First aquarium.

[Jeather]

Hi everyone! I'm going to start my first saltwater tank soon and I was hoping for some advice. I know the first thing everyone says is to research research and more research. Luckly I think I have that covered. One of the things I love doing is research. It took me two months to decide on a TV because I had to know everything possible about plasmas before I bought one. That being said I have done nothing but read articles here and other places around the web trying to figure out how to do this for a month or so. So I figured I would finally post something with my ideas and you guys could tell me how far off I am.

The only piece of equipment I have gotten so far is the tank. Its a 75 gallon 48 X 18 X 20. Thats it. Not even a stand yet. So I know I have a long way to go. I'm thinking I would like a sump to hid all the equipment and a refugium. (if someone could teach me how to pronounce that It would be appericated) I'm thinking my goals for this tank will some Clownfish, anemone, a clam, and a mandarin. Anything else is pretty much optional. I know and anemone and mandarin will probably be to hard to take care of for awhile so I know I will have to wait for that. So here is my list of questions for you guys the experts:

Lighting: I'm thinking T5, Corals are cool but I'm worried about being so new to this I'll mess everything up. So they won't be in the tank for awhile. I figure T5's from what I've read will be enough for now.

Refugium/Sump: I'm not a plumber so I have no idea how to set this up. Melvs reef is a cool site and I'll probably follow one of his designs. for the refugium could I put a DSB in it with marco algae? Also for the mandarin are macro algae the pods I keep hearing about that they need to eat? By the way my tank does come with an overflow.

Protein Skimmer: I have bookmarked at least three threads that go into detail about these but I'm not sure I completely understand. More questions to come on these I'm sure.

Live Rock/Aquascaping: I've read that when you introduce an aggressive fish it helps to move around the live rock so all the previous territories are messed up and everyone starts new. How do I do that if I'm zip tieing and drilling live rock to make the aquascaping I want?

Flow/Pumps: Ok I understand that our tanks need alot of flow. I know there is no hard and set rule on how much just like the 1in per gallon for stocking fish dosent work. My question is how do I set it up? Just buy a bunch of powerheads and point then in different directions?

I think I've covered the major problems/issues with my tank. I have another issue though. I live on the third floor of an apartment. The apt manager said we have brick floors so weight would not be a problem but Its not going to be fun when I dump saltwater all over my carpet. So any advice from others who live in apartments will be more than welcome.

Also this is my first real aquarium ever. I had the standard goldfish when I was a kid but thats about it. I don't really want to start with freshwater because I'm from florida and really miss the ocean. I'm living in spokane wa now so I dont get to see it very much. Plus saltwater is just cooler.

Thanks in advance for the advice and tips.

 

[Myteemouse]

"re fuge e um"
DON'T put a manderin in for a year or so!!(needs LOTS of pods)
T-5's should grow everything but SPS unless your GOOD!!
Sump= mels reef is a good place to copy for a sump design!!
Skimmer= don't try to skimp on this!(unless you want fish only with live rock=no corals) Try to "over skim" = if a skimmer is rated at 75 galons max it wont help much in YOUR 75 gallon tank! PM skimmerwhisperrer he's very good with these things!
Live rock= some stack nicely, some attach, whatever fits your needs
Flow= 5x no more than 10x tank volume from sump! And in tank 25x+, tank volume for corals! well placed power heads will work wonders! or a "closed loop" but those require drilling OR fancy plumbing!
Don't waste money on "LIVE SAND", buy dry sand (more colors and the live stuff (I think) isn't really live. but thats another thread in its self!
about 1 to 1 1/2 lbs per gallon for amount of live rock is the general rule (especially if you want a maderin goby)

 

[Jeather]

Thanks, Whats the difference between SPS and LPS? I know I shouldnt put a mandarin in for a year or so I'm not trying to rush things. But what are the pods? Where do they grow? In the sump? On the live rock? Does this occur naturally with what comes in on the live rock or is it the macro algae you put in the sump?

 

[Scooterman]

Welcome to RF first off!
You might want to consider that water might make it through the brick floor & flood your neighbors, so this is something to consider carefully, maybe find a spot that shouldn't cause too much damage if it ever happened. Your right on the mandarin & anemone, stay away from those for a long while give yourself some time to learn as you build this tank.
As you mentioned, read lots & ask many questions!

 

[Myteemouse]

Pods are COPAPODS!
the little bugs that the manderin eats!
They do come on live rock for other tanks and do go CRAZY in the FUGE!
SPS = small polyp stony corals
LPS = large polyp stony corals!
go to coral ID or any place that sells corals and you'll see for sure!!
SPS are the MOST DEMANDING of all corals of water quality and light!

 

[Jeather]

Thanks again for the advice. What do you think of what fish I have picked? Anything not going to get along? Are the clownfish going to compete with the mandarin for the pods? Any other ideas for another fish or two? I think an angel or butterfly fish would be cool. Any problems if I have them and get some LPS corals later?

 

[NC2WA]

jeather,

the two most important pieces of equipment you can buy IMO are: a skimmer and lights..do NOT skimp on this..buy the best that your budget can afford..

also, recommend getting a copy of Robert Fenner's book, "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist". excellent resource..I've been in the hobby 10+ yrs and I still use it to research info on species.

 

[Jeather]

Funny you should mention that book, my mother got it for me for christmas when I was home visiting last month. I agree it is a very good resource of information. I am also having a bit of a problem finding websites that sell lights and skimmers. Any ideas?

