Saltwater & Reef

Sleeperr34 · 08-12-2011, 01:42 AM

So the other day my gf decided that we need a bigger tank. The 55 is not big enough. So..... She picks out a 210g..... This is going to be fun.

Now. I'm still new to this and Lear I g a lot. I want reef. But every fish she picked out is not reef safe..... At all. The clean up crew would be gone in no time. Lol. And any help with some cool looking coral that I can show her would be great.

But if I stick to a fowlr. What kinda of filtration should I use that would be best for the tank and still good if I want to change to reef later? And what to I do about cleaning The tank without snails being in it? And keeping Algee from building up to much in the than.

Good skimmer for this size tank.

Going to be a slow process to get it up in running. Still need to get a ro/di set up. And the money to set it up. So any help ideas I mean anything on this will help a lot. Will keep updates as things go along but am very excited about this. Always wanted a tank like this since I was a little kid. So going slow to make it right.

Tomchong22 · 08-12-2011, 02:39 AM

I'm going to kinda follow along in this build. As far as filtration I would go with the following: algae turf scrubber, sump with a fuge consisting of dsb macro algae and mangrove, skimmer. This is by far the best set up and for natural filtration and the best down the road. Some corals to look at are green star polyps, mushrooms, leather corals, zoas, some Lps like candy Cain, hammer coral, torch, then the Sps such as acros, birds nest. Etc. It all depends on the lighting you want. Let's start off with a few basic questions:
1. Do you want just fish? (Ie aggressive)
2. Do you want a reef tank dominated by corals?
3. What type of fish are you interested in? Color shape?
4. What's your budged like ?

Sleeperr34 · 08-12-2011, 10:05 AM

I want coral. But the gf makes the choices and she is wanting a dragon wrasse. Picaso trig. Foxface. Sweetlips. She is talking about wanting a stingray as well. But I'm not sure on tank size.

I love coral and think a 210g would look great with coral all over it. But unless I can show her coral that impress her and/or inverts will prob be not doing coral. Lol

As far as budget. Not to worried about that. The more expensive it will be. Just the longer it will take for me to get it going. Willing to take my time to get it looking right.

Tomchong22 · 08-12-2011, 12:02 PM

Ok that's a good place to start. If you really want to push for corals have her look at some of the tangs. In a 200+ gall tank you can primarily have any type you want. And they are for the most part reef safe. Lol don't let her look into angelfish. You will never convince her to get a reef then. They are almost all not reef safe.

Sleeperr34 · 08-12-2011, 12:29 PM

We looked at some angels and she was not to impressed. She usually doesn't go for the usual cute ones. The angel we have now in our 55 is a dwarf half black. She does want a zebra Morey as well. And read a little about them and looks like they r good. Found a new Lfs close to me that has a lot of nice coral. Need to take her there to see what I can change her mind on. And it helps they also have a 210 used tank. With everything. Full lighting. Ato. Sump. Skimmer. For 2000.

Sleeperr34 · 08-12-2011, 01:35 PM

If I do end up losing this fight for a reef. Is a 210 good enough for a sting ray? If it is the minimum would rather not. Want him to be happy in it.

Pschmitt · 08-12-2011, 09:28 PM

This should help.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/a...s.cfm?c=15+288

Sleeperr34 · 08-12-2011, 10:40 PM

The smaller one says expert only. R they really that hard.

Sleeperr34 · 08-13-2011, 11:19 PM

Hahaha. So was at the Lfs today because my coworker was interested in starting a reef tank. Yep it's spreading. And he was talking to the guy about the 210g tank he knows I was and the guy said he would sell it down from 2000 to $1200. So talked to the woman and we r going back up there on Tuesday to look at it. If she likes it. It's mine.

It's on a sexy looking stand. The light r 3 MH 2 or 4 t5 ho. And 6 led moon lights. Sump. Ato with 10g tank. And an octopus skimmer. All included. Will send pics on Tuesday of the tank if we decided to get it.

Gregcoyote · 08-13-2011, 11:39 PM

The ray will be a challenge to feed properly, maybe. It depends on the ray. The moray is easy, but don't get bit, they are near sighted. A predator tank with bigger fish needs a red lion fish from the Carribean, as they are cheap and we need to get rid of them in that area. They are also spectacular and easy to feed.

Sleeperr34 · 08-13-2011, 11:51 PM

Yea got a Morey in our 55 now. He has gotten me a couple times. But he has calmed down a lot now that he knows he is going to get fed. And will even let me had feed him.

Elitehunter1 · 08-14-2011, 12:29 AM

Give craigslist a try bro. There is no resale value in this hobby I've come to find out. The trick is to find an experienced aquarist that is simply burnt out. I scored a 125 gallon COMPLETE setup, a beautiful tank with everything you could imagine for 500. The lighting alone was worth more than that.

Give it a look, especially if you are In a big city

Sleeperr34 · 08-14-2011, 12:43 AM

Yea that was the first place looked. But everything close by r asking like 2k for 150s. And want to be able to pick my own coral rock and fish out. And not use there's.

Elitehunter1 · 08-14-2011, 12:49 AM

2k?! Wow. I hear ya on the coral and fish, but I got 150lbs of rock I was happy with. I got about 6 damsels, a yellow yang , an angel, a mandarin, and a coral shrimp. I took all but the mandarin and the shrimp to my lfs for credit. I'm not about to put damsels and an ugly fish in my build! Lol.

Sleeperr34 · 08-14-2011, 01:19 AM

Yea. I saw some very nice ones I loved. And I like doing something like this at the Lfs. Cus i have been know the break things in a move. And they will deliver. And I did find some good ones around here for cheap but they all said they were leaking. But who knows we may get there Tuesday and the tank will be sold. Or the girl doesn't like it. Then I'm back to saving and waiting. Lol