75G Reef? N00B Questions! Please Help!

[ThatFishThough]

Hello! I am a brand new hobbyist that would LOVE a reef. I was looking in Nat Geo today and saw Sea Slugs. Immediately after some research I decided that they are not for me. Now I've settled on a 75G reef. Buttttt...

1. What filter should I get? I've always used HOB for my Freshwater aquariums, but I've heard sumps are the best. I'm on a pretty strict budget, so preferably not a sump. If I decide on a HOB, do I need a skimmer? Carbon media? Can someone just go over the entire filter thing? LOL. Thanks.

2. If I decide to use live rock/sand, how long will it take to cycle? I may end up just using live sand after hearing horror stories on those weird little centipede-things that come in off live rock.

3. I'm guessing yes, but do I need a a heater? If yes, what wattage? Any specific brand?

4. Lights. Oh, boy. What should I get? Currently on my FW tanks I have Finnex Stingrays, but they are very expensive and I don't thnik they are strong enough for a reef.

5. Speaking of reefs, what corals are the easiest to grow? I don't mind if it's nothing fancy, like sponges, etc. I just need something that looks fairly cool and can support a bit of life.

6. I'm getting ahead of myself. What water? I've heard of RO/DI water, but I have no clue what it is (I get the Reverse Osmosis, sort-of. Please go over it again.) or how to get it. My local Wal-Mart sells RO water at like $.37 a gallon, but I don't want to pay $30 every time I do a water change. I also don't want to haul 75G of water home from Wal-Mart. Imagine the looks I would get, LOL!

7. Is there anything else I need to know about set-up? Maintnence?

8. Now for the fish. I only have access to what ***** sells, though I could check some other places. I've never shipped FW fish, so I'm not very comfortable with it unless you guys say it's okay. I've fallen in love with the following...

- Red Scooter Blenny
- Dog Face Puffer
- Spotted Mandrin Goby
- Blue Ring Angel
- Copperband Butterfly
- Rainford Goby
- Citrus Goby
- Green Mandrin Goby
- Lionfish

Those are the ones at ***** that I like, I do know that some (most?) are out of the question, due to not being reef-safe, other fish-compatible, etc. But that's my local list. Below is the fish that I'd like in general. (All found while scrolling through Wiki, so don't know if that's the actual name or not.)

- Convict Blenny
- Raccoon Butterfly
- Mertens' Butterfly
- Banded Butterfly
- Spiny Chromis
- B&W Chromis
- Ocellaris Clown
- B&G Damsel
- Springers' Damsel
- Fire Fish*
- Purple Fire Fish*
- Orange Spotted Filefish
- Watchman Goby
- Lacey Scorpion Fish
- Thorny Seahorse

(Few! I'm back. I was lost in the depths of Wiki's beautiful Corals, seahorses that I will never have, starfish, crabs, and sea slugs. 9. Is it legal to own a sea slug? Is it feasible?)

I'll probably stop here, and ask more questions as questions come. One last thing.

10. Is it feasible to own starfish, seahorses, etc? Jellyfish? I'm guessing no, because of large sizes an stingers.

 

[lmforbis]

I'd start by getting a good book on reef keeping. Look at pictures in some of the gallerys on line and try to get an idea as to what you want your tank to look like in the end. Research is key.
First piece of advise I have is stay away from ***** fish. They usually need a lot of nursing back to health and that is not for a beginner. Look at live aquaria. They have good descriptions of the fish, how big they will get, how easy or hard they are to keep, what they eat, minimum tank sizes and if they are reef safe. I buy most of my fish on line. Live aquaria has a 14 day guarantee if they die. A Quarantine tank is important.
Your first list has 9 fish some are quite large, too big for a 75 gallon, many are not beginner fish.
Damsels are something you should avoid, chromis are damsels. Butterflies are difficult fish and not reef safe. Scorpion fish are venomous and will eat other fish. Sea horses need species specific tanks.

HOB filters work just fine. If you move to coral you may want a HOB skimmer.

RODI is reverse osmosis deionized water. Necessary for salt water. A basic system costs $100 to $200. Ive used the walmart water, better than tap but not really good enough. With a 75 gallon you'd need to do around a 7-10 gallon water change so no need to haul 75 gallons. Your own system is the most cost efficient.

Live rock is good to start with but you only really need one piece to seed the tank. The critters are usually benificial to the tank.

You will need a heater. I like to use 2 smaller ones maybe 2 100 w heaters.


Lights will be the most important part of a reef tank. The lights can be pretty expensive.

 

[ThatFishThough]

Thanks. I've actually seen some smaller tanks, 5-10G. I've found a nice, rimless 9G tank. If paired with the right canister, heater, light (I found a 22 watt, 25,000K light), sand and coral, could I do a nano tank?

ETA: I found this [http://www.***********.com/diversden/ItemDisplay.cfm?c=2733+3&ddid=341838] on Live Aquaria. It says its' minimum tank size is 10G, so is a 9G too small? I know that sounds like a stupid question, but sometimes they put a larger tank than the minimum size. For example, the freshwater Rabbit Snails says they need 39G, but they can be in as little as 5G.

ETA2: Or this boy. I would totally throw all other fish out the window for something like this. [http://www.***********.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+2124+197&pcatid=197]

 

[lmforbis]

Nano tanks are difficult for beginners.

 

[ThatFishThough]

I've read that... But just in one day I've put 7+ hours of research, and have learned so much. I love the rimless look, but would it be easier to go 20G Long? I have a FW 20G Long, and I love the size. That way it's a bit bigger, I have more options, and it isn't as difficult.

