freshwater to marine

[tnlguinn]

i am planning to convert my 135 gal fresh to a marinetank very soon. with the research i have done i plan to get:

150 lbs of fiji live rock
100 lbs of fiji live sand
Red Sea Berlin Turbo skimmer

I already have:
tank
glass canopy
stand
300w heater
200w heater
4 Hagen 420 powerheads

have an Marineland 350 deluxe filter, but don't plan to use it.

i plan to have a reef tank with a carpenter's wrasse and either a Naso Blonde Tang or an Kole Yellw Eye Tang.

any tips or ideas would be appreciated.
thanx,
Tim

[Boogiechillin]

Hi Tim, welcome to SW and to AC! Sounds like you're on the right track equipment-wise. I would strongly suggest that you opt for the Kole tang over the naso, though - naso tangs get a little big, even for a 135g. I personally wouldn't keep one in anything less than 180g.

I recently got a small Kole tang and I'm quite pleased with it. You need to keep a somewhat messy tank to keep any Ctenochaetus sp. tang healthy as they browse on algae, detritus, and even sediment as they move around the tank. Fortunately, keeping a messy tank isn't much of a problem for me. ;)

[quantim0]

an easy way to save money is to get around 80lbs of dead sand then seed it with around 20lbs of live sand. in terms of skimmers i am using the Nautalus (sp?) TE skimmer from Kent. i'm getting some really good results from it. Kent also came out with a new skimmer which is supposed to be even better.

if you want to do a reef what kind of lighting are you looking into and what exactly do you want to keep in the tank. for a tank with general softies you could do with a whole bunch of VHO or PC bulbs. but for almost any hard corals you're probably going to want to step into the relm of Metal halides.

[tnlguinn]

Boogiechillin, thank you for the heads up on the naso tangs. I had read that they get to a minumim of ten inches and had forgotten it. the Kole has the beautiful lines that i think make it a striking fish. do you have any other suggestions for fish that might go well in a reef tank and do well withe the fish i plan to keep? thank you for the reply.

[tnlguinn]

hello quantim0. thank you for the tip on the sand that sounds like a great way to save some money. i havent done as much research on the lighting of choice as of yet, but have been pricing metal halide/ VHO compact combo lights that are programable with the peak up and down and moon phases to simulate nature a little better. i figure that after i get the LR and LS in the tank and get a skimmer going i'll have a little time to get some advise on the lighting that i need. i would like to have a mixture of corals in my tank if that is possible. any suggestions tha you might have for some good corals that are hardy enough for a beginner to try would be appreciated. what type/size of tank(s) do you have? thank you again for the response.

[Boogiechillin]

Koles are definitely nice tangs, but either shop in person or be very specific when ordering it online as the coloration varies based on the area of collection. Sounds like you've been looking at the Pacific ocean subtype, which is what I have. The Indian ocean subtype is more of a orangish color with mottled spots.

Kole tangs really aren't as aggressive as most other tangs, and mine pretty much ignores everything else in the tank. My 75g includes the Kole, a coral beauty angel, a tomato clownfish, a scooter blenny, and a pair of beau gregory damsels. As the tang grows in a few years I will be upgrading to a larger system, but for now I find that these fish all get along very well. You've got considerably more room to work with, so I would suggest looking into basslets, gobies, cardinalfish, fairy wrasses, and grammas as well. Take a look around the fish profiles on www.wetwebmedia.com and see what catches your eye.

[tnlguinn]

the Kole i was looking at was on liveaquaria.com and my LFS has had them in before. they really are amazing fish. thanx for the link, i'll go check it out and see what looks like it will work. i've still got a while to look into the fish very seriously. i've still got to get the tank setup and cycled, but it doesn't hurt to plan i guess. i do have one question for everyone, one that i haven't asked at the LFS. do you use a shelf system for your live rock or do you just stack it?

[Boogiechillin]

I stack, but there's nothing wrong with using a shelf system.

[tnlguinn]

do i need to add the sand or the live rock to the aquarium first? or does it make a difference?how big a sump tank do i need for a 125g? also my LFS is 1:30 away(NSLFS)lol, will i have any trouble transporting rock that far? thanx again for the help.:cool:

[Boogiechillin]

It's usually best to start with some dry, base rock first, like tufa or lace rock...usually about $1-2/lb. Use this to make a foundation for where you want to stack the live rock, and then fill in the sand around the foundation rock. Once the sandbed is in place, then stack the live rock in place, or install your shelf if you opt to go that route.

Use as big of a sump as you have space/money to allow. I know people with 300g tanks that have 2x 125g sumps behind it...the more water you can have running through a system, the healthier and easier to care for the system will be.

1:30 shouldn't be too bad for transporting rock. Make sure that the LFS employee knows you've got a longer drive and ask that they put some water in the box with the rock. (When removed from water, lots of the mobile critters on LR will bail off the rock, and if they fall into the water they should be ok). It sounds a little crazy, but if you have someone who can come along and "baste" the rock with an eyedropper or cup a few times during the drive, it will help keep alive some of the sessile inverts that you might otherwise lose.

[tnlguinn]

thank you for the tips. i can get a 75g pretty easy for my sump. i hope that will be enough. i know the owner of the LFS really well and have been diong business with him for several years. he calls me if he getsany nice big fish and will keep them for me if i'm interested. he usually gives me a gook break on the prices too. well i think you have gotten me off on the right foot. i ordered my skimmer tonight and it should be here in a couple of days.