Hi, many questions (light inverts etc)

[syddakyd]

Hi i just registered to this forum. i have 10+ years experience in freshwater fish (im only 21).

anywayz, i have a 55g aquarium running for about 1 1/2 weeks with live sand and live rock (i am buying more live rock couldnt afford all of it at once, getting alot more tomorrow), and a 260watt coral life fixture

my first question is......is 260 watts suitable to keep any type of coral or anenome? (i know there are easy corals and there are more advances species as well) the fixture has those regular whitish/yellow bulbs and blue actinic and moon lighting (which is irrelevant)

now, i am also looking for inverts. which are to be considered reef safe (its so much easier to find info on reef-safe fish for some reason)



i want to have animals like small hermit crabs, variety of snails, a few species of peaceful small shrimp such as peppermints, a few species of true crab like emerald and some feather duster worms.


i would also like a reef safe starfish (not those sea serpent weird types but more of a classic shape type). i liek the chocolate chip but that isnt reef safe.


i also would like to know of a reef safe urchin thats compatabile with a peaceful starfish that wont kill it

i know sand sifting stars are peaceful but they deplete sandbeds of like in small systems i hear.

i also want anenomes ...


so i bascially need animals that not only do not harrass corals, but wont kill other inverts or fish as well.


thank you in advance.


(ps i know not to put anything in until tank is cycled i just need to plan ahead for the future guess i have ocd) lol

 

[spongebob lover]

welcome to RF dood !!!

1- how deep is your tank? i think that would answer but i believe 250 MH would do it but not that sure, i'd wait for someone else to reply like my friend Krish .

now, i am also looking for inverts. which are to be considered reef safe (its so much easier to find info on reef-safe fish for some reason)

i believe inverts are safe ... unless you wanted flatworms or aptasia in your tank (thoes are bad ).
Once your tank has cycled, then you can start adding inverts ... snails are the best thing because they help to get rid of algae which you don't want, i know hermits are cute but unless you wanna keep buying and buying snails then have one otherwise once they get big, they go looking for another shell they like which they get from snails .... sometimes adding empty shells work but if the crab sees a shell it likes... trust me... it's gonna eat the snail if it has to ..... emerald crabs are good.... but some are evil... you never know they might nip at some sps corals....... in a few..... stay away from crabs unless you wanna risk it.
Shrimps are good.
Starfish- the cute ones like the blue ones or red ones are ok but they're hard to keep and they don't last that long as far as i know, but i could be wrong.
Chocolate chip starfish are not good for reef tanks i believe... just don't trust me to much on that since i have never kept one..... but from what i've heard... not good.
sand sifting starfishes are kewl but you gotta have tons of microfauna for it to eat or it'll just starve to dead and if you want one you gotta make sure you got enough sand for it .
Tuxedo urchins are really good at eating algae and coralline .
About anemones.... what kind of anemone do you want or are planning on having? if it's for clowns fishes.... then you gotta find what type they host but don't expect to much since some clowns don't host right away.

i just need to plan ahead for the future guess i have ocd

ohh boy not another ocd one :lol: .... sorry dood my friend Krish has it too, I'm sure he'll post here :lol: .

 

[Scooterman]

Good thing, take your time & learn as you go. You can keep softies under these lights, I wouldn't, t try hard corals until you can upgrade your lighting some. Tell us about your tank, what kind of filtration do you have, sump, skimmer, pumps, is this a PC lighting fixture, or what? The more information we have the better. What kind of test kits do you have & what are they reading? If you don't already have the PH, ammonia, nitrite, & nitrate test kits & recommend using saliflert test kits, because they are accurate enough for a reef tank but better than most of the cheapies, I went through so many cheapies that had me way off & wasn't helping me.

Also welcome to RF & to reefing!

 

[Krish]

Welcome to RF! Hope you enjoy it here!

my first question is......is 260 watts suitable to keep any type of coral or anenome? (i know there are easy corals and there are more advances species as well) the fixture has those regular whitish/yellow bulbs and blue actinic and moon lighting (which is irrelevant)

If it is power compacts you are talking about, then you will be somewhat limited on what you can keep. I had the 260w coralife aqualight and ended up swapping it out for dual 250w metal halides to support whatever I wanted underneath it. The power compacts won't penetrate all that well in the water and provide certain corals with the lighting they need so you may have to look into a different form of lighting if you don't want to be limited as to what you can keep

now, i am also looking for inverts. which are to be considered reef safe (its so much easier to find info on reef-safe fish for some reason)

There are quite a number of invertebrates you can put into a tank that are reef safe. Anything from cleaner shrimps, coral bandit shrimps, peppermint shrimps, some sand sifting start fish and brittle stars, different species of hermit crabs like blue legged etc and on and on and on. It would be probably much easier on you if you figured out the inverts you wanted to have and then post their names here and have members give you feedback on them as to whether they will go well in your system

I hope you find out all the info you need and don't be afraid to ask anything, even if you think it is a dumb question because no question is dumb here. There are tons of helpful friendly members here full with knowledge that can sort out any of your reefkeeping needs

ohh boy not another ocd one .... sorry dood my friend Krish has it too, I'm sure he'll post here

ROFL! Hardee har har

 

[ronj]

welcome to Reeffrontiers!!!!..

i would also like a reef safe starfish (not those sea serpent weird types but more of a classic shape type). i liek the chocolate chip but that isnt reef safe.

...i would have to say no to the sand sifter starfish...you would need a really mature tank to keep it in..they will starve to death..i know from personal experience..

i

also would like to know of a reef safe urchin thats compatabile with a peaceful starfish that wont kill it

....i have never had one, but i know they are very strong and can cause your rocks to tumble over, which could cause a disater to your glass or tank inhabitants...you could glue your rocks together...

i also want anenomes ...

..you would need MH's or possibly several VHO's...i have the same fixture that you have..it is not strong enough for anamone's..i have leather corals that do just fine under 260wt pc's...you could put alot of other things under the lights that you have!!!!

want to have animals like small hermit crabs, variety of snails, a few species of peaceful small shrimp such as peppermints, a few species of true crab like emerald and some feather duster worms.

...sometimes peppermint shrimp will nip at corals....i had cleaner shrimp that were fine...the hermits can also kill smaller snail to get their shells..i had this happen..they wiped out a bunch of snails.. i got rid of all my hermit crabs...

i hope that doesn't discourage you from anything. .you can always try out some of these inverts that you want, but there is a posibility that something could happen...it may or may not happen, but now you know what you are up against!!

 

[4251cpd]

Hermits go good with Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, and that is IT.

 

[syddakyd]

thanks for the responses. i bought alot more live rock today to continue my cycle. probably just get a few more small pieces for aesthetic purposes. i wasn't getting an anenome for the purpose of the clown. its a cool symbiotic relationship but i just like anenomes.

so a coral banded shrimp won't terrorize other inverts?

and serpent stars are def. reef safe?

also, how long generally would it take to introduce corals and anenomes to a fully cycled tank? at least 6 months?


oh yea, i seen various macro algaes "seaweed" at the local lfs. i know people keep them in sumps but i want them in my tank.

think they might look weird though if i keep them with coral lol. will any of the clean up crew mess with the macro algae?

 

[ronj]

i had a coral banded shrimp that used to mess with my cleaner shrimp...once your tank is cycled, you can put your corals in, but i would wait a little bit to let the tank mature(JMO)....i would definately wait to put an anemone in..also, i have never had any of my snails or my crabs mess with my macro..i keep some macro(chaeto) in 2 of my tanks...it grows like crazy in one of my tanks..