New to Salt 75 Gallon

[gmorin07]

I have recently swapped my 150 gallon fresh water tank for a 75 gallon that I will be going to FOWLR. I will be using black sand for the substrate, getting some dead rock and some live rock to help seed it to save some $$$ I have a fluval fx5 and a rena xp3 for filtration I wont be going to a sump! I have a nice reef light setup and plan to do tangs, clown fish and not sure what else but definatly some cleeners because I dont want issues with nitrates. Any advice or suggestions always appreciated I did a decent amount or reading before deciding upon my setup.
Glenn

 

[tferrante]

As a fellow reefer who has used canisters with my set-up, you will need to make sure to keep your filters changed out on a regular basis. The canisters will hold waste that will add to your nitrates. Do water changes on a regular basis and be selective on your fish load on a 75 with canisters. Be sure to use a good HOB skimmer and I would add a UV sterilizer.

 

[gmorin07]

you are reffering to the media correct...what like the carbon and bio balls?

 

[snakeblitz33]

Quote:
Originally Posted by gmorin07 http:///t/390452/new-to-salt-75-gallon#post_3457973
I have recently swapped my 150 gallon fresh water tank for a 75 gallon that I will be going to FOWLR. I will be using black sand for the substrate, getting some dead rock and some live rock to help seed it to save some $$$ I have a fluval fx5 and a rena xp3 for filtration I wont be going to a sump! I have a nice reef light setup and plan to do tangs, clown fish and not sure what else but definatly some cleeners because I dont want issues with nitrates. Any advice or suggestions always appreciated I did a decent amount or reading before deciding upon my setup.
Glenn
Sweet! Thank you for joining SWF.com! Welcome to the forums and I hope you enjoy your stay!
You can pretty much only have one tang in a 75g, and there are only two or three different types that you can choose from. 1. Yellow tang - which is the most common. 2. Powder brown tangs - they stay small. 3. Kole tangs - look neat and are different and 4. purple tangs - which are ok, rare and expensive. I personally wouldn't go with canister filters because of all the maintenance that they require on a monthly basis.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tferrante http:///t/390452/new-to-salt-75-gallon#post_3458111
As a fellow reefer who has used canisters with my set-up, you will need to make sure to keep your filters changed out on a regular basis. The canisters will hold waste that will add to your nitrates. Do water changes on a regular basis and be selective on your fish load on a 75 with canisters. Be sure to use a good HOB skimmer and I would add a UV sterilizer.
He's right. A nice HOB skimmer such as the Octopus HOB for a 75g would be perfect for your size tank and filtration needs. Canisters have to have the media changed often and the filter pads/sponges either changed or rinsed on a month to month basis. Only half of the filter sponges need to be cleaned at a time to not loose too much of your biofiltration at a time. If you are using two canisters, clean one this month and the other one next month.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gmorin07 http:///t/390452/new-to-salt-75-gallon#post_3458121
you are reffering to the media correct...what like the carbon and bio balls?
Carbon needs to be replaced every 30 days. If you use chemipure elite, you can go up to three months. Most people these days use some kind of phosphate reactor and phosphate removal media. To my amazement, after adding it to my system - I can completely see the benefits myself first hand. Chemipure elite also contains phosphate removal media (GFO)

 

[gmorin07]

well I am still learning the fish part of the keeping... I know I do not want to go with coral and from what I have anemone is wayyy to much work for me as well so it looks like I am going to stick with live rock and fish only or FOWLR as you fellow keepers refer to it. I think I will eventually get a skimmer but to start the tank up I probably wont. Now is it because the Tangs are aggresive in more than one capacity or because they dart swim? I definately want clowns... I have looked online just trying to get an Idea of what I want but I know I do not want aggresive fish as thats all I kept freshwater and I am looking for a change of pace. Now this is what I was going to use for a substrate anybody ever try it before?
Glenn

 

[snakeblitz33]

They frown upon links to competitors sites in this forum. You might want to edit out your link.
Tangs are long distance swimmers and therefore require long distance tanks (6ft or better) Those tangs that I listed can fit in 4ft tanks, but should only be kept one at a time. No matter how small a fish is in a marine aquarium, they are still aggressive little suckers. Even clowns can be mean to other clowns. If you get a clown, pick a species that is the exact same as your other clown. Mixing species of clowns in small tanks can lead to aggressiveness and fish loss.
I definitely recommend a skimmer on a tank - and you can save up for one and get it three months or so into keeping the tank. Since you are going with a FOWLR system, you may not want to invest in reef lighting. Something that really makes the fishes colors pop on a budget it an aquatic life linkable T5 system. You can start out with two bulbs and it will be great for fish and macroalgaes and some soft corals like mushrooms and xenia and then once you start getting into the swing of things if you so choose you can add more links. Many people do that and have had great success. It will also help you out on your budget.
You will definitely have to have powerheads in the tank to stir the water around to help oxygenate the water and carry waste away from the substrate and live rock and into your mechanical filtration. I like Koralias and oceanic on a budget. JBJ makes pretty good powerheads too. But, if you really want to invest in a powerhead that you can also use on a reef tank, one Vortech MP40 would be perfect for your aquarium - and even a future reef. Yes, they are expensive - but they are worth every penny.
Since you are wanting a change of pace, may I suggest to only start with clowns, gobies, blennies, hawkfish, and other small species of fish? Maybe a yellow tang later on would add a burst of color too... A pistol shrimp and goby pair would also be fun to watch. Look up some video's if you want.

