My First SW Tank

[JHopkins]

First a hello to everone! I have been lurking and reading a ton in the last few weeks...this is however post number 1. =)

I come from a fairly extensive and successful background in freshwater aquariums. Primarily a fan of African and South American Cichlids - my last tank was shut down a few years ago when I lost my beloved Oscars after an extended power outage. That incedent took a lot of the fire out of me.

As a child, my father kept a simple (by todays standards) 125g SW FO tank with the primary inhabitant being a Lion - Leon (yes...I named him =)) Leon and his jerky yellow tang tank mate lived long fruitful lives...the tang going over 9 years...Leon was 13 when he finally stop feeding after loosing his eyesight to what looked like cataracts. I helped a lot with maintenance of that tank and learned a bit...though honestly that setup has not given much if any help into the current mixed reef endeavor I have undertaken.

We are a couple years away from building a new home...in which I would very much like to go with a large reef system. In preperation of this...I have started a 60g mixed reef. This tank is to be my learning ground.

I am VERY lucky to have an exceptional LFS, Premiere Aquatics, here in Tulsa. I am, as of today, on day 14 of my 60g setup. The rig consists of a 60g Aqueon tank (internal overflow with the tank bottom drilled), I am running a Eshopps RS-100 (20g) sump with a mag7 handling the return. For light, I opted for a 48" Glo fixture with dual T5 bulds. I dont have the bulb specs in front of me...but as I understand it I will be limited in what corals I can keep successfully. I have 70lbs of cured (great having access to cured rock locally) Fiji live rock in tank and have supplemented circulation with a Hydor Koralia 2.

With the cured rock...my cycle was fairly uneventful...I had a small ammonia spike of .5 that cleared up within 2 days...and I am now reading 0 ammonia - 0 nitrates - 0 nitrites - 8.2 pH - 440 calcium.

I am just starting to get the first algae bloom...showing up primarily on the rocks closest to the light. Brown algae with a tremendous amount of O2 buddles building up on them.

We are headed in today to get our water test results confirmed at PA...and assuming it all checks out I will get the first part of our cleaning crew - snails and hermit crabs.

From here...we are doing a lot of discussion as a family about what species we intend to keep in the tank...both corals and fish. In the near future I plan to post some of our ideas about stocking which I would love some feedback on. Additionally, being an avid photographer...expect some photographs.

Sorry if my 'introduction' was a lil' long. Figured having this tops on the thread would make any questions about experience/setup (which you all invaribly ask) a non-issue. :D

[kau_cinta_ku]

[welcome]

sounds like you have a great start and a great LFS. keep us updated on your progress, and also remember we all here love to look at pictures. :D

[Macimage]

Welcome to RC! It sounds like your setup is coming along nicely. Please post updates and photos as you go.

Joyce

[Been_There8]

[chimp]

["L"]

Sounds right, what coral are you planning on keeping?

[JHopkins]

Thanks eveyrone!

L - Thats a great question...its currently what I have been reading up on. I think Ricordia, mushrooms and other softies are likely candidates. As I understand it they require lower light and are among the hardiers species.

[JHopkins]

A little update.

On Saturday last...we visited the LFS as planned. I brought in a water sample for comparative testing. I found my swing arm hydrometer is off by 3/100s...surprise surprise...but given that...my water was perfect!

The owner suggested...that in addition to the (4) snails (4) hermits that I should add a few hardy fish. Quite surprised...but following his advice...we added (5) small (biggest is 1/2") blue green Chromis.

So far...water is testing perfect. Its really warming up here...and running the tank open top I am seeing alot more evaporation than I expected. We are topping up about 3 cups a day (RO/DI) water.

Having done ALOT of reading...both my wife and myself...I am about to the point of wanting to change our sump arrangement. As I have said previously...I am running a 20g ESHopps sump. The main issue...for us...is the noise. There is a mini waterfall which will not totally unpleasant at times...can be really annoying at other times. The drain from the tank (60g Aqueon, internal overflow, bottom drilled 1 1/4" drain with 1" return) is connected to the sump with the piece of flexible hose supplied with the sump. Where this fixture plugs into the sump (at the top) there is a good 5" drop to the water line in the sump. Even with a filter sock and floss its a noisy sucker...not to mention the bubbles.

Couple this waterfall noise with a new desire to include a refugeum...I am looking at several different options.

So the questions:

1) I was told by a LFS employee that it was a bad idea to run 'hard plumbing' from the drain to the sump. He said that drains tend to vibrate (and it does) and that over time this vibration, with a hard line can cause cracks or worse in the bottom of the tank. Needless to say...if this is accurate...a 'blow out' would not be good. What are thoughts on running a hard line off the drain?

