I need help with a reef tank

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angielynn

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Sep 18, 2013
Messages
28
:fish1:

I am trying to do the right thing before I start and want to learn as much as I can before getting the rest of the equipment sorted so appreciate all comments.

Would like to start a reef, so want to know about live rock, corals and lighting. The brighter the better and I love anenomes. Tank dimensions below (This and some crushed coral is all I have for now - no water yet). My tap water is pretty much RO (filtered rain water) so was thinking of getting red sea coral pro mix. Thinking of getting Aquaone Pro skimmer G220 and Aqua One Maxi 104 power head. what sort of pump do i need to pump the water about and what is the best thing to put in the bio filter box? I know a little about bio so understand it is all about surface area but still appreciate comments on what works best from people who do this! what testing stuff do i need? I have API freshwater master kit, can i use this? also need to know about water changes (prefer not to do 30% changes, tank is too big for this), do i need an additional filter or not. i have access to the ocean as well as deep sea stuff.

Dimensions:
Tank - 1780mm L x 590mm H x 300D
Bio Filter box - 290mm W x 310mm H x 255mm D
which sits in a glass box 610mm L x 310mm H x 310mm D

Thanks !
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the links, I am spending the weekend watching it all! This is bound to be a slow process! still have to build the base and buy the rest of the parts, should develop a sound understanding by the time I actually get life in there! I got a 300 light strip of LED's off ebay where I can control intensity and colour - still have to build the lid, but the lights look pretty cool online, if not - they were cheap enough to use elsewhere! 5M 300 LED 5050SMD RGB Waterproof Light Strip IR Remote 5A Transformer | eBay
 
you need to start with an RODI unit. Tap has so many chemicals in it, and if it is rain water, it also has chemicals in it, as it passes they smog and air borne pollutants, as well as what ever it comes in contact with roof ect. No a RODI unit is not exciting but it is the first piece of equipment you need, starting with one is the right way to start
 
:thanks:, the rain water I am using is filtered! perhaps not as clean as RO but pretty clean (I live rural NZ so not much pollution at all - pH 7 (hardness is 0 like RO) and my freshwater fish do fine in it on tap - just needs nutrients!). Perhaps a few bugs but those get filtered.

I am planning on trying out actual sea water in the tank and just topping up the tank evaporation with some filtered rain water - not adding any fancy fish for a while as i am suitably confused :confused: with all the info available - will get into testing the parameters and experimenting with some stuff i catch from the sea - was thinking of getting the conductivity to calculate more accurate hardness and refractometer to monitor the salinity. do you know if the freshwater pH, nitrites, nitrates and ammonia work for salt or is this different tests?

excited to hear that my refugium can act as a brine shrimp hatchery :D
 
They may be the same but test kits are fairly cheap I'd just buy the salt water test kit
 
angielynn said:
Thanks for the links, I am spending the weekend watching it all! This is bound to be a slow process! still have to build the base and buy the rest of the parts, should develop a sound understanding by the time I actually get life in there! I got a 300 light strip of LED's off ebay where I can control intensity and colour - still have to build the lid, but the lights look pretty cool online, if not - they were cheap enough to use elsewhere! 5M 300 LED 5050SMD RGB Waterproof Light Strip IR Remote 5A Transformer | eBay
Click to expand...

I do not think this will sustain photosynthetic creatures. You need something much stronger. You need 3 fixtures over a roughly 6' tank. What is your budget for lighting?
 
Thanks, yes I figured they wouldn't be strong enough in the end! having some super bright ones built now! I am pretty lucky in regards to custom stuff as I have an electrician at hand! Planning on using the less bright strip in the refugium now, if the algae doesn't grow with it, I will change it! i read somewhere that one needs up to 5 watts per gallon and adjustable for different corals! and those lights, although adjustable were 72 watts :( live and learn!
 
I am not concerned regarding the lighting budget, my main concern is the weekly cost of water changes, (I worked this out at 25 NZ$ per week for the red sea coral pro mix) - hence the decision to get actual sea water! also live rock is pretty expensive, again have a number of divers on hand so these too are coming from the ocean. aiming for a setup with as few water changes as possible (will put in the $$ to achieve this)! expanding the sump and refugium area to 100L
 
Lighting could cost you thousands depending on what you went with. I would be more concerned with that than a bit of salt water. Watts per gallon is not a good gauge to go by with reef lighting. There are variables to consider-
The depth of the tank
The wattage of the LEDs in question
What coral you intend to keep
optics or not

You have to answer these questions before you can choose what works for you.

