New to hobby

Hi every one. I have been reading books and posts for a long time now and saving up my money (for a very long time), and today im getting all my equipment delivered to me. I purchased:
75 gallon Oceanic reef ready tank
Oceanic stand for the tank
Extra lighting (96WX4)
Wet/Dry filter
Protein skimmer
Water pump (1000gph)
Air Pump
1 Power head
300W heater
And all the other normal stuff like test kits ect.....
I was just wondering if anyone had some last minute tips for me. You know stuff that no one told you but you wish they had. Thank you ;D

 

Last minute "tips"

Take Pictures
Keep a log
HAVE FUN!!!

(Keep us posted!)

Rgds,

OmarD

Another makes the great leap"​

 

Welcome Joe, come on and sign up its free.

1. Have you decided on a substrate (sand is what I have, or crushed coral) and do you want Live Rock.
2. You may need to add some power heads to increase the water flow in the tank.
3. And do you want a fish only tank, or will you be going to a reef tank later?

And go slow, it will take some time for the tank to cycle and be ready for fish.

 

i ACTUALLY AM SIGNED UP MY NAME IS JOER0952 I JUST DIDNT LOG IN WHEN I MADE THIS POST. IM GOING TO GET SAND AND LIVE ROCK. BUT ITS GOING TO TAKE ME ABOUT A WEEK TO GET THE WATER. I WORK IN A RESEARCH FACILITY AND THEY HAVE DEIONIZED WATER FOR FREE, SO IM GOING TO BRING 15GAL HOME A NIGHT FOR 5NIGHTS. I AM GOING TO FIRST JUST KEEP FISH AND THEN AFTER A WHILE OF THE TANK RUNNING GOOD IN GOING TO ADD CORAL. I HAVE 1 POWERHEAD DO YOU THINK THATS ENOUGH W/ THE OVERFLOW UNTIL I GET INVERTS AND CORAL

 

Most recommend a water turn over of 8 to 10 time an hour, you need to have water moving in all parts of your tank, otherwise the algae will grow very fast in those areas

 

Joe Russo! Glad to hear you are a member! Log in and accumulate 20 posts so you qualify for the ClamsDirect raffle!.

Your lighting is perfect for soft corals and some LPS corals. I recommend you put together a stocking list, everything you think you want in your tank, and then we can assist you in developing a stocking plan - the best order in which you add livestock (corals and fish) to your tank. This may be a two year + plan is is the case with my tank.

You will want to cycle your tank with live rock, sand, and some ammonia starter, raw shrimp, and then let it completely stabilize, very boring, before you start adding livestock. This is the go slow and let it go part that is the most difficult aspect of reef keeping, yikes!

HTH and have fun!

 

THE WATER PUMP I HAVE IS 1000GPH AND THE POWERHEAD IS ANOTHER 280 I THINK. i DONT KNOW HOW MUCH PIPING IS NEEDED FOR THE TANK, I DIDNT RECIEVE IT YET BUT I HOPE THAT ITS NOT TO MUCH SO THAT THIS IS ADAQUATE, PLUS I PLAN ON USING FLEXIBLE PIPES TO HELP.

STOCKING LIST:
I PLAN ON STARTING W/ A CLEANING CREW AFTER THE TANK CYCLES. IF THE ROCK IS CURED I PLAN ON USING SOME COCKTAIL SHRIMP.
CLEANING CREW:
SOME TURBO SNAILS-IM NOT SURE ABOUT THE EXACT NUMBER EVERY TIME I READ ABOUT THIS THEY SAY A DIFFERENT NUMBER I GUESS I WILL JUST CONSULT MY LFS.
SOME HERMIT CRABS- AGAIN IM NOT SURE ABOUT THE EXACT NUMBER SO I WILL JUST CONSULT MY LFS.
2-3 EMERALD CRABS
2- SAND SIFTER STAR
AND A COUPLE OF SHRIMP (SCARLET AND PEPPERMINT) ALSO PROBABLE A TIGER PISTOL SHRIMP (FOR MY GOBIES)
AS FAR AS FISH GO I PLAN ON STARTING TO ADD FISH TWO WEEKS AFTER THE CLEANING CREW IS IN. OVERTIME I PLAN ON GETTING A COUPLE OF OCELLARIS CLOWNS, 2 YELLOW WATCHMAN GOBIES, AND A TANG (PROBABLY A POWDER BROWN)
DOES ANYONE HAVE SUGGESTIONS ON WHAT ORDER TO ADD THESE FISH.
FINALLY I ALSO PLAN ON ADDING A BTA AFTER A WHILE WHEN THE QUALITY OF THE WATER IS HIGH . I HEARD THAT THE BTA ONE OF THE EASIEST ANEMONE TO KEEP AND THAT OCELLARIS CLOWNS HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO EXCEPT THEM.
AS FAR AS CORAL IS CONCERNED I PLAN ON WAITING A WHILE BEFORE ADDING ANY SINCE IM NEW TO THE HOBBY (IVE ONLY KEPT FRESHWATER FISH BEFORE) SO I HAVENT REALLY PLANNED THIS ALL TO MUCH.