2) I am planning to 'T' of the drain...running to a 10ish gallon tank that will act as a refuge. Gravity fed drain from the fuge to the (return secton) sump. On the "T" I will install ball valves that feed both sump and fuge to control flow and for maintenance. Does this sound correct?

3) Currently...I am using a mag 7 as my return pump...and it is ample...bordering on overpowering the drain in the current configuration (part of this has to do with the bends in my drain pipe...its flexible...but after a bit of study...this is certainly inhibiting flow). I was thinking that a ball valve on the return may be beneficial to get some control of the return volume. In general terms...how much can you restrict return flow without damaging the pump?

TIA!

[Macimage]

1. I've used hard plumbing for 8 years now without any problems. Many others do also. However, flexible pvc is also very nice. Either will be fine.

2. Sounds fine.

3. Some pumps are ok to throttle back and some are not. You want to post that question in the equipment section of RC:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=212

Have fun!
Joyce

[JHopkins]

Thank you Joyce!

More questions:

1) Up to this point I have been buying water from my LFS. Aside from the cost, the big issue for me is that the LFS is a solid 25minute drive each leg...gas prices being what they are...the cost of my water is pretty high...plus its a pain to run across town for water. I have done research on RO/DI units...there is a ton of info out here on them and feel confident in my selection of "The Filter Guys" for my unit. What's proving more challenging is storage containers.

Whats a good source for 35g to 55g storage tanks?

2) After reading a lot out here I believe I will go with Seechem Reef salt as my mix of choice. I understand I will have to gradually switch out the water in the DT to this new salt.

When switching salt mixes...is there a recommended procedure to acclimating the tank and its inhabitants to the new mix?

Thanks in advance!

[lil gramps]

A small suggestion... You may want to add one more Koralia to your system to increase flow. With a 60 gallon tank I would think one K2 is not enough, other than that its looking great!!

[lil gramps]

Brute garbage cans are what most use to store water. I believe they are 45 gallon

[sdietz2469]

i would buy a brute trash can with a lid and wheel accessories, this will cost about 75 at homedepot, they have 33 and 44 gal trash cans... they are very sturdy and thick, and with the wheel bae on it it is very nice and easy to move for room to room or garage to room.....

as far as eveporation, that isnt bad at all, on my 120 with 2-400 watt MH and 4-110 watt vhos i evaporate about 2.5 gal/day....

the salt i think is personal preferance... i have used most of them, but the thing i find is some dissolve faster than others... i am currently using the ocean pure pro sea salt cuz of the good price, easy dissolving, and high alk/cal in it... also i would recommend on buying a ro/di unit, cuz i would pay for it in just a few months with buying water from my lfs.... just keep in mind that when mixxing salts at home, you let it mix with a powerhead for atleast 24 hours before doing you water change....
this will ensure the salt i smixed properly for proper sg levels, and so you dont cause slt burns to any corals......
looks like you are off to a good start...
shane

[JHopkins]

Thanks for the suggestions gramps!

Speaking to the additional K2 suggestion...I actually had one in my hand last night...but decided to wait till this weekend after I redid the plumbing of the fuge/sump to see what the flow looked like. The return of the mag 7 running wide open is surprisingly strong. Still though...I agree...I will almost certainly add an additional K2.

I thought about trash cans for storage...I am just a little leary of lids. I would really like a container that has a very positive tight seal. I have motorcycles running in the garage (warming up), kids being kids in there plus occassional woodworking in the area I need to store the containers. Lots of airborne junk that I REALLY dont want to see get in my tank. I will have a look at Lowes and see what the options are and how well they seal.

Thanks!

[JHopkins]

sdietz2469 - Thanks for the +1 on the brute...I will have a good hard look at them this weekend. If I can get one that has a good seal or one I can 'make' seal well thats likely what I will do.

As to mixing the salt...when I was helping dad out with his tanks...we had a large net that we placed the salt in and putting a powerhead in front of it we would let the salt dissolve through the net. We always let it sit 72hours at least (with power head running) and I had planned to do the same at home as well. That seemed to work really well for us for many years. This still an acceptable practice?

I have also gone ahead and ordered a refractometer with calibration fluid. My hyrdo being off that much sold me on the spot.

The choice of SeaChem salt mix, for me, was made after reading through this article out here on RC :

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1287118

[jwd]

I have a mag 7 as a return pump, I don't think you could really throttle it back.... I let it run full blast but I T'd it off back into the sump...... I didn't know if that was settled for you or not so I just gave some input..... seems like you're really on top of things..... I wish I was when I started... on my next tank I will be though...

[Gilby]

About water storage,if you have a tractor supply store in your area check there, they have actual water storage tanks that have a top that that screws on and off. It also has an exit hole at the bottom so that you can put some PVC, a ball valve and an elbow and you have yourself a spout to turn on and off. They range in sizes from 35 up to 100 gallons and bigger. It's expensive though, i bought a 35g and it was $90 bucks(I think 55g was $120) and then you would need to go to home depot and get the small PVC supplies. Just thought I would give you that option.