 

[soyadrink]

I agree with all of the above. Spending money more money for better equipment now will help in the long run.
T5's would be perfect. There are tons of people that grow SPS very successfully under these lights. Just make sure you get individual reflectors for each bulb.
Marinedepot.com has pretty much everything equipment wise.
Good luck and keep us posted

 

[NC2WA]

for lights...try hellolights.com or reefgeek.com...depending on the theme of your tank, T5 or MH are the proper lights of choice..T5 burn cooler than MH.

for the skimmer, is this tank going to be FOWLR or a reef with lots of corals?? with FOWLR, skimmer choice is real important..if you can get skimmerwhisper to chime in here, he will tell you his opinion. he knows his stuff when it comes to skimmers..

 

[Jeather]

Its going to be FOWLR. Right now I'm just trying to plan everything out before I dive into this. I've read some topics on skimmers. They all seem to be very adjustable. Since I've only seen them in a box at my LFS could someone explain how they are set up? I think I have how they work and what they do down. But how do you set it up and adjust it so its working?

 

[NC2WA]

what models are you looking at right now???

being the tank is going to be FOWLR and depending on the fish you plan on having, you want to make sure you don't underskim..

 

[Jeather]

I haven't really looked at models yet. My LFS suggested an aqua.

 

[NC2WA]

IMO, Aqua or AquaC models are junk..don't waste your money on them..

do you know how many fish you plan on having in the tank? this will also help in your decsion of what model of skimmer to get..

 

[windwaterwaves]

Being new to reefing, and having moved from a fish only tank.. I feel like if I were to start over I would start with a bare tank, add sand, and spend a month laying out the live rock and the powerheads to flow throughout the tank and avoid detritus (waste) build up while things cycled. I would plumb in a really nice sump with a refugium, and a separate skimmer section, and have them both flow to the return pump. I would then begin cycling the refugium area and get some macro algae going, then maybe put in a couple of fish. Lighting is not huge until you start getting coral, let the bacteria do it's work and get the tank stable and growing coralline algae and lots of macro, build up slowly and get some non-photosynthetic softies and another fish and wait 6 months. Then think about increasing the light and moving to corals if you want. Garf.org has some pretty good info on starting a 55 gallon bulletproof reef that can give some good starter guidelines. I'm at the stage where I wish I could go back as all I seem to do is fight nitrates and phosphates, now I am increasing tanks (water volume), redoing the sump, adding a refugium while at the same time trying to get my corals to grow. I agree it is worthwhile to get a good IN SUMP skimmer the hang on ones are a maintenance nightmare. Good luck, would love to hear about your progress.

 

[G&NSalty425]

Welcome

Jeather,

Welcome and as you know you are at the start of a fun, interesting, but sometime highly frustrating adventure.

Two items of advice I could give:

1. Flow: I would highly recommend reading and applying the advice from the following article: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/1/aafeature as a process engineer that deals with pumps and fluid dynamics each day when we first started in the hoppy I used to debate with the wife over our flow set-up as I disagreed with all of the discussion in regards to turn over rates of a tank as velocity of water has nothing to do with turnover rate. I lost the debate as a good husband always does, but then a few weeks ago we had our monthly PSAS meeting (Puget Sound Aquarium Society) and Jake Adams was the presenter of a technical paper for the day. Now that someone other than "THE" husband stated the mistake of following turnover rate advice we went home applied Jakes presentation and all are happy now including the inhabitants of the tank. As an FYI we use two #4 Koralia pumps (1,200gph) (would love EcoTech, but can't cost justify) for our 90gal Bow front. They are placed in the back upper right corner and we have unbelievable flow across all sections of the tank.

Two: Skimmers, from newbie’s in the hobby whom have sent there fist skimmer back. Listen to all who say do not skimp here. We didn’t feel we skimped as it was a very reputable mid grade HOB skimmer and it was a nightmare. Replaced with a company that is no longer, but our LFS had one on the shelf and it had great reviews from those who had used this high end HOB. Cannot give you brands as you are setting up a sump and we are using a HOB skimmer, but again don't skimp here.

Last try to support your LFS if you have a good one in the area as if you get in a pinch they can be life savers. If not we have had great luck with Marine Depot and Marine & Reef when our LFS didn’t have what we wanted or could not get it.

Have fun!

 

[Jeather]

OK so don't be cheap on the skimmer, and pick a skimmer that is rated above my tank capacity. Got it. Thanks for the advice. Any specific brands anyone would recommend for an in sump skimmer?

I was reading some reviews on T5 lights. They were Nova Extreme Pros, but instead of individual reflectors though they had one piece of reflective material bent in the shape of reflectors. I got the impression of an old school washboard when I was reading about it. Anyone know what I'm talking about and are they good?

I think its awesome there is this much information on every little thing about reef keeping. It gives me plenty of things to read and think about.

 

[NC2WA]

for lights, Nova Extremes are good, but I prefer the CurrentUSA T5 Sundials..the difference between these and the nova extremes is the built-in timers that controls two separate fixtures.. www.marineandreef.com has a sale on these..

before I suggest skimmer models, what type of fish do you plan on keeping??

 

[Jeather]

I'll look into the Sundials, but if I'm planning on getting a powerstrip with a timer on it does it matter which ones I get? For the fish I'm planning on a pair of clownfish, a mandarin, (not for awhile I know), possibly an angel or butterflyfish, and maybe something like a yellow tang. Nothing but the clownfish and the mandarin is a must though. So I'm open to idea/suggestions.

 

[Jeather]

Just thought of another question. Whats a closed loop?