1st Timer for Reef, Need your thoughts...

reefER-Man

reefER-Man

AC Members
Sep 9, 2004
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Bristol, PA USA
Hi all,
I have been a FW aquarist for about 20yrs now, I am ready for a change...so I am going to jump right into the SW Reef setup...I think I have certainly created a challenge, I've read more info in the past week on marine reef setups than I have read since high school ! All of the posts I have been reading in this group have been very imformative in my decisions for my reef plan.

I have ordered a lot of equipment and will be setting this up in the coming weeks...

Here's the plan:
150g tank (comes with std hood with std fluorescent lamps)
Remora Pro C w/mag3 skimmer
(100lbs of LR / may get more if I can afford it)
(2) 901 powerheads
3" base of playsand from homedept (unless I can find Southdown locally)
350w titanium heater

My questions are:
1. the skimmer is only rated for tanks up to 120g, is it possible or recommended to have 2 skimmers? I would prefer not going to a larger/sump rig.

2. Any recommendations for supplements for the LR? The rock I will get will be fully cured here at a local supply store. I heard to put a couple shrimp cocktails in the tank to get a cycle going, and monitor the ammonia...to see if the bacteria are working on the LR...any other suggestions in the startup phase?

3. Any recommendation for a simple lamp upgrade that would be compatible with my std fluorescent hood assembly? Will the blue actinic lamps run on the std ballasts - I know the electronic ballasts are better, and I will eventually invest in the better lamp setup with a full MH, moonlight, daylight canopy assembly...I just want to get things started slow, and progress as I can afford to...

4. any recommendation for a simple submersible pump that I can drop in water change resevoir? I want to be able to pre-mix the water for water changes, allow it to sit a few days, and then drop the pump in with a simple hose to the main tank...something cheap....

Many thanks for your thoughts!
RM
 
1. the skimmer is only rated for tanks up to 120g, is it possible or recommended to have 2 skimmers? I would prefer not going to a larger/sump rig.
Sorry to answer a question with a question, but what animals are you looking at supporting? Fish only? Some inverts, corals? Many people run skimmers weekly--one day a week, rather than 24/7. You could likely do this--run a smaller one 2 days out of 5, and be in good shape.

2. Any recommendations for supplements for the LR? The rock I will get will be fully cured here at a local supply store. I heard to put a couple shrimp cocktails in the tank to get a cycle going, and monitor the ammonia...to see if the bacteria are working on the LR...any other suggestions in the startup phase?

Talk to the store about how they cure the rock. If it isn't covered with lots of things--more than just some purple algae--you'll be better off getting uncured rock off the net. I've seen lots of LFS that have really awful looking rock that's much pricier--they do't cure it right, and you lose all the cool things. So, take your time deciding this one. You can supplement the total pounds with dry base rock--tufa, or lace rock works great, and is much cheaper. It will be colonized with critters and such eventually, as well.

For cycling--if you can get good cured stuff, your method will work--but you might lose some of your critters. Easier--start off with the sand and cheap base rock, cycle with the cocktail shrimp. Once the ammonia hits 0, add the live rock--and you have happy bacteria, and should have any huge spikes that will kill off the hitch hikers on your rock.

3. Any recommendation for a simple lamp upgrade that would be compatible with my std fluorescent hood assembly? Will the blue actinic lamps run on the std ballasts - I know the electronic ballasts are better, and I will eventually invest in the better lamp setup with a full MH, moonlight, daylight canopy assembly...I just want to get things started slow, and progress as I can afford to...

You can get actinics in NO--but if you are planning on having a reef, with corals and such--you'll want those in place soon. Photosynthetic critters won't live long with only NO lighting, no matter what spectrum it may be, and while you can get kits to upgrade, I think buying the canopy and such, or a kit and building the canopy is easier to do before you have corals fading away on you. Yes, it means saving up a bit more money, but patience is a good thing, especially in this hobby--learning it before you have a bunch of animals relying on you is good.

4. any recommendation for a simple submersible pump that I can drop in water change resevoir? I want to be able to pre-mix the water for water changes, allow it to sit a few days, and then drop the pump in with a simple hose to the main tank...something cheap....

Avoid Rios. Depending on how much water you'll be moving and how fast you want it to go, the AquaClears are pretty decent.


RM[/QUOTE]
 
Thanks !! :-)

Thanks for your advice OrionGirl, I'm sure I'll be checking back in the weeks to come...your comments are MUCH appreciated...

I've actually got several places local that I can buy LR in variety and at various prices, so I am hoping to get some diversity in the micro-animals...lol I don't know what those little critters are called...yet...but I am studying diligently to learn more and more...

