suggestions

[caz]

hi guys, first i would like to thank everyone for their previous help, and would like to ask for some suggestions. ive been readying alot of books, and asking around at lfs.
my equipment:
75 gal tank
aquaclear 500
20 pounds of rock
submersable heater, temp at 78
50 pounds of tropical playsand, and 20 pounds crushed coral, and 20 pounds of arg.

my fish(might be swapped out if need be)
2 damsels

i was wondering if i needed special lighting for live rock for biological purposes, just to keep bacteria alive.
here are the list of species that i am considering
2 peculuar clowns
a coral beauty
choc. chip star,
yellow tang,
hermit crabs,
a flame angel
and possibly a puffer or cowfish of somesorts. will i need to increase my lighting and filtration for these guys? any other fish that might be compatible? my tank is not fully cycled yet, but when it is, which should i add first? any more hardy than others?
as far as lighting goes, im making a canopy which will hold 3 48" bulbs.

thanx guys

[ben72227]

i'm assuming that you're using the aquaclear empty for water movement? Or do you have carbon in it? it would help to get a protein skimmer (AquaC Remoras and CPR Bak Paks are pretty good) and some good powerheads to help with water movement.

as for lighting, most fish are fine with PC lights but corals, anemones, and other reef critters need stronger lighting in a tank your size. MH lights would be good if you decided to go reef.

as for the fish i would add the flame angel last as well as the starfish who do better in more mature tanks. also, the clowns should be added together. overall, just make sure you don't add the fish too quickly, you need to let your tank mature some.

i would stongly suggest getting more than just 20 lb. of LR, as some of the fish you listed really like having a lot of rock to hide in.

here is a compatability chart (http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/compatibility_chart.cfm) to help you out.

[CHughes]

Caz:
I agree with Ben, a skimmer might be a good idea, and certainly the powerheads. Also, more LR is a must (1 - 1 1/2 lbs per gal).

The Tang also need a mature tank, you could add the hermits as soon as you have 0 reading for NH3, NO2.

As for your lighting, the LR will do okay in normal lighting, but likes more to florish. What ballast do you have on your light hood now? If it's standard the best you can do is something like Powerglows or Coral life 50/50. They are okay for a FOWLR tank, but definately rule out having hard corals, aneomes, etc.

Chris

[caz]

thanx. i have the carbon in the filter right now. do i need a protein skimmer right off? or is that something i can purchase down the road? do all anemones require special lighting?
thanx

[CHughes]

Caz:
You can probably wait a bit for the skimmer. I'm in the same boat with my 55 gal tank I started Dec. 5th...the proteins are starting to build up and I have a surface scum now. I was told by my LFS that skimmers work better in an established tank (i.e. about 6 months old - not sure if that's true or not).

I'd pull the carbon from the AC and just let it circulate the water. My thinking is that I wouldn't want the filter to be the primary source of filteration, thereby making the DSB develop. Your tank may cloud up, but that's where the LR should take over. Remember not to add new LR to the tank without letting in age in another tank, otherwise you end up with another NH3 and NO3 spike.

Anemones require MH lighing as well as an established tank - minimum 3 watts per gallon and are expensive. If that's your goal, you may want to plan out your purchases. That's what I'm doing.

Chris

[ben72227]

i wouldn't wait too long to get the skimmer. i'd have one in there by the time i started adding fish. and i might recommend an aquac remora as they are extremely reliable H.O.T. skimmers.

[caz]

sorry, i should have mentioned that the 20 lbs of rock isnt live, and there is no live rock im my tank right now. sorry i should have stated that. i merely would like to add a few pounds of live rock, once the tank is cycled. just for biological purposes. so should i keep the carbon in, or take it out?

[CHughes]

Caz:
Pull the carbon, in SW tanks it is used primarily to remove meds as I understand. It may also become a source of NO2 build up. You need to have circulation of water and the best way of doing that is with Powerheads, as you can create circular flow in your tank.

