Large tank newby (TOTAL SW newby) just wonderin

[bronzermike54]

Since there are about as many opinions, suggestions and methods as there are...you know the common reference... as just wondering if i could get some comment on what I'm doing from someone who may be doping same, but with more experience.
I have a 325 g acrylic reef tank. Cycled mid-Dec. Started stocking then (bought inside of someon'es tank, lock stock and crabs) and am slowly adding to that. Am now dosing weekly with Fritz, KoralVit J and Strontium/molybdenum. SG is a 1.023-24, calcium is 440-460 ppm, Phos seems to be edging up, though my test is kinda hard to read sometime (blue looks really lighbt). Have been moving the corals around to see where they like it best, most have found heir niche (Had to swap a large finger leather to a spot with more light and current. Have a DSB (about 5"), 200-300 lbs LR, refugium with calurpa and miracle mud, two Iwaki pumps and two SCWD's, RO/DI with float valve and dripline. Only lost one fish so far, a small "NEMO" clown which swam behind some rock on day 1 and we never saw it again. Everyone else (two maroon clowns who have laid eggs TWICE), powder blue tang, redsea sailfin, watchman goby, porcelain crab, two sally lightfoots, sea cuke, pink cuke, two hippo tangs, a "rare" damsel, royal gramma, pair of antheos (sp?) 8-line wrasse, flame angel, carpet anenome (clown home), derasa clam (lg), mini leather, green brain, xenia colony, coral banded shrimp amd twi urchins, blue linka star, various snails and hermits, yellow finger leather, frogspan and a hammer coral.
So far so good. Any suggestions, substitutions, deletions or other comment?

[PSEUDOREEFER]

Sounds like a great tank. What kind of lighting do you have on it? I'd switch out the calurpa with chaeto (calurpa can go sexual and spread through your whole tank in weeks - It's hell).

[bronzermike54]

4 MH's and 4 VHO's

[bronzermike54]

Calurpa is in the refugium, separated by bioballs, filter page and two Iwakis from main tank.

[weefishman]

When caulerpa goes sexual it expels all its nutrients and all that good stuff. The bio balls wouldn't help at all and the filter pad probably wouldn't help much beacause the particles expelled by the caulerpa are so small. When this happens your water will turn green and water quality can get bad fast. Also most macro algeas expell some kind of chemical warefare to stunt the growth of other organisms, caulerpa is one of the nastiest in terms of these exuded toxins. This is why I switched my ecosystem from caulerpa to cheatomorpha. Just my .02:).

-Jonny

[ShipMate]

Strong work there with your set up, BronzerMike.
My system is a bit similar except in that i chose not to use the expensive mud. No skimmer.
I have never had Caulerpa go sexual with 24/7 lighting and some regular pruning. Admittedly Chaetomorpha is a much better algae for refugiae. I use half of each. I had to supplement a bit of iron to boost algae growth occasionally. You will get that from the mud.
Phosphate/nutrients export is a serious problem with these systems, even more so if you like to feed heavily. You will know if you experience algae or cyanobacteriae outbreaks, as an indicator

There are not too many ways to export nutrients other then...
1.- Good quality Skimmer
2.- Activated carbon
3.- Phosphate binders (preferrably Iron based and used from the beginning)
4.- Regular water changes
5.- Regular macroalgae harvesting.

Some recommend using all of these measures. Otherwise you will get in trouble eventually. Especially with a DSB which is likely to accumulate phosphate and other excess nutrients over time.

I have never used a skimmer, but I can see how useful they are.
It is a matter of keeping an eye on your system and finding the right balance (feeding and export). Not so easy...but that is part of the challenge.

[bronzermike54]

I have a skimmer, but the pump went bad so I'm awaiting a new one. What is considered feeding HEAVILY? I feeed twice a day with flake, offer a endive leaf almost daily and once a week or so krill. I was thinking some phytoplankton might be in order as well. Other than getting the bejesus bitten outta my hand by the maroon clowns, and losing Nemo (really) and one of two sally lightfoots, all is well, so far.

[sabodish]

is it just me or does that sound like ALOT of live stock for a tank that is barely a month old...i know you state that the tank cycled and you bought everything from another reefer, but it still seems like alot to me

[bronzermike54]

FOr a 325 gallon??? really??? It sure LOOKS bare right now.

[sabodish]

13 fish in a month..i dont care how big the tank is..its too many at once

[bronzermike54]

So, there's a formula for this? Add one fish a month for several years, or is this just one opinion among the many on RC? I could probably find as many differing opinions as there are species of fish. Thanks for the input just the same, but the majority of those I spoke with, both LFS and others, before doing this saw no problem. As testimony that something's going right, my clowns have laid eggs two times already in that month. The "owner" of these fish had them in a 180 for several years prior to sale, they were all tank mates for a long time. What do you base your opinion on and what is your point?

[sabodish]

i base it on nothing..i know nothing...good luck with your tank

[bronzermike54]

Well, don't get snippy, I really wanted to know. How the heck does one learn otherwise.

[bronzermike54]

You can't quibble with my comment that there are opinions of all types on RC. It si sometimes difficult to find the truth amidst all the chaff of talk.

[ant276]

Well you did ask for comments. Sabodish did give his comment and he seem's to have the same tank size and more experience so...

It's generally though of that everyone especially new comers should stock thier tanks slowly. Most people like to error on the side of caution, I didn't and I've had tank crashes. I do not have any where near you size tank though. All of the fish came from that other reef tank so it might not matter.

