New member

[coachklm]

OK. A little about myself.....I am recently retired from the military(medically) due to an explosion in iraq that took the use of my right arm.....so needless to say setting up my 90 gallon was truly a PITA. now that i am retired i have found my new hobby. So far i have put in a sand sustrate with live sand mixture for seeding (fresh from LFS tanks.) The water was also straight from the LFS tanks. the rocks are not live by any means yet but is it possible to add a live rock to replace a "dead" rock in the tank without screwing up water perameters? I will in time make it a full reef tank when i get the money for a sump/refuge and MH lighting. The basics i need to know are
1. All the ideal water perameters for developing a reef tank.
2. Will my canister filters work presently for water flow ( 2x fluval 304)
3. best media in cannister filters for biological support.
I am in the state of Kansas (manhattan) and frequent a very informative LFS not sure i can name it but it has done wonders for me.(will not let me buy or garentee a fish until the water has been tested by them.)
Also I do have connections in a "below wholesale" aquatic supply store is their anything else i am missing to set up a great reef tank?. sorry this is so long i wanna get it right before intro fish. I'm still "cycling"
:jumping:

 

[thegrog]

Welcome to the board!

First of all, I thank you for the service you have done for the country. My heart goes out to each and every service man and woman in our military. Saddens my heart to hear of any of them killed or injured in the line of duty.
So, you found this to be an addictive hobby? Welcome to the club!
As for the live rock, if you are still cycling, simply adding a few peices of LR now will seed your other rocks and over time, they will become live. Perfect time to do it too! Perhaps your LFS can sell you a small peice from a display tank with lots of coralline algae on it. Put it in your tank in an area of high water flow and give it a gentle brushing with a toothbrush a few times a week. Befor eyou know it, you'll have coralline everywhere!
As for what else you need, YOu did not mention lighting or water flow (powerheads).
You will want a total of it least 10 times tank volume in water turnover (900 GPH in total water flow). 15 to 20 tiems is even better. Multiple smaller powerheads is better than a few big ones too. Good, random currents is what you are aiming for.
You will need adequate lighting for a reef. For what type of lighting, you have to determine what types of corals you will eventually want. If you are happy with soft corals, then PC would be fine. If you think someday you want to advance to stony corals, anemones, or clams then go with VHO or MH right now. I hate this rule, but aim for around 5 watts of lighting per gallon (~450 watts total).
Another thing you will want to do is research, research, research! Learn as much as you can about any creature you want to buy BEFORE you get it. Know it's lighiting requirements, feeding habits, compatability, adult size, ect. A good place to start is here on the boards. Another is a book called "the conscientious marine aquarist" by Bob Fenner. I have known him for a while and he is a wonderful source of information.
Your filters are fine for your tank now.
Sounds like you are on your way to a wonderful system! Any more questions, just ask!
Again, welcome to the boards!!

 

[coachklm]

Well my lighting stiuation sucks now (stuck with standard stock 2x 48" 40w bulbs)
I have my heaters and my filters running now in the fiters is carbon/polyfiber/phosguard/denitrate/ and the ceramic stuff. sound good????? do I need something else?

 

[mikeyjer]

Originally Posted by coachKLM
Well my lighting stiuation sucks now (stuck with standard stock 2x 48" 40w bulbs)
I have my heaters and my filters running now in the fiters is carbon/polyfiber/phosguard/denitrate/ and the ceramic stuff. sound good????? do I need something else?
Like the above post have mentioned, the things you have right now is fine. Just make sure to get some powerheads for circulation also some pieces of live rocks too, you can built your bottom by using lace rocks, cheaper that way. You want to make sure you clear the substrate off the bottom and lay the lace rocks right against the bottom glass then you can push the substrate back in place, don't worry about clouding up your water since you don't have any live stock in there yet. Once your done setting up all your base rocks at the bottom, then you can add your live rocks on top of them and built up from there. Another thing you should be looking into is a good protein skimmer, I personally likes the Aqua C Remora's. Once you have the live rocks within your tank, you just wait until your done cycling. Then make sure you have your calcium in check so the coraline algae can grow, if they start turning white after everything is good, that means you have low calcium. Check with your LFS to see what they have to offer for calcium supplement. But if you do weekly water changes, your calcium and other stuffs should be in check anyway. One last thing, Thanks for serving our country and welcome aboard! This stuff is really additive!!!!!!!!!!! :happyfish

 

[coachklm]

whats the best media in my filter to use ? my lace rock was set then i put the sand in to stabilize the rocks so im good there. ill take a picture for ya after lunch can i use image shack hosting on this site?

 

[mystic7]

I'm new here too so I can't help you with your questions but I can tell you you can upload a picture directly with your messages here, no need to link to another site. And I join the others in thanking you for the work you did in Iraq.

