135 Gallon Triton Oasis

[Dary421]

stacy, wow! youre not having much luck with new equipment ! just out of my own curiosity , what kind of heater did you have that went nuts?

[stacygirl]

Aquatop's gh 250w, bought on Amazon, so now I'm shopping for a heater that won't have me afraid to leave it on when leaving the house.

[Autumnsky]

I liked my Finnex Titanium heater, digital display, there are some others with controllers.

[stacygirl]

https://www.amazon.com/Finnex-Contro...0036BEPQA?th=1

Is that the one?

[Autumnsky]

Yes, that is the kind I had, It was used by a different person for a few years before I got it and I used and it was fabulous.

I burned it out forgetting it was plugged in when doing a tank rescape or something to that effect. It was laying on my counter getting searing hot, I got it unplugged and let it cool down, it continued to work but not at the same level of temp, I used it for a smaller tank, and it ws fine for another few years after that. So maybe ~9 yers of faithful service.

My favorite part was that I could always look at the temp on the LED pad. I am a skeptic for the most part and used a floating thermometer with it to verify that it was correct temp.

[stacygirl]

Thanks Autumnsky, I will grab that heater.

Another question, about my lighting...I don't really have room under my hood to hang the lights. The tank is designed to place the lighting on the splash plate. See below photo.
https://postimg.org/image/r0wy5rcoz/

Is that OK with Coral? I bought 2 of these lights.
https://www.amazon.com/VIPARSPECTRA-...ords=165w+reef

The lights will only be about 2-3 inches above the water line.

[Autumnsky]

Lots of people use lights similar to these. My tank is small and couldn't handle that light. It looks good. You may end up needing to set them on an acrylic stick if you can't hang them up. It will depend on how much power you will need out of them.

How deep top (of where it will sit on top of tank like in the pic, to bottom is the tank? I don't know, but the info can probably help someone tell you.

[stacygirl]

It's about 36 inches deep.

[stacygirl]

My 5th skimmer... This one almost fits perfect..if it weren't for the skirt around the skimmer. Think i can cut it?

[stacygirl]

Cut this skirt

[Dary421]

Stacy ,.. If it were mine and IF just cutting off that one knob would make the skimmer fit and work without sacrificing integrity then I'd do it ,... just only cut what's needed ,...your call tho, good luck !

[stacygirl]

Originally Posted by Dary421

Stacy ,.. If it were mine and IF just cutting off that one knob would make the skimmer fit and work without sacrificing integrity then I'd do it ,... just only cut what's needed ,...your call tho, good luck !

how it looks so far

[stacygirl]

Some photos so far, added 4 coral and 3 fish

[Dary421]

Stacy ,... remember you have to cycle your tank first using a ammonia source ,which most people here use a raw deli shrimp wrapped up in a piece of nylon , the shrimp is put into the tank basically to rot away, that in turn produces ammonia which the beneficial bacteria ( which live in your rocks,sand ) lives off of ,..you must monitor the ammonia levels in your tank using test kits ,the ammonia level will spike and then come down to zero ,..this process could take 2-6 weeks , you typically should have approx 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of live rock per gallon of water .. then and only then should you add any livestock , there's some excellent articles on this forum which covers the whole process,.. as far as adding corals ,.. you should allow your tank to mature ( no matter what your tests say ) for months ,... trying not to be a thorn in your side , I'm just trying to get you off to the right start ,.... saltwater tanks take a long time to setup and get going ,..it's a fascinating journey but you just gotta go slowly,...I'm sure someone like mike ,hank or seaweed can chime in with more information

[stacygirl]

Yeah, I'm not adding anything else until some time in April.

I have:
1 Duncan, 1 Hammer Coral, 2 Zoa's.
2 Paired Clownfish
1 Blue and Yellow Damsel
20 Snails
20 Hermit Crabs

[Sniperhank]

I would hate to see a cycle start with all of those coral in the system. You'll need to keep a very close eye on the parameters in the system so that the ammonia and nitrite levels don't burn and kill off the corals. If they start to rise, you'll have to do water changes to bring them down.

[stacygirl]

Yeah, I'm an excessive tester, test Ammonia, Carbonate Hardness, PH, Nitrate, Nitrite, Phosphates, every 2 days. I'm already prepping for a 20% water change.

[stacygirl]

Originally Posted by Sniperhank

I would hate to see a cycle start with all of those coral in the system. You'll need to keep a very close eye on the parameters in the system so that the ammonia and nitrite levels don't burn and kill off the corals. If they start to rise, you'll have to do water changes to bring them down.

Thanks for the tips, you guys are awesome, I'm planning to add some larger fish in April, what do you guys think?

[Sniperhank]

Once the cycle is complete you can feel free to add a fish. Since a cycle can take 3-6 weeks, that would be a valid time frame.

[Autumnsky]

It looks nice. Good advice given. Sounds like you will be ready for a few water changes.