Yep I'm A Newb!

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hooked82

Member
Well I recently picked up a saltwater tank, in which my original plans were to convert it to a saltwater tank for a largemouth bass tank(baby). I set it up after I purchased it to not kill what little semi live rock and fish that were in there to sell. But after having it setup and looking at some of the stuff you can do and fish you can keep I decided to keep it. I am now addicted and just can't wait to get the tank established.

I've done quite a bit of research as I have heard that is the most critical stage of owning a saltwater tank, but still need to do a lot more reading and have many questions. So heres a breakdown of my system and any input that you may have let me know.

Tank Specs:
75 Gallon Acrylic
48" x 18" x 20"
Built in overflow connecting to 15g sump(bio balls)
1 Rio 2500 running at 580 gph
1" Crushed Coral Substrate

Water Readings:
pH: 8.2
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrites: 0ppm
Nitrates: 10ppm
Temperature: 78 F
SG: 1.022 ~ 1.023

Inhabitants:
(6) Astrea Snails
(5) Scarlet Reef Hermit Crabs
(1) Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit Crab
(1) Coral Banded Shrimp
(1) Diamond Watchman Goby
(1) Yellowtail Blue Damsel
(1) 24" Snowflake Moray Eel(Will be gone tomorrow)

Future Plans:
75lbs. of LR(to go with my 30lbs that I have already)
Coralife Super Skimmer Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer(125 Gallon Version)
(2) 500GPH powerheads

Everybody seems to get along except the snowflake is now starting to act up at night and trying to eat? my goby so he is out of here. Plus cleaning up after him can be a pain.

I would love to hear your input about the protein skimmer. I have heard mostly good things about it and its still somewhat cheap($110), which is good because I dont have the hugest of budgets.

Other than that I am open for suggestions/comments and looking forward to spending some good time on this board. Its probably the best that I have came across and will now be one of the only boards that I visit for info/questions. Thanks guys.

David
 
B

billyr98

Well-Known Member
Welcome to RS...

Ran a coralife skimmer only briefly.. I run an ASM Skimmer.. No info for ya..

Enjoy your stay
 
R

RanRoc

Member
Welcome to RS! Never used that skimmer. If I were you, I'd save up a few extra dollars and buy an AquaC Urchin or Urchin Pro. Might be a good investment down the line (very efficient and less headache with maintenance). JMHO.
-RY
 
Gina

Gina

Moderator
RS STAFF
Hello and Welcome to RS!
I would ditch the bio-balls. They can become a nitrate factory.
Also, I would take out the crushed coral and add LS instead.
The crushed coral can trap deritus and cause problems.

I see your planning on adding more LR which is a good thing!
I also run a ASM skimmer like Billy so, have no info on the Coralife.

I would also try to increase your Specific Gravitiy to 1.025.

Have you considered adding an RO/DI unit to your list of future purchases?
Unless, you already have one.

We'll do our best to get you up and going in the right direction and once again Welcome!
 
lcstorc

lcstorc

Well-Known Member
First off Welcome to RS!
As you have discovered there are lots of friendly helpful people here. Looks like you are well on your way.
Next, ditto all of the above. Read your post and was ready to make several suggestions, but I see others beat me to it.
I do want to add something to Gina's statements about removing the bio-balls and crushed coral. Since you already have livestock in the tank, remove them a bit at a time. When I removed my bio-balls I divided it into 5 removals about 2-3 weeks apart. I am still working on getting my crushed coral out since I have a mix of crushed coral and sand. Snce I want to keep the sand, I have to manually sift it when removing so it has been a slow process.
Just so you know the logic behind this recommendation. The bio-balls are good at changing the amonia to nitrite and the nitrite to nitrates but leave you with high nitrates. Live Rock takes it one step further and changes the nitrates into a gas that is released via bubbles. This is most important if you want a reef (have corals as well as fish). Particularly since you have/plan on getting a good amount of rock, even if you go fish only with live rock (FOWLR) you are pretty much duplicating the beginning of the process. I can tell you that once I removed the bio-balls from my system I saw an almost immediate and dramatic reduction in nitrates.
The crushed coral just traps waste which decomposes and creates the yucky things we don't want in our tanks. That is why we recommend removing that
Now post some pics. We love pics here. :)
Finally, are you planning a reef or FOWLR? If you want a reef, what lighting do you have? That is one of the bigger expenses, since many corals require high light. Fish require little to no light. Also keep in mind that things like anemones and clams fall into that category as well.
Anyway, welcome to RS. Apparently I am chatty this morning so sorry for the long post.
 
H

hooked82

Member
Hey thanks for all your input and suggestions. I'll try and answer all your questions that you threw at me.