Just my 2 cents, and whenever OrionGirl or Morgana sign on, I'm sure they'll follow up on all my mistakes in advice :D

Chris

[ben72227]

take the carbon out. You NEED Live Rock. Period. It's the best biological filtration you can get. and those fish you want will not be happy without live rock. (Keep the rock that you already have - when you add the live rock, the corraline algae and bacteria will seed into the "base" rock that you already have)

The things you need (minimum) are - live rock(biological filtration), powerheads(for water movement - marine fish are used to waves and since the ocean is a HUGE open thing if a fish dies it won't impact the ocean at all but in your SMALL Closed aquarium if the water isn't moving around bad things happen), and a heater(marine fish are used to warm water - about 78 degrees F). Skimmers help out alot, but they aren't required and there are some people who don't use them at all.

The live rock will provide all of the biological filtration. if you get a clean up crew they will provide the mechanical filtration.

hope this helps.

[caz]

thanx ben and chris for answering my questions. should i keep the carbon in till i get live rock? i will probably pick up some when lfs can get some in. also lighting got any advice for me on this? some people say i need expensive lighting, others say i dont unless i want to keep a bunch of inverts. i dont think i will go much more than a few pounds of live rock, and purely for filtration purposes only, not for coloration. right now, i am planning on haveing 3 40 watt bulbs. would this be suffice for keeping the basic fish, and hermit crabs? can i keep any inverts without special lighting? thanx again

[ben72227]

keep the carbon in right now as it's the only filtration you have.

and if you're only keeping live rock for filtration and not for it's appearance, then you can get some cheaper live rock. however, most of the "coloration" is actually corralline algae and i can't believe that you want an ugly tank.

here is "decorator rock" from TBS; it's $4 per pound (cheapest they offer).http://tampabaysaltwater.com/images/decorator%20_rock.jpg

you should really know that it's not wise to skimp on marine tanks. it's an expensive hobby and if i were you i would try to get the best stuff available because when the cheap stuff fails so does your tank. IMHO

As for lighting, i would go with Power Compact lights which are more than adequate for FO tanks, and you can also keep some inverts under them as well. If you could give us the dimensions of your tank, it would help, because PC lights can only penetrate the water so far. Further than about 18" deep requires Metal Halides which are the best lights but the most expensive as well.

[caz]

its nice, but im not going for a reef tank. i just want a few rock formations. just my preferance i guess. if i like the saltwater aspect, then i think i might turn my 120 into a reef tank, or atleast have a larger amount of LR in it. but for right now, i just want maybe 30 pounds of rock. max. and as far as "ugly tank" i personally dont think its ugly. i have nice peices of fossil rock that have tons of color blotches on it which i think is very nice.

[ben72227]

sorry about calling your tank ugly :sad . i thought you just had some base rock with no color on it. i understand that you don't want a reef tank, but you have to understand that those fish that you listed are reef fish. FO tanks do better with damsels and clowns and other hardy fish like them.

Besides that - i wasn't talking about a reef, i was talking about a FOWLR. if it were a reef it would have anemones, corals, etc. There's nothing wrong with a FO tank and some people like not having a bunch of live rock, but im just saying that the fish you want need a lot of live rock. about 1 pound per gallon at least. seeing as you already have 20 lb. of rock, you should probably get at least 55 more pounds; it would be best if you have 75 lb. of rock total. HTH

[BrianH]

Caz,

You need the 1 to 1.5 lbs per gal. of live rock for your biological filtration. 30lbs in a 75gal tank will not cut it. You don't have to buy actual live rock, you can get lace rock if your tryin to save some cash and you don't care what it looks like.

Brian

[Gealcath]

Remember chocolate chip starfish are not picky on what they eat, they will munch on the live rock and the hermit crabs (once the star gets bigger that is)

[caz]

so if i buy more lace rock and maybe 10 pounds or so of live rock to seed the rest, will that be sufficient?

thanx

[ben72227]

i might get just a little bit more than 10 lb., maybe 20-30 because it will speed up the seeding process a lot faster, whereas only 10lb. might take a couple of months.

[CHughes]

It's a start. The lace rock will become LR over time (at least 6 months to develop. If possible, I'd add more like 30 lbs. to start. I know it's expensive, but your inhabitants will thank you for it.

Chris