Do you plan on adding more livestock very soon?
Do you have pictures? I'd like to see them (give's me something to shoot for).

P.S. I am sure it was not an attack on you, just an observation.

Tony

[ant276]

wow you guys posted while I was typing that!

Tony

[bronzermike54]

I didn't think it was an attack, I was genuinely curious. Prob won't add anything else fo a spell, unless it's more cleaning crew or verts. I'd like to get comments based on something other than IMO. I'm looking for hard facts and formulae, not just a "is it just me or does that "SEEM" like a lot of fish?" Know what I mean? If there's a reason for saying that, fine, lay it on me. But, if it's JUST an opinion, based on nothing but that, then I have a problem. Seems like if there's a good reason NOT to do something or TO DO something, then that reason should be given, not just posted without explanation. No?

[sabodish]

there is no magic formula to tell you how many fish you can safely add at one time...if you want to do it the right way, add a fish and measure through test kits (ammonia, nitrite) if it has an impact on your tank, if not, wait a week or 2 add another fish..test again...you have to balance out the biological load your fish and inverts are producing with the biological activity that is decomposing that waste into harmless parameters...

granted, you bought everything from another reefer that was well established for 7 years..but, did you take all his water??..i would think throwing 7 year established pieces into 300 gallons of NEW saltwater might create some problems even if they are properly acclimated..

nothing in this hobby happens quickly, i have a large tank and understand the desire to have it stocked and look like the awesome large tanks found on this site...

with that said, i would not add anything for a few months, and let the tank stabilize...i could see adding a few more corals, but take it easy on the fish...just for comparison, my tank is almost the same size as yours (367 gallons) is almost 3 years old and i only have 12 fish...this hobby is much different that freshwater that you are accustomed too...the trick is slow and steady and you will be rewarded with one great tank......read this board daily and you will be amazed at the wealth of knowledge people have on here, not to mention the time and effort it takes for them to sit and type suggestions and information to people the never have, or probably never will meet...

good luck with the tank, acrylic is pretty damn sweet
-mike

[bronzermike54]

Thanks Sabodish. Sorry it sounded oike I was ungrateful. One gets SO many differing opinions on here and can get scammed rather easily if you're not watching. We may have put too many fish in at once, but it was an all-or-nothing proposition and we couldn't pass it up. Time will tell if that was a good or bad idea. Thanks for the input and hopefully we can learn from others as well.

[calihawker]

Originally posted by PSEUDOREEFER
Sounds like a great tank. What kind of lighting do you have on it? I'd switch out the calurpa with chaeto (calurpa can go sexual and spread through your whole tank in weeks - It's hell).

Anyone know where I can get chaetomorpha for my new 'fuge?
The LFS here hasn't been much help. I'm planning on doing mud, chaeto and halimeda.

Thanks!

[VegasMike]

Sabodish,

I would change one thing that you said, "Nothing in this hobby happens quickly." I would rephrase it as "nothing good in this hobby happens quickly". Usually, the bad stuff happens far too quickly for our tastes.

[calihawker]

Originally posted by sabodish
......read this board daily and you will be amazed at the wealth of knowledge people have on here, not to mention the time and effort it takes for them to sit and type suggestions and information to people the never have, or probably never will meet...

good luck with the tank, acrylic is pretty damn sweet
-mike


I don't post much but I browse through messages every day trying to pick up on things that will make my current project a success from the start. The problem is there is TOO MUCH good information and trying to decide between different methodologies. But in the end I have to say that I very much appreciate all the time people put into contributing and hopefully I can add something as well. I would like to start posting progress on my 300 g. in wall tank. Soon as I figure out how to post pics ; )

Steve

[ozfish]

HI! I have been meaning to post on this forum for a while to get some feed back from more experienced people about my settup. I thought this was relevant to this thread so thought I'd post here instaed of starting a new thread.
OK my tank is 5ft(L) x 2.5ft(W) x 2ft(H) 187 gals on a custom built steel stand, it is plumbed to a 4ft 52gal glass tank in the stand that houses my refugium. pumps, heaters etc. I have a custom built venturii skimmer which sits outside the sump and is powered by a 13200gph pump. The refugium has a 6" DSB and is lit by a 130W 6500K power compact. The main tank is lit by 3 x 250W 10'000K MH and 4 x 40W actinic NO fleuros. Intank circulation is provided by 2 x Tunze 6000lph powerheads, this with the return (4000lph) gives me about 22 times in tank circulation.
I currently have 75lbs of western australian live rock in the tank and am planning on adding another 125lbs over the next 3 months. The rock that is in there now was flown directly from the reef to me (1300kms) and was in the tank within 18hrs of being removed. I didn't cure it at all and the amount of life I now have is amazing! The cycle took about 2 weeks all up with the highest readings recorded being ammonia=5pm, nitrites=8ppm, nitrates=16ppm.
My current readings are: temp=78.8, SG=1.024, pH=8.16, ammonia=0ppm, nitrites=0ppm, nitrates=0.5ppm, phosphates=0.2ppm, calcium=430ppm.
I realise this is quite long winded but I am keen to get some feed back (comments, ideas, suggestions) from the huge number of xperienced people on this forum!
Thanks!

[bronzermike54]

All I can say is how lucky to be so close to a reef. Lake Erie has a reef, but it's FRESHWATER.
lol