New here, and at Reefing! Seeking Advice!!!

[reefnubie]

Hello Everyone!
I'm new here, and very excited to find a place where one can go to get instant, up to date advice from experienced reefers!!!
I have only had freshwater aquariums in the past, all with great results and success, but for quite some time now, I have been doing a LOT of research, studying and taking an awful lot of notes, in hopes of learning what it takes to be successful at keeping, and maintaining a saltwater aquarium.
There are two choices in the type of tank I would like to own, and they are the Coral Reef, and the Miniature Reef Aquarium, both, I find very beautiful, and fascinating, but having a hard time deciding which would be the best tank for me.
I was thinking about starting off with a 90 gallon aquarium since I had read somewhere that bigger is better, being that the largest aquarium I have owned so far is a 55 gallon.
If anyone thinks that I should go larger, or smaller since this will be my first attempt at a saltwater aquarium, please let me know!!!
I am looking forward to reading all that I can from all of you who have any advice for me, and also looking forward to a new, and rewarding task of owning, and maintaining one of Gods greatest wonders, The Ocean, in my own home!!!
Thank You very much in advance for all of your helpful suggestions and advice!!!
Happy, Happy, Happy Reefing!!!
I guess one can see that I like Duck Dynasty!!!.......LOL
God Bless!!!

 

[mr_X]

Coral reef and miniature reef aquarium sound like the same thing.
I would start off with a 75 gallon that is reef ready, over a 90. They have the same footprint but the 75 is shallower. You will like this because you will always find a reason to reach the bottom of the tank for something, and that extra few inches will make your experience less enjoyable. Also, the shallower depth will mean you will need less powerful lighting to reach the bottom.
You should definitely buy a "reef ready" tank and implement a sump in the stand below. A 20 gallon long should fit nicely in the stand of a 75.
In the sump you will have a quality protein skimmer rated for about a 150 gallon tank (manufacturers tend to rate skimmers loosely), your heaters and anything else you want that you don't want to be seen in your beautiful display tank.
What are you thinking for lighting?
What types of corals are you planning to keep? Clams? Anemones?

 

[bribo12]

Welcome to AA! I agree a 75 is better than a 90 for a reef due to lighting it will be easier. Getting a reef ready one that is drilled is definitely the way to go as well! I'd start researching some potential livestock you like (fish, coral and inverts) and run them by us here so we can help you out with that. Once again welcome to the forum!

 

[reefnubie]

mr_X (Doug),
I would like to take this time to thank you very much for your advice.
You're right about being able to reach the bottom of the tank much easier in a 75 rather than a 90 gallon, and also about the light reaching the bottom much easier as well. I had thought about being able to physically reach the bottom of the tank, mainly in case of an emergency, but had never even taken into consideration about the light reaching the bottom.
I also had never considered a "Drilled Reef Ready Tank", because I though that they would eventually start leaking.
Thanks for the Heads Up!!!
Now, as far as a Coral Reef vs. a Miniature Reef, my thinking is that in a Coral Reef tank, I would only have different colored corals positioned all over my live rock, along with my fish and possibly a few clams.
In a Miniature Reef, I was meaning a tank filled with Coral, Mushrooms, Polyps, Anemones and for some live plants, I was interested in some "Maiden's Hair", "Kelp on Rock Smooth Leaf", "Shaving brush", "Christmas tree" and "Halmeda", etc. all planted in the live sand.
As far as lighting, I was thinking about using 3 of the Marine Reef Capable Led Lights #73840 that I had read about on DrsFosterSmiths website, mainly due to the fact that they were advertised as using less energy, therefore saving money on my power bill, but also they seemed like the best choice as far as I could tell.
If you by any chance know something different about these particular lights that I should know about, please inform me.
For the Corals, I was thinking about acquiring both the LPS (Large Polyp Stony), and the SPS (Small Polyp Stony), as well as maybe ordering a "Purple Passion Tree Coral", a "Neon Pineapple Tree coral", a "Taro Tree Coral" and maybe a "Short Tentacle Plate Coral" along with a "Button Polyp" or two.
I'm really not sure about trying to keep any Anemones at this time, because I thought that they may be too difficult, although I did read where there are Anemones that aren't so difficult to raise. Even so, I didn't want to take the chance of killing them before I actually had enough experience to know what I am doing, so that won't happen.
I appreciate your input on the 20 gallon long tank for the sump, as I do about the protein skimmer, heater and other pieces of equipment that I wouldn't want to be visible, taking away from the main tank.
Again, I Thank You!
God Bless!!!
Rodney

 

[reefnubie]

