New to FOWLR

[Wistler]

Hello all...

I currently have a well stocked 90 gallon reef tank with 30 gallon sump, new CADLIGHTS skimmer, Aqua UV 25w sterilizer, ATO, metal halide lights, with VHO actinics and things are going well. All our corals are fully extended and my anemones and fish seem to be thriving.

Today I found an amazing deal on a 6 month old 180 gallon tank with a 55 gal sump, factory glass lids and basic Marineland flourescent lights. It comes with a cherry wood decorative stand and the hobbyist realized he was in over his head and wants to sell it. He has a single lionfish in it and a bunch of live rock, and a fine sand bottom. I advised him to sell the lionfish back to the local fish shop and I am prepared to move the tank in my enclosed trailer.

I've already started making RO water and am aware of what needs to be done to keep the sand and live rock wet and warm during the December transport next week to my home.

Here comes the "hard" part....as a reef keeper all my "googling" and reading have been about what fishes are reef safe. Now that I have a 180 gallon virgin tank with an anticipated 100 pounds of live rock I have no idea what to stock it with....:dance:

Like most I originally thought of a Lion...but after reading posts about them I think I would get bored with him and it would limit other fishes I want that may bite his fins.

My local supplier received a Picasso trigger as a substitution and I couldnt resist his little 2" size for $20. He is eating and loving my QT tank and he will go crazy in the 180 in a few weeks I am sure.

So here are a few of my questions for you FOWLR experts:

Assuming my experience with my reef tank spills over to the 180 and the water parameters and cycling are done right...

1. I saw a 4" long blue spot puffer/toby? at my LFS and I really think one would be a cool addition now while the Picasso is small. Any input?

2. Assuming I want to add some butterfly fish, angels, magnificent foxface, sailfin tang are there ANY corals I can add for some color to the tank?

3. I have a green bubble tip anemone that is doing well in my reef tank, but my clowns ignore it...will it survive in my 180 with the above listed fish, assuming the lights and water are acceptable? I have heard that aggressive fish eat shrimp, hemits, and snails but I wasnt sure about anemones. Do angels and butterflys pick on Nems?

4. OK,..now to clowns..I really want a pair of snowflake clowns..If I buy a pair that is one inch long and DO NOT but a lion, scorpionfish, or large grouper will the clowns be fine? I assume they would be.....

I guess I am wondering what success you all have had adding some color to your tanks, in the way of corals or anemones. I am excited about putting some cool live rock caves and formations in the tank, but want to add some color if I can.

Here are a few pics of our reef now, my crazy "sump staring" bulldog and new Picasso Trigger.

 

[clowntriggerfis]

1Get the blue spotted puffer I have one in QT he is awesome one of my favorate fish.
2Depends some angels,buuterflys,puffers and triggers will pick at coral.
4 depends how mean the rest of your fish are.

 

[snowriderz]

Nice tank! Those corals look beautiful in the color of the lights. The rock looks so matured and colorful.

Btw that's an awesome clown u have

 

[StephLionfish]

Your dog is funny. Maybe he's staring at that beautiful red macro.... I know I am.
I have a Shar Pei/ Pit Bull mix that has to "help" me carry in the very heavy jugs o' SW.

Your reef is gorgeous!

Your questions completely depend on what fish you chose. Your best bet will be to look around ( either at a LFS or an online fish store. The online ones have more fish, of course. ) and pick out fish that are captivating to you. When you pick out a fish you like, look it up. See how big it gets, what it's temperament is, if it's reef safe, what size tank it needs, etc.
I mean, some fish are coral safe, but will eat inverts and small fish. Some will be affected by the really intense lighting, some won't. Some are mean and need to be avoided, some are perfect for your tank.
Sailfins are reef safe. Usually peaceful, except maybe against other Tangs of the same shape. You should have no problems with them ( unless you like nuisance algae )
Foxfaces...they are a hit and miss with corals. They are venomous, so watch out. Generally peaceful, but IME hard to acclimate. I tried them twice, and each time the fish would never leave the corner of the tank and swim around w/o spots like a normal fish.
There's a LOT of Angels and Butterflies. Some of them are generally more "reef safe" than others. But, it's still a hit and miss with some. I read a thread where this guy had an Angel that was reef safe until one day it decided not to be reef safe.

 

[Wistler]

Thanks guys for all the compliments on our reef...now here is the kicker...

