Questions on getting started with the right setup

[Piggy]

With a tank this size I would do closed loop circuit on it.(is that what it's called?) Dang my sister has my mind going nuts. No need to see a bunch of powerheads.

 

[Brat]

oooh I like high tech stuff.

Piggy I haven't looked into a closed loop system but I think I will since you suggested it.


All of this makes me so excited. My stepdad said whenever I get ready he will pitch in and help too as he has always wanted to have a reef tank. In highschool we going to set up a 55gal. reef tank but mom said no as she didn't want any type of animal in the house. Well, 3 dogs, 1 lizard and 1 small fish tank later she still said no. Although the lizard, fish tank and one of the dogs is mine. :) I love animals. :)

I figure that if I budget correctly I wonder if one of these would be handy. http://www.digitalaquatics.com/
I really like it and it seems simple to operate. I like the Elos too, but I think that one would be for much, much bigger tanks.

 

[yote]

That would take care of the wave maker,light timer,PH controller if you run a calcium reactor.So why not.

 

[Piggy]

One of them is on my wish list. Been doing research on them lately. Trying to decide which one to get.

 

[Brat]

I need to start a wishlist. :) I had one on paper, but that was years ago.

 

[reeffreak]

You are right,a UV will kill live phytoplankton and zooplankton.It's as simple as disconnecting the UV for a day when feeding corals.Maybe a worthwhile investment if you have really expensive fish,otherwise they may not be necessary.

I've never seen the Tunze wavebox in action.If it's anything like other Tunze products,it should be of high quality.

 

[lightcs4]

I need to start a wishlist. :) I had one on paper, but that was years ago.

You will need *several* sheets of paper for a wish list in this hobby :mrgreen:

 

[yote]

You will need *several* sheets of paper for a wish list in this hobby :mrgreen:

Might as well go ahead and pick several notebooks full of paper.

 

[Brat]

Might as well go ahead and pick several notebooks full of paper.

hmm.. I'll save trees and use Microsoft Excel. :) :twocents:

I am glad I am picking a few things that people are aware of or are reliable. I have a question about growing food like Red and Brown Gracillaria Algae and Agar Seaweed. I would really like to grow some in the tank itself so the two tangs can graze whenever they want. I know I will need quite a bit of it in the tank, but do people put plants in their reef tank? I am going to put a bunch in the refugium of course to keep an ample supply on hand as well but I was just curious.

I guess I could get a UV sterilizer and put it on a timer to turn on a few hours during the day like 6 hours while I'm at work or something. I may have a few pricey animals in the tank so if it's on six hours a day that may be good.

 

[RyanG]

You have to be careful about some macro-algaes as they can go assexual, which means they basically dissolve into a ton of spores, that amount of organics can cause an overload of you nitrification system and be fatal to your system. Im not sure about the specific algaes you listed you would have to research that.

 

[reeffreak]

Macroalgae like Ulva that tangs love are pretty difficult to keep alive and growing.Light and nutrient is a given,you may need to also test and keep trace elements like iodine,iron,magnesium within correct levels(whatever that may be).I have seen some people who tried,most failed but there were a few that were successful.I haven't heard of anybody trying to grow gracillaria,only ulva for tangs.

 

[Brat]

hmm... so I shouldn't try to grow it in an aquarium? and grow it in a refugium? Since Ulva lettuce likes high water flow and medium-strong lighting maybe being at the top of the tank is better or a refugium.

 

[Bifferwine]

The problem with growing macroalgae in the main tank is that the edible types get eaten so quickly by fish that they don't even have a chance to grow, and the non-edible types usually end up taking over the rockwork, smothering and killing corals, and spreading to epic pest proportions.

 

[Brat]

I was actually hoping that they would eat up all the eatable stuff that I grew in the main tank. Maybe I'll just keep it in the refugium and then give it to the tangs when enough is growing. It will be a great treat for them to have fresh food. I guess with the Ulva I will just buy it and feed it directly to them instead of trying to grow it.

Bifferwine, I read your thread about how you set up your 240gal and you are amazing!!

 

[Bifferwine]

Ahhh in order to have read that thread, you must've been lurking for the last 6 months, that thing is a beast!! Thanks!

If they eat all the edible stuff in the main tank, there won't be anything left to grow. Tangs are voracious eaters. They will decimate that stuff. At least if you grow it in the fuge, you can have a steady supply of it that grows on its own so you don't have to keep buying it.

 

[Brat]

Ohhh okay. I had a funny feeling that tangs weren't dainty eaters for some reason. I kinda figured they would strip it in one day. I am just curious, the most aggressive fish in my tank will be a tang. How many do you think will live together okay in a 300gal. I know the powder blue tang is really aggressive and I hear you should introduce all at once, but I was kinda hoping to introduce them one week at a time with the powder blue tang being the last tang added because I want to quarantine all the tangs. I see 4 different tangs that I truly love but if 4 won't thrive in that size tank then I can deal with having 2 tangs.

 

[Piggy]

I have two tangs and a foxface they eat like pigs. I give them algae from my sump all the time. They eat it in no time. There is no way it would grow in the MT because they eat it way to fast.

 

[Bifferwine]

I have 4 tangs in my 240. Generally, the more different they are, the less the chance that they will fight. (i.e. two tangs from the Zebrasoma genus are more likely to fight than two tangs of different genuses). I have a yellow tang, a sailfin tang, a kole tang and a vlamingi tang in my tank.

 

[Brat]

wow, thanks for telling me. I just want to make sure that they are happy ya know. I see they need lots of space and while I can give them that I just want to make sure they don't fight.

I am interested in:
Blue Power Tang
Blue Unicorn Tang
Epaulette Tang
Blue & Yellow Hippo Tang
Powder Brown Tang

I think those are really pretty and unusual. Of course the two powder tangs I am worried about fighting as well as the Epaulette, but the Hippo and Unicorn tang I think will do fine. hmmm... Dangit I would LOVE a marine betta but too bad they are a shrimp eater. They are soo beautiful.

about calcium reactors, I really don't think I will need one off the bat, but probably will eventually. Would it be easier to set it up with the initial tank set up or would it not matter? I was looking at Lifereef calcium reactors and those seem simple.

 

[Bifferwine]

It won't matter in the beginning. You may need a calcium reactor later on down the road if you get a lot of SPS. But usually it takes at least a year for someone to get *good* enough at this hobby to keep enough SPS to need a calcium reactor.