First Reef Tank! (75g, 40g sump)

[PaulieReef]

Lets start out by saying hello! Names Paul, and I recently been looking to get into this hobby for awhile. Did freshwater for awhile and got bored of the easy maintenance so went to planted freshwater, bored. Looking forward to the challenge of a saltwater reef tank and all it has to offer.

I recently just setup my tank and its in its cycling process at the moment.

Sorry for the horrible quality but..



Ive been studying for the past 2-3 months before setting up my tank to make sure I am ready. And I think i am good at least for cycling lol.

I did however goof setting up the tank ironically. I filled it with my ro/di water with the sand and rocks in and went.. oh darn.. salt. So that took up a day or two of my time keeping my powerheads on full blast (2x k4's and vortech mp40w) but things evened out. Salinity is sitting around 1.025-6 right now, which from my research is the apparent goal.

Anyway, questions.

I looked up that good starting corals are Xenia, but I also read that they are near impossible to get rid of once you have them. Also read good starter fish (after cycling) are 4 stripe damsels because of how hardy they are. Also read they are very aggressive.

Lighting I am going with is 8x54w tek, bulb setup I thinking of something..

ATI Blue Plus
ATI 12000K Aquablue
ATI Blue plus
Fiji Purple
GE 6500K Daylight
ATI Blue plus
UV Lighting 10000K AquaSun
ATI Blue plus

I am using Red Sea coral pro salt, seems to be doing pretty well. Well find out more once I actually start getting coral.

Questions are..

What is a good looking coral, that is a good starter but wont take over my tank (i.e. Xenia) was thinking along the lines of some sort of SPS because I love to see the movement in my tank.. it is what attracted me towards saltwater was the coral. Don't get me wrong LOVE the fish, but coral is my passion, watching it grow and seeing it healthy.

Same question, but with fish. I know damsels are usually hardy, but can be very aggressive. Was thinking about 4-5 chromis would be good, they are beautiful fish and never heard horror stories of their aggression.

Thanks for your time,
Paul

P.s - Hopefully I can share my knowledge with people down the line. I love helping people, and once I'm more knowledgeable can't wait to give back!

[theatrus]

Originally Posted by PaulieReef

I did however goof setting up the tank ironically. I filled it with my ro/di water with the sand and rocks in and went.. oh darn.. salt. So that took up a day or two of my time keeping my powerheads on full blast (2x k4's and vortech mp40w) but things evened out. Salinity is sitting around 1.025-6 right now, which from my research is the apparent goal.

Sounds good so far.

Originally Posted by PaulieReef

Anyway, questions.

I looked up that good starting corals are Xenia, but I also read that they are near impossible to get rid of once you have them. Also read good starter fish (after cycling) are 4 stripe damsels because of how hardy they are. Also read they are very aggressive.

I'd never do damsels. I do keep Xenia in my system - its fast growing in the right circumstances, BUT is very easy to remove (unlike green star polyps, etc). You can simply peel it off of the rock/glass and scoop it out (warning: its stinky in air).

Other great starter fish: Chromis, false percula (ocellaris) clownfish, many gobies

Originally Posted by PaulieReef

Lighting I am going with is 8x54w tek, bulb setup I thinking of something..

ATI Blue Plus
ATI 12000K Aquablue
ATI Blue plus
Fiji Purple
GE 6500K Daylight
ATI Blue plus
UV Lighting 10000K AquaSun
ATI Blue plus

That will likely give you a "more white" look. Its what I run. If you want more blue substitute out the 10k or 12k bulb with more Blue Plus.

Originally Posted by PaulieReef

I am using Red Sea coral pro salt, seems to be doing pretty well. Well find out more once I actually start getting coral.

Shouldn't be an issue.

Originally Posted by PaulieReef

Questions are..

What is a good looking coral, that is a good starter but wont take over my tank (i.e. Xenia) was thinking along the lines of some sort of SPS because I love to see the movement in my tank.. it is what attracted me towards saltwater was the coral. Don't get me wrong LOVE the fish, but coral is my passion, watching it grow and seeing it healthy.

SPS (small polyp stony) are generally not "movers" - some millepora does contain longer than average tentacles which will sweep in the currents, but many are "fuzzy" at best. They're primarily fuzzy stony skeletons.