Eventually I will be getting rid of the bio balls as I have heard kinda like you said that they will just make the nitrates go crazy. I need to get all my LR and my skimmer, and as soon as I do that I will put some LR in my sump and use the natural filtration.
As for the LS, I would like to get it but I just havent found the right stuff. I dont believe that I can afford a DSB at the moment and would more than likely just go with 2", would this still work in my case. Also I'm not quite sure about the brand and all that. I'm trying to find the right size so that it mixes well with my Diamond Watchman Goby, so that the sands can just pass right through his gills. Any suggestions on a place to purchase LS on the net is?
I do not have an RO/DI unit right now, so until I can get one my local grocery store has RO/DI water for $.30/gallon. A 20% water change only costs me about $4.50, so until I can get a RO/DI unit this should do for now.

lcstorc: I am just planning a FOWLR for now. A reef tank will have to be down the line as for I need the time maintaining/running a basic tank before I would drop lots of money on expensive corals, etc. and have a die-off because of my stupidity. So to get to the question I just have a basic lighting setup for now(to tell you the truth I dont know the specs). But as soon as I start updgrading the tank I know that this is one of the things that will need a good upgrading.

I really appreciate all your guys help and look forward to more. Heres a couple pics. Not the best but I dont have the greatest of cameras.
My CBS and the 2nd pic is of my CBS picking on my Snowflake Moral. He's pretty brave for such a little guy. Considering he would make a small meal for my eel.
 

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hooked82

Member
Thanks guys, glad to be here. Yes, I have been getting a lot of detritus buildup, but I just got rid of my snowflake, who was a messy guy. Hopefully the tank can stay a little cleaner.

Cheeks69: Will that be enough LS if I mix with aragonite sand, or should I just go all the way and go with all LS?

I also picked up 35lbs. of LR today with quite some growth(some more than others). Unhappy to see that there is what looks to be aptasia on 2 pieces of LR. Now I know what everybody is going to say so here is the plan: 2 Peppermint shrimp and a Copperbanded Butterfly

Now the question with that is will they get along with my Coral Banded Shrimp, and my Diamond Watchman Goby? If they will thats probably what I will do. I need to go look at pictures of aptasia though and make sure that its exactly what it is. Any suggestions other than the CBC and the Pep's? I would like to not kill everything on the LR as its really got growth on it and would like to keep it. Also heard of Joe's Juice but not sure if thats the best route. Thanks guys.
 
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hooked82

Member
Yes it is confirmed, aptasia. Although I read about different colors of aptasia but didnt see much about different shape. Like the arms are thicker, etc. I've got quite a few other things that look like they might be aptasia but have thicker arms. Theres one just to the top/right of the aptasia in this pic. Any idea what it is? Sorry for the fuzzy image.
DSCN57231.jpg
 
Gina

Gina

Moderator
RS STAFF
Unfortunatly, CBB's are a hit or miss as far as picking at Aptasia and for that matter so are Peppermints.
CBB's have a poor suvival rate in our aquariums.
Alot of members here have purchased them just to have them die sometimes within a day some make it a few months.
If you want to try a CBB, I would purchase the fish just for it's beauty and use Joe's juice to irradicate the Aptasia.
One suggestion on the Butterfly is to make sure they feed the fish before you buy it. You want to be certain that it is already eating well.

One other thing with the Butterfly is to keep in mind if you have feather dusters, they will pick at them.
 
Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
Aiptasia for sure :(
Do not get a copperband butterfly soley to eat aiptasia unless the fish is eating prepared foods as well. The aiptasia will get eaten very quickly leaving the fish to starve.
Ive heard that peppermint shrimp can control aiptasia. You could try a few of those?
Joe's Juice also has a pretty good success rate at killing the pesky anemones.
 
lcstorc

lcstorc

Well-Known Member
I have had good luck with peppermints but have also had good luck with Joe's juice. I actually watched a peppermint eat an aiptasia in my reef one night so I know they will. I would go with one or both. I have 3 peppermints in my 125 and one in my 24, but the one in the 24 ignored the aiptasia thus my experience with joe's. In my case it took a couple of applications but that was probably due to my lack of experience. Regardless, if they come back after the first treatment, then just treat again. A bottle has enough to treat a lot.
I have heard of too many CBBs starving to try one myself, but many people swear by them. To me the peppermints are a much easier answer and I have never had trouble getting them to eat most anything.
 
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hooked82

Member
Yeah I wouldnt get then to just solely eat the aptasia. When I was at my LFS, the lady fed the CBB brine shrimp in front of me and it was eating just fine. I am going to try injecting them and will more than likely just get a CBB that will also eat foods that I feed it. I think they are neet fish as well. I will keep everybody informed on what happens, thanks guys.
 
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