What next?

[sailfin tang]

Learning as I go, please help.
The tank was converted from fresh to salt about 8 months ago
What I have...
80 gallon bow front
70ish lbs of live rock
sand bed 2 to 3"
Cascade 1200 canister filter with reg. medium no carbon.
Hydor Koralia 2 powerheads (2)
Aquactinics tx5-t-5 lighting on timers
lunar strips
u.v. sterilizer
heater unplugged
1 blue damsel about 6 months in tank. (Going to a new home as I want a peaceful friendly tank)
clean up crew-been in about a week and all seems well, of course they all hide, but I check em out when the lights go out.
10 turbo snails
15 naso snails
20 mixed hermits
1 serpent star
1 brittle star
5 emerald crabs
Got a guy that checks the numbers once a week and cleans the tank.
He was here tonite and I asked him to write the numbers down.
He wrote
420 calsium
KH-196.9
Phosphate 0
Nitrate-0
Salt level is fine (ha I bet that helps)
Temp 79
He said my numbers have been great since he's been checking (for the last couple months)
What I'd like to have
1 coral banded shrimp
2 cleaner shrimp
1 Clown with a host anemonie (maybe a maroon)
1 Tang (I know my tanks not big enough for most adults)
4-5 blue reef or green chromis
1 foxface
1 flame hawkfish (add last)
corals (the "easier" kind)
feather dusters
cool colored reef things that are relatively easy to keep.
Ok question time and please excuse my ignorance
What next and how long?
What is Cheato? and do I need it?
What is a sump or refugion and do I need it?
Do I need a skimmer?
What should I have that I haven't listed?

 

[autofreak44]

Originally Posted by Sailfin Tang
Ok question time and please excuse my ignorance
What next and how long?
What is Cheato? and do I need it?
What is a sump or refugion and do I need it?
Do I need a skimmer?
What should I have that I haven't listed?
IMO you should add the clown, then the chromis, then the foxface, then the tang, then the hawkfish.
cheato is a benificial macroalgae that helps absorb unwanted nutrients in the water (such as nitrates)... IMO i would get some
a sump/refugium is a separate tank from the display tank that holds things like hitch hikers you have removed from live rock, a place to grow macroalgae, a place to have a DSB (deep sand beed 4" helps with denitrification), it can be the main filter of a tank, and many other purposes. also you can put unsightly equiptment in there such as heaters and skimmers. do you need one? that is a difficult question. a lot of that depends on your budget. i am no sump expert and this is a very brief description but IMO on that size tank you would want one. do some research, and make sure to make that decision soon becasue you dont want a problem with the sump after your tank is filled with fish
i would strongly recomend a skimmer. get the best one your money can buy, because the statement "you get what you buy" holds very true to skimmers
also cut the coral banded shrimp (CBS) out of your list, they can be very agressive for a reef

 

[ncacura]

Code:
[pre]What I'd like to have
1 coral banded shrimp
2 cleaner shrimp
1 Clown with a host anemonie (maybe a maroon)
1 Tang (I know my tanks not big enough for most adults)
4-5 blue reef or green chromis
1 foxface
1 flame hawkfish (add last)
corals (the "easier" kind)
feather dusters
cool colored reef things that are relatively easy to keep.
Ok question time and please excuse my ignorance
What next and how long?
What is Cheato? and do I need it?
What is a sump or refugion and do I need it?
Do I need a skimmer?
What should I have that I haven't listed?[/pre]
Everything on your list sounds great. I have everything except the foxface and chromis. IMO I think the chromis are ugly. but just my opinion. Get rid of the damsels first, they're a pain in the ass. And they're ugly. Your levels are great by the way.
Introduce the clown and anemone first, talk to your LFS about which anemones are easiest. If you get a maroon, I suggest a mated pair, they will go in any anemone. If you get a percula they're more selective to which anemone they will host.
After that just put in a fish every two weeks or so (You can put the chromis in all together.) You don't have to put the hawkfish in last. I've had one in my tank for a while and he's been fine with my other fish. As a matter of fact he gets picked on by my flame angel more than anything.
As far as the coral banded shrimp go, they're many misconceptions about them. They don't usually go after fish unless they are taunted. So unless your fish are dumb, they'll be fine. Coral banded shrimp are scavengers, so often when a fish dies and the owner see the coral banded shrimp eating it they assume he killed it. Not true. He'll be fine. They are slightly territorial though so make sure they have some room to roam and they'll be fine.
GET A SUMP...end of that.
Get a skimmer too. I reccommend the octopus skimmer. Best skimmer on the market for the money. My LFS swears by it, don't get the backpack skimmer or anything like that. Get an in sump skimmer ( a kind you put in your sump).....proteinskimmers.com is where you can get the skimmer.
Good luck.......
O yeah, if you want corals get metal halides, it's good for them as well as your tank. I have a 2X250W metal halide setup right now. It's great for corals, clams, etc. plus makes the tank look really good and bright.

 

[sailfin tang]

Thanks for the replies.
I'm not sure where I would put a sump.
Am I to understand a sump with a skimmer in it would eliminate my canister filter?
How big should the sump be?
How does the water travel back and forth and what "filters" it on the way back to the display?