Florida Ric Tank, keepin it easy

[S14Swap240sx]

Currently have a 125g African Cichlid tank with 55 sump.. totally thinking about changing it to a reef tank because my biocube is so damn limiting. But im not gonna do that.. going to either get a 75 or 90 for a florida ric tank, i have a spare 55 i can use as a sump and turn the biocube14 into a refugium

Soo basicly, if you had to set up an ideal Florida Ric tank, where would you start?

I am struggling finding options as i see they are becoming more popular im sure that will change over time.

 

[CLINTOS]

my personally opinion on lighting would be 6 t5 h.o

slightly heavy on the blue side.

 

[rogersb]

If you do rics only, do you plan on growing them out or buying 100 and having a full tank from the start?

 

[S14Swap240sx]

depending on the size of the tank, im leaning towards either something small like a 40g or slightly bigger like a 75. I honestly want to lay down a good platform and grow with the tank, so im going to allow them to grow out, but also plan on heavily stocking the tank.. im pretty new to reef tanks, so taking it slow.. my biocube was a slow and steady build, but id hardly consider it a build just a demo of what salt water is like.

as far as lighting, t5 would prob be the most cost effective.. id love to give led a run tho. build up nice 3w led system.. going to start my led set up for the 125g tank hopefully next week.

ive done alot of searching, and it seems like rics, poly, and zoa is a good build for not having a need to dose elements and what not.. am i on the right track? im not trying to avoid maintenance, but i want hardy corals, that a bit forgiving.

 

[Rudolph]

I sounds like there are many reefers that are finding LED's to be challenging so I would personally give it some more time before jumping on board. But talking about lighting can open up a whole can of worms and debates.

Rics, poly's and zoa are great corals to start out with in a new tank. I lot of variety and color. I would start slow and add your new corals slowly until you have a mature tank (that is easier said then done since we all want instant gratification). I would also not overstock your tank with fish if you want some room for forgiveness in your husbandry tank chores....good luck.

 

[Bmgrocks]

a 75 or 90 is a massive footprint for "solely" ricordea's. IMO

My ideal "Ricordea prop system" would be

40breeder with a sump. some 6 bulb T5 lighting. Couple pounds of Live Rock, and a shallow bed of crushed coral.

if you plan to heavily stock with fish, crushed coral is easy to vacuum, and ideal for ricordea attachment.

heavy feedings of mysis, cyclopeeze, and zoa plankton of your choice. (I've noticed minimal reaction to phyto)

 

[S14Swap240sx]

ive been reading a whole bunch the past few days.. im planning on sticking with a drilled 40g breeder, with a 20long or 30b sump.. im going to oversize the stand a bit, fit the water container i take to the fish store for easy removal in and out, and drop the vaccum line in for water top off. prob end up with another rkl, as im loving it to death so far in my 125g.

That being said, im giving led a trial run on my 125g.. ordering leds from rapid this week. YAY business write off =)

eek boy does it need lights

hopefully a simple weekly 10g water change would be enough.. stocking will be light, coral beauty is going to be the main fish. hopefully that turd dont eat corals.. some do some dont

reef octopus skimmer, rodi water top off, refuge with rubble and cheato, i will incorporate a tray for puriguen, chemipure if needed.. blahblahblah getting tired of researching