SPS corals are also considered the pickiest in terms of tank environment. I wouldn't introduce most into a system until its stabilized at least for 6 months. The flow must be high and random. Water quality excellent (no detectable nitrate or phosphate, good alk and Ca which remains stable). Your flow will suffice (in areas) as will your lighting, but water quality is a big one (depending on fish, large skimmers are very helpful, and either dosing alk and calcium "2 part" or using a calcium reactor to keep the water chemically stable is a must).

Perhaps you were thinking of soft corals (some of which move around a bunch in flow) or LPS (large polyp stony) corals (some of which, like torch corals and similar) have waving long polyps.

SPS corals are fantastic, and a great goal, but know what you're getting into

Leathers, torchs, candy canes, frogspawn are all "easier" corals which will be happy in high light situations. If you want to try your hand at an SPS, montipora capricornis and montipora digitata are also both easy SPS corals (but much pickier on water quality than leathers and some easy LPS).

Originally Posted by PaulieReef

Same question, but with fish. I know damsels are usually hardy, but can be very aggressive. Was thinking about 4-5 chromis would be good, they are beautiful fish and never heard horror stories of their aggression.

Chromis are peaceful, and make an interesting schooling display. They're also "boring", but thats in the eye of the beholder

[PaulieReef]

Ah, Meant to put LPS, I always mix the two up because I always think of S as soft, which is wrong :P I am a huge fan of LPS not SPS :P. Sorry for that misunderstanding. I know the difficulties of SPS, my poor buddy just lost a TON of his just because the power went out for 7 hours while he was at work and didnt have a backup generator :/.

I really like LPS and anemones. Anemones are by far my favorite, but they scare me because they sometimes move :P.

Galaxia, frogspawn, hammer all favorites.

Thanks for the response

[whorulz1147]

With that lighting system, you are pretty much able to keep any corals you want. If you are planning SPS and LPS corals, you will probably want to steer clear of the xenia. SPS corals need a more established tank (6 months plus) to comepletly thrive. Look into a frogspawn- they are pretty hardy and add a lot of color and movement. I also think you are thinking along the right lines with avoiding the damsels. As for the rest, it looks like you have been doing your research, and are off to a good start. What kind of skimmer do you have? People will want to know... Good Luck and welcome to Reef Central!

[Omie]

Hi and welcome to RC!!
-First of all good looking tank and the rocks looks great. Take ur time and be patient before u start to put a lot of stuff at the same time... Remember still cycling and will take a while to set it up
-About the salt is ideal to keep it at that level, between 1.025-6. If u do only fishes u can decreased a little bit (if u want)
-The Red Sea coral pro is exellent salt!! I use that one for my tank and u can see a difference in the corals... I used for a time the Instant Ocean, is cheaper and the ALK is high (by my experience and some friends that I have), so if I invested a lot of money in my tank, why not to invest in a good salt?? IMO...
-Ur lights will do an exellent job, if u want SPS just put them higher than soft corals..
-Now, before u put some fishes... The damsels are mean and can hurt other fishes, but the chromis are one of the less agressive and stays in schools... Is an option and will have less probabilities to loose an expensive fish (i.e. damsel $4 / tang $40)... I think a clownfish will be a good start after the cycling is done.
-Some corals to start and are not expensive could be candy canes, some nice zoos, mushrooms, etc, but stay away from the SPS until u know that the tank is very stable (SPS need more atention and are more suseptible in the change of the levels of the water)
*** This is just my opinion***
GOOD LUCK

P.S. BTW, I saw a hydrometer on top of the tank... Not acurate... Try to buy a refractometer for acurate results

[theatrus]

Originally Posted by PaulieReef

Ah, Meant to put LPS, I always mix the two up because I always think of S as soft, which is wrong :P I am a huge fan of LPS not SPS :P. Sorry for that misunderstanding. I know the difficulties of SPS, my poor buddy just lost a TON of his just because the power went out for 7 hours while he was at work and didnt have a backup generator :/.

I really like LPS and anemones. Anemones are by far my favorite, but they scare me because they sometimes move :P.

Galaxia, frogspawn, hammer all favorites.

Thanks for the response

You're doing good then. Plenty of light (in fact maybe too much, you could save money on a 6 bulb fixture).

I've found the swing-arm hydrometers to actually be fairly accurate. If you can get it compared to a calibrated refractometer it would be a good sanity check.

I also noticed your "overflow" - how is the noise from that setup? There isn't anything technically wrong with it, but most people opt for a bottom drilled (may not be possible in your tank) overflow. Does your sump have enough capacity to hold the water when the return pump stops?

