Starting A Reef Tank

[verojeremy]

I was looking around and i want to start a saltwater fish tank that is around 100 gallon, i'm getting a sump, i was looking at 2x 54 t5's and some sort of marine-land filter or any suggestions and for flow i don't know yet.
For corals I was looking at a green star polyp, a xenia either pom pom or silver, leather cabbage, leather toadstool, sun coral, frogspawn, hammer and maybe some zoos.
For fish i was looking at a yellow tank, hippo tang, 2 "nemos", twin spot hog-fish, long-nose hawk-fish, blonde naso tang, powder brown tang, a clown tang down the line and maybe a sail-fin tang.

 

[lol]

#1, that's not enough light for the corals that you want to keep.
#2, That's too many tangs for a 100g long tank. IMHO.
What kind of sump are you going to use? Are you going to DIY your own sump? What kind of protein skimmer or other filtration device are you going to use????
Read a few good books first, and also read the new hobbyist article section for some great advice before you even put the first dollar on the counter. It will save you a whole lot of time and money.
Please, keep in mind that corals aren't just pretty ornaments in a tank, they are living, eating, breathing creatures who must be treated with care and respect.

 

[mproctor4]

I have most of those corals under the same light and they do fine. You will need to have the frogspawn and hammers up high in the tank and don't expect fast growth. But you can keep them under t5's just fine. I don't know anything about cabbage corals though.
In a 100 gallon tank you could get away with a yellow tang, tomini tang, or a kole tang (but not all three). Most tangs should be in at least a 6' long tank. A blonde naso and a clown tang should be in a much, much larger tank than that. Do alot of research before purchasing any of these. +1 on lots of research.
Welcome to the site.

 

[mr. limpid]

+ one on all those tangs to many and not enough room in 100 gal for a Naso. Yellow and Powder Brown are aggressive only one of these and they should be the last tang in. Clown tang needs alto of flow, may be to much flow for the corals. Two tangs would be perfect, but I'm trying 3 in my 135, same foot print as your 100 just taller. The green star polyp may need more light if you go with a 4 bulb fixture you should be fine. Just a word of caution on the Xenia once they start multiplying they don't stop, some like it others don't, they are great for mixed reefs because they consume nitrates.

 

[verojeremy]

OK thank you for our responses I changed it now and i'm looking at a lawnmower blennie, a couple cleaner shrimp, 2-4 nemos, yellow tang, longnose hawkfish, a twin spot hogfish and maybe a blue hippo tang but I saw that they are really prone to ich and may replace it with a sailfin tang and I'm looking at some gobies to.

 

[lol]

I recommend switching it to a sailfin as well. Blue hippos get really big, and need a lot of space to swim...

 

[verojeremy]

So what fish do you recommend my list so far is x amount of cleaner fish i don't know how many to get i think like 3, prob a sail now 2 firefish goby, lawnmower blenny, 4 false percula clowns, and a yellow tang.
I was also looking for a 4x54 t5's fixture but i can't find that many as just the fixture.
For corals I want to keep the same as above but also maybe some brain coral and maybe black tube coral and if my lights are good and down the line I might get some SPS.

 

[verojeremy]

Meant to say cleaner shrimp and I'm gonna get a reef package.

 

[lol]

If you are going to get some SPS corals later, and you are looking into high lighting corals like open brains, brains, acans, blastos, and other stuff that requires high lighting, why don't you invest a little money into your lighting system and get something with metal halides? Lighting and a skimmer are your two most important pieces of equipment - make the investment, and you corals will thank you for it.

 

[verojeremy]

What do you suggest like with a link or something more helpful then just MH.

 

[lol]

Umm, Let me see, the typical 100g is 6 foot long, so you would either need a 3xmetal halide or a 2x metal halide fixture, both supplemented with 2 to 4 actinic T5HO's. The higher the wattage of metal halide, the more expensive it is, but the more ability you will have to keep a wider range of corals.
For example, a 3x250w HQI metal halide supplemented by 4x54wT5HO's fixture will run anywhere from $800 to $1000, but you can keep ANYTHING you want. If you have a canopy, you could probably get away with retrofitting your own system and saving yourself a few hundred dollars. A typical 250w bulb and ballast retrofit cost a little less than $200. You could buy a 4x54w T5HO retrofit ballast for $120~ and ~$20 per bulb. It all comes down to how much you want to spend and what look you are going for.
The Metal Halides will give you the "shimmer" effect that many hobbyists like, all the while providing you high PAR and Lumen values that allow you you keep the corals you want.
Unfortunately, I can not post links on this forum, sorry.

 

[lol]

Of course, you could do the "Just as expensive" route with DIYing your own custom LED lighting system like Meowzer and her hubby did. There are people who have had great long term results with the use of LED lights, but I'm still not buying into it, TBH.

 

[verojeremy]

I can't right now spend 800 to 1000 dollars on just the lights so ill probally go with just the 4x t5's but what type of protein skimmer?

 

[lol]

Yeah, not many people do have the extra cash laying around to spend that kind of money on a lighting system. I prefer DIY retrofit lighting systems in canopy's so that I can add to the lights a little here and there.
I had a thread not too long ago asking for advice on protein skimmers. I'm not really qualified to talk in detail about them, although here's what I have gathered so far:
Octopus skimmers are pretty good, and they are well worth the money.
The smaller ASM protein skimmers are great for the 75-125g range, but the bigger they are, the worse they get.
I have looked into Eshopps skimmers and they seem to do a pretty decent job, and for the price - I think they would be worth it for the budget conscious aquarist.

 

[mr. limpid]

Just let you know all fish are prone to getting ick tangs in general get it easier due to there low slim coat. As for the hippo and salfin, I personally would go with hippo it would get along with yellow, the salfin is also an aggressive tang would fight with yellow. If you want to save money and have the room you can build your own algae scrubber they are easy but again need the room. From what I read seams like a more natural way then a skimmer. For the clowns do not add more than 2 (same species) they will fight, buy one small and on big (your odds are better they may mate).

 

[verojeremy]

ok thank you do you know much about light?