Few Newby Q's

[truckie174]

Hi all, another noob here. We just got a used 75 gal. set up. We are in the process of learning, and have a lot of it to do! It came with a proclear 150 filter, a basic 48" florescent light, a 500 gph pump, approx. 40 lbs of crushed coral base, and 40-50lbs of live rock, and a 150 watt heater. no fish.
Our intention with the tank is to do a reef set up. Having that said, with the reading that I have done, I know that the light will not work for a reef. But is the pump going to provide enough flow for a reef set up? With some of what I have read, I am figuring no. But I would like to confirm. I guess same question for the equiptment as a whole.
The tank is set up, and running for the cycle. A friend helped set the tank up, and is well versed with SW tanks. I just don't want to bother him to much with questions, and since I ran across this outstanding forum I figured I would ask around. Thanks for reading, and any hints tips or advice is greatly appreciated.
Jack

 

[tarball]

Welcome to the boards, 1st I'm sorry to say but toss the crush coral & replace with 60 pounds of aragonite LS. 2nd if the LR is already cured or not toss a small shrimp in the tank to kick start your cycle. 3rd the pump should be sufficient for the cycle of tank until you get a better idea of what you want. 4th lights are ok for fish but fall short on coral requirement. 5th have fun, this site will provide a fountain of information that will add to the enjoyment of your new hobby...

 

[mayb keeper]

Do you want a deep sand bed? If so, 60 lbs of sand wont do it. I used 100 lbs of sand and I have a significant portion of base rock underneath the sand level. I also technically didn't use "live sand". I just bought aragonite sand. You can use live sand(or 1/4 live sand and 3/4 arag sand) if you have the money. For the budget minded, I would just seed arag sand with a cup of sand from an established tank at the beginning of the cycle(instead of the shrimp) and again when your ammonia hits 0. That's what I did and my 75 cycled in 3 weeks.

 

[dpeter51]

Sounds like the pump is a start but you will need more. People generally recommend turning over the water in the tank 15-25x/hour, and if yours is 500 gph that's under 7x/hour.

 

[swalchemist]

75 gallon reef tank.
About 70-80 Lbs of rock live rock or base, mix is fine.
Flow depends upon livestock some coral require more. There are many great powerheads out there now that offer more output and function than several smaller powerheads. I suggest either a Tunze 6101 on a single controller or a VorTech, both of these units will give you massive chaotic flow of about 3000 gph which you will want for your coral. As for sand, use it or don't it wont make much difference as long as you do not exceed 1.5" inches deep. A deep sand bed is not something recommended for beginners and has it's own problems, problems which will likely deter you from enjoying this hobby in time.
Get a skimmer rated for at least 100 gal tank and a good filtration system I recommend a sump. As for lighting 2x150 DE or HQI halide is pretty good (Coralife Aqualight Pro or Current Orbit Extreme are good choices) on a 75 spend a bit more and upgrade to 250 watts you wont be sorry. You can also do a PC fixture of around 265 watts but it will not produce as much growth and color as the halide.
Best of Luck

 

[nwdyr]

I have always used crushed coral for substrate and have never been sorry.Like SWA said just don't go too deep with any substrate. MH light's are the best , but it depends on you'r budget. I have 3watts per gallon of compact floresent light's (considered the lowest reef light's) andf I have had good luck with them, I even have a frogspawn and hammer coral and they are doing fine. I stick with the sps corals so I don't have any problems. Welcome to the boards,and welcome to the addiction....or hobby

Post some pic's when you can! one more thing, I agree on ditching the shrimp also! allot of people say it works but I have never done it, it just don't sound "normal" just my opinion

 

[truckie174]

Thanks for all of the info! I forgot to mention that when we put the base in, my friend had a 5 gal. bucket with sand. It was harvested from a large 250 gallon well established tank, that was being removed a week and a half ago. It wasn't completely dry, but it certainly wasn't wet either. We put it in the very bottom of the tank and topped it off with the crushed coral.
Should we remove the crushed coral all together and just have sand? If so that is fine. At this point with the time we have to wait for the tank to cycle, I want to get it right the first time. The kids are already confused about why we don't have fish.

As it sits it is approx. 1 12 - 2 inches deep.
I figured the pump would also fall short. I will start looking for a pump better suited for the task.
As far as a sump. The proclear 150 is a sump set up(at least thats what I understand it to be). It sits in the cabinet below the tank. It has a chamber full of Bio-balls, and the other side of the tank where the pump sits. If this is not the correct set up please let me know. Like I said earlier, I want to get it right.
Thanks again , Jack