 

[gmorin07]

thanks for the tips... edited post. so a skimmer and a power head huh, i will see what i can find on a budget.
thanks
glenn

 

[snakeblitz33]

Better to start the tank with at least one powerhead. You can add an additional one later on. Buy a powerhead that can turn over 10x your aquariums volume (750gph) and add another one of the same gph later on when you can afford it.

 

[gmorin07]

what im trying to do is see if I can get someone to trade me at least some of the stuff I need for my brand new rena xp3 still in the box but not having too much success right now...

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by gmorin07 http:///t/390452/new-to-salt-75-gallon#post_3458203
thanks for the tips... edited post. so a skimmer and a power head huh, i will see what i can find on a budget.
thanks
glenn
A fantastic way to increase the water flow on a budget...get a piece of 1/2 inch PVC pipe and a T connector....cap the ends real tight, drill some holes (not too many, the fewer holes the more power to the spray) Get a big power head from ***** for $36.00 and attach the PVC pipe to it at the T connector and have the pipe bars go across the entire length of the tank to creat a spraybar effect....I got some plastic hooks from Home depot and attached them using zip ties to hold the power head to the rim of the tank holding the bar just below the water surface.
It isn't the prettiest but it works great. I can angle it down into the tank, or across the entire surface to increase gas exchange.

 

[gmorin07]

Great idea but this tank has to be clean clean looking for the mrs...

 

[gmorin07]

here is a question...in a 75 gallon tank I plan to buy live sand and some dry rock and only a little live rock to help seed the tank how much dry rock should I get and how much live? I am on a budget for the time being so be gentle haha
GLenn

 

[sweatervest13]

Quote:
Originally Posted by gmorin07 http:///t/390452/new-to-salt-75-gallon#post_3458774
here is a question...in a 75 gallon tank I plan to buy live sand and some dry rock and only a little live rock to help seed the tank how much dry rock should I get and how much live? I am on a budget for the time being so be gentle haha
GLenn
Depends... I set up my 125g tank with over 100lbs of dry base rock and about 30-40lbs of live rock. All the dry rock seeded, but I had some algae issues from the amount of base rock. I have heard that you want a 50/50 mix, but you could get away with a bit less. My tank is 6+ months old now and the algae is gone, but I run GFO and an algae scrubber to help control it.
I would buy as much LR as you can afford to buy and match (or a little above that) it with base rock. This would get you started, you can always add more LR and base rock later on.

 

[rdcooper]

I'm expanding my tank from a 29 gallon to a 75 gallon. I was wondering if I should use any of my sand and live rock from the smaller tank? Or just start out fresh? I had a little run of green hair algae, but my sea urchin has taken care of it.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by RDCooper http:///t/390452/new-to-salt-75-gallon#post_3532941
I'm expanding my tank from a 29 gallon to a 75 gallon. I was wondering if I should use any of my sand and live rock from the smaller tank? Or just start out fresh? I had a little run of green hair algae, but my sea urchin has taken care of it.

LOL...Rock is too expensive, I always used the same rock in new tanks, you still have to purchase more anyway since you are going larger...A 75g will seem so much larger then a little 29g, I think you will really like it....Good choice

 

[jay0705]

Rock yes sand no

 

[jay0705]

Touching on what snake said. The purple tang is a gorgeous fish. Worth the money but are one of the more aggressive of the tangs. I was so close to getting one but the aggression kept me from it. I have a 75 as well. When I upgrade to a 150 tho It will be hard to not get a purple

 

[ivan m]

I am in your same position and here is what i have done so far. I got the REEF OCTOPUS BH 2000, I added a AC 110, Even though i have a spare EHEIM PRO3 E I decided against it from what many have said here about canister filters and saltwater set ups. I have 2 Koralia 2750 coming in 2 days for water movement, and they will replace the cobalt 600 you see on the right, and an extra 200W Heater will also go on the right side i already have one on the left, always good to have 2 heaters in case one goes bad, in these pics you can see what it looks like so far. I used an RO/DI system to make the water. I test ran the skimmer to check for any leaks, it works PERFECT, I LOVE this skimmer, easy to set up and runs QUIET. I will Not run it again until after tank cycles and i add about 100 more pounds of LR which i will be buying at a local frag swap i am going to in 3 weeks. I am doing a FOWLR but bare bottom. I want a simple set up that works. By the way this 75 is my smallest tank, but my only saltwater. My other 2 tanks are a 90 gallon and a 180 gallon, both with african cichlids. If this 75 goes well for the next year, the 90 will also get converted to a FOWLR. The 180 stays put, i keep my 10 FRONTOSA in that big boy. In one of the pics you can see my MAGDRIVE 950, i was just using it for a 24 hour period since i needed to add a little more salt to the water and wanted to mix it well, but i have since removed it and it will NOT be in there, LOLOLOLOL!