This is our first saltwater tank and it is only 10 weeks old!! :lol2:

Not to get off post, but I bought the tank and sump used off of Craigslist and read non stop for 4 weeks prior to having the LFS owner come out and fill it with saltwater and answer about 50 questions I had.

We used about 60 pounds of the "real reef" eco-friendly rock and another 50 pounds of natural live rock that had some coraline alge on it. I had the benefit of trading out of one hobby (Large R/C model airplanes)and raising funds for this one.

I know they say "don't rush" in this hobby, and we didnt with our fish choices, but we have a friend who deals in wholsale corals nearby and gets shipments each week. I couldnt resist some of the corals he got in and also a local reef club Prez sold us the orange zoo colonies.

Our water has been stable since day one and I never had a big cycle, of any sort. We only had a pair of clowns for the first 4 weeks and the foxface, so the bioload was light.

I've gotta run now, but I can update my parameters and all other equipment later if anyone cares to know.

I will research more on the blue spot puffer. :fish2:

Here is a corny video I made of our tank after 4 weeks for our family and face book friends if you care to see more. There are also more recent videos of our corals...

http://youtu.be/0NxtBzvPzZY

No funny comments about our theme song...LOL...we are from the south and live on a horse farm, and since this tank was my wifes idea I felt it appropriate.

And here are a few pics from this week of our corals. The acan had almost doubled in size in 4 weeks and at night I get great extension for feeding. I can also give info on my supplementation later. Our green BTA has been eating and seems to be thriving after he settled into his favorite spot. (Dont even get me started on the "wait one year before getting an anemone" rule...I stirred up a S---storm in the clown & anemone thread....lol)

 

[MrTuskfish]

Just a heads up as you stock your new FOWLR tank; consider the grown size of fish. The cute little 2" Picasso can grow to about 10" and turn into a real, live, aggressive Trigger. Mine is about 8" and will gladly eat any small fish, say <3".

 

[Wistler]

Thank you MrTuskfisk,

I DO try and read about my fish purchases and the first book I bought when we started this hobby was Fenners revised book on marine aquariums.

I went and saw the tank I bought today in person and it is in new condition. The tank itself is only six months old and there isnt a mark on the glass.

The sump needs a little "help" but I think it has potential. All the drain and return lines look fine.

I told him to find a home for the lion and his live rock has aptasia. Due to his crushed coral substrate not to my liking, and his rocks really dirty I am just going to start fresh with fine sand and local figi live rock.

My LFS does still have two of the 3" long Blue Spotted Puffers and their colors are awesome. I am not sure if in a few years there would be a problem when the Picasso Clown is much bigger and the puffer's max size is 4" right? Any input?

Does anyone see any potential problems between fish like a magnificent foxface, sailfin tang, schooling bannerfish with the Picasso? I know the basic rules , like "Only one pair of clowns per tank" and "Dont mix too many adult Tangs" but I know little about the FOWLR set ups, as far as getting pretty angels and other fish that get big. Our reef is stocked with 2 clowns, single yellow tang, foxface, 5 chomis, longnose hawkfish, yellow gobey/pistol shrimp, as well as a pair of cardinals.

Any advise on which fish to avoid together is appreciated. I have the book "500 Marine Fishes" by Scott Michael and usually follow the advice inside.

The return pump in this tank seems loud and likely on its way out. Any suggestions for what size pump I should get for the dual return system?

I have a spare MAG 9 pond pump I could use right now I assume.

Thanks for looking.

 

[Wistler]

Since we are on the topic of my new tank I was hoping someone with experience would chime in about this return pump in the sump.

It was very loud and I assume its because the crushed coral substrate that made its way into the sump has gotten into the pump impeller and tore it up. It was still flowing water at a good clip, however. Why he didnt put a simple screen over the intake I'll never know...geeezzee.

This pump appears to be a MAG series pump, but I am not aware of the front end coupler that allows it to connect to PVC pipe of that size.

Also, why would someone want to restrict the flow on the return back to the display with a ball valve? I have heard of ball valves being used on the overflow to prevent burping and matching the refill rate from the sump.

Would a FOWLR tank benefit from a SQUID device? It seems the perfect time to install one since I have to cut the PVC pipes for removing the tank from the stand. Instead of just a T fitting I could drop a SQUID in there.

THanks again.