Advice Greatly Appreciated

[grind crunch]

I have been dealing with my 40 gallon tank for about 4 months and I have used this amazing site to try to avoid any giant mistakes and I have been successful so far lol. I have 30 lbs. of live rock 20 pounds of sand a 75 gallon skimmer and a 50 gallon aqua clear filter. Is this an ok set up or should I make some hardware changes? Also I want to turn my tank into a reef tank (I am in the process of buying a T5 light 156W) and I want to know if the tank has cycled long enough and what kinds of coral I should look into. Thanks

 

[grind crunch]

Also I have 30 lbs. of live rock 20 pounds of sand a 75 gallon skimmer and a 50 gallon aqua clear filter. Is this an ok set up or should I make some hardware changes?

 

[reefforbrains]

Test kits are among the most popular people overlook when they get exited to begin with a reef.
I would opt to ditch the aqua clear.
A few nice powerheads for increased flow and go to town. Very little equipment is actually manditory. More equip can make things more complicated OR make things easier.
Think of your long term tank picture and work backwards.
A good skimmer
Adequate lighting
Reliable and adjustable waterflow
Quality testing supplies
Good heaters
Yes the tank should have cycled fine by now but what do your tests show?
All levels at spec?

 

[rotarymagic]

With the aquaclear50 you mentioned, pull out the sponge and biomedia... keep the carbon and put in a bag of rowaphos or phosban in there...
I would add 15-20lbs more rock..

 

[reefforbrains]

Start with the easy guys.
Kenya tree, Xenia, Mushrooms, Zoo and similar.
You will get a feel for what they like and dislike that is hard to put into words. Certain perameters are bonehead...Nitrates, Amonia, Water temp spikes and those are obvious.
Little differences in how much flow or lighting a particular specimen is getting WILL show differently in each tank. Start with the easier side (softies) and get a feel for how to house them. Go from there. See first hand the different growth rates, or how long thier bloom periods are during the day and compare to others. Document your findings to yourself and find what works best for you. Then move up a notch at a time with difficulty ratings in specimens. Before long it will be second nature to just look at your reef and you can see if everything is hit or miss with a glance.
Happy reefing. And welcome to Saltwaterfish

 

[grind crunch]

I did actually take out the sponge and bioballs out of my filter and replaced it with live rock fragments, but I never thought of putting a new sponge or a phosphate controlling agent in there. I just tested my water and everything seems to be in check. I did buy a heater but it's pretty low end and only keeps my water around 76-78 F. I also forgot I do have a Koralia 600 GPH power head. I was thinking of starting with some mushrooms to see if they grow well or not because I heard they were one of the easiest corals to care for.

 

[reefforbrains]

Buy a better heater first.
Its SOOOO tempting to spend you money on bright livestock but getting the runway clear for takeoff is key.
Stability is the #1 difference between a reef full of corals thriving and growing, and then a reef full of coral that is being kept alive.
Huge difference

 

[grind crunch]

ok, i'll go out tomorrow and buy an acceptable heater. I want to get a good foundation before I try anything crazy. I just looked in my tank and a very long pinkish worm thing with white bristles was crawling out of a piece of live rock. Does anyone know what it is?

 

[reefforbrains]

Just a Bristleworm
Common and harmless. Have a bad rap for terrorizing tanks and eating everything.
total BS propaganda put out by the Obama campaign.
This worm has hair and feeds on misery of others, but unlike its George W counterpart the bristleworm is a harmless bottom feeder. Since it is always at the scene of the crime...recent accident or fresh dung ect. It often gets blamed for causing the problem. The bristleworm is mearly an oppourtunist. Not the worm that initiates the poop, and accidents.
The Obama supporters thus have been saying horrible things about it, but its the wrong worm. Bristleworms are positives for a tank as long as numbers and size stays in check.
Vote Bristleworm 2012!!

 

[grind crunch]

ok sweet lol and I wouldn't put it past Obama to accuse the poor bristle worm of murder. It looks pretty cool, I've never seen one before and I guess i'm glad he is there to clean up

 

[reefforbrains]

Beware of the bristles. They are not agressive nor will they go after you when you have a hand in the tank but always use caution when moving rockwork. Especially when lower in the sandbed as they hide just below the surface and they can give a nasty poke.
If you search around, people will say how aweful it is to be stuck by one but to be honest I have gotten pricked by so many I dont even notice anymore. The quills are fine and more of an irritant that anything that would be considered an actual hazzard.
Easiest way to prevent, also just good practice is to wear gloves.
The larger and more mature your reef gets the more crazy the life forms inside. One never knows whats under a rock even in thier own tank if it is a seniored tank.

 

[mr_x]

Originally Posted by ReefForBrains
http:///forum/post/2856569
Just a Bristleworm
Common and harmless. Have a bad rap for terrorizing tanks and eating everything.
total BS propaganda put out by the Obama campaign.
Vote Bristleworm 2012!!

 

[jeanheckle]

+1 for adding more LR, ideally you should have about 60 pounds in there at least.

 

[grind crunch]

OK, I suppose I could add more LR. should I put more rock in the middle of the tank instead of pushed up against the back? maybe I should just post a picture so you can see what it looks like lol

 

[maryg]

Hillarious! I will definitely vote for 2012!
Originally Posted by ReefForBrains
http:///forum/post/2856569
Just a Bristleworm
Common and harmless. Have a bad rap for terrorizing tanks and eating everything.
total BS propaganda put out by the Obama campaign.
This worm has hair and feeds on misery of others, but unlike its George W counterpart the bristleworm is a harmless bottom feeder. Since it is always at the scene of the crime...recent accident or fresh dung ect. It often gets blamed for causing the problem. The bristleworm is mearly an oppourtunist. Not the worm that initiates the poop, and accidents.
The Obama supporters thus have been saying horrible things about it, but its the wrong worm. Bristleworms are positives for a tank as long as numbers and size stays in check.
Vote Bristleworm 2012!!

 

[grind crunch]

This is basically what it looks like except no hawkfish or damsel. There is also now some protein skimmer stuff in the back that I covered up with LR but other than that it's the same. Oh yeah and there's a sail fin that needs to be returned to the lfs

 

[mr_x]

it looks good. good luck with that linkia star. i'm told they don't do very well in new tanks.

 

[grind crunch]

so my friend brought over a bunch of hermit crabs from Mexico and I was wondering if they could ever be put into my tank? They are in my quarantine tank right now.

 

[maryg]

You can keep the Aquaclear. I hear they make great mini-fuges.