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[village surf]

all right im trying to decide what to do for my set up. i have a 75 gal and planed to go aggresive but i really want to look into reef tanks. right now i am cycleing. i have a wet dry rated for a 300 gal tank for my filtration. right now i am cycleing with a white spotted grouper and a black edge eel. oh yeah i also have cc. would this be a prob or not? so what do you guys think which way should i go. i only have about a 400 dallar budget? any insight is very helpful

 

[mr . salty]

Your 400 dollars will not go far in this hobby.You will spend that on lighting alone for a good reef tank.Also,CC is not a good substrate for any salt tank.A deepsand bed is much better...Lastly,who told you to use an eel,and a grouper to cycle your tank??? This could very well be a disaster.During the cycle your water will accumulate deadly levels of ammonia and nitrite that the most hardy of fish find hard to survive.Your eel and grouper should be moved to an established tank till yours is done cycling,and ready for fish...

 

[village surf]

well mr salty no one told me to cycle with them its just that its a good idea to put in the most hardy fish first oveyously. but dont worry about the ammonia they are both pretty small the grouper is about 5 and the eel is 14. i just got done talking to my fish guy and he said i need another light to go with the one i have now. he said that i need to mix the blue and the white light. so any way he told me i need to spend about 170 to 230 on more lighting. also is this enough filtration? do i need a protien skimmer also or not.

 

[wamp]

You need alot.
A good skimmer for a 75gallon tank will be around $150.
Live Rock about 75lbs or so will be about 250$.
A good lighting system PC or VHO will be around 250$. Maybe more if you want better lights.
Thats just a start! It gets more expensive. If you wanted to stay in the 400$ range a Fish only system is the way to go. I encourage all to get into reef tanks but I also like to forewarn them about the expense.
There are no ways to make a Cheap reef. You can cut some corners and it usuall comes back to haunt you in the long run.
Even if you go FO, I would still get some live rock. This will improve the overall health of your tank.

 

[village surf]

thanks alot sea wraith it seems that the # of people willing to help a begginer without any comments like your (limited resorces) or just putting your itellegence dawn seems to be decreaseing as we speak. every time i post a question i always get some smart a$$ remark from anthem. hes always dissen me. i just want a little info from more experienced hobbyiest. is this to much to ask anthem? is it so hard just to help me out without makeing me feel like a complete retard!!!! any way my fish guy recomended these guys becouse he does it this way and he says it works better than the dead shrimp. also ive herd that it would be better for me to take out the cc and leave it bare? would this mess any thing up or cause any signifigant increase in amonia or trates? i think im going to wait to get a skimmer and just go with the live rock for now. i dont want to be adding more live rock peace by peace untel i have enough. id rather just wait 3 or 4 months to get a skimmer. so what do you think sea wraith

 

[shootonsite]

village surf,
Don't take it personally. This is a complicated hobby that really doesn't demonstrate clear cut answers. I think that your rocky start is just a cause of concern from your fellow hobbyists. It is very important to plan ahead about 3 or 4 steps before you do anything. In your case, you've started before you've committed to a particular set-up. Most on this website will tell you that a wet/dry filter will not work properly for a reef, and their right. With a limited budget and your current inhabitants/set-up, it might be best for you to take the fish only route. Gain some experience with that and do some more research before you try a reef. If you decide to in the future, I might suggest taking a microbial approach to ensure long term success. Good luck.

 

[village surf]

well anthem i just kinda got the idea that you where calling me poor. dont worry about the grouper and the eel whene im done with them i will just trade them in towards another purchase for my reef. so should i take out the cc or not? also could i use base rock enstead of lr. if not how many pounds do you recomend for a 75 long. thanks for your help i guess i just took your commment the wrong way.

 

[shootonsite]

Since you're sure you want to go reef, remove the biomedia from your wet/dry after you've added the live rock. Base rock at your lfs should have the same properties as live rock, its just larger and not as pretty. Go with the base rock if you want to save money. Many have good success with CC. For most, its really a cosmetic preference. If you decide to switch, a live sand bed will function with the live rock, and if you use sugar grains, you will need less saving you more money. Perhaps, start with 50lbs of live rock, 2" sand bed (only if using sugar grains), and maybe leave your sump empty until you discover a suitable filtration method. Testing your water is the way your tank tells you of its imbalances. Use this to decide on filtration methods (skimmer, media, etc.). Good luck.

 

[village surf]

thanks soooo much i really appriaciate your giudance. you mean to tell me my wet dry serves no purpose in a reef tank. i spent 300 bucks on that damn thing ow man! so i should get a skimmer?

 

[shootonsite]

Don't beat yourself up about it. The bioballs in the wet/dry provides too much nitrification that the sensitive cycle of a reef cannot handle. The sump will still be of great use, so none of your money was wasted on it. Just research other methods that you can convert the sump to. A skimmer helps to control organic wastes. Again, if there is an imbalance in the cycle, this will come in handy. Using a skimmer can have positive and negative effects, so keep that in mind too. Research as much as you can on the subject. It seems your lfs has somehow misguided you, and that's a good first lesson. Find out what professionals are doing and apply that knowledge to your tank. Remember to think microbial and you can't go wrong.