any sugestions on my tank

[imortal fish]

I HAVE A 37 GL FISH/REEF. IT HAS 1 PRIZAM SKIMER,1/1200 MAXI JET,1/600 MAXI JET, 1/301 POWER HEAD,1 AQUA CLEAR 50 FILTER.
IT HAS A ICE CAP 430 WITH 4/75 WATT VHO'S. THERE IS 40 POUND LIVE SAND,50 POUNDS LIVE ROCK. FISH INCLUDE ONE ALGEE BLENNIE,ONE STRAWBERY GRAMMA, ONE OCELLARIS CLOWN,ONE MANDERIN,ONE ARROW CRAB,ONE CLEANER SHRIMP.
I HAVE ASSORTED MUSHROOMS AND ZOO POLYPS,ONE PLATE CORAL,AND ONE TRUMPET CORAL.I AM NEW TO THE HOBBY AND WOULD LIKE SOME INPUT ON MY TANK. IS THERE ANTHING I NEED THATS A MUST


THANK YOU

 

[ncny21802]

You need to make sure you are produced copepods or isopods. The mandarin will die a slow death if you don't have any in your tank. It can take up to 6 months for a mandarin to starve to death.

 

[idua]

Yes, if the mandarin is not eating frozen your tank will not be able to support it. I would also get a different skimmer, Prizm is not very efficient especially on a 37gallon tank. Other than that I think you are on the right path.

 

[Avi]

I have read that Prizms aren't the best of skimmers, but if you are getting a dark liquid in the collection cup and it's always producing that, then you could probably get away with using it until you can get yourself a better one. IMO. the best thing you could do to improve your set-up would be to add a sump/refugium if you could...That would help out the Mandarin with the copepods, etc. and generally contribute to the water quality. But even as is, with the way you set up your reef, if you're doing water changes...you seem to be in really good shape.

 

[idua]

Hey Avi, where in Westchester are you? I think that in 5 years Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve been around youââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢re the second person in the area I came across in the forum.

 

[chip721]

A picture is worth a thousand words, but your current setup sounds ok. Otherwise I'd recommend using RO water for top-off and to makeup new saltwater for water changes.

 

[weaver5]

I will also agree the set-up sounds nice. But (see always a but lol) I have to also agree that the Manderian will die if you do not have enough pods for him to eat. They eat slowly and do not get enough food that is why alot of people have a hard time keeping them in a tank with other fish.I love them also they look very cool but I know I woud have a hard time keeping them and I wish you the best of luck and I hope you keep him alive for a long time. Scott

 

[imortal fish]

thanks for the input. i also have skimmer made by the company of instant ocean. should i use this skimmer instead of prizzum skimmer

 

[jeffb3t]

Like stated above, If you skimmer is pulling out dark tea like water then it's doing it's job. BTW, Welcome to RC...Wish I could do the cool welcome thing. How long have you had the tank set up? Also how often and how much water do you change?

 

[imortal fish]

i had a 20gl four 10 mon. three weeks i draind into the new 37gl and added the vho's. i do a 10gl water change once every two weeks or acording to nitrates.

 

[imortal fish]

here

a pic of my tank

 

[MrChico]

The tank looks pretty good, but for constuctive critisism I would add more live rock and try to hide some of the equipment in a sump. It also looks like your getting alot of bubbles in the tank from the hob filter. Just my obsevation. But not looking too bad.

 

[fambrough]

I would work on the aqua-scaping a bit, but that's just an aesthetic choice. My other observation is that you should get rid of those suction cups holding the powerheads in place. Use a bracket to mount them from the rim, if you can. Otherwise, those will lose their grip and ability to stay put over time. You'll come to a powerhead lying on the bottom blasting sand everywhere.
Finally, consider putting your maxi-jets on a wavemaker or timing device to "randomize" the flow.

Good luck,
Ben