stressfree
New Member
I kept a salt water tank 20 years ago and as I decided to get back in realize how little I knew -- made lots of irresponsible decisions and had mixed results. Use of live rock has made this much easier for my new start.
I set up exactly a month ago with:
65 gallon glass
Eheim 2215 canister filter
Eheim 300 watt heater
Korilla 750 powerhead
Marineland LED lights -- awesome except no way to time lunar lights since its all on one switch but of all the gear by far the piece I most enjoy.
Was advised by 2 different LFS that I'm fine without a protein skimmer for FOWLR but I think that was a big mistake. Have ordered a Reef Octopus HOB BH-2000 due to arrive this week.
I mixed my instant ocean in a new big garbage can and put in 55 lbs of cured live rock on the bottom followed by 60 lbs live sand -- avg of about 2 inches, then I added my water.
The LFS told me I could be ready for fish in a week due to the live rock set up so I tested daily. The only thing used to cycle was the live rock. Ammonia top peaked at .5, Nitrites were always zero and Nitrates were always between 5 and 10 ppm. On the 8th day Ammonia was also zero and I went for my first fish.
Added an ocellaris clown and a flame hawk.
Have monitored and since the first fish all has remained steady at:
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5 to 10 -- As of yesterday actually below 5 on this too.
PH 8
Temp. 76
SG 1.022
Two days after fish (day 10 overall) we added 1 halloween hermit and 1 zebra hermit
Day 20 Added royal gramma and more CUC with 5 red leg hermits, 6 nassarius snails, 6 margarita snails, and 6 cerith snails.
I realize this is much faster than most do but as the biological filter established so quick and well I've put it to use.
Here's the tank as of today:
I do have some diatoms hitting my sand right now as I probably should have gotten a protein skimmer from day one and CUC going earlier but I understand its common to have this a month in.
Some things I have learned that might help others with a new set up.
1) Investigate using a sump. Coming in I wanted simple and seeing a plumbed sump in action was intimidating compared to just plugging in the canister filter (plus more expensive). Now just a month in and realizing I really want to add the protein skimmer and being limited to slim HOB skimmers I wish I had a sump to put the skimmer in. I also didn't realize that you could put your heater in the sump and keep the DT free of all the equipment but the powerhead. I should have spent more time learning about sumps and the advantages.
2) Live rock is amazing. It adds interesting colors, textures and life -- I have a number of bi-valves that hitch-hiked in but most important it seriously does its job as a biological filter.
3) Check lots of sources. I really wanted a triggerfish and found a number of sources that listed 55 gallons as minimum sizes and all the LFS people look at your stocking list and seem to think it works fine so home I came with a 65 gallon thinking I met my minimum requirement without going to big for my space. Then I came to this forum and was quickly told the tank is too small for any trigger. Between wanting a trigger and now being interested in the sump set up I'm thinking 2 to 3 years in this tank and then will do a size upgrade.
4) Make a good stock list and refine it as you learn more. My original plan that seemed pretty good after 5 books and multiple websites for order of stocking was:
Pair of Ocellaris clowns
Flame hawk
African flameback angel
Blue jaw trigger
Orchid dottyback
After hearing about territorial issues keeping a pair of clowns (all books act like Ocellaris will be peaceful rather than take over the tank so was good to hear from those with experience) I opted for a single clown. Then I decided on a royal gramma to be a bit more peaceful then the orchid dottyback. It was suggested here that I go for a butterfly instead of the trigger due to tank size. I'm still bumping against the size limit for a butterfly but as they are not aggressive like a trigger and I'm almost positive I will upgrade tank size in 2 to 3 years I'm planning for a 3 inch raccoon that can grow out and then move on to bigger quarters. So here's the latest plan:
Ocellaris Clown -- have it
Flame hawk -- have it
Royal Gramma -- have it
Raccoon butterfly
African flameback angel
That might be a full community there. If all my water parameters remain outstanding and the fish don't seem crowded I am considering adding a blue dot toby as a final fish. The tank has a lot of open space above the rock and the gramma, hawk and angel will likely stay close to the rock so might have comfort room for a more open water swimmer but don't want to crowd the butterfly either. I also know that could take a toll on the clean up crew but seems variable by the individual so might risk it by adding a small specimen last. Still a lot of thought and don't think that decision can be made until the other fish are in place.
One question I have at this point is should I continue with the canister after adding the skimmer? Seems some think canisters can be problematic and I've seen suggestions that a tank can operate with just a skimmer and live rock. Things are going well so don't want to monkey wrench it but curious on thoughts here. The tank is not drilled so I could add a hang on overflow and sump but also thinking I've sunk a lot of $ at this point so might rather sit tight and invest in a larger drilled tank and sump when I upgrade rather than doing it now.
