New tank

[gilly1969]

This is my new tank that I got set up a couple weeks ago. Just wondering if the rocks are set up ok for some corals at a later date.

 

[ReefKeep66]

Looks good! What size tank, filtration, lighting? That's really going to determine if you can have corals. As far as your rock work goes, it's looks like you have room on the sand bed for your lower light corals, and plenty of space on the rocks from lower area to the top . back. Different corals are going to need different placements and it looks like you have a good area to accommodate different light demanding corals.

 

[gilly1969]

It's a54 gal corner, t5 ho lights I have a protein skimmer. Not sure if I need anything else.

 

[ReefKeep66]

What protein skimmer? Ideally you'll have something rated slightly higher than your tank is. How are your water paramters? Have you been able to keep them in the right range? Stability goes a long ways with corals

 

[chri]

nice tank

 

[ReefKeep66]

The only other thing I would add about your rock work is your going to have lots of dead spots back there with water flow which will lead to detritus build up.

 

[gilly1969]

Sal. .21
PH. 8.4
No2. 0 ppm
No3. 0 ppm
Ammonia 0 ppm

What would I need to change in order to put soft coral in?

 

[crusoe]

Nice looking tank so far. And I agree with what ReefKeep66 mentioned, deadspots should be fixed up if possible.

 

[gilly1969]

When you guys say dead spots. Do you mean I should make it so the fish can swim around the rocks?

 

[Captainsreef]

Dead spots means areas of low water flow and those areas can cause algae build up. So you want to add water circulation fans and manipulate the rocks in a way that optimizes both flow and asthetics. So that's what they meant by dead spots. Make sure you get a good clean up crew and dont overfeed or leave the lights on too long.

 

[acabgd]

If you want to keep coral you should bump up your salinity to 1.025 h 1.026 range.

 

[Captainsreef]

I run mine at 1.028 to give you an idea but yes at least 1.026

 

[gilly1969]

I do have some hermit crabs and snails for my clean up crew. I would like to get some shrimp any suggestions?

 

[gilly1969]

I'm trying to get the salinity up just trying to take it slow and learn. Thanks everyone for the advice.

 

[ReefKeep66]

You could put a cleaner shrimp in there! There relatively easy to care for. And as far as bumping up your salinity, you want to do it slowly as with anything else.

 

[Captainsreef]

Yes salinity should be bumped up slowly for sure and personally I would wait and let the tank fully cycle and stabilize before trying any shrimp as they are pretty sensitive. I would personally wait a good 6 months before trying shrimp.

 

[uncleL]

Nice tank! They are giving good advice! Take your time and do your research!!

 

[JMorris271]

Nice rock work

 

[gilly1969]

It's so nice to be able to get advice from guys that have been doing this. I've been racking my brain on how to change the rocks to get rid of the dead spots but right now I'm at a loss.

 

[ReefKeep66]

It's so nice to be able to get advice from guys that have been doing this. I've been racking my brain on how to change the rocks to get rid of the dead spots but right now I'm at a loss.

We made the mistakes so you don't have too lol although it is a part of leaning.Theres a lot of trial and error in this hobby as you might have already found out. Look up some aquascapes to help you get a idea. I usually like to have a set imagine in my mind to go off of while I do. There's three basic things I like to keep in mind when I aquascape for my reef, astheics,coral placement and a seamless look like you just cut out a peice of ocean and put it in your tank. I also like to have hiding places for fishes and such.