First time tank owner!! 600 gallon cylinder reef tank!

C

customtankJ

New member
Hey guys, my name is jason, I've just moved into my dream home, that while under construction, I had one of Houstons most respected aquarium shops, build me a 600 gallon cylinder aquarium, that was built in to a wall where you can be in 3 different rooms, and see the aquarium!!
Ok now for the dumb questions!!
This is my first ever tank, and it will be a reef tank, but seems like since the aquarium shop has gotten paid in full, there customer service is starting to slide down hill!! They really haven't helped much except to find out the coral look I want!! My main thing is, I would love to have exotic colorful fish, that obviously are coral friendly!! So any links, or advice to help with my fish selection, would be very appreciative!!
The live rock, has been in now for a month, and is time to start the fun part, ordering/buying coral, and fish, I'd like y'all's take on it, heck even coral help would be great!!
Thanks again, and look forward to chatting with you all!!
I will have pictures up, as soon as I figure out how to do it by phone!!
Jason
 
If it was me I'd put in a few different anemones. In random spots to give it a pop out look. There are multiple stunning anemones you can get and clowns are a great addition to any reef.
 
There is far too much to learn for you to get from smatterings of info on-line. You need to educate yourself. I suggest you start with books from Mr. Saltwater Tank. There are many existing books on reef aquariums, but these are the most up-to-date. Once you've got a handle on the basics from his books and videos, come back here and see how many different interpretations and versions there are on RC.

Every tank is different. Every owner has different goals and aspirations. Everybody would like to think that the equipment they just dropped a bundle on is the best. That is the foundation of on-line forums.

Have fun, get your wallet ready and be sure to come back and tell us how you are making out.

Cheers!

Dave.M
 
Welcome Jason, first thing, post a picture of your tank or we don't believe it happened! :lmao:

(Tip: Click "Go Advanced" below this box, manage attachments, upload image, close the upload window, click on the file on the original page and it will open in a new page, copy the link and then in the text box click on the yellow square that looks like a mountain and sun and copy the link. This way the picture will embed directly into your posts)

As far as coral, give us an idea of what type of reef you want. There's basically 5. Soft corals only; LPS-Large Polyp Stoney corals only; SPS-Small Polyp Stoney corals only; NPS-Non Photosynthetic corals only; or finally Mixed Reef-A mixture of two or more of the aforementioned types of corals. This list of types of corals is in the order of easiest to hardest to care for.

As far as fish goes, since this will be a reef tank you'll want to stick with peaceful to semi aggressive fish. Given the size of your system and the fact that it's a cylinder will allow you to keep just about any "reef safe" to "reef safe with caution" species available to our hobby. Some species adapt better to captive life than others. Some have difficult feeding habits while others are pigs and will eat anything.

My advice is to visit websites like LiveAquaria.com and pick out a stocking list and post it here for others to offer their advice on keeping those species.

For me personally, I like a mixed reef full of SPS, LPS and a few soft corals. And maybe one or two NPS corals like dendrophyilia. Most NPS should be in a dedicated system due to the nutritional requirements. For fish, I like wrasses, tangs, a school of false moorish idols and a large group of anthias and Chromis. The anthias and Chromis are the typically shoaling fish we see in great numbers darting around the coral heads on a natural reef. I also like to add what I call, "Fish with Character". Like blenny's and gobys. There's a lot of options when it comes to fish.

What type of lightning do you have over this tank? In fact can you describe your setup and equipment?

Also, since this is your first tank check out the wealth of information in these articles. http://www.reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/articles/articles-by-topic
 
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now thats a huge first tank!!!! definitely post some pictures and provide more info about your setup....lighting, skimmer, filtration etc.
 
Nice to see another huge tank in Texas :D

I'd say get a list of what you are thinking of keeping by visiting the online sites and then posting it here.

I'm sure there will be plenty of people with great advice :)

BTW: Post some pictures!
 
11198-1263950539-69873955db6d4717415ce667f3b0d2b8.gif
 
customtankJ said:
Hey guys, my name is jason, I've just moved into my dream home, that while under construction, I had one of Houstons most respected aquarium shops, build me a 600 gallon cylinder aquarium, that was built in to a wall where you can be in 3 different rooms, and see the aquarium!!
Ok now for the dumb questions!!
This is my first ever tank, and it will be a reef tank, but seems like since the aquarium shop has gotten paid in full, there customer service is starting to slide down hill!! They really haven't helped much except to find out the coral look I want!! My main thing is, I would love to have exotic colorful fish, that obviously are coral friendly!! So any links, or advice to help with my fish selection, would be very appreciative!!
The live rock, has been in now for a month, and is time to start the fun part, ordering/buying coral, and fish, I'd like y'all's take on it, heck even coral help would be great!!
Thanks again, and look forward to chatting with you all!!
I will have pictures up, as soon as I figure out how to do it by phone!!
Jason
Click to expand...

Congrats. Sounds like you have a steep learning curve to overcome, or you can pay through your nose and have someone else surcharge you for equipment, rock, livestock ect... Most respective aquarium shop built the tank but their customer service sucks?? Sounds like a oxymoron to me
 
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