Setting up new 75g Caribbean reef - good stock list...?

[MLHoenig]

Title says it all; how should I proceed,with lots of time to make decisions while I get the cycle started...six months or so...


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[TheTodd]

LiveAquaria actually has a section for Caribbean fish. Look at that and pay attention to suggested tank size. If you are staying strictly that region, you are somewhat limited.


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[Sniperhank]

There is some neat stuff you can do with such a tank. Some of the photosynthetic grogonian corals are from there would make a really neat tank.

 

[MLHoenig]

I got what I consider a great deal on a used 75g tank, so I'm pretty much married to that size, what with a fairly limited budget...

I want to have a nicely-populated (properly sized, of course) with corals, gorgonians, etc, plus fish...

Having said that, I'm also not married to the Caribbean, but with my wife maintaining her own 29g, I want to diversify.

I don't want to set up for GBR, but Hawai'i is an option; my primary goal is Caribbean or Gulf of Mexico (I know I didn't specify this in my original post, but it's been on the table...)

 

[MLHoenig]

My first potential plumbing setup is ready for the glue.

I understand 90° bends in the return line are bad but I don't think I can entirely avoid them; hence an arc made with roughly 18" of vinyl tubing between a single elbow and the pump. I have enough leftover ¾" & elbows to create a three-bend, all-PVC (except a short length of tubing going straight up from the pump to the PVC) but I presume that would be too many bends.

Glue goes on next weekend at the latest.

And if I can figure out how to upload a picture, it'll be in the thread I posted in the "Getting Started" forum.


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[CleverBs]

My first potential plumbing setup is ready for the glue.

I understand 90° bends in the return line are bad but I don't think I can entirely avoid them; hence an arc made with roughly 18" of vinyl tubing between a single elbow and the pump. I have enough leftover ¾" & elbows to create a three-bend, all-PVC (except a short length of tubing going straight up from the pump to the PVC) but I presume that would be too many bends.

Glue goes on next weekend at the latest.

And if I can figure out how to upload a picture, it'll be in the thread I posted in the "Getting Started" forum.


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90 degrees arnt bad, they just reduce flow a bit. a few is totally fine. having 10 would be an issue. Dont worry at all about how many bends on the return you may need to get a stronger pump but there are plenting of calculators out there that will give you gph based on pump, pipe size, bends, hieght. where you want less bends imo is the drains because the more bends you have the more noice they make.

 

[CleverBs]

My first potential plumbing setup is ready for the glue.

I understand 90° bends in the return line are bad but I don't think I can entirely avoid them; hence an arc made with roughly 18" of vinyl tubing between a single elbow and the pump. I have enough leftover ¾" & elbows to create a three-bend, all-PVC (except a short length of tubing going straight up from the pump to the PVC) but I presume that would be too many bends.

Glue goes on next weekend at the latest.

And if I can figure out how to upload a picture, it'll be in the thread I posted in the "Getting Started" forum.

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I would go with Hawaii much better fish for your size tank in Hawaii and MUCH better coral

 

[MLHoenig]

Kinda where I'm going now, after all the horrible news about what's happening to the coral reefs around the world, what with Climate Change and this year's el Niño...

My first efforts may prove clumsy but I want to do my part to protect at least one small piece of the ocean.

?


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