"mentor" wanted

[naprestsleep]

Anyone in the Rochester area willing/able to provide some one on one (maybe onsite) knowledge transfer with me.

I just got a 90G and although I have been reading about keeping saltwater for a while(and picked up some books on it that I am reading) I have tons of questions as I determine the course of action with the tank.


Anyone interested PM or let me know.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

my suggestion

my suggestion

post your questions here for all to learn from. Personally, I try to avoid PM's. Second third and fourth opinions should be welcome. One on one is nice and somebody almost invariably volunteers here.
There's a ton of info on this website. Rarely does something come up that's not been discussed before. If the search is working it's fairly easy to link you to pertinent info.
What books have you read?
What do you want to keep in your aquarium?

 

[naprestsleep]

I have been surfing the forum here for a couple months, and when the search works I do use it to find answers.
I have the conscientious marine aquarist and natural reef aquariums.
The tank was setup as fowlr and I want to maintain it as such but to expand to coral as I learn more and can afford it.

The issue is the tank was neglected by the person I bought it from, and it was cleaned up a bit when it was moved but still needs a lot of work.
There is a ton of detritus in the crushed coral(which people have suggested I remove and replace with sand.
The lighting is on the way out and needs to be replaced, and I am thinking the filtration system needs replaced.
So what I need is someone with the knowledge to help me assess the current system and see what needs to be done and in what order(and based upon my budget for the tank.) I am trying to do this research and posting questions.

 

[Twinpanther]

Sign up for the upcoming Zoo Event. There will be a load of folk there all for one purpose. No, it's not to watch the Polar Bears make fun of a guest speaker!

One thing I have yet to find is a reefer that doesn't love to talk about this crazy hobby and the Zoo Event will hold more of us in one place than at almost any other time.

Gary is right as well. Don't be afraid to post any questions you have here. We've all asked them when we started and sometimes you get a good laugh at someones story.

Paul

 

[magdelan]

What filtration system are you refering to?

 

[naprestsleep]

it has a fluval 304 canister. I am questioning if its enough and if I should look into adding a skimmer, and/or go all out and get a sump setup with the skimmer.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

the books by Fenner and Tullock are good ones.
Tullock and JR @ 'Aquatic Specialists' personally helped me with my first reef aquarium back in '93.
IME all marine systems benefit from limiting/exporting wastes (having a protein skimmer and liverock is best IMO for reef) and all can suffer for having accumulations of detritus. (Crap can accumulate in sand as well as crushed coral).
I'd plan on adding a sump and skimmer. IME even FO and FOWLR's will benefit from having a sump and skimmer.

 

[naprestsleep]

thanks gary
are there any skimmers that I can run without a sump but remotely(IE under the tank not a HOB system)
now for lighting a 92G corner tank:
I got a 2x96w PC with one bad ballast, so 96 watts of light(10K bulb). Is that enough for a fowlr system? I was looking at a 400W HM 14K system but I don't have the cash right now for the light, and the other changes that it would entail because of the added heat, etc.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

even if you gravity feed a skimmer you'll need a (main circulation) pump to push water back to the aquarium. Modern skimmers require a sump.
Jumping from PC's to a 400w MH is a HUGE increase in lighting.
Again- just what corals do you plan on keeping?
Do you have an RO unit? Get water parameters under control before slapping on the bright lighting or you'll grow algae unbelievably fast.

 

[naprestsleep]

yes I have a RO/DI unit on the way. Lighting changes would not be for a while, so by them I hope to have all the water parameters corrected.
I have no idea what type corals I want to keep, just that once I am comfortable with the fowlr system I want to be able to go down the path of adding coral.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

a brief generalization:
small polyp stony (SPS) corals generally (but not always) require more demanding environmental condtions than LPS (large polyp stony) or soft corals.

suggested reading: the Reef Aquarium series by Sprung/Delbeek
"Corals" by Eric Borneman

 

[jdoenumber2]

Pm sent.