New here. Could you help?

[distractor]

Hello,
I'm new here and it just so happens that I'm also new to the salty side of the hobby. I have 5 years experience in
freshwater and planted tanks and am now becoming bored of the whole thing.
I'm turning over a new leaf and converting to reef.
I have always dreamed of having a beautiful display of corals and colorful fish in my own living room since I was a boy.
I have started to buy the equipment needed to erect my new 60cm cube.

Equipment plan:
60cm Cube - Braceless, Rimless and Sump less
Octopus Module 350 Skimmer (Rated for 350L with 1000lph pump)
Carib Sea Aragamax Substrate
5000lph Koralia for circulation
25Kg's Cured live rock from the word go
Single 150W Halide pendant with 14000K
Twin 36W Power compacts with Actinic's

Fauna:
2 Clown fish (Of course. Every n00b wants a Nemo don't they?)
1 Bi-Color Blenny
1 Sixline Wrasse
1 Neon Goby
2 Turbo Snails
4 Coral banded Shrimp

Invertebrates:
Brain Worm Coral
Starburst Polyp
Torch Coral
Hammer Coral
Yellow Fiji Leather Coral
Blushing Finger Leather Coral
Various Mushrooms
Various Zoa's

I tried my best to choose Corals and fish that my LFS can easily obtain and are on the regular delivery list, hence the choices.
Will I have enough light, Circulation, Live rock, Skimming and water volume to pull this off?

ANY help would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to being part of the community. Cheers

[SaltyDr]

How many gallons is the tank, and what are the dimensions? Those corals are on the low to moderate in terms of their needs. Might need a few more snails, less shrimp.

[distractor]

Tank is ~55 Gallons or 225 Liters. So more snails and less shrimp. That's easy enough.

[SaltyDr]

Light should be adequate. Might want the LPS closer to the top. No hermit crabs? Some like, some don't. They can kill snails and steal their shells. For the snails, a variety is good.

[jayco5]

Nice plan, and nice variety.

[distractor]

Originally posted by SaltyDr
Light should be adequate. Might want the LPS closer to the top. No hermit crabs? Some like, some don't. They can kill snails and steal their shells. For the snails, a variety is good.

I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure which of my chosen corals is the LPS.
Is it the Fiji leather or the Hammer or both?
Yes, I did originally plan on hermits but I decided against them for the reason you stated. What other snails could I add to the mix?
SO, I have enough light, my skimmer is OK and the Live rock will handle the bio load?
Sorry for the hassle. I want to make sure it's going to work before spending $1500 on it all. Cheers

[greggnyce]

Coral banded shrimp attack fish so beware. I had one kill an anthias. Maybe use t5s instead of power compacts.

[distractor]

What about Peppermint Shrimp and why T5's instead of PC's?
Thank you for your response.

[EllieSuz]

Peppermint Shrimp are reclusive. If you want something colorful and often out in the open I'd recommend a Skunk Cleaner.

[HappySkittles]

coral banded can catch and kill fish
pep shrimp sometimes pick at coral polyps

i agree with the skunk cleaner shrimp
amusing little things

the hammer and torch are lps
the brain is also a stony coral

t5's because its better lighting for your corals

[distractor]

Thanks for the replies and the recommendations. I had a look at the cleaner shrimp and they are beautiful inverts.
I will definately be getting these instead.
Regarding the T5's. Could I get away with 2 24W tubes?
The reason I chose the PC's in the first place was to keep the clean look and avoid bulky full length lights hanging over the tank but,
I'm willing to disregard this minor quabble if they will be better.
Cheers

[abulgin]

Originally posted by distractor
Thanks for the replies and the recommendations. I had a look at the cleaner shrimp and they are beautiful inverts.
I will definately be getting these instead.
Regarding the T5's. Could I get away with 2 24W tubes?
The reason I chose the PC's in the first place was to keep the clean look and avoid bulky full length lights hanging over the tank but,
I'm willing to disregard this minor quabble if they will be better.
Cheers

If you haven't purchased the PCs yet, then go with the T5s but don't throw anything out over this. Your corals are going to get the light they need from the MH, not the actinics. For all intents and purposes, the actinics are aesthetic only. Thus, use whatever works best for you/your system. The main advantage of T5s versus PCs is that the bulbs maintain their spectral integrity for about twice as long (12 months versus 6 months), so you're replacing bulbs less frequently and, thus, spending less money and harming the environment less. URI (I believe) now makes a T5 bulb with 180 degree internal reflectors, but otherwise the light output of a T5 versus a PC are basically identical, unless you're employing individual reflectors on your T5 fixture (which, for actinics, isn't necessary).


I likewise do not advise a Coral Banded Shrimp. The cleaners are much more enjoyable and are peaceful (although they will steal food from corals).

[distractor]

Thank you very much for the reply.
The lighting will be purchased last as it's the one area of the build I have changed my mind on numerous times.
I think I've narrowed down the choice to this or this . I'm thinking the first one though. I love black light fittings.
There may be some Aussies on the forum familiar with these fittings.
OR, I could go the DIY route with this and this. What do you think?
Thank you very much for the help. I feel the weight lifted off my shoulders already.

[pammy]

Welcome to the board. Like you, I did a ton of research before I started up my tank, and I'm so glad I did, because I would have done EVERYTHING wrong if I just jumped in. This board has been an enormous help. I have a rimless open top tank about the same size as yours (mine isn't a cube though). I went with a 150MH bulb and 4 T5's . I didn't think I would need more than the T5's, but didn't want too be limited on anything down the road because of lack of light, so went with the MH/T5 combo. Everything has done very well in my tank with that lighting. I have a beautiful Sabae Anemone that was very bleached when I bought it a year ago (should have done more research before that purchase!) and it's doing beautifully and darkened up a ton. Have a beautuful clam that I've had for over a year. All the LPS corals I've tried have done beautifully. I have a few easier SPS corals. For live rock, I started with a pound of rock per gallon of water, and glad that I didn't put in any more than that. Any more and to me, it would have been too crowded. Here's a pic and a video of my tank. Pam

Full Tank Pic

Full Tank Video

[distractor]

Beautiful tank Pammy. I have alot more confidence now that I
have seen what a similar amount of light can do. I have searched high and low for 60cm cube journals with
similar lighting setups but have found stuff all. I think I'll definately get the combo unit.
How much current are those Tunze streams pumping out?

[pammy]

Thanks Distracor. You can click on my red little house at the top to see some early pics of my tank. First pic is a few days after I added the rock, and you'll see how badly bleached my Sabae Anemone was. I'm lucky that I was able to get it back to health and that it didn't die. The two Tunze's are Nanostreams 6025's and each put out 660gph. Then, on the bottom of the tank behind the rocks, I have a Maxijet 1200 which puts out 295gph. I was getting a bunch of detritus settling back there, and adding that powerhead I had sitting around took care of that. And then I have a Eheim 1260 for my return pump from the sump which puts out 695gph (minus some for gravity). So, I have about 35X my system volume for flow. All the corals seem to be happy.
Another GREAT source of info for me, if you haven't found this yet, is the Talking Reef Podcasts. There are a TON of topics out there. Some were taped live with question / answers. You can download them from itunes or get them from talkingreef.com . Also, reefcast is another podcast out there. I have a 45 minute commute so listened to one on the way to work, and one on the way home, every day until I got through them all.
Pam