I know that was long but hopefully helpful or interesting to others. Would love feedback or suggestions for going forward. Thanks!
I set up exactly a month ago with:
65 gallon glass
Eheim 2215 canister filter
Eheim 300 watt heater
Korilla 750 powerhead
Marineland LED lights -- awesome except no way to time lunar lights since its all on one switch but of all the gear by far the piece I most enjoy.
Was advised by 2 different LFS that I'm fine without a protein skimmer for FOWLR but I think that was a big mistake. Have ordered a Reef Octopus HOB BH-2000 due to arrive this week.
I mixed my instant ocean in a new big garbage can and put in 55 lbs of cured live rock on the bottom followed by 60 lbs live sand -- avg of about 2 inches, then I added my water.
The LFS told me I could be ready for fish in a week due to the live rock set up so I tested daily. The only thing used to cycle was the live rock. Ammonia top peaked at .5, Nitrites were always zero and Nitrates were always between 5 and 10 ppm. On the 8th day Ammonia was also zero and I went for my first fish.
Added an ocellaris clown and a flame hawk.
Have monitored and since the first fish all has remained steady at:
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5 to 10 -- As of yesterday actually below 5 on this too.
PH 8
Temp. 76
SG 1.022
Two days after fish (day 10 overall) we added 1 halloween hermit and 1 zebra hermit
Day 20 Added royal gramma and more CUC with 5 red leg hermits, 6 nassarius snails, 6 margarita snails, and 6 cerith snails.
I realize this is much faster than most do but as the biological filter established so quick and well I've put it to use.
Here's the tank as of today:
I do have some diatoms hitting my sand right now as I probably should have gotten a protein skimmer from day one and CUC going earlier but I understand its common to have this a month in.
Some things I have learned that might help others with a new set up.
1) Investigate using a sump. Coming in I wanted simple and seeing a plumbed sump in action was intimidating compared to just plugging in the canister filter (plus more expensive). Now just a month in and realizing I really want to add the protein skimmer and being limited to slim HOB skimmers I wish I had a sump to put the skimmer in. I also didn't realize that you could put your heater in the sump and keep the DT free of all the equipment but the powerhead. I should have spent more time learning about sumps and the advantages.
2) Live rock is amazing. It adds interesting colors, textures and life -- I have a number of bi-valves that hitch-hiked in but most important it seriously does its job as a biological filter.
3) Check lots of sources. I really wanted a triggerfish and found a number of sources that listed 55 gallons as minimum sizes and all the LFS people look at your stocking list and seem to think it works fine so home I came with a 65 gallon thinking I met my minimum requirement without going to big for my space. Then I came to this forum and was quickly told the tank is too small for any trigger. Between wanting a trigger and now being interested in the sump set up I'm thinking 2 to 3 years in this tank and then will do a size upgrade.
4) Make a good stock list and refine it as you learn more. My original plan that seemed pretty good after 5 books and multiple websites for order of stocking was:
Pair of Ocellaris clowns
Flame hawk
African flameback angel
Blue jaw trigger
Orchid dottyback
After hearing about territorial issues keeping a pair of clowns (all books act like Ocellaris will be peaceful rather than take over the tank so was good to hear from those with experience) I opted for a single clown. Then I decided on a royal gramma to be a bit more peaceful then the orchid dottyback. It was suggested here that I go for a butterfly instead of the trigger due to tank size. I'm still bumping against the size limit for a butterfly but as they are not aggressive like a trigger and I'm almost positive I will upgrade tank size in 2 to 3 years I'm planning for a 3 inch raccoon that can grow out and then move on to bigger quarters. So here's the latest plan:
Ocellaris Clown -- have it
Flame hawk -- have it
Royal Gramma -- have it
Raccoon butterfly
African flameback angel
That might be a full community there. If all my water parameters remain outstanding and the fish don't seem crowded I am considering adding a blue dot toby as a final fish. The tank has a lot of open space above the rock and the gramma, hawk and angel will likely stay close to the rock so might have comfort room for a more open water swimmer but don't want to crowd the butterfly either. I also know that could take a toll on the clean up crew but seems variable by the individual so might risk it by adding a small specimen last. Still a lot of thought and don't think that decision can be made until the other fish are in place.
One question I have at this point is should I continue with the canister after adding the skimmer? Seems some think canisters can be problematic and I've seen suggestions that a tank can operate with just a skimmer and live rock. Things are going well so don't want to monkey wrench it but curious on thoughts here. The tank is not drilled so I could add a hang on overflow and sump but also thinking I've sunk a lot of $ at this point so might rather sit tight and invest in a larger drilled tank and sump when I upgrade rather than doing it now.
I know that was long but hopefully helpful or interesting to others. Would love feedback or suggestions for going forward. Thanks!
