Starting a 35 gallon hex saltwater reef

[Shawn_Schlorff]

Hello if anyone can help me i have a few questions i started the cycle of the aquarium a week a go now my ph level is alittle higher then 8.5 and lower then 9.0 the ammonia level was 1.0. Now I am wonderin if these are good levels to get baterial growth and the ph low enough for life to life when i am ready. Any help on this would be really helpful thank yoiu.

 

[buddha_red]

You will see the ph go up and down while your cycling. ammonia, nitrites and nitrates will spike then drop. dont be suprised if your nitrates goes nuts. mine did and everything turned out fine.

 

[Shawn_Schlorff]

thank u but what is a ok ammonia level so i know when it is a good time to put in live rock oh and a good ph level this is my frist aquarium and i am haveing a hard time finding the ideal levels anywere

 

[melosu58]

It looks like your tank is cycling. Dont worry about the PH when it is. It will bounce all around during the cycle. After your cycle is complete and you do a 33% PWC then you can worry about the PH.

 

[buddha_red]

Your live rock can go in at any time, you do not have to worry about hurting the rock, it will cycle with your water.

 

[Shawn_Schlorff]

thank you see this is stuff i don't really know i already have a bit of money tied up in this and i knew going in it can be really expensive but trying not to kill everything frist shot want to keep cost as low as possiable so a little paraniod with the start up

 

[Shawn_Schlorff]

ok with a reef aquiarium i was told 4watts of light per gallon of water is this correct i just puchased a 150 watt light

 

[buddha_red]

What fish and corals are you interested in?

 

[cmor1701d]

Is that a 150w Metal Halide fixture? Corals can requorte form 3wpg to 6or more wpg, but wpg is a very generalized rule. It's really PAR that corals need for growth. You should be able to place corals with lower light requirements at the bottom and move up along with the light requirement of each type of coral. Research not just the light level but the water flow and feeding requirements (most need only light, some require being fed).

If you got uncured LR, put it now to help cycle the tank. If you are getting fully cycled LR from a LFS, then you may want to wait till the cycle is nearly complete to add it.

 

[Shawn_Schlorff]

I am in trested in some hard finger corals and a little soft and leathers the fish well clown fish (for my kids ,tangs really anything reef friendly minuse a lion fish. The light is a metal halide light i don't knopw the k's just the wattage and i do not know what par is....sorry

 

[cmor1701d]

You should be fine with those corals, but I'm not sure what you mean by "hard finger corals". You need to get a lot more specific, but with a 150MH light and the coral placed high in the tank you should be ok.

You need to know not just the Kelvin (K) temperature of the bulb, but also the manufacturer of the bulb. I tried some cheap chinese made MH bubls from eBay and they were not very good. I then got some Ushio 10k bulbs a few months ago and have seen a bif improvement.

 

[Shawn_Schlorff]

ok the light is an Aquatic life light 150 watt HID 700+10000k.......some hard corals are montipora digtata, oregontortuosa ,Rasta leather toadstool leather and blue devils fringer leather

 

[melosu58]

As Cmor said the WPG rule is a little out dated. With new technology things like par and intensity are considered more. With your MH`s you definitely have those wrapped up. Good luck on the build.

 

[Shawn_Schlorff]

Thank you this page was a good idea

 

[melosu58]

Some pics would be nice once your up and running. Have a good day.

 

[Shawn_Schlorff]

have a couple up now
there is more to come

 

[melosu58]

Where are they at?

 

[Shawn_Schlorff]

they should be on my profile in albums

 

[Copepod]

Hi Shawn, welcome to AA...just wanted to share my experience with same tank...although very pretty, I found it extremely difficult to keep the parameters in check because of it's deepness and roundness...nutrients just seem to find hiding places everywhere...expecially when trying to feed an ill fish a lot to get him healthy...I used an Emperor 280 with extended bar to reach the bottom (later converted it to LR rubble and Chaeto) and also used Maxi-jet 1200 down low to keep water movement going....also was advised by our experts to leave off the top which I did...made a huge difference ....

I am currently moving everything to a 75 and not sorry...8 years of dealing with a tank taller than you is enough....hope you have great luck !!!

Curly

PS..also added a 4-6 inch DSB which took care of Nitrite problems I kept having

 

[Shawn_Schlorff]

sorry what does DSB stand for. This hex is almost as deep as it is wide 2 feet deep and it is 22 inches wide. i think that might make it a little better???