First time reef set up

sir fresh

sir fresh

AC Members
Jun 20, 2008
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ligonier pa
I hav eread a lot of good information but I have some questions, I am moving my 2 25 gallon tall tanks from my office to home and intend to replace with a 55 or 75 gallon reef aquarime. The equipment on hand that I have all ready is a 404 2 aquaclear power heads and a 200 watt heater. I also have a new in box a skilter 400 protien skimmer with filter. I have 2 or 3 air pumps

Other than lights, is there any thing else I am missing I have test equipment, my office has a 75 gallon loach tank and a 55 corner tank with 2 pairs of Discus which I have bred.

Only other question would be how much sand live rock etc,

Thanks Graham.
 
Well you will need a saltwater testkit along with a reef specific test kit, some type of hydrometer.

As far as sand and live rock goes, anywhere from 1lbs to 2lbs per gallon is the most common advice.

The sand, you dont need to buy all live sand, you can just seed "dead sand" with some live sand.

Same with live rock, use base rock and live rock 50/50 split or so.

The live rock/sand will turn the rest into live in due time.
 
Also I would get rid of the air pumps, and air-stones.
 
sir fresh said:
May I ask why ? the filter by the way is a fluvall 404
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There is no need to for air pumps in a marine system, as all the gas exchange is done at the surface, and we use powerheads to create surface agitation which aids this to take place..
 
Air bubbles causes to much salt-creep. PH are much better for water movement.
 
thanks I have spare power heads from my loach tank 3 aqua clear 70's. I use a uv for my Discus tanks do you guys suggest it on the reef tank or will cause problems with the cultures?
 
A UV unit is OK, but not really needed in a reef.
 
With the space I have I am opting for a 55 gallon tank, I have spent several days reading the foroums and I am looking at my list ................ 50lb of base rock 40 to 50lb of live rock, how much do you guys recomend on the live sand/sand ratio.

As I want this as a reef tank my confusion is on the lighting ......... I use moonlight leds on my loach tank. Sorry about the questions but I intand to do this right.
 
While it is tempting to put that much rock in, I'd recommend going a bit lower. That much will look good initially, but you'll soon find it crowded as corals grow (unless you are using some really dense rock). Also, it makes it (much) more difficult to get adequate water motion in various smaller areas. I'd try to shoot for ~1 lb per gallon, give or take 10 lbs or so as you see aesthetically fitting. I tend to shoot for less, since I somewhat like a minimalist look and practical layouts in terms of water motion, but you may or may not like such a layout. For live sand, most people just put a relatively fine layer of live on top of the dead. I'd day a 1:5 ratio is an ok starting point, although deviation in either direction will work just as well. Just remember if you add live sand, adding a bit less at a time is better, since it doesn't allow more sand to pile up on top of other live sand, which can cause some infauna to die.

As for effective lighting, try out T5 or metal halide lighting fixtures. There are other, options available, however, if you don't mind paying the extra money, you'll get a better fixture that will allow you to have more options. Most of the time, people end up spending the money sooner or later, so it makes better sense to buy a better one initially, instead of spending more money by buying a cheaper then a better fixture. Not sure what you are asking about the moonlights, though that'd be acceptable nocturnal lighting for your reef tank.

If possible, I'd also look into a better hang-on-back skimmer. The skilters never worked too well and always filled the tank with bubbles, IME. I'd look into the Octopus and Aqua C hang on skimmers if you are on a relative budget, since they provide good bang-for-your-buck.
 
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