new reef tank

john franklin

john franklin

New Member
I have a fish only system 135gal for 5 years with great success. I know nothing about reefs-- sure could use some help!!
Here is what I have--
25 gal tank with heater,chiller,UV, and skimmer. 36w times 2 compact lighting with 1 blue bulb and 1 white.
3 to 4 inches of live sand with 25 lbs live rock- 4 damsels in for about 2 weeks and all my chemistry is just about stabilized- should be close to adding specimens in a couple days after I get rid of the Damsels--
what do I do now ?? I need to know what to add first, how many fish can I have and what ones, what to feed and what water additions (vitamins, potassium, calcium etc--) will be necessary to feed all of the corels and such!!
Any help would be greatly apreciated-- I just want to do this right the first time!!
Thanks-- John :needhelp: :needhelp: :needhelp:
 
murph145

murph145

Active Member
so your going to make your reef in the 25G tank is that correct not the 135??
well if ur going to be using the 25G then i wouldnt get more than 3-4 smaller fish maybe some kind of goby or a small percular clown or other clown.... u can find some damsils that are peaceful.... i have a few in my 100g that are fine they dont get too crazy and they are easy to take care of....
as for corals u have 72W over a 25 which is almost 3 watts per gallong which is a little on the light side u really should try to get around 100W
but with 72 u should be able to keep some polyps/zoo's some mushrooms maybe some less light needing LPS corals .... u could get some leather corals and a small colt but they grow big..... if u want more of the lightdemanding corals u will need to add a little more light .... but the ones i mentioned are good starters.... im sure there are more corals out there that dont demand high amounts of light but ive just heard most people stocking with these....
id make sure to put about 10-15 hermits in there and 5-8 astreas snails or 2-3 turbos
good luck!
 
murph145

murph145

Active Member
no prob i hope some of my advice helps
well such as nutrients.... when keeping stony corals u will need to check your calcium levels.... if u only end up keeping soft corals and polyp kinds u really dont need to check your calcium.... its probably bettr though to keep it in the good range so if u ever do decide to get LPS corals u wont have to fix it later.... your calcium should be about 400-450ppm ur LFS will have test to check for this....
in my tank i change 10% of my water every 2 weeks i change it with actual seawater.... i noticed ur in california ... what part?? lots of the fish stores out here in so. cali have real ocean water.... which when u use this or even the salt mix u replenish lots of the trace elements such as calcium, iodine, magnesium, and others which corals also use.... my levels stay good due to the constant water changes and i also does my tank once a week with a 2 part calcium alkalinity liquid....
most corals live off of there algae but they will also benefit with regular feeding ... i feed my corals 2 times a week with a mixture of phytoplex, gourmet coral gumbo, and baby brine shrimp.....
there are many good books and websites and threads on this site too that will help u with deciding on what u need and what will work in the tank configuration u have....
if u have any other questions please feel free to ask....
 
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