Finally!!! Tank is up and running

[dustybrannum]

After many years of planning and collecting equipment I have been able to fill my tank, sump, and refugium. Here are some pics of the whole operation.

 

[dustybrannum]

Here are some more pics.

 

[dustybrannum]

Front pic of the tank. Those are 3 400W 10k coralvues ran by 3 400W coralvue electronic ballasts.

 

[mhaynes01]

how big is your tank

 

[duaumun]

Yeah, what is the size in gallons and dimensions and what fish do you plan on putting in?

 

[dustybrannum]

The actual tank is 180 gallons at 24"x24"x72". The total estimated system is around 220 gallons subtracting for sand, pump, and skimmer displacement. Initially I am looking at 160lbs of live rock to go with my 120lbs of base rock. As far as fish currently I am looking at a yellow tang to start with after about 2-3 months after the rock goes in. From there I am going to be looking into several anemones for my mothers enjoyment. Other than that it is pretty open to suggestions.

 

[RocketSeason]

well, you are going to want to wait on those anemones till your tank is established a bit. (say...one year.) but its looking great so far!

 

[Atari]

As far as fish currently I am looking at a yellow tang to start with after about 2-3 months after the rock goes in.

That's a long time to stare at a bunch of rock

 

[RocketSeason]

yeah, you can add the tang after the cycle is complete.

 

[darb2]

tang can be terratorial. most people reccomend adding them last.

 

[mhaynes01]

yes my uncle who is on this site his name is seapony, told me that if i ever thought of getting a tang no tto add them first, if you do all the other fish that get put in will be chased harassed adn may die, so its best to wait (god i love waiting)

 

[flatzboy]

My yellow tang is the friendliest fish in my tank although he is the last fish I put in there.

 

[dustybrannum]

What is the max temp change throughout the day that can be tolerated?

 

[mhaynes01]

IMO i would say from 78-82 degrees fahrenheit

but i keep my tank at 80 degrees (it almost never changes)

 

[dustybrannum]

well currently we are playing with my a/c unit and how the room vents hot air, also important fact is the house a/c is not on yet, and my tank goes from 78 or so to around 85 which i think is too high. I am considering getting a chiller, but since it is really not getting that hot maybe i could just get a smaller one. just got to keep experimenting with it.

 

[darb2]

If you are working on the Ac, that may solve the temp problem. Try to increase the air circulation by adding a fan to cool the surface water. If your tank were to go any above that I would float a frozen bottle of water in my fuge to lower the temp.

 

[dustybrannum]

There are two IceCap 4 inch variable fans you can see them in the 3rd picture I posted. The tank is still empty except for sand, base rock, and water. So there is nothing that is going to die because of the high temperature fluctuation. I am looking to installing more fans to just circulate the warm air back towards the A/C intake to see if that may help.

 

[dustybrannum]

Possible fish for my tank not in any particular order and these are just ideas not fish that i am actually going to purchase anytime soon any comments on each are welcome.
blue tang-paracanthurus hepatus
naso tang-naso lituratus
powder blue tang-acanthurus leucosternon
yellow tang-zebrasoma flavescens
yellow stripe maroon clownfish- premnas biaculeatus
black and white percula clownfish-amphiprion percula var.
true percula clownfish-amphiprion percula
maroon clownfish-premnas biaculeatus-tank bred
royal gramma basslet-gramma loreto
copperband butterflyfish-chelmon rostratus- i know very hard to keep and get to eat
green mandarin-synchiropus splendidus
spotted mandarin-synchiropus picturatus
fridmani pseudochromis-pseudochromis fridmani-tank bred
red head solon fairy wrasse-cirrhilabrus solorensis
scott's velvet wrasse-cirrhilabrus scottorum

All these can be found at www.liveaquaria.com

 

[loganj]

I think you have a good idea on waiting to add the fish. This will give the pod population a head start. Some european aquarists wait as long as a year to add fish to a tank. I wouldn't start with a tang though. They are territorial and agressive. You might look into a purple tang when you do add one...I think they are a more attractive fish than the yellow...that's JMHO though. I would start with something benign like a trio of green chromis. A clownfish is a must have in any tank IMO. I like the maroons best although they can be testy at times. If you want more than one clown, I'd go with juvenile ocellaris or perculas. They will usually get along with each other OK. Here is the stock list for the 180 reef than I maintain at an eyecare center:

1-hippo tang
1-yellow tang
3- green chromis
2-yellowtail damsels
1-maroon clown
1-scooter blenny
1-coral beauty
1-bicolor goatfish (jumped out)
1-foxface (got sucked into a pump when the strainer came loose)

Possible additions include a dwarf wrasse and maybe some sort of butterfly.

I would go ahead and add a clean up crew as soon as the tank cycles. I would probably add a detrivore kit as well to get the pods and sifters started.

 

[dustybrannum]

I received 130lbs of live rock from liverocks.com these are in my tank with 50lbs of fiji rock and 120lbs of base rock. The rock looks a great deal of live and algae. A few crabs made it and a couple star fish.