 

ALSO I WAS WONDERING MY ROOMMATE HAS A CANISTER FILTER FOR HIS FRESHWATER FISH WHICH HE IS THINKING OF TAKING APART. ITS A FLUVAL 404 CANISTER FILTER. i THINK HE WANTS TO CONVERT HIS TANK TO REPTILES (I DONT KNOW WHY, BUT IT IS HIS TANK), ANYWAY DOES ANYONE KNOW IF IT WOULD BE SAFE TO USE THIS FOR MY REEF TANK WITH SOME MODIFICATIONS. I KNOW I DONT NEED IT BUT IF IT CANT HURT AND IT WILL JUST BE COLLECTING DUSK WHY NOT.

 

If you get 1200 GPH of flow that equates to about 16 times the water volume per hour. How many water outlets do you plan on having with your 1,000 gph pump. You dont want just one 1,000 gph stream of water, five 200 gph streams would be better.

OK, get your thick skin out and I'll butcher, just kidding, your list.

No emerald crabs for me. They get too big over time and become a challenge. Unless you have a specific need for a crab, say a Mythrix, then hermits should be all you need.

Scarlet and Blue Leg Hermits are my choice, 20 each should be more than plenty.

A mix of snails is preferable. Turbos 10, Nassaurius 20, Cerith 20, Bumble Bees 5, and Margaritas 10, would be a great start. Turbos are great on LR and Margaritas prefer the glass. Bumble Bees are rarely seen as they prefer to patrol the nooks and cranies/holes in the LR. Nassaurius are good carion and detrivores as well as sand stirrers. Ceriths dine in the algae that forms at the sand line along the tank glass as well as a little sand stirring. These snails give you great algaevore coverage.

I would only get one starfish if you are absolutely sold on one. They are voracious eaters, fast growers, and can be predatory of small reef fish. You have now been warned. The Nassuarius and Cerith snails stir the sand without the predation of worms, amphipods, and copepods that the starfish brings.

Anenomes. First you have to realize that these animals live for decades in nature and we have a less than five year success rate with keeping them alive in aquaria. This is a dismal record. If you absolutely have to have a BTA I would urge you to wait at least a year and then buy an aquacultred or tank propogated BTA and not a wild caught one. If you do get a BTA, then it is much better for it's successful acclimation that you let it establish itself in the tank before you introduce the clown fish that it will be hosting. There are more specific and detailed acclimation procedures for the BTA that we can discuss in the future if necessary.

I would recommend two Red Skunk Cleaner shrimp. The Pistol shrimp for your Goby is fine. I would add the Watchman Goby first. Then your PB Tang, it wiil love your cleaner shrimp, and then the anenome and the clowns there after. I recommend four weeks between adding fish as this gives your dentrification system time to balance itself. Adding the fish as juveniles is what I recommend so they "grow up" together and don't have the aggressive territorial predispostion of older wild caught fish.

I urge you to consider adding a couple of Flasher or Ferry Wrasses for great color and swim action. I would add them before the PB tang.

HTH

 

NO THICK SKIN REQUIRED CRAIG IM NEW TO THE HOBBY AND EXPECT TO BE WRONG A GOOD PORTION OF THE TIME. BUT, THANK YOU FOR THE TIPS, AND THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR THE TIPS