DrBoxedWine
New member
Hi everyone,
I've been posting around here since March-ish, researching, and just trying to get as much general knowledge as I can. It's been a good lesson in patience to wait this long, but the amount of time I've been forced to only read has undoubtedly been great for me. I've been saving up since then, and am now done with my wedding and honeymoon, so the timing and financial stars are aligning! :bounce3: I figured this could be a better way to get input and ask for help and suggestions along the way than posting a bunch of threads one at a time, haha. So, if you have thoughts or see something that maybe I'm missing, please chime in!
I have a 20g quarantine going through a fishless cycle now, I expect it should be done in a few weeks. I've loaded it up with a couple extra rocks, and when that cycle is done I'll move a couple to the new tank to speed up the cycle in the DT, and then add my first fish to the QT. Currently, my 75 Gallon tank is a Mbuna tank (Demasoni and Yellow Labs for any cichlid fans out there), I've thoroughly enjoyed my cichlid tanks, but i'm pumped to try a reef setup. Here's a pic of it currently:
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I'll be breaking down the tank sometime in the next couple weeks (once I sell the fish), refinishing the stand and adding a door to each side (it's tight underneath) to make it easier to access and also so i can get the skimmer cup out. It's also old and dingy, haha.
The actual animals are my favorite part of the hobby, so while i'll be doing corals as well, the fish are what i'm most excited about. I really enjoy animal behaviors, so if you guys have suggestions of fish to add/substitue that have some cool behaviors, I'd love to hear them.
So, equipment:
Reef Octopus NWB150 skimmer
Tunze Osmolater ATO
2 koralia circulators (i plan on picking up one of the new Jabeos in the near future) and 1 generic cheap one. I'll probably use one koralia along with the new jabeo once I get it.
Lifereef 600 overflow (I hear this is the closest thing to flood proof out there)
Eheim 1262 return pump
~65-70 lbs BRS Reef Saver rock. I bought about 80 lbs, but I had probably 10-15 lbs left and I loved the design I came up with, so I'm going to leave the rest out.
~100 lbs of white-ish reef sand.
2 Kessil A360WE LED lights (I'll be getting these at MACNA, I'm hoping they have a deal, and also I just want to be sure they don't announce an upgrade to this line 3 weeks after I buy them.
I have a Fluid Designers 30g sump that I'm really excited about. I saw this at a reef trade show back in march, and it's actually the piece of equipment that initially drew me into the hobby. My wife thought I was a huge nerd before, but I'm sure it went to a new level when I came home and told her much cooler the filters were in the SW side of things, haha. They're a company that's local here in Denver. Here is a pic:
[/URL][/IMG]
The water comes in that center black part, and there is a lid that keeps it all covered. The idea is to keep splashing completely contained. You can see the filter floss in that area. Some of the water spills into the left for the skimmer chamber, and them some more spills into the right for the fuge. There is a false bottom for the water from the skimmer chamber to go directly over to the return section. You can also see one of my assistants hanging out under the tree in the background.
Here are my thoughts on a stocklist:
Kole Tang (I haven't ruled out a Yellow, i know 75g is the absolute minimum, and many say that that a 100 is really the minimum. If i went this route, I'd get the smallest one I could possibly find, and know that if I don't upgrade to a bigger tank a few years (couple years?), I may have to rehome him. It's been sort of The Fish for me since i started researching all this, probably my favorite one out there. I've also had cichlids that were just too big and active for my tank, so I get what people mean when they said they outgrow a 75g and I don't really want to create that situation for the tang, or his tankmates who get stressed out because the biggest fish in the tank is pacing constantly)
One Spot Foxface Not totally sold on this, I hear they grow pretty quickly, and this may just be too many fish in my tank. If i did the yellow tang, i would definitely leave this one out.
Flame Hawk One of the initial fish that drew me into the hobby as well. I saw one of these in a store while cichlid shopping one day, their personality drew me right in!
Midas Blenny
Mandarin I'm aware of the needs with these. I'll be adding him last and considering i'll need to quarantine each fish for 6 weeks, it'll be a good 8 months before i'm ready to add the last fish. In the meantime, i can see how i'm feeling at 8 months, and if i don't want to go through with it, i just won't. I'll be growing Chateo and growing pods in the fuge.
I'd love to get a Mccosker's Flasher Wrasse. I'm getting mixed reviews on whether this type of wrasse will outcompete the mandarin. Seems most people say yes, it will, however. So i'm likely going to leave this out, unless i hear otherwise.
Diamond Goby I really like the idea of the goby/shrimp relationship, but i'm worried they could set up shop in the back of the tank and not come out much (maybe i can guide them to a cave in the front when i add them?). So i'm thinking i'll go with a diamond goby, i hear they keep the sand pretty spotless, as well. I'd like to do a clam one day, this is my only fear, as i hear they can make it difficult to keep corals on the sand.
2 Ocellaris clowns
Shrimps I'd like to do a couple cleaner shrimp, and i'll introduce them a good while before the flamehawk. I'm aware of the issues here, but i'd really like to try a couple, and I hear enough success stories that i'm going to go for it.
Undetermined CUC - Snails and all. I'd like to do some hermits or emerald crabs or something, but I hear they can get nasty.
Lawnmower blenny - Up in the air on this one as well, if I could squeeze one in that'd be cool, but i know i'm already heavy on fish, and I know the tang (Kole and Yellow) eats a lot of algae, as well.
It's stocked on the heavy side, I know. I've ran it by snorvich, and he thinks the numbers are the high side, but should be ok. Coming from cichlids this tank is going to feel empty! haha.
Anyway, I'll do an update on how my aquascaping today went next, but I'd love to hear people's thoughts!
