I'm the new guy with a big tank.

[PotRoast]

Hello. This is my first post ever over here. I just found out about the Iowa board! Woo Hoo!

Anyways, I have a 240 gallon reef tank. It is setup, completly empty, and circulating. I just got my pump exchange yesterday....so I am about ready to rock!

So now, I need to stock it. I am planning on making an order at Tampa Bay Saltwater next week for rock and sand. But before I do.....

1. Does anyone have any live rock for sale?
2. How about live sand?
3. Finally, I am going to need some frags.....does anyone want to sell me some? Or donate a few frags to me?

I am in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.

Hope to be checking in here often.

 

[musty baby]

Good to have you.

There is also a board at greateriowareefsociety.org that you should check out. Most members use both.

 

[PotRoast]

I was just over there....it doesn't seem like that board gets as much activity?

I also am interested in joining the club, but I did not see when or where meetings are held?

 

[phishcrazee]

I live in Riverside, probably one of the closest people to you. I have plenty of things I can frag for you, when your tank is ready. What type of set-up are you planning? Lights, skimmer, sump, corals, fish? Be careful to let your tank mature a bit before you go crazy adding lots of fish and coral and be sure to research the fish and coral you plan on buying beforehand. Good luck!

BTW, summer is typically a slower time for the club..... it's nice out, so there aren't as many meetings etc. If you go to the various club locations (scroll down further) you will see local events for your area. The CR area was having a BBQ I think it was July 19th, but check.

 

[jbrunken]

Welcome to GIRS!

As Fawn mentioned, the club is a bit on the dormant side because of summer, but there are still a few things going on and stuff we definitely ramp up late summer/early fall.

We don't usually have a structured meeting schedule mainly because the club has hotbeds in several Iowa cities (Des Moines, Cedar Rapids/IC, Waterloo/CF and the Quad Cities) and it's hard to get everyone together on a regular basis.

I believe that our next "club wide" event will be the Frag swap this fall that is shaping up to be a really great event.

Also, our website actually has a good amount of activity (averaging 1,500 posts per month). It may be slow now, but the forum here is slow sometimes too. It just varies depending on who is actively posting. Some members tend to use Reef Central more and vice versa. Both are great resources for the club. The website is also where we host our chats which occur almost nightly during "indoor" times of the year and we have other cool stuff like photo contests. So... Definitely create an account on our website if you are interested in the club.

And welcome again!

-JB

 

[PotRoast]

OK cool. I will get going on that board as well. I'll join the club too....

Thanks for the replies.


In regards to my setup....I'm new to this. I have kept cichlids for years but now I am ramping it up a bit. I guess the setup is as follows....

240 gallon (8' x 2') with internal overflows at 3000 rated gph
(2) Vortechs pushing 3000 gph each
Turbofloater 5000 Shorty skimmer
75 gallon sump in basement
Quiet One Pump (big one)
Nova Extreme w/ lunar lights ( each bulb is 54 watts with two actinic and two 10000K t5's)
*I'm going to try to give it a go with these lights but will probably be adding two 150watt MHalides)

That's about it.

 

[dascharisma]

Most suggestions will depend on what type of reef you plan to keep. (SPS, LPS, Softies)

With your current lighting setup, you won't be able to keep much besides softies. If you were looking to go the SPS route, you would need to upgrade to 3 or 4 X 250 or 400 watt halides, or 2 X 6 to 8 bulb T5 units. I wouldn't even think about running 150 watt halides. For a small price increase, you can get a lot more light out of 250s or 400s.

For flow, you may be fine with what you have as long as you were doing softies or LPS. For SPS you would need to add a couple more pump (Vortechs etc.)

For rock, I would go with far less than what is typically recommended. 200lbs of rock would allow for plenty of coral placement, without limiting your flow and causing excess settling. I would use base rock from marcorocks.com or bulkreefsupply. It takes a bit longer to look its best, but it allows you a lot more options when it comes time to aquascape.

For sand, I don't know what to recommend. I only setup bare bottom tanks these days. They require a ton of flow and a big skimmer, but they are bullet proof after initial setup.

I don't know much about your skimmer, so I can't make any recommendations there. However, keep in mind that it is probably the most important piece of equipment for a tank. You might also want to look into carbon and phosphate reactors. Running some kind of GFO will keep algae to a minimum in your tank. Running carbon will keep the water clear.

Before you worry about any of the above, make sure you have an RODI. I always shop with buckeyefieldsupply.com They have great products and great service. Another good choice is thefilterguys.com If you don't have an RODI you will fight a never ending battle with nutrients.

The last thing I will recommend is getting a controller. Most of us use Neptune Aquacontrollers. They have a temp probe and a ph probe and control outlits. You can set them like timers to control your lights, pumps, etc., and you can use the temp and ph probe for fan and heater control as well as dosing. After adding one to your tank you will wonder how you ever lived without it. I wouldn't run any tank without a controller.


Ask lots of question, and always look for people's results when judging their advice. Good Luck.

Brad

 

[calebjk]

hey, welcome to the club. I live in CR but I have in-laws in Mt Pleasant. After you tank has cycled, i can bring up some softies to get you started, i'm always getting rid of xenia so you can have that for free. PM me on GIRS when your tank is ready.

 

[billbigsbe1]

Ive got 100+ pounds of live sand you can have if you pick-up and help load it! already in a tote, ready to go... 515-262-6049 515208-2851 Dave DSM Ia

 

[xroads]

Hey welcome to the club

I am origionally from SE Iowa (Wapello) & have some college friends from MP.

Mark Nov 15th on your calendar for our reef conference, you wont want to miss it.

 

[jbrunken]

Live Rock

Live Rock

FYI, there is a person with 75lbs of live rock for sale on our club website's buy/sell/trade forum... More info here