q&a

Also, with your lighting.......it can get expensive. What I did, is I bought one 2 x 54 watt retro at a time when I had my 75. Made it easier on the wallet AND you dont have to worry about replacing 6 bulbs all at once. HTH! : )

 

thank you i will put up my sump design using rubbermaid containers maybe you can help me make it work and help me out with the design an overflow system i would really appreciate that my fish list down the road would like to be 1 yellow tang, copperband butterfly, coral beuty, maderine goby, 2 clowns, then the cleanup crew would that be ok also here is my design please critique and give me your ideas would really appreciate it thank you

 

tell me what you think

 

I don't use a sump - I'm 100% HOB. An HOB skimmer can often also HOB your sump in the future.

Only reason I don't have a sump/refuge is I don't have the space.

 

ok thank you do you think that the fish list listed above would be ok along with can i slowly ad live rock while i am cycling my tank with base rock an some live rock im a newbie an dont really know how the cycling process works

 

Im having a hard time reading your plans, just because I have a ridiculously large headache and 3 kids around my ankles......but here's a site that should answer all your sump questions and even give you plenty of ideas:

Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums

This guy is half-man, half-god when it comes to reefing.......75% of my success comes from the knowledge I got from him.

 

Your fish list. If you are planning on doing a reef, you might have a problem with the coppreband and almost definately with the Coral beauty.........both that I had went straight back to the LFS (lost money of course) because they are coral pickers. I would wait to add the mandarin till atleast six months and your going to need lots of live rock. They are very picky eaters, most of them only eat pods and wont take frozen food. However, my dad has one that takes frozen food..........who knows, you might get lucky. Also, if you plan on having 2 clowns, make sure they are the same species and it would really help to add them at the same time.......HTH! : )

 

One more thing......with cycling your tank, you can do it with your LR. Dont use Live fish, its a waste of money and a fish. Personally, I would just throw in all my LR and begin your addiction......after the cycle ends of course! : )

 

man thank you for all the kind advise could you recommend any butterflies or angels that would be good with that fish list and i was planning on two false or true percula clowns and can i add lr that i get straight from the lfs an take it home during the cycle or will it put it back in cycle money is kinda tight be a lot at all at once like i said i am a complete newbie who hasnt started yet because i want to learn as much about how to do it right the first time so thank you for your patients

 

As long as the Rock at the LFS is cured, you should be fine. I mean if you have, say, 30 LBS of LR in your tank and you put a 5 LB rock in there, you will be more than fine. But if you put another 30 LBS of uncured LR, your gonna have problems. As far as angels and butterflies, thats pretty much true for all of them...........sometimes you'll find one that behaves, but how good is your luck? Of all the advice anyone has given me, the best one is to be patient.........you cant rush this hobby. If you arent patient, then you will spend lots of $$$ learning how to be, lol!