140g Setup questions.

[Reyes0223]

Just wanted to introduce myself my name is Raul I'm new to saltwater so be gentle . I just purchased a used 140g tank that was setup and running. I tried to do a little research and i kind of get how to start up a new system. I have had it set up for about four weeks now and my ammonia levels spiked the first 2 week but now are bottomed out same as nitrite levels. nitrates are fairly low as well. Is it safe to say my biological filter is up and running? What should i do now? lol. Right now the system is on a sump w/ a coralife protein skimmer. I have koralia 550, 500gph water pump for water movement. about 25 lbs of live rock. temp is at 80, specific gravity is at1.025. as far as lighting goes its a simple aquarium compact fluorescent light with a blue led light rope attached. i assumed that is what he used for moonlight? I want to eventually add some coral just need to do a little research. any and all information would be greatly appreciated.
Some questions I have:
Lighting any recommendations?
what are some hardy corals that are very forgiving?
What fish should i start with and when?
when do i start adding coral?
is 500gph sump pump enough? the original 1300gph one it came with no longer works without giving you a little shock .

So excited to get started but im kinda overwhelmed .

 

[Reyes0223]

Nothing?

 

[Ingy]

Hello Raul
I think you've got a good start going. It sounds like you moved most of the equipment and rocks from. Another tank or location to your own. But you don't have enough rock, especially for corals. You should have 1 to 1.5 lbs of rock per gallon of your DT. It doesn't need to be expensive live rock, you can use base rock and let it grow into live rock over time. As it sounds like you are going to go slowly (always a good idea) so the additional rock will become live at a good pace.
As for lighting, your desires as to the type of coral you want to eventually have (in a tank that size you may want all types in the end) will determine the intensity of the lighting.
What kind of tank dimensions do you have? 6' recommended for most tangs.

 

[Reyes0223]

Tank measures 72x25x19. I actually have 100 #s of LR but will pick up some more soon. What kind of lighting would you recommend? I was leaning towards some tangs. I picked up a domino damsel Tuesday.

 

[JustinKBreen]

If ammonia and nitrite are 0 yes your bio filter is ready to go. I personally would stay away from damsels, mean little guys.

A tang would work in that tank, check out websites like live aquaria or blue zoo aquatics to check out the different species and they should have compatibility charts also.

 

[Daniel Fishy]

Hi Raul type in soft corals or easy to care for corals and you will find many helpful sites . A good phone app is aquarium I.D. quick and easy with pics of corals inverts and fish

 

[Reyes0223]

That app is amazing. Great way to burn some time

 

[Reyes0223]

So I was looking through cl for some lighting and found this http://modesto.craigslist.org/for/3111222908.html I'm wondering if this would be a good buy for what I'm trying to accomplish?

 

[Reyes0223]

P/u some LR that had a stowaway. It's a good sized bristle starfish. Should I keep him or return him?

 

[Rutrag]

Do you know what the flow ont he return pump is?

I think you would do well to add some more / bigger circulation pumps regardless.

How are you managing water changes? Do you have an RODI unit, are you buying from a LFS or grocery store, etc? What you don't want to do is use tapwater. It has all kinds of stuff in it that while generally harmless for us becaome fertilizer for algae.

It sounds like you have some kind of test kit with at least ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. If you don't have already, pH, alkalinity, calcium and magnesium are also receommended for keeping corals.

As far as the light you referenced, I can't tell what type or how many bulbs that fixture has. If it is a T5HO fixture (which is generally the cheapest initial outlay of cash), I'd recommend something with at least four rows of bulbs. (Probably an 8-bulb fixture on that size tank. I think on 6-foot tanks, eacdh bulb is typically half the length of the tank.) More is better. If you go metal halide, you probably want at least three bulbs of at least 250 Watts each. These are next up in terms of initial outlay. If you can afford the initial outlay, LEDs are the way to go. Althoguh the initial cost seems sky high, you don't have to replace bulbs and they don't heat the water like halides will.

The brittle star is probably fine. You don't often see them as hitchikers, but the green sepent star is the only one of that complex to look out for.

 

[Rutrag]

As far as easy corals, mushrooms, leather corals, and zoanthids are pretty forgiving. Both mushrooms and zoas come in lots of colors as well. Mushrooms also have lots of differnt patterns and textures (spots, stripes, smooth, frilly, etc.).

 

[Reyes0223]

Do you know what the flow on the return pump is?
How are you managing water changes?
As far as the light you referenced:
The brittle star is probably fine.

Do you know what the flow on the return pump is?
Its a 500gph pump.
How are you managing water changes? LFS , the additional test kit is on its way.
As far as the light you referenced: its a t5 HO, it has 6 96watt bulbs
2x 10k bulbs, 2x 50/50 actinic/ 10k bulbs, 2x actinic bulbs

The brittle star is probably fine. In that case happy to have him.

 

[Flreefer]

Hey Raul,
I think rutrag is meaning how much flow is actually getting to the tank. A 500gph pump only puts this out in a horizontal line. When the pump has to pump water vertically, it loses some power. This is known as head loss. So a 500 gph pump may only be putting out 350, with a 4 foot head loss.
You should be able to go on your pumps website, to see a chart showing you what the pump puts out at various heights.
Just thought you should know.

 

[Reyes0223]

350 is what the chart shows if I measure the height of the tank.

 

[Reyes0223]

The live rock looks like its full of life. This was the piece that also had the bristle star. My new foxface doesn't look so happy any tips on getting him healthy and happy would be great thanks guys.

 

[Reyes0223]

Idk why my autocorrect does bristle instead of brittle. On a sad note took the fox face back wasn't looking to good. Traded him for a mimic tang. I heard that time of tang can be a bit aggressive?