 

[birdy]

Hi and Welcome!! And thank you for your service to our Country.
To answer your first question, this is what I like water perameters to be in a Reef tank.
pH- around 8.2
Alk- Around 9dkh
Calcium- around 450ppm
Ammonia-0
Nitrites-0
Nitrates-0
Phosphates-0
You also need a lot of flow in a reef tank, preferably through powerheads or a closed loop. somewhere around 15x turnover for a mixed reef, more ifyou want sps.
2. to answer your second question, Cannister filters are great for polishing the tank with carbon, or running phosphate sponge, they are not as great for biological filtration in a reef tank, I suggest you research sumps and refugiums, you didn't mention a protein skimmer, a very important piece of equipment in a reef tank.
3. I recommend you focus on a sand bed and LR for you filtration (you can do partial LR/Baserock) and use the cannisters for carbon/phosphate material, and just for general water circulation.
Also- I live in Kansas City and my husbands family lives in Manhattan, I have been to the stores in Manhattan, and I probably know the one you are talking about, not a bad store.
If you ever want to take a trip to KC I can give you a list of stores to go to, there are some really nice stores in KC with really good prices (rival online prices). Also if you want to email me I can give you some information about a Kansas/Missouri and surrounding area Saltwater group. bugsnbirdsNOSPAM@everestkc.net (take out nospam), There are several reefers from Manhattan in the group.

 

[coachklm]

one with light one without

 

[coachklm]

sweet it worked !! :jumping: comment questions suggestions plz

 

[birdy]

My suggestions would be to put a black background on your tank it will hide the equipment and make your fish and corals stand out more.
I would get rid of the dead coral skeletons, they will only turn brown and get covered in algae. Most reefers go with a more natural looking aquascaping anymore, get more baserock and more LR.
Other than that looks like a good start.

 

[coachklm]

it has the black background i need to clean the glass and re-attach it (the backwall is white) i figure that i can take the dead coral out and replace peice by peice with live rock once i get it ? will that work i have about 100lbs of base rock in the garage should i just take out the crap coral? and add base rock?

 

[mikeyjer]

Originally Posted by coachKLM
it has the black background i need to clean the glass and re-attach it (the backwall is white) i figure that i can take the dead coral out and replace peice by peice with live rock once i get it ? will that work i have about 100lbs of base rock in the garage should i just take out the crap coral? and add base rock?
Yes, take'em all out and replace with base rock, make sure you put it against the glass bottom like I've suggested earlier. Just built your bottoms with base rock and built the top with live rock. You can add them all in at once at this time since you have no live stock. :happyfish

 

[thegrog]

I think you should leave the dead coral in there. Mix it up with LR. Coralline will cover them eventually and you can put coral frags on them and they will liven up nicely! I have a large branch coral skeleton that is getting covered with orange polyps and is looking awesome! Do mix in some LR though as well as some base rock to put everything on.
To leave the coral in or take it out is up to you. No harm in leaving it. It is all up to what you want your tank to look like. Just remember that you will have corals in there some day!
The background is a must.
I did not mention the skimmer. I also agree that the AquaC Remora is one of the best out there. Go with the Remora Pro with either the Mag drive or MaxiJet powerhead/pump. You won't regret it!
So far, looking good!

 

[mikeyjer]

Originally Posted by TheGrog
I think you should leave the dead coral in there. Mix it up with LR. Coralline will cover them eventually and you can put coral frags on them and they will liven up nicely! I have a large branch coral skeleton that is getting covered with orange polyps and is looking awesome! Do mix in some LR though as well as some base rock to put everything on.
To leave the coral in or take it out is up to you. No harm in leaving it. It is all up to what you want your tank to look like. Just remember that you will have corals in there some day!
The background is a must.
I did not mention the skimmer. I also agree that the AquaC Remora is one of the best out there. Go with the Remora Pro with either the Mag drive or MaxiJet powerhead/pump. You won't regret it!
So far, looking good!

Leaving it in would be fine, I agree. It will get covered with coraline and have things growing on it. Just get a cleanup crew once your done cycling. They'll take care of the algae problem... :happyfish

 

[bluegirl]

Hi! Welcome! I'm rather new here too, but welcome anyways! All the people here are full of knowledge and advice, and can help with most anything. Thank you for serving our country. My hubby is currently enlisted and serving here at Ft. Campbell, KY, he just got back in Oct. from a 1 yr tour to Iraq. I know what the waiting and worrying about loved ones over there is like, welcome home! HOOAH! :happyfish

 

[acrylic51]

Welcome and Hats off to our Servicemen!!!!!! You make us proud and so many people just don't understand the sacrifices our military personnel make for us everyday!!!!!!

 

[scotts]

A couple things you could do to help your tank is get some LR from your LFS and put it in your tank, when you decide what you are going to keep in there. ANy amount of live rock will eventually turn your dead rock into live rock. Even if you get small pieces of LR, make sure that it has coralline on it. You should also get a small amount, like a half pound to a pound of the crud from the mottom of their LR tank. This will help kick start your sand and it will also get pods into your tank.
HTH
Scott

 

[coachklm]

thanks i'll go to the LFS today and see what they got for live rock, I need a heat lamp anyway for my 6 cockatiels. plus ill take my kids with me to show them what a good reef tank looks like.manhattan aquarium company.

great lfs

 

[farmboy]

Welcome Coach! Thank you for your service!
You have come to the right place for information. These folks are full of it. . . .
. . .well you know what I mean.

 

[danedodger]

These folks are full of it. . . .
Just remember, you're included in there, Farmboy

Welcome to the boards and addiction, coachKLM!!!! I can't imagine I could improve on the advice you've gotten so far or even add to it so I'll just add my thanks for your service! I've been around the military block quite a bit with my (now ex) husband who was severely injured overseas and now happily living with a retired MP recovering, and thankfully far enough along in his own recovery that he can volunteer to help other military people recover, from PTSD. So I could probably help get you a few hookups or advice on dealing with the darn VA systems (gosh, can we say red tape and redundancy????) if you need it! Just yell!