New to the hobby...

[andrew001]

Hi, Im new to the hobby, just started in may 2010.
 
It's been a little bumpy, but I thought I would share what I have so far.
 
I have a 75 Gal. I don't have all the bells and whistles, but enough to keep things alive. =D
 
I have a yellow tang, 2 damsels, clown fish, chromis (pink/yellow), condy anemone, bubble tip anemone (green), a red/white shrimp and a decorator crab and a hand full of soft corals. Ive only had one death so far, I bought I 2 spotted goby and he didnt make it 12 hours =( oh well, below is a few pics.
 

 

 

 
I've since gave the star fish back.... he didn't play nice with my soft corals.

 

 
Below is my decorator crab...
 

 

 

[meowzer]

The pics aren't working

 

[andrew001]

Not sure why the pics don't appear. I guess you can visit my gallery @ http://akstudio.com/?page_id=223
 
I'll have to upload the decorator crab shot, cuz it's really cool

 

[al&burke]

Very nice and welcome to SWF - there are alot of people here that can really help you. Looks like you are using an FX5 Fluval filter. I have the same one. Tanks looks really good, fantastic pictures, good luck.

 

[meowzer]

OK...for some odd reason I could not get the full tank shot to get bigger
 
BUT, I believe condy anemones like their foot to bury in the sand...Glad to hear you got rid of the star cause they are not reef safe
 
The tank may be a little too new for the anemones, what type of lighting do you have? You may want to get rid of the striped damsel...they GET MEAN
 
do you have any powerheads? What type of filtration? Skimmer?

 

[andrew001]

Thanks.
 
I have a sea clone skimmer, and yes, I have a fluval filter.. I believe it is a 205. The lighting I have is 2 true blues and 2 10k's at 65 watt each, I run the blues for about an hour in the AM and then an hour in the PM.
 
For water movement, I am currently using 1 Aqueon 700 (rated for 30-55gal) the filter and skimmer as well, to help move water. For a few hours a day I have a 24 inch air stone kick in, this happens mid afternoon. I do have an Aqueon 1250 (rated for 75-125 gal) but I think it tends to be too much. I'm thinking of getting a 950 (rated for 55-90 gal) and putting it on one of those wave makers with the 700 on the opposite side of the tank.
 
I've added the decorator crab here: http://akstudio.com/?p=376
 
and shrimp: http://akstudio.com/?p=378

 

[meowzer]

OK...sounds like you have pc lighting....the bad news here is that the anemones need much stronger lighting....your best bet for them is to give them away or return them to the lfs
 
you need powerheads to circulate the water around your tank....look up Koralia's. For a 75G you need at least 3 and at least the a 1050 or 750's.
 
you can see the brown on your rocks...looks like diatoms ...they are common, but lack of circulation will make them last longer
 
do you have any snails, or anything to help clean your tank??/
 

 

[andrew001]

I have 6 turbo snails (3 large, 3 small), and a handful of hermit crabs of various sizes. They seem to be expendable, because sometimes I see arms and legs but no body... someone is chewing them up, so I just go back to the store and get a few more.
 
My anemones seem to be doing well. The bubble tip has been in the tank for a while now and stays in one spot. Definitely has grown. The condy, however, likes to roam. He goes from white, to brown to grey in color. They get fed frozen fish like every 4 days.
 
the one powerhead i operate 24/7 is rated 700 gph, I see the Koralia 750 are similar. I do have a 1250, which pushes .. well 1250 gal. an hour. Do I really need that much movement? When I plug in the 1250, along with the 700, it seems overkill... the soft corals get bashed up against the rocks, it just seems too much. Right now I have a slight "sway" and they seem to open up.

 

[meowzer]

YES, you really do need good flow...BUT a 1250 blowing on the corals may be too much in that one spot....I personally like to have a few of the smaller ones...this way you can position them in various spots creating a lot of flow w/o blowing stuff over....know what I mean..LOL
 
ALSO ...your cuc seems to be lacking....hermits are only good for eating your snails for the shells....
 
You have sand? You should have some nassarius snails, cerith snails, and astrea snails...they all have beneficial cleaning jobs

 

[andrew001]

I have sand. I have also mixed in some argonite ( Caribbean Puka Shell) It looked kinda cool, but now I sort of regret it, as I like the smooth sand look.
 
I have a bunch of testing kits too, O2, Strontium, Magnesium, Ph, calcium, etc. I usually conduct 2 different PH tests and 2 nitrate tests. So far the only parameter I fight with is the nitrate. It stays almost zero, but not quite. I purchase my water from my LFS test it and heat it (to match current temp) before it goes in. When nitrates hit about 2-3, I do a 50% water change. This happens maybe 2x a month. (the N03 chart runs from 0ppm - 5.0 - 10, etc. I change at 2-3, just between 0 and 5.0)

 

[meowzer]

Well for now I would get some of the snails I mentioned. You may want to look into some powerheads too. good flow is a very important part of a sw tank..especially a reef.
 
Some people claim that having a 0 nitrate reading is close to impossible...IDK....I would do regular water changes of 20% bi-weekly