New to the reef game!

[spendingdough]

Hi all! Just wanted to say hello and introduce myself. My name is Rhett. My fiancee and I just purchased a new tank to consolodate our two 75G tanks. We have currently only had fish tanks but are excited to get into corals. We are both avid divers and love coral reefs. We just set everything up and cant wait to add corals. Look forward to chatting with some of you. Here are a couple pics of our new addition.

 

[pleasants9]

sweet setup! how big is this tank?

 

[meowzer]

Very nice...welcome to the forum

 

[spendingdough]

Thanks! The tank is 180G, it felt like 180 tonnes moving it in!

 

[spendingdough]

Anything we should be careful of before we add corals? Any recomendations on how long we should wait. The rock is over 3 years old and I used all the water from our other tanks as well. I tested the water today and all is good except our nitrates are a tiny bit high.

 

[salt210]

whats a tiny bit? you will want to figure out whats causing the trates tho.
nice tank and welcome

 

[salt210]

wheres kelowna?

 

[detane]

Welcome. I just setup my 180 also. Im still trying to figure out which lights to buy or if im going to build a conopy and put Metal Halides and T5's in.
What type of light fixture is that your using?

 

[aquaguy24]

sweet tank...looks great already..should be even better with corals..i waited about 4 months before adding any type of coral....wat are ur nitrates levels..get that in check and u should be good to go..start off with easy corals like mushrooms or zoa..and see how that goes...good luck..

 

[deejeff442]

welcome.
looks like you have the same light fixture i bought.
got it on the bay for $550
3 250wattmy and 4 96wattpc with moons.
i love the light for the money you cant beat it.
i added 5 corals when i got the light
frogspawn,torch,hammer,flowerpot and a leather and all are doing great.
my nitrates are usually around 5-10 but i get them down to zero sometimes.
the corals do just fine, if you are at 20 or higher you need to get it down before corals.
what kind of flow do you have in the tank?
i have a 225 gallon tank with 3 korilia #4 pumps and the corals seem to like it.
if you go with zoas they will eventually spread fast and take over the tank that is why i dont have them.polyps are nice to get for color.

 

[ryancw01]

Tank looks really good. What do you think about turning that middle section of the sump into a refugium? All you need is a hang on light from the Depot and a 6500K flood light. That will drop your nitrates really quick...

 

[spendingdough]

Yeah we are really happy with the look of the tank. The MH lights just make everything POP! I spent some time last night reading some of the forums and particularilly a custom 240G shallow in wall tank. OMG, what a set up! I feel a little overwhelmed today about how far this can really go. I also had no idea how technical this stuff can be.
Oh well just anouther addiction to support! LOL

We are using:
-Coralife Aqualight Pro 72" with 3x250watt MH lights/ 4x96watt 03 Actinic Flurescentlight / 4 blue moon lights
-Coralife super skimmer 220G
-Supreme Classic Model 18 pump 1800GPH
-All Glass Mega Flow Sump #4
-All Glass Aquarium 180G
-2 super skimmer pumps MacGyvered to suction cups for extra water flow
Nitrates were 20ppm, and what exactly is a refugium and what does it do? I also have a question about aquarium computers. Do they analyse water quality and are they worth installing?
We are not gonna add anything to the tank till it stabalizes out and I obviously need to learn more about corals before we attempt to add them.
Looking forward to your advice.
Rhett

 

[ryancw01]

A refugium is a compartment in the sump where you can grow algae. You can buy a small clump of algae online or at the local fish store and it will grow under the correct lighting. When it grows it uses up Nitrates to keep your display sparkling clean. Small critters will also pop up naturally and reproduce rapidly in the refugium which will help feed corals and fish when they go to far and get pumped into the main display. You have that middle section which would be perfect. I would lose that blue sponge though and replace it will rubble live rock if you move forward with the refugium idea.

 

[spendingdough]

I am really interested in adding a refugium to my new set up. I think it will be a neat feature to add to our existing set up as well as help filter the water. The problem lies in that i have enough equipment to build one but the tank I have in mind isnt plumbed for a sump. I would like to add this to the side of the 180G one.
Is there a way to cycle the water from the big tank to anouther 20 g tank I have?
If so I need some advice on how i should stock it and make it work.

 

[eric b 125]

hey dough, were you happy with your lights and where you got them from? i never ordered from the bay, but if i can get a nice fixture from them for my 125, then that's what i'll do. i was going to drop a grand on the same fixture you have ( i think) and i can wait it out if i can save some good money. thanks.

 

[spendingdough]

I am very happy with the lights! It is very clean and streamline. I have heard now of other getting what i am guessing is the same lights for way less than I payed for. I payed $1700. It is 72 " long.

 

[jpa0741]

Originally Posted by SpendingDough
http:///forum/post/3007185
Yeah we are really happy with the look of the tank. The MH lights just make everything POP! I spent some time last night reading some of the forums and particularilly a custom 240G shallow in wall tank. OMG, what a set up! I feel a little overwhelmed today about how far this can really go. I also had no idea how technical this stuff can be.
Oh well just anouther addiction to support! LOL

We are using:
-Coralife Aqualight Pro 72" with 3x250watt MH lights/ 4x96watt 03 Actinic Flurescentlight / 4 blue moon lights
-Coralife super skimmer 220G
-Supreme Classic Model 18 pump 1800GPH
-All Glass Mega Flow Sump #4
-All Glass Aquarium 180G
-2 super skimmer pumps MacGyvered to suction cups for extra water flow
Nitrates were 20ppm, and what exactly is a refugium and what does it do? I also have a question about aquarium computers. Do they analyse water quality and are they worth installing?
We are not gonna add anything to the tank till it stabalizes out and I obviously need to learn more about corals before we attempt to add them.
Looking forward to your advice.
Rhett
I wouldn't worry to much about those trates yet. Could just might be all the junk kicked up from adding the old rock.
Aquarium controllers can monitor some params such as temp, ph, orp, salinity. They are nice but not a must have.
My equipment advice would be to look into upgrading your skimmer. The better the skimmer the easier it is to maintane a reef tank.

 

[spendingdough]

You dont think the coralife 220 is good enough? Just curious cause it was recommended by local fish retailer. ( granted I only know a little he seems to have his s#&t together) It was real expensive too!

 

[jpa0741]

No a CL 220 on a 180g just won't cut it. I ran 2 of those on my 92g tank. It is better then nothing and yes you can run a tank with no skimmer but IMO it just makes life easier.

 

[spendingdough]

If you have a suggestion it would be greatly appreciated. I only know the coralife brand and if I am doing harm to the tank I would want to stop that as soon as possible. I really appreciate the advice as well. I saw your shallow tank thread...what an amaising tank and set up.