I recently just converted my eclipse 55g freshwater to saltwater. I can be honest and admit I know nothing about saltwater. I have done tons of research but there is so much out there that its all opinionated.
Here is what I am looking to do:
Setup a reef tank with lots of bright corals and around 5-6 fish, a starfish, shrimp and crap. I like the soft and hard corals, mostly lean toward the soft.
Here is what I have:
-55g eclipse tank from (petsmart), whatever eclipse lights came with it (not sure what wavelength, just say eclipse), there 2- 18w fixtures.
-Whisper twin bio bag filter
-300w heater
-Aqua flow 70 power head
-10lbs of live rock (3rocks, 2 the size of softball but flat, one about 8
First of all... welcome to CR. Second of all, this is your chance to let the tank just sit and cycle for a few weeks. Just leave the lights off, and top-off as needed, but let everything else be. While you are in this process, you will have plenty of time to gather the info you need to begin a successful reef. As far as your filtration desire with a remote canister. The remote is a terrific idea, the canister is not... (research the use of sumps/refugiuma and protien skimmers). Your lighting is kind of weak, so lower light corals well probably benefit the best. Like you said in your introduction..."opinionated..." That is absolutley the best description possible as far as reef keeping as a whole. I like to listen to all things that make some sense and take them with a grain of salt. All I can say is you've taken the largest step in asking for advice and researching.
Thanks for your questions and again, WELCOME TO CAPTIVE REEFING!!!!
Jason
There's nowhere else I'ld rather be... unless, of course, you're buying
Thank you very much Jason. I appreciate the welcome. I did notice that as the tank gets older the white crushed coral is turning brown. I like to ask for advice before i go out and take the one step forward, then 2 steps back. You think it would be a good idea to add 2 more 18w fixtures then? Is there general rule of thumb that some like to follow in terms of light. I seen that for EACH 18w 10000k bulb it is $32, this thing is only like 20" long and 1" diamter and its very expensive. I was not sure if i just put 2 of those in if that would be enough, or if i buy the 2 more fixtures, i can leave the light that is in there, and mix the two (2 ecplise OEM bulbs and 2 coral life 10000k), will that hurt anything? I wish i could get around having to add 2 more fixtures since it would have to be custom, and it is very bright now, but prob not the wavelength i need.
Well, I personally like the mixture of 10k and 20k so maybe two more fixtures to allow you to stagger your lighting (10k 20k 10k 20k). As for the brown algae... just a part of the cycling... be sure to continually run your carbon, leave the lights off, and top-off your water with RO(reverse osmosis) water. I would also suggest feeding very lightly if at all and begin getting your sump/refugium designed(in place of the canister filter) along with a skimmer. Now, I am a firm believer in skimming... it happens naturally(those nasty bubbles and foam you see after high tide and after storms, drying on the beach) and it also acts as a very dependable set of shocks on a car... the car may run as smoothly as possible, but those shocks sure take the punch out of those bumps or potholes. Anyways, let patience be your best friend fot the next little while and take thing slowly so as not to kill your desire to go completely and long-term with captive reefing(not just our site LOL). If you are happy with your lighting, try going with the low-light species... like shrooms, deeper water leathers, softies, etc. You already have a decent kelvin temp with the 10k. Maybe, stay with that 10k and replace the other with a 20k. Make sure to keep up on your lighting... replace those bulbs, at least, yearly as their color shifts as they get older and can begin to offer a better light color for the algaes than the corals without you even noticing the difference.
Jason
There's nowhere else I'ld rather be... unless, of course, you're buying
Jason,
When you say run your carbon, you are refering to the biobags? I am working on a solution for the filter. As for the lighting, right now i am not even sure what bulbs are in the tank. I want to go to 10,000k ones but was contemplating if i should be adding 2 more fixtures or not. It can be arranged but costs more, and i will have to fab something to keep the moisture out of the ballest. In terms of softy low light corals, do you have a link on what you are refering to, and what ones are considerd low light?
Should i vacume the brown algea off the bottom substrate (crushed coral and sand) or should leave it. It is also on the rocks, they are almost all Brown, its a very rich brown too, almost like a copper brown. Will leaving the lights off hurt my 2 tiny feather dusters and shrooms. There all about the size of a pencil eraser right now, but i would like to help them grow, just i dont have any idea how, More light? Special chemicals...
Thanks for all your help, this is def a learning experience
As far as quick fixes... I highly discourage tham as there will nearly always be side effects. With lighting, the feather dusters are filter feeders... light is of no issue. The shrooms(an example of a lower-light coral) may not be too happy and may even be lost, but in the long run, your tank should benefit. Syphoning out the brown algea may help, but may return as fast as you're done. Like I mentioned earlier, it's a part of the cycling process. I recommend not using bio bags long term, but for now, it may be ok. Anything like floss or bio-balls with biological filtration tends to lead to acting as a nitrate factory which is a downside in reefing. Instead, try mesh floss bags and again, impliment the use of a sump/refugium with a skimmer. As far as light, I recommend not to use any for the next 6 weeks or so and just let everything cycle. When you feel it's time to begin using lighting again start slowly(about an hour or so per day for the first week with an additional hour each consecutive week until you reach your desired lighting period. When you do turn your light on, make sure they are of the proper kelvin rating or you may just induce a major algea bloom. As far as corals, there are far too many to list... google low-light corals and research the many that you find until you find the ones you like, then ask your questions of those. Your current lighting may be fine, so long as the corals you like are to too light needy.
Jason
There's nowhere else I'ld rather be... unless, of course, you're buying
Thanks for the update. I was unsure if i was suppose to let this copper/gold algea stay in the tank for a buffer, or if i should vacume. Some tell me if i vacume then i will lose my biological buffer that the substrate has built over time. Since everything is opinionated i like to listen to it all then make a decision based on everyones experience (as you stated above). I have always kept freshwater so when i seen the rocks and substrate turning like a gold i was curious. When keeping corals do you need to test and or add calcium. As of right now i do not even look at calcium. I just test for PH, Nitrate, Nitrite, amonia. With reefkeping is there anything else to look for. Just curious because i see these calcium bottles that say they promote coral growth. I have even seen liquids to add to feed corals. I figure i ask because i thought the corals just used light for photosynthesis to make there own food.
Concentrate on the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates first. When the ammonia and nitrite levels are remaining at 0, keep an eye on nitrates... denitrification should happen through your live rock, sand bed, etc(I do not recommend biological filtration such as floss, sponges, or bio-balls). PH should be anywhere from 8.0 to 8.4 STABLE. Temp should remain stable from 78* to 82*. And Salinity should remain stable at 1.024-1.026. Once this is achieved, then begin to worry about calcium, alk, and magnesium tests. Get some good quality test kits(I like Saliferts). BTW, NEVER use copper in your system!!!
There's nowhere else I'ld rather be... unless, of course, you're buying
NewB with 55G reef, need Help, advice, what to do
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