Looking for help

[TomoHawks]

Hello
I would like to say thank you for looking as that means you might be willing to take the time to read this post and maybe help.

I am new to reef tanks ( was a fresh water planted tank man ) and have set up a 55L tank ( 30cm High 30cm Deep 60cm long ) with 3 T5 14W 6500K two white and one blue , a sponge fitter that has a small carbon pack tray with a spray bar to help with flow , a small power head and a mini skimmer.

to start my tank i intend to use dry rock and live sand , once tank is ready i intend to have hermit crabs / shrimps / snails and corals only .

what id like to know is .....

1)what can i add to help my tank ? / when to add it ? / why add it ? things like sand worms , plankton , amphipod and so on not sure why people add them.

2) id like to get purple Coralline Algae only and have seen seeding plates to do this and pick from the purple / pink coralline so on but this seems to be a US thing but does any one know where i can get a way to seed Coralline Algae in the UK and dont want to use live rock due to the chance getting purple only , will even be taking corals off frags as i get them to controll this lol ( when you see your tank in your head looking the way you want it , you work for that look )

3) i like any corals with the branch like look but finding it hard to find ones that be ok in my tank , do you know any ?

the dry rock will be stacked in a arch like way to make a high point to get some corals closser to the light and it would make a bridge for water flow leaving no dead spots.

Any tips will be taken in and will be very happy with all help

to many web sites and youtube vids made me wonder so much :headwally:

 

[Duvallj]

1) Starting off the best thing you can add is time and water changes. Pods can easily be added, but will fare better if added later.
2) Purple coralline algae only. Ime you can start off with every color in the world in your tank, however it all depends on your tank conditions on which one will win out. If its anything purple/pink/red seems to be the three prominent ones in any of my tanks (in that order). Kind of a tricky thing to shoot for.

Clean up crews, aka things like snails or frags tend to have coraline algae that will seed in a tank... All it takes is time.

3) Sounds like your after SPS type corals. These rather tend to be demanding and light intensive corals. Your t5's won't be enough to keep these kind of corals. There some soft corals that then to have a branching finger like appearance. Soft corals also can tolerate low light than many other corals, some even with your lighting.
You may want to think about upgrading in the future, however in a new tank more light tends to equal more algae till things mature. Also you'll want to wait till the tank stabilizes before you add corals. I'd say take this time to research soft and sps corals and then decide on your lighting choice.

I'd recommend specifically searching for websites that have instructions of starting saltwater thanks, then asking specific questions. Like your fw tanks cycling saltwater tanks can take time, 1-2 months, and time before you add corals can be a few months after that, just depends on your tank. Either way going slow definitely helps avoid the headaches (like adding a bunch of corals then having to deal with an algae breakout, much easier to treat the algae when there's no corals yet).

 

[TomoHawks]

Purple coralline algae only. Ime you can start off with every color in the world in your tank, however it all depends on your tank conditions on which one will win out. If its anything purple/pink/red seems to be the three prominent ones in any of my tanks (in that order). Kind of a tricky thing to shoot for.

that i did not know , i belived you seeded the coralline you wanted or all would grow .thank you

Sounds like your after SPS type corals. These rather tend to be demanding and light intensive corals. Your t5's won't be enough to keep these kind of corals. There some soft corals that then to have a branching finger like appearance. Soft corals also can tolerate low light than many other corals, some even with your lighting.
You may want to think about upgrading in the future.

what if the sps sat on the ledge higher up ( closer to the light ) would that not help to keep 1 or 2 the go for less demanding light corals down the rock ?.
if this tank works out and i find i can change my skills from planted tanks to reef , my 320L down stairs will be changed from planted to a reef in time but will spend a year on this little tank learning i think, but the 320 will have all the light any coral would want .

some even with your lighting.

is my lights that low for a reef ? 3W per gal i belive it would be meaning if a coral was on the rock close to top tank it be higher ? no ? and even really hard to grow corals live in 5/6W so i dont understand if what i have learned is wrong or i missunderstand it ? might upgrade to this new lighting , tell me what you think http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160767987345?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

I'd recommend specifically searching for websites that have instructions of starting saltwater thanks, then asking specific questions. Like your fw tanks cycling saltwater tanks can take time, 1-2 months, and time before you add corals can be a few months after that, just depends on your tank. Either way going slow definitely helps avoid the headaches (like adding a bunch of corals then having to deal with an algae breakout, much easier to treat the algae when there's no corals yet).

iv watch every youtube vid on this sort of thing i belive lol and been reading books and forums but wanted tips from people thats from there learning curve and to explain things i did not under stand ie..coralline algae and the adding of things like sand worms , plankton , amphipod and othere bugs. but i know tanks take time and in no rush to build the tank , just a tush to learn as i feel planted tanks are to easy and im loving my hobby again learning reef.


thank you for your coments i learned from some of the bits and glad you made your coments !!

 

[Duvallj]

Its true you have to seed the coralline algae, however trying to decide which kind (color) is going to thrive is a different story.

Putting more light demanding corals higher in a tank is a great strategy to deliver more light to corals.

As for the fixture, it is a t5, however is still only normal output. This is fine for lower light corals, especially ones higher up in the tank. However many other corals, especially sps are much more depending. A 4 bulb t5 H.O. fixture or equivalent is probably necessary. That fixture in your link seems to be more suitable. As for the quality of that particular unit, I have no idea (again more research).


As for wpg, is a moot argument in this day in age. With Pc florescent, metal halide, t5 ho, vho, and leds all on the market, wpg just really don't mean anything. Even two same styles of lights, as with the t5 ho, a quality fixture can out perform a cheaper one substantially. It doesn't mean you need the latest and greatest, but something to keep in mind.
For a tank that size I'd recommend a 70w metal halide, or 4 bulb t5 fluorescent, or a 12 3watt led fixture. Each has their own pro's and con's. Its better to compare par than watts/gal.

 

[TomoHawks]

For a tank that size I'd recommend 4 bulb t5 fluorescent.

so this would be fine http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160767987345?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649 ?