Help with my first reef tank.

[drewzareefgeek]

Hello all! I was hoping some of the gurus here could help me build out my first reef tank. I want a lot of brilliant colors but I'm not sure where to start in regards to the coral. Here's a list of what I'm working with, perhaps it will help you make suggestions.
Tank: 75 gallon corner-flo tank.
Pump: Danner 9.5 pump
Sump: Eshoppes RS100 sump
Lighting: AquaIllumination Hydra FiftyTwo LED (with controller)
Protein Skimmer: Reef Octopus DCS-150 Diablo
Testing kits, heater, etc.
I've been cycling the tank with live rock for about two weeks now so I assume in a couple of weeks I'll be ready to start adding livestock. Here is a picture, this is before my Hydra FiftyTwo arrived, of course. http://imgur.com/wlMHmup
Questions:
Is this a pretty good beginner's setup?
Are there any other must haves, such as a dosing pump?

What types of coral would you recommend? I like some of the SPS I have seen (for example, Ice Fire Echinata) but is that too difficult for a beginner? I know I probably sound like a newbie but is SPS off limits unless you do an SPS only tank?

Any insight is very much appreciated. I fell in love with this hobby almost immediately and I'm super excited to get started.

 

[flower]

Hi,

Welcome to the site!

Pretty nice job on the rock work... SPS requires no nitrates, or phosphates to make it. They don't play well with mushroom and leather corals. The real expense is in the lighting, you have to have really awesome lights to keep them. Not that I think you list lacks any of these...it's just a basic kind of statement on needs. Running carbon will prevent the chemical warfare that corals have with each other.

If you really want some eye popping color...have a gander at non-photosynthetic corals, such as the sun coral, sea pens, sea fans, gorgonias and chilli sponge. They don't require the fancy lights ... the 2X T5HO will show off their color and it has one actinic and one white 10K...they do require really good water flow and lots of food which means lots of water changes....but they are drop dead beautiful.

here is an example of such a tank:

 

[drewzareefgeek]

Thank you for the warm welcome. Wow, that is indeed very beautiful! The way I understand it the lighting I went with is far superior to the T5's so I would assume it's sufficient for SPS?

I know SPS do not play well with mushroom coral but is it possible to have both? For example, could I do some mushroom coral on the far right side and the rest of the tank do SPS and some of the coral you've recommended?
Thanks for the compliment on the rock work! So you wouldn't suggest any changes to the arrangement? I've been obsessing over it (perfectionist) and finally like it the way it is. There seems to be plenty of gaps for water flow and plenty of hiding places for critters.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by DrewzaReefGeek http:///t/396933/help-with-my-first-reef-tank#post_3536657
Thank you for the warm welcome. Wow, that is indeed very beautiful! The way I understand it the lighting I went with is far superior to the T5's so I would assume it's sufficient for SPS?

I know SPS do not play well with mushroom coral but is it possible to have both? For example, could I do some mushroom coral on the far right side and the rest of the tank do SPS and some of the coral you've recommended?
Thanks for the compliment on the rock work! So you wouldn't suggest any changes to the arrangement? I've been obsessing over it (perfectionist) and finally like it the way it is. There seems to be plenty of gaps for water flow and plenty of hiding places for critters.

Hi,

I am not familiar with the lighting you have. SPS coral as a rule needs the highest light...LEDs or Metal Halides, so I just tossed in that information. I don't know a thing about LED fixtures, they were always too pricey for me and I don't keep a reef anymore, I decided to go with seahorses.

The colors of the non-photosynthetic corals seem brighter and more glorious then even the SPS. But that's just an opinion...LOL Every chance I get I mention them, many watch the new posts, so it's kind of like reaching others besides just the original poster.

As for your question about mushrooms and SPS. Corals fight, they release little chemical daggers at each other, some have sweeping little tendrils to sting nearby corals (Bubble coral for example). running carbon will help to eliminate the toxins, but I really don't know for certain if they could be on opposite sides of the tank. Since it's the toxins released in the water column that is the problem, not the accidental touching of each other.

Mushrooms are so non-aggressive, I'm not really sure why they can't live with SPS, but those who keep them insist they can't...so I would follow their advice on anything like that. There is a book that you may find helpful, it shows the aggression level of the coral:


here is a sample page: click on the picture to enlarge it.