 

[florida joe]

Umm with all due respect 7plus hours of research trust me my friend you have just scratched the surface of what his hobby is all about

 

[jay0705]

4 yrs solid in sw and i dabbled probably 10 yrs ago. 7 hrs is a nice start to years of learning. Honestly start your tank as fowlr, get the equipment for a reef. Mainly the lights. Then once you get a handle on it, ease into a reef

 

[ThatFishThough]

LOL I understand that 7 hours is nothing compared to what I need to know. I'm just saying that I do know some things about SW, and have 20+ years in FW. (Everything from the cutsey-colorful kid's tank to high-tech CO2 and $150 lights.) If I were to do a FOWLR, could I do a FOWLS instead? Like I said in my OP, I'm terrified of ooglies coming in on the rocks. Of cours, I would still have the rocks, but dry. That still doesn't answer any of my OP questions, though. What's the best filter? Heater? Light for a 20G long? 75?

 

[one-fish]

Just started as you.... IMO you need LR to start your cycle Not all has to be LR I tried dry rock only ended up adding rubble LR. If really worried about critters learned most are a good thing most times beneficial some not IMO seeding dry rock w/rubble LR keeping critters to a min. way to go but cycling tank might take longer always can add good critters later when tank matures

 

[jay0705]

For what you want. Go hob filter, good heater eheim is decent, lights depends what you want to use them for

 

[ThatFishThough]

Well, things like flatworms. There's one other critter that I do NOT want in my tank.. But if you guys think I should, I'll go for it if and when I set up my tank.

 

[ThatFishThough]

Sorry, I didn't see jay's post. I was looking at Hydor for a heater, I'll check Eheim. The light needs to be strong enough to grow coral in a 20G long. What type of coral? I have no clue. What's the easiest to grow? I'll probably go FOWLR first, then add corals.

If I got two or three of these... [http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-3-Stage-External-Aquarium-Canister-Filter-265GPH-75Gal-with-Built-in-Pump-/291350489738] which is like ~400-600 GPH, would that be enough flow? Is that too much for a tiny 20G? Is it too much for corals? I want the ones that start with a Z... (ROFL, I almost typed "zygote") I can never spell them correctly. I'd also love anenome some time. Also probably some sponges. LOL quite the range, there.

 

[jay0705]

Bristle worms are probably the other. They are actually helpful in controlled numbers. Aslong as your fish don't get blown around the tank your flow is fine. Higher the flow less build up of gunk. Lights i would suggest either orbit pro marine or kessils if you really want a nem later on.

 

[ThatFishThough]

^ Okay, so how much flow is too much for a 20G long?

 

[Shilpan]

Just butting in here, I've set up a tank recently (5 months ago), and I went for 100g after I learnt about the difficulty in keeping a small tank.

Have you read up about the more intense maintence?
-water changes once a week (I do mine every 2-3 weeks)
-water top off every day due to salinity change (I do mine once a week and salinity won't change)
-overfeeding a tiny bit can easily pollute the tank because it's only a small volume to dilute
-temperature fluctuations are harder to control since it's a small volume of water (takes my tanks half a day to cool down if power goes or heat up on a hot day and even then won't exceed 83 degrees).
-other chemicals need to be monitored carefully due to small volume of water

Sorry I don't mean to be so negative, but for someone like me the extra work in a nano tank was far too much and I opted out, I think you should know about it too

 

[ThatFishThough]

Shil, yes. I have FW tanks that are very sensitive (discus) so I know how to do W/C and everything. Thanks for the concern!

ETA: LOL "extra work" Try doing 32 50% W/Cs on tanks ranging from 5.5 to 700, LOL. Luckily all are FW.

I just have no clue how to do SW. It's all so confusing!

 

[jay0705]

I love discus lol. Ok sw is not terribly hard. Its all about patients and home work. For a 20L try a 600 gph power head. If using a hob filter. If its not enough you can always add more

 

[Shilpan]

Oh ok youre an expert I See!

Water change is same. Just gotta pre make water with todo filter day before. Mix salt. Dissolve it over some period of time. Then heat water. Then water change

 

[jay0705]

Lol hell no to expert. Yes to mix and areate water for a min of 24hrs prior to use. Heating it is a good idea. Honestly i don't but i do small more frequent changes as opposed to large less frequent.

 

[ThatFishThough]

Okay. I've made a list with links. Tell me what you think.

Tank - 20G Long - $20 ($1/G)

Filter - 200G, 525GPH Canister - [http://www.ebay.com/itm/200-Gallon-Aquarium-Canister-Filter-UV-9w-UV-Sterilizer-Fish-Tank-SUNSUN-525GPH-/171458543091?hash=item27ebb9bdf3:g:K58AAOSw7NNT4PLr]

Heater - Hydor Theo 100W -[http://www.**************.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=11368&cmpid=03cseYY&ref=6194&subref=AA&cmpid=PLA_G_6194&gclid=Cj0KEQiA_KvEBRCtzNil4-KR-LIBEiQAmgekF9jsn9_wkXPVkSCtn9q8rkWxASvzmPY-3zJ5tr299A4aAtd_8P8HAQ]

Light - Orbit Pro Marine 24"-36" - [http://www.ebay.com/itm/Current-USA-24-36-Orbit-Marine-LED-Fixture/351923842428?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIC.MBE&ao=2&asc=20131003132420&meid=cd1462408faa43f0a56a29aa42cda233&pid=100005&rk=2&rkt=6&sd=132067182837]

Plus non-live sand. For the LR... Could I do like 95% dry and then 5% live? I saw bristles at my local LFS... *shivers* There is no freaking way that I am having anything like that in my tank, no matter how beneficial they may be. The girl working there was all casuall about it, like "Oh, yeah. BW aren't that bad. They prick you once in a while, and will sometimes overtake your tank..."