I understand your advice with the cycle of the base rock, and then LR progression...I'll give that a go...thnx

As far as the intention for animals...that's a tough one to answer...
I think it will be probably mostly some small peaceful fish only at first...
clowns and damsels and such...hopefully around Christmas I can get my canopy/complete light setup and progress to the plant/animal terrascaping...
I realize the need for various light wavelengths and high intensity requirements for these animals. It will simply have to wait a few more months until I can get the $$ for this....I'm hoping the small fish will be okay in a simple reef consisting of live rock until then...I really want to get the LR established first so I won't have to add more later and jeopardize the health of the fish...over then next couple months I'll continue building the LR up to an acceptable level... about 100lbs to start and probably should be at about 200-300 by the end of the year...

I have spare tanks to cure the LR so I won't throw the main show tank in a degrading spriral...

ttyl
 
;) You'll want to do a bit more research on fish. Damsels are not, repeat, not! peaceful. Clowns are in the damsel family, and they aren't peaceful either. Both are very territorial, and will ruthlessly defend their home. If added first, they end up claiming the entire tank, and will attack any new fish. If damsels were the size of sharks, divers would be chased away from the reef, and likely lose some skin in the process. :) I had a 3-stripe damsel once that would beat up on every fish around him, including a large lion, a trigger, and for about 6 months, an octopus. Brutal little beast!

There are lots of fish to choose from, though. Look at basslets, wrasses, and gobies. Lots of color choices, and much better behavior.
 
Damsels....

I absolutely have a lot of reading to do... :idea2:
I have been reading so much about the tank setup, I haven't really thought about the fish/interactions that I need to be concerned with...

I'll do some more reading for sure...I just can't believe those little blue damsels would be such nuisance...in a big 150g setup...I'm used to FW fish I guess...can't assume anything with SW fish I suppose...

I'll let you know how things progress once I commence in the startup phase...I pick up the tank on the 19th...

thanks for your help OG, ttyl
 
Some of the blue damsels are call blue devils, that's a little insight to their personality! I originally wanted damsels, until I learned how mean they could be. I have 1 in a nano tank however because I still wanted one. For blue you could try neon gobies. I think they look like little blue torpedos! Of course, you have lots of time to think about your fish. You may want to check out some books from your library to get a good overview of the fish that are out there and their personalities. That's how I started, eventually I bought some books, but the library was a great place to start.
 
Just figured I would chime in with my $0.02 about the damsels. I had two that I used to cycle my tank (before I knew you could do it with cocktail shrimp :-( ). I had originally liked their playfullness (the two yellow-tail damsels were the only fish in there) so I figured I would keep them. Then as I added anything they pretty much would pester the new fish until the other fish went into hiding somewhere (usually back behind the live rock out of sight). Then I got two small clown fish and the damsels just would not leave the clowns alone. They ended up killing the clowns (not directly, but through the stress of constant fighting and trying to hide). I do not like them at all really, they were ok by themselves, but once anything else was added it was trouble. I would personally stay away from them. They were MUCH more aggressive than the "semi-aggressive" I had read about them. I even tried rearranging all of the rock work in the tank hoping to disrupt any established territories the two damsels had, but they just took over the whole tank no matter how things were set up. Maybe in a big tank they would be ok, but I personally wont get another one.

Rick
 
damsels

sounds like the damsels aren't worth the risk...if their such a bother to the other residents in the reef...

I appreciate your posts with your experience.

Before I get ANY fish, I'll post my thoughts to the forum for advice...
I'm still reading a lot to see what sort of fish I would like to try to keep.

Thanks all! :)
 
a few questions....

OrionGirl said:
For cycling--if you can get good cured stuff, your method will work--but you might lose some of your critters. Easier--start off with the sand and cheap base rock, cycle with the cocktail shrimp. Once the ammonia hits 0, add the live rock--and you have happy bacteria, and should have any huge spikes that will kill off the hitch hikers on your rock.
Click to expand...
I bolded the term in question.... The live rock that you suggest adding after cycling has already been cured separately, right?

OrionGirl said:
You can get actinics in NO--but if you are planning on having a reef, with corals and such--you'll want those in place soon. Photosynthetic critters won't live long with only NO lighting, no matter what spectrum it may be...
Click to expand...
Are you saying that if one has any plans of "upgrading" to a reef system from a FIWLR, you should start with reef lighting from the outset to preserve all of the life that rides along on the LR? My wife & I plan to start with fish & invertebrates, but I'm sure we'll want to progress to corals eventually. Should we be looking at reef lighting from the start?

Thanks,
Jim
 
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