Hello bribo12,
I also want to thank you very much for your advice as well!!!
As I explained to mr_X (Doug), I totally agree with ya'll concerning the 75 over a 90 gallon tank, so that the lighting can reach the bottom much easier without having to go with higher powered lights, and for suggesting the "Drilled Reef Ready" tank!!!
Hadn't thought of that one too much, being as I thought they would eventually start leaking, which deterred my way of thinking.
The livestock that I have been contemplating, I found on liveaquaria.com, also one of DrsFostersmith's websites, and they are as follows:
"The Keep It Clean, Clean Up Crew #89210, which consist of:
20 - Scarlet Reef Hermit crabs
20 - Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit crabs
5 - Electric Blue Hermit crabs
15 - Astrea Turbo Snails
10 - Nassarius Snails
3 - Peppermint Shrimp
1 - Coral Banded Shrimp
2 - Emerald Crabs
1 - Sally Light foot Crab, and
1 - Arrow crab
I would also like to purchase:
A few Yellow Tail Damsels
A couple of Clown Fish
A Yellow tang
A couple of Spotted Cardinals
A couple of Kaudern's Cardinals
A couple of Bumble Bee Shrimp
Around 7 Bumble bee Snails
And maybe a Super Tongan Nassarius Snail...Unsure about this one though! I can't remember if they are dangerous for some of the other inhabitants or not, but if so, I would definitely drop this one!
A Regular, Hawaiian and Dwarf Colored Feather Duster, 1 each
about 5 Spiny Sea star Astrea Snails
A Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
A Blue Tuxedo, and A Red Tuxedo Irchin, 1 each
A couple of Orange Sea stars
About 3 Green Lettus Sea slugs
Around 4 of theTrapezia Acropora crabs
A Blood red fire shrimp
And if I were to get an Anemone, maybe a Green Bulb Anemone, because I figured this particular one might be an easy one to raise.
Still unsure about it though!
It has been a while since I researched this choice of livestock, and I believe all of them were figured for a 90 gallon tank, or larger, and I do believe they are all compatible with each other.
I would have to go back and re-figure everything to be for sure, but after doing so, and I realized they were figured for a 90 gallon tank, I would certainly downsize the total of creatures that I have chosen!
Again,
Thank You so much for your input!!!
God Bless!!!
Rodney

 

[bribo12]

Hey Rodney,

Looks like you are doing your research! Some suggestions if I may on your livestock and lighting choice though. If you want lps/sps/clams/anemones I would o with the dimmable taotronic led lights off eBay. They are 120 watts and use 3 watt leds, which will allow you to grow anything. Those marineland reef capable aren't worth the money and will only allow softies and some lps. Your cuc looks fine other than the lettuce nudis, orange starfish and acro crabs. The lettuce nudi will most likely starve to death and I wouldn't reccomend the starfish to a beginner. They can be tough to acclimate and keep long term. The acro crabs require acropora coral and I wouldn't add acros until you get your feet wet keeping lps and some of the easier sps like montipora, seriatopa, stylophora. It looks like you're off to a good start though!

 

[mr_X]

Do not buy all of those inverts. The crabs will kill the snails off, and anything that doesn't get killed off by the crabs will starve to death. A brand new tank does not have enough food to sustain a fraction of those creatures. Arrow crabs and coral banded shrimp will also kill each other.
Orange sea stars are very difficult and will most likely die soon after you get them.
Lettuce slugs will starve
Acropora crabs need acropora to live on. Later on, when you purchase acropora, they will come on the colonies.
No anemone is easy to raise in a new tank. Wait a while on that also.
You do not need a cleanup crew at all. It's nothing more than a marketing tactic to sell livestock. They say you need to "recharge" your cleanup crew every so often. The reason for this is that they all die off from predation or starvation.
If you see excessive algae, you have high nutrient levels and probably are overfeeding. If you see food sitting on the sand bed you are overfeeding and don't have enough flow.
If you want crabs and snails buy 2 or 3 from the LFS...no more than that.

 

[reefnubie]

Sincere gratitude!!!

Hello mr_X, and bribo 12,
Thank both of you so very much for all of your Great, Much Needed and Appreciated Advice.
Your suggestion's for the lighting, Corals and advice on The Clean up Crew, along with the other inhabitants that I really don't need, because they would just land up dying, will save me from harming any of these special creature's by killing them unintentionally, and will save me, not only from causing "ONE HECK OF A MAJOR AMMONIA SPIKE" in my tank, it will save me from a great deal of unnecessary spending, heartache and headache's.
As far as The Clean up Crew, I HAD BEEN wondering about that, because come to think of it, I don't think I have ever seen something like that in any saltwater aquarium before in my life, other than the Shrimp of course!
One of the sites that I had been doing a lot of my research on, recommended The Clean up Crew, so I thought that just maybe, they might be on to something that other aquarium hobbyist had not become aware of yet, but as you stated, I can see how it would generate a lot of more sale's from those of us that possess absolutely NO EXPERIENCE in this AWESOME, and COSTLY HOBBY!!!
SO!
THANK Y'ALL FOR THAT BIT OF INFORMATION!!!
It really is GREAT to have people such as yourselves, that take NO INTEREST in profiting off of NEWBIES LIKE MYSELF, but are here solely for the principle of HELPING OTHER'S!!!
Your advice to me, is worth more to me than my taking the time to read a 100 book's, but don't get me wrong here, I DO, STRONGLY BELIEVE in doing all of the research, reading, and taking note's that I possibly can, and as you can see, I WAS GOING WAY OUT ON A LIMB HERE with what I seriously thought, was a well thought out, and planned approach to this choice of coral and inhabitant's that I had decided upon!!!
YOUR HELP, AND ADVICE ARE PRICELESS!!!
Again,
THANK BOTH OF YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!!!
GOD BLESS!!!
Rodney