel and gramma. Adding all of the fish at once might throw your tank into a mini cycle.

[bnhd3]

like 2farNorth said liverock (cured or uncured) will have die off from the transportation and this intern will help cycle your tank. cycling a tank with livestock is not a good idea. the fish suffer and often die.

[dlsmith21]

Thank you for all the great advice. Another thing I wanted to ask was if someone could tell me what the essential equipment would be for a reef tank. I am reading on here about all kinds of things people are using. What do I have to have as opposed to what you can use but don't neccessarily need ? Frankly, it's a bit overwhelming.

[2farNorth]

What I found is, when I was setting up a reef tank, is of course a good RO/DI unit (to get away from tap water), and for a reef tank, lighting,...

What kind of filtration are you using? I set up a 38 gallon that all it has is basically Liverock in the main tank and a skimmer in a small sump..... and it's going great....

[dlsmith21]

I don't have the worries that city dwellers have with water. We have a spring well. I had the pet store test it and it has no trace chemicals like city water does. I have been trying to find out how to build my own sump. The directions on here are kinda vague and searching the net has proved fruitless. The new tank comes with a bio-wheel but I know that it won't work once I convert to reef. I'm searching far and wide right now for the correct lighting. The prices on it are not for the faint of heart. I know we have a reef club near me in Roanoke so I may post on there for used or a link to somewhat affordable lighting. There is craig's list but I'm wary of it.

[2farNorth]

Just giving ideas to think about,, I have well water.. (I'm far from a city dweller), chemicals are one thing to worry about, but all the extra minerals, dissolved solids and stuff are the reason I got one (RO/DI)...

[dlsmith21]

I guess mine was fine for the FO but I'm thankful for your information for reef water. Heaven knows I don't want to do anything to kill what I buy. I had a 50g freshwater crash and burn many years ago when the power went out for 3 days. Where would I buy one of those? Is there a website that would carry it?

[2farNorth]

Your best bet would be to check out some of the sponsors on here,, all the RO/DI units are pretty decent, again, just do some research.. here are a few,

http://www.thefilterguys.biz/ I purchased mine from them, awesome unit...excellent customer service, any questions, just drop them an email, and they'll help you out...

http://www.buckeyefieldsupply.com/
http://www.purelyh2o.com/
http://www.spectrapure.com/

Also, you might want to look into a skimmer,, if you already don't have one,, I'm not saying they are absolutely essential, but most of the time they'll make like alot easier...

What kind of filtration are you using now?

Your on the right track so far! Just do some searching on here, you'd be surprised with the amount of information that is available...

[Zestay]

Originally posted by dlsmith21
I have been trying to find out how to build my own sump. The directions on here are kinda vague and searching the net has proved fruitless. The new tank comes with a bio-wheel but I know that it won't work once I convert to reef. I'm searching far and wide right now for the correct lighting. The prices on it are not for the faint of heart. I know we have a reef club near me in Roanoke so I may post on there for used or a link to somewhat affordable lighting. There is craig's list but I'm wary of it.

ok a sump is really, just a bucket.
there are many forms of buckets. ill list a few
1) the 5 gallon bucket it will work . yes its ugly but its a place to put your skimmer, heater, other filters etc etc

2) the rubbermaid bin. available in many sizes and shapes. more room to work with than the 5 gallon bucket. pros cheap and difffrent sizes, cons: no real easy way to install baffles to eliminate micro bubbles

3) store bought wet-dry filter / sump... for a hundred dollars i stopped looking at these instantly

4) an aquarium. heres probably your best choice.
id use a 20 long or 30 long. but what ever fits under your stand will work ( if your skimmer + pump will both fit ) pros( easy to install baffles and can looks the best cons. can be pricy depending on aquarium and compared to the rubber maid bin its all pricy


mkay onto that bio wheel. ive heard pros and cons to it. id use it at first than remove it once your established a little better. think of the bio whell as bio balls. they just create problems.

lighting
probably one of your largest investments. dont do like i did and buy something cheap just to have to buy a new one because you want that acropora and your little lights wont grow it. get a metal hallide or some serious high output t5s

[bnhd3]

here is a link to great site that has great info and diy instructions and tips on just about every aspect of the hobby. i as many others use this site religiously!

http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/s...***/index.html