I've been posting around here since March-ish, researching, and just trying to get as much general knowledge as I can. It's been a good lesson in patience to wait this long, but the amount of time I've been forced to only read has undoubtedly been great for me. I've been saving up since then, and am now done with my wedding and honeymoon, so the timing and financial stars are aligning! :bounce3: I figured this could be a better way to get input and ask for help and suggestions along the way than posting a bunch of threads one at a time, haha. So, if you have thoughts or see something that maybe I'm missing, please chime in!
I have a 20g quarantine going through a fishless cycle now, I expect it should be done in a few weeks. I've loaded it up with a couple extra rocks, and when that cycle is done I'll move a couple to the new tank to speed up the cycle in the DT, and then add my first fish to the QT. Currently, my 75 Gallon tank is a Mbuna tank (Demasoni and Yellow Labs for any cichlid fans out there), I've thoroughly enjoyed my cichlid tanks, but i'm pumped to try a reef setup. Here's a pic of it currently:
I'll be breaking down the tank sometime in the next couple weeks (once I sell the fish), refinishing the stand and adding a door to each side (it's tight underneath) to make it easier to access and also so i can get the skimmer cup out. It's also old and dingy, haha.
The actual animals are my favorite part of the hobby, so while i'll be doing corals as well, the fish are what i'm most excited about. I really enjoy animal behaviors, so if you guys have suggestions of fish to add/substitue that have some cool behaviors, I'd love to hear them.
So, equipment:
Reef Octopus NWB150 skimmer
Tunze Osmolater ATO
2 koralia circulators (i plan on picking up one of the new Jabeos in the near future) and 1 generic cheap one. I'll probably use one koralia along with the new jabeo once I get it.
Lifereef 600 overflow (I hear this is the closest thing to flood proof out there)
Eheim 1262 return pump
~65-70 lbs BRS Reef Saver rock. I bought about 80 lbs, but I had probably 10-15 lbs left and I loved the design I came up with, so I'm going to leave the rest out.
~100 lbs of white-ish reef sand.
2 Kessil A360WE LED lights (I'll be getting these at MACNA, I'm hoping they have a deal, and also I just want to be sure they don't announce an upgrade to this line 3 weeks after I buy them.
I have a Fluid Designers 30g sump that I'm really excited about. I saw this at a reef trade show back in march, and it's actually the piece of equipment that initially drew me into the hobby. My wife thought I was a huge nerd before, but I'm sure it went to a new level when I came home and told her much cooler the filters were in the SW side of things, haha. They're a company that's local here in Denver. Here is a pic:
The water comes in that center black part, and there is a lid that keeps it all covered. The idea is to keep splashing completely contained. You can see the filter floss in that area. Some of the water spills into the left for the skimmer chamber, and them some more spills into the right for the fuge. There is a false bottom for the water from the skimmer chamber to go directly over to the return section. You can also see one of my assistants hanging out under the tree in the background.
Here are my thoughts on a stocklist:
Kole Tang (I haven't ruled out a Yellow, i know 75g is the absolute minimum, and many say that that a 100 is really the minimum. If i went this route, I'd get the smallest one I could possibly find, and know that if I don't upgrade to a bigger tank a few years (couple years?), I may have to rehome him. It's been sort of The Fish for me since i started researching all this, probably my favorite one out there. I've also had cichlids that were just too big and active for my tank, so I get what people mean when they said they outgrow a 75g and I don't really want to create that situation for the tang, or his tankmates who get stressed out because the biggest fish in the tank is pacing constantly)
One Spot Foxface Not totally sold on this, I hear they grow pretty quickly, and this may just be too many fish in my tank. If i did the yellow tang, i would definitely leave this one out.
Flame Hawk One of the initial fish that drew me into the hobby as well. I saw one of these in a store while cichlid shopping one day, their personality drew me right in!
Midas Blenny
Mandarin I'm aware of the needs with these. I'll be adding him last and considering i'll need to quarantine each fish for 6 weeks, it'll be a good 8 months before i'm ready to add the last fish. In the meantime, i can see how i'm feeling at 8 months, and if i don't want to go through with it, i just won't. I'll be growing Chateo and growing pods in the fuge.
I'd love to get a Mccosker's Flasher Wrasse. I'm getting mixed reviews on whether this type of wrasse will outcompete the mandarin. Seems most people say yes, it will, however. So i'm likely going to leave this out, unless i hear otherwise.
Diamond Goby I really like the idea of the goby/shrimp relationship, but i'm worried they could set up shop in the back of the tank and not come out much (maybe i can guide them to a cave in the front when i add them?). So i'm thinking i'll go with a diamond goby, i hear they keep the sand pretty spotless, as well. I'd like to do a clam one day, this is my only fear, as i hear they can make it difficult to keep corals on the sand.
2 Ocellaris clowns
Shrimps I'd like to do a couple cleaner shrimp, and i'll introduce them a good while before the flamehawk. I'm aware of the issues here, but i'd really like to try a couple, and I hear enough success stories that i'm going to go for it.
Undetermined CUC - Snails and all. I'd like to do some hermits or emerald crabs or something, but I hear they can get nasty.
Lawnmower blenny - Up in the air on this one as well, if I could squeeze one in that'd be cool, but i know i'm already heavy on fish, and I know the tang (Kole and Yellow) eats a lot of algae, as well.
It's stocked on the heavy side, I know. I've ran it by snorvich, and he thinks the numbers are the high side, but should be ok. Coming from cichlids this tank is going to feel empty! haha.
Anyway, I'll do an update on how my aquascaping today went next, but I'd love to hear people's thoughts!
