have ??

[ms reefer]

My plans for 120 gal tank fell didn't happen. but I have gotten a 75 gal. just need some subjects on
how much sand
how much LR
whats size sump
how many fish

It will be a reefsystem. I would like any information on corals,fish etc.. that are from Indo-pacific.


thanks ahead of time all comments,advasive,help is welcome

[szwab]

what type of reef system are you planning? A lot depends on if you atre doing a DSB, plenum, Jaubert ect.
Check out the calculator section on RC that should help.
Again as far as fish it depends on the size type ect. sump just needs to be large enough to handle the overflow in case the power would go out. 20 gal. would be a minimum IMO.
On my 75 I'm running a little giant 4mdq

hope this helps!

[Underwaterrealms]

I think maybe you need to look at what you want to put in the tank and then go from there.

First off type of filtration tying into how much sand. I would recommend a berlin method with a 75 gallon tank unless you plan on using a remote tank at least 30 gallons for a DSB method. When adding 6 inches of sand to a 75 gallon tank it does not leave much viewing area for corals or fish. I would recommend at least 120-150 lbs of live rock for the main tank and a one inch layer of sand, fine grained would work best. Skimming would be highly recommended in this setup even with a remote sand bed for a sand-bed does not remove everything that a skimmer does such as chemical-warfare by-products. If you use a remote sand-bed in a 30 gallon tank you need around 140 lbs of sand for a DSB.

In so far as number of fish you actually need to consider total bio load. It is not only the number of fish that need to be considered but total livestock and also what types. If you plan on keeping sps which need nutrient poor systems it will not do to have a lot of fish you are feeding all the time for the nitrates will shoot through the roof. On the other hand there are certain lps and softies that can tolerate high nitrate levels and a high fish bio-load is acceptable.

It would really be a good idea to go to the library or your local LFS or surf the net looking at examples of what others have done and try to follow their lead.

If you would like you are more than welcome to look at my 2 300 gallon systems one being a sps tank the other being lps and softies.

Chuck

[ms reefer]

I have a 30gal DSB of 4-6. T he fish that I have already is :
orange shunk clowns
3 chromis(plan to add 4 more)
blue damsel(can't catch)
bicolor blenny
molly miller blenny
toadstool mushroom
BTA
30-39lbs of live rock

I have a 304 fluval
red sea prizm skimmer

I want to use a 30g sump with a aquac ev-120 skimmer, 3 maxijet 1200 powerheads. and add about 80-85 lbs more live rock. that would leave me more space to add my corals as I go along. I will put my power heads on a timer to give a more natural effect.

I haven't decide on what other corals yet. I know I want them to be from the Indo-pacific.

Is there any suggestins on corals?

Am I at my limited for fish if not then could you give me some suggestions that would go with the ones I already have

[pyranha]

I have a 75G AGA RR. I have 103# of live rock and 150# of live sand(3 bags of southdown seeded with sand from other peoples tanks). My sand bed is 3-4" deep and everything seems to be working very well thus far. I don't know where stuff comes from most of the time(i.e. indo-pacific, etc) but I am keeping only softies. I feel like I have plenty of room for my corals. I am currently keeping 13 species of soft corals and I have room for more. I have purposfully bought very small frags and small fish because I like the idea of watching the whole tank take shape. Many of the corals I have aquired are from people in this forum. I have found most of the people I have met in here to be quite helpful and generous both with frags and with advice.

I am using a 20G long as a sump because a tank any taller under my stand(standard AGA) would have been hard to work with.

[ms reefer]

Thanks everyone who has been giving me advise. I having my stand made by some friends of minds. will a 30 gal sump work with my 75 gal? what other fish can I add? I know I do want to add a yellow tang last to my tank. I would like to keep lsp,sps,softies.