What ocean are you taking this rock from?
 
Tank is 59 cm high and I have a choice of ocean water, I can choose from Tasman or Pacific, the water is not at tropical temperatures here, however it is in OZ and they have amazing reefs! The underwater life here is quite a bit different! bit of experimenting going on! maybe if I warm the water, it is from the same sea then I get something else LOL! if it fails, and i can't get decent test results, I can empty it and use red sea coral salts mix! i was planning on a multitude of rock, some deep, some shallow, some from pools, we have a lot of nicely growing volcanic rock also and even some I find online and in the store - bit of this, bit of that! I have no idea what coral I want yet, I pretty much like them all so wanted to keep my options open, get the rocks sorted and have controllable lighting for the corals but only once I sort the water parameters!

I told them to look at the most powerful LED's and make sure I can control them! will see what options there are on Monday! i just need to pay for the actual LED's - wiring and fitting is free!

what do you mean optics or not?

Maraetai - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia is the closest to me, this is on the Pacific side but I can just as easy go in the other direction! (I will go FAR from the swimming areas) bear in mind that NZ is not very populated!

I pretty much just want to bung in some water and see if i flood the place! still clueless! give me a few months!
 
:hide: i can't see the reply i posted earlier! but it would be the Pacific or the Tasman! Most of the sea in NZ is unspoiled! life underwater is very different to the reef in oz but need to experiment! I am pretty persistent in getting stuff right! i have a degree in microbiology and did chemistry, just a bit rusty as haven't been working in the field for like 10 years so maybe confusing myself a bit more then normal!

i will post to forums like this before i put any fish or expensive corals in there and see what experienced people come back with!

REALLY liking the seahorse and mimic octopus and rays and the mantis shrimp! but then again i like jellyfish too - easily pleased! - should be an easy choice (NOT)! i will pick clown fish. besides from everything, i have NO IDEA what I want :(

clean water and living rocks and then i will decide :D

What do you keep?
 
I agree completely. Cuttlefish and octos would be my choice in a perfect world, but alas....I am currently keeping corals, anemones, and reef safe fish such as tangs and rabbits.

I would be concerned pulling rock from the local waters unless I knew pretty much all of the life that inhabits it.
What are the normal temps of these waters? In the 60's I think, right? If so, most likely all the life on the rock would die in waters near 20 degrees warmer.

Would you mind taking some pictures of this rock and posting them on the forum? I'm very curious about it.
 
Mr. X is right. Just going out picking rock from the ocean (is that legal over there?) does not mean it will work in a home aquarium.

Also, going out and telling someone to build you the "most power" lights, also doesn't mean anything. The more specific you are, the better we can help you.
 
I will post photos of the rocks, still putting the bits for the tank together! once that is done, then we will drive up the country collecting rocks! I have found a link where I can get rocks from the Islands like Figi and Tonga at a reasonable price if these ones fail! The ones at the lfs were $350 NZ per 25KG! From Figi and Tonga, they are $2.50 NZ per KG.

As for water temperatures. here is a map: (we stay in the upper middle part and are coming into summer now so it can get up to 22 Celcius). Still way colder then some of the tropical waters I have lived near.

Sea-surface temperatures – Coastal fish – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand
 
have to run to work now, but these are the corals that caught my eye:

Soft Coral Frag Pack + Macro Algae | Trade Me

Soft Coral Frag Pack + Macro Algae | Trade Me

Pink cabbage coral frag | Trade Me

10 Coral Frags | Trade Me

A - grade rose bubble tip anemone | Trade Me

would be super of you could tell me what LED's to order, as far as I knew they come in the entire spectrum, it's mainly the blues and whites that I want, will throw in some red (to see what colors I can bring out with it). i only said the most powerful ones because then I can turn them down, can pretty much order as many as i want and have them fitted to pretty much anything I like! There is so much to think about my head is mush!
 
angielynn said:
Tank is 59 cm high

I told them to look at the most powerful LED's and make sure I can control them! will
3 watters should work for you.

what do you mean optics or not?
Optics are focusing lenses. They aim the light down and concentrate it, instead of losing a lot of it out the sides of the tank.
Click to expand...
 
:dance: yay! :thanks: for that, it clears up some of the confusion with the lights and makes things so much simpler! (y) 3 Watt LED's it is, I will order in bulk! :fish2: I am sure I will have more stories over the weekend when we are working on this tank some more! definately will post some pics when it starts coming together, should be entertaining :popcorn::bb:
 
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