[JHopkins]

jwd - Thanks for the input. Seems many agree that the mag 7 cant or shouldnt be throttled back...so we will have to do some thinking. I may play with a T off the return to the fuge...if I cant throttle it back...I can by goodness divert it.

Gilby - Great suggestion about a tractor supply...cant believe I didnt think of that. I have an Atwoods within 1/2 a mile of the house. Something like these tanks your describing appeal to me in that I KNOW the seal is good. I am concerned about airborne junk getting in there...my garage is FAR to active. =)

Thank you both very much for your input.

[WinnipegDragon]

A T to the fuge sounds like the best idea for you, and it will simplify your plumbing since you won't need to T off your drain.

[smspring]

I have a valve on my mag 7... No problems. I didn't want to exceed the pump flow I have on my skimmer

[JHopkins]

WinnipegDragon - Thanks I tend to agree! =)

smspring - Thanks for the reply! You are the first person that has confirmed this. Thanks!

[DrBegalke]

[welcome]

[JHopkins]

Before it gets too far down the path...shots of the tank today on day 25.

Day 25 (http://www.pbase.com/jasonahopkins/image/98838285)


I added in another Korilia 2 this weekend and redid the drain and significantly reducing the waterfall noise in the process. I keep going back and forth on fuge additions...but my drain redo cleared the way for it when I finally make up my mind.

So far everything is just clipping along. I have been doing regular weekly 5% water changes. Monitoring water every other day...I am holding to a consistent:

0 Ammonia
0 Nitrates
0 Nitrites
8.2 pH
440 calcium
1.024 Salinity

The cleanup crew and the chromis are doing very well. One of the chromis tends to hover on the bottom corner of the tank. He is not being picked on...his respiration looks fine and there are no indications of problems (spots, erractic swimming, heavy breathing, etc)..but he only eats when food is presented to him in his hidey hole and he does look a lil 'pinched'. The other chromis are ravenous eaters. =) I have gathered that this is not an unheard of behavior for a chromis...for me...coming from a cichlid background...this kind of behavior is bothersome. I am keeping a close eye on him AND the water parameters.

We are still seeing brown algae...but its definetly on the downswing. The CUC is doing their job.

Our RO/DI unit should be in tomorrow...I ordered the "Ocean Reef +1" system from "The Filter Guys". To accomidate making our own water...I had to figure out something in the garage for storage etc. I ended up getting a poly 35g leg tank at a local 'farm store' (thanks Gilby for the suggestion) and got it situated with salt mixing and waste containers out in the garage.

Planning ahead a bit...I am curious when its advisable to look into introducing corals and other fish?

I am for the record NOT in a hurry. I just tend to plot things out and its nice to have approixmate dates to tell the kids. They want more fish NOW. =)

I believe that I have made at least one purchasing mistake...that being the light. I was told...and its likely correct that I can keep certain corals (mushrooms, star polyps, ricordia etc)...but at 1.8 watts per gallon I think this is questionable. I half expect to be buying a replacement fixture shortly. While I dearly love SPS corals I dont feel my husbandry skills are at a level where I can keep them reliably hence I dont expect any SPS in the near future. That said I am leaning toward staying with a T5 fixture...but going to at least a 4 bulb fixture or perhaps 6 or 8 bulb fixture.

What are the recommended watts to gallon for keeping up to LPS corals? Answering this should help tremendously in narrowing down a replacement fixture.

[JHopkins]

Been a while since I added anything here. For the most part everything is going very well. We DID loose one of the chromis...who lost a battle with a Korillia 2 being restarted. Of course we werent pleased with that...but sometimes accidents happen.

About 2 weeks ago we had a "Buy Two get One Free" sale at our local LFS and could not pass up adding some softies. We got a Zoo colony, brilliant neon green mushroom, and a very nice star polyp colony.

The wife and I are both avid photographers...however lately I have been far too busy between work and tank upgrades to take many photos. Thankfully the wife had some time yesterday to shoot some of our new additions.

Abstract Star Polyp
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/191735star.jpg

Abstract "Zoo" Colony
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/191735zoo.jpg

Abstract Shrooms
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/191735shroom.jpg

Lastly...this last weekend we were looking for a utility fish/invert to help with dietrius and sand sifting. The wife has a thing for Scooters...and they have some specimens at the LFS that were actively feeding and under and inch. I was a little hesitant but was assured that he would be OK. He has acclimated well and is eating like a horse and sifting sand like a champ. Without further preamble...meet Copernicus (wife named him):

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/191735Copernicus.jpg