[szwab]

good thinking on the tang they should go in last since it will most likely be one of the larger more territorial fish you put in. Use caution however tangs are prone to diseases and it is difficult to treat them in a reef tank. Make sure you pick healthy fish and do not over crowd.
A 30 gallon sump will work just fine. It would be easier to give advise on fish if you could research some that you are interested in and list them rather than have us tell you since there are so many fish. for a reef consider clowns, gobies, tangs, dottybacks, pseudochromis, bangii cardinals you need to be careful when it comes to angels stay with pygmies but even those have the occasional picker. Most importantly read about what you are going to buy and read some more before putting them in your tank. It's difficult to catch fish in a reef without tearing the whole thing apart.

[pyranha]

You mention that you want to keep LPS/softies and SPS. I am sure you probably already know, but most SPS corals require quite a bit of light. The only reason I have not tried to keep any of the SPS corals is because I did not want to re-engineer my lighting. I have given it a lot of thought though. http://www.hellolights.com is running a nice sale on their 250W MH(Metal Halide) lights. If you do not currently have lights, it might be worth your time to take a look. Also, you might want to make sure you leave enough room in your canopy for MH lights if you decide to go with them. I made the mistake of buying a "cookie-cutter" AGA canopy and I am pretty much stuck with VHO's unless I buy/build another canopy. I think most people suggest at least 10" between the water and the bulbs for MH lights.

As for fish, I only have 3 so far. I have 2 false percula clowns, and a scooter blenny. I plan to add a lawnmower blenny, a hippo tang, and possibly a purple or yellow tang(in that order). From what I have read so far, and from the advise of people in the local area I have talked to, this seems to be the best order for the fish I want to keep.

My method has been to add very small fish. Since I only have a 75, I figure the smaller the fish, the more room they will have to run around. I know they will grow, but buying them small gives me the time to plan what tank I will upgrade to, and the satisfaction of raising them myself. I have taken the same approach to corals. People sometimes think I am a bit odd for asking for small frags. I think it is more satisfying. Then again, this if my first tank, so the novelty of watching thigs grow up may wear off.....but I don't think so :-)

[ms reefer]

thanks swzab I have been looking at the fish that don't get to big at an adult size I said the yellow tang last also because he would be the bigget one in there to. here is the list of the ones I still need to choose from:
fire goby
yellow watchman goby
red head wrasse
six line wrasse
bicolor pseudochromis
fridmani pseudochromis
all are from indo-pracific except six line and fridmani. I would like to know how they get along with each other and the ones I already have.

[ms reefer]

thanks pyranah I'm buying my lights from rlsmith here of rc but I don't remember what they are right now. I have my stand and canopy custum. but I will remember to make sur that 10" is in between my thank and top.:D I to like the the wonder of watching everything grow. I believe that this tank is going to last my for some years. God makes beautiful things and Ilove the the idea of creating their world in my living room. This baby will be my center foucs in my room. the place where I can relax an enjoy quite time by myself.

[porky]

May I highly recommend "the package" from these folks www.tbsaltwater.com they are an RC sponsor and if you have the dough they have beautiful aquacultured live rock and aquacultured live sand that is FULL of a tons of life. Very cool people. At least check it out :cool:

[pyranha]

Since your plan is to have this tank for a long time, I would get your fish small. It is actually not really easy to do locally. I have had limited success finding fish as small as I would like, especially when it comes to tangs. I am currently looking for a small lawnmower blenny, but the smallest i have found is about 3". I would like one about half that size. It makes it more interesting that way though. I have to scour the shops looking for the smaller fish and so I see a lot more stuff I like, want, etc. This also makes the whole hobby more interesting to me. I have had a lot of fun so far. My reason for pointing out the lights and canopy issues were to say I would have definately done those things differently. I had no idea about just how far ahead I would need to plan.

[ms reefer]

thanks porky I will

[ms reefer]

pyranah. when I got my 30gal I thought I had thought it thu but I really hadn't . But this time I am.
I found this mom & pop store called K C aqurium off Parson ave in columbus. The husband ususally comes in the evens around 6-6:30 pm he real good and will order you jsut about anything you want. just tell his dee sent you.
the tangs he has now are small so I have to have my tank setup an ready by the middle a of june.

thanks guys keep the information,comments,help, advise coming.