As for anemones, make sure you can recognize healthy specimens from unhealthy ones. Some stores will happily pass off bleached snow white specimens as healthy.

Have you introduced any live rock in your system? Most of what you have looks like formerly dry rock If not, I would suggest adding some - there is no other way to get the diverse mix of life in your system without it.

[PaulieReef]

Originally Posted by whorulz1147

What kind of skimmer do you have?

150 octo

Originally Posted by Omie

P.S. BTW, I saw a hydrometer on top of the tank... Not acurate... Try to buy a refractometer for acurate results

My next investment is a refractometer, but to not spend a super amount I figure I would buy a swing arm for now, and compared to my buddies refractometer it is pretty accurate. Once I start getting coral I will invest in a refractometer .

Originally Posted by theatrus

You're doing good then. Plenty of light (in fact maybe too much, you could save money on a 6 bulb fixture).

I also noticed your "overflow" - how is the noise from that setup? Does your sump have enough capacity to hold the water when the return pump stops?

Have you introduced any live rock in your system? Most of what you have looks like formerly dry rock If not, I would suggest adding some - there is no other way to get the diverse mix of life in your system without it.

I am getting a 8bulb because I am getting a great deal for it ($250) and I plan on getting SPS later on, so I will need it later regardless, I am going to be placing the LPS mid / bot and saving room on the top for most of the SPS.

My overflow is amazing, it really isnt that noisy at all. You actually cant really hear it at all. But I do love listening to the water noises very relaxing to me.

I also did do a power outage test to make sure the tank does not back siphon or over flow and once settled I have about 3" from the top of my sump.

Their is one peace of live rock if you look on the picture the middle on the bottom slight left is covered in coraline, I got it from ECA (East Coast aquatics) and I might go get another peace either tomorrow or this weekend.

I think I answered everyones questions :P.

I think I have good enough flow, I have 2x k4's and a vortech mp40w, and properly placed I think I could keep anything alive in the tank flow wise.

[jformani]

If you do decide to get Xenia it does well if you can isolate it on its own island. If it touch the glass, overflow or another rock it will attach to it. I had a basketball size piece in my display that pulsed like crazy. All the neighbors and friends would comment on how cool it looked, isnt that funny.

GSP same thing. Just keep it isolated. I actually have GSP and Xenia in my display and they are isolated and both look great. Xenia because of the movement and the GSP have green green colors and cover up the rock nicely.

[PaulieReef]

Guys and gales, I present to you!!! MY FIRST CRITTER!!



I know he/she is some sort of starfish, but i forget the names of them!!

I was like what is this?? and freaked out when i saw it! SO excited!!

[theatrus]

You're looking at a baby brittle star. They are very common in rockwork, but tend to be reclusive and stay out of sight during the day. The legs can get fairly long, but overall they're a great little scavenger.

[PaulieReef]

Yeah, I had all my powerheads off and he came out.. I was like OMG!

[julie180]

Looking good so far.

I have the tek 8 bulb fixture. I did not like that one switch controlled the outer 4 bulbs so I rewired my fixture so every other light comes on with each switch. Some thing you might consider so you don't have to run all the lights until necessary. You might find that 8 bulbs over that size tank is to much light for most softies and lps.

Best of luck,
Julie

[PaulieReef]

Originally Posted by julie180

Looking good so far.

I have the tek 8 bulb fixture. I did not like that one switch controlled the outer 4 bulbs so I rewired my fixture so every other light comes on with each switch. Some thing you might consider so you don't have to run all the lights until necessary. You might find that 8 bulbs over that size tank is to much light for most softies and lps.

Best of luck,
Julie

Well the 4 bulbs might actually be a hidden blessing, because then I can have a lot more light near the back (my SPS) and then have the front 4 of for my LPS but I would like it to be every other bulb, was the rewiring hard? And I would have have to much light then not enough, specially since I could always take bulbs out :P Vs not having enough and having to buy another fixture. I will keep the rewiring idea in my mind for the future. Wont be getting the fixture till the end of September so I can research on how to rewire it :P

Paul

[julie180]

It's been awhile but I think I just exchanged every other bulb end. Because the wires are cut very close, I had to extend some. Sorry I don't remember specifics, but I can tell you if you have a little wiring knowledge and common sense, it should not be a big deal.

If you don't get your answer before the fixture gets there, pm me a picture of it with the reflectors off and I can help you further. I really don't want to take mine apart just to look

Also, because the sockets are wired to common ballasts, you can't just take out bulbs. That would be way to easy!!!

Julie