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Newbie Introduction, Input Welcome

S

Scubanj1

Hey everyone,

I upgraded a 75 gallon fish only to a 150 gallon reef in January and need to learn A LOT! Found this forum and have been trolling for a little while now. I'm learning a ton of great stuff and figured it was time I jumped in. I live in central Jersey and am glad I found a local forum. I'm open to any suggestions about equipment, setup, anything I should be doing and not doing, etc. I will admit off the bat that I'm cheating in that I have someone come every other week to clean the tank and test the water so I don't screw it all up. I don't know all my water parameters but so far everything is crystal clear except for some diatom forming on the new sand.

I have 10 fish that came over from the other tank and another 10 I have added since, a bunch of invertebrate (2 shrimp, strawberry crab, hermits, snails) and abiut 30 (mostly) small coral frags, a mix of LPS, SPS and soft. The build is:
--150 gallon euro braced custom tank from Coast to Coast with starphire on the front and left side. Single overflow on the right back corner. Custom stand from a carpenter in my area.
--Maxspect R420r 300w 16000k led lights
--2 Vortech MP40W ES
--Trigger system Ruby 36 sump with chaeto and live rock in one compartment
--Ehiem 1260 return pump
--Diablo Skimmer with Ref Octopus bubble blaster pump, HY-1000s
--2 Ehiem Heaters
--Tunze ATO

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I think that is it. Thoughts and opinions welcome and I'm uploading some pics although the quality is not great and enhanced using the Mac iPhoto auto-enhancing tool.

I'm looking forward to a lot more learning! Thanks everyone.
Brad
 
Zippy69

Zippy69

Welcome Brad. I'm in the same town as you, so if you would like to stop by and see my set up you are more than welcome. Careful with the natural light from the window....it may generate algae growth or bleach some corals.

Pete
 
S

Scubanj1

Thanks for the compliments guys. Yes, forgot to mention the BRS 4 stage RO/DI set up in the garage. I am on well water and in my original tank that was definitely causing problems.

I'll keep an eye on the sunlight, the tank gets about an hour or so in the morning but I haven't seen any algae problems yet. Although it's coming into summer now so it will get hotter, let's see.

Pete, I'm glad to see a local on here and I would definitely love to see your set up. The offer goes both ways, you're welcome to check mine out too. Let's set something up!


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M

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
First off, welcome to the club.

Second, having someone come and help with the tank is not cheating, it is acknowldeging you don't have the time or the know how at this point and dealing with that. It is much better to have help in the beginning and then once you get a hold of it, take it over.

Third, great equipment list, that is the start to a very nice tank.

Fourth, What is your fish list? Keep an eye on the the nitrates (or ask your guy to keep an eye), doubling your fish population in the beginning may have been a little aggressive but that depends more on the fish list.

Diatoms are normal with a new tank setup, just the silicates "burning" off in the sand. As Pete said above natural sunlight can cause more algae and heat down the road so just keep an eye on that.
 
JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

Wow nice setup for sure it is a great start.

Welcome aboard.
Who is doing your maintenance?

I am with Mike what fish do you have in there?
 
S

Scubanj1

Hey all, thanks again for the compliments. I'm very happy with it so far and will definitely keep an eye on the sunlight as the weather heats up. Great input and watchout.

As for the fish, fair concern. I can be a little impulsive, which is a bit dangerous in this hobby! I added the new fish over the last four months and never more than three at a time (if memory serves) and spread each bunch out at least two weeks apart. Except for some of the old fish which are larger all the new ones are small. I'm trying to keep small as I like a lot of color and movement on the reef so I'm thinking I can have a few extra fish if I go small.

Any thoughts on the mix are welcome. Everything is getting along well (except for the melanarous taking out my snails!) and no one appears to be nipping at coral.

Naoke wrasse
Carpenter’s Flasher Wrasse
Chalk Bass (3)
Marine beta
Sailfin tang
Purple Fire fish
Cardinal
Hippo tang
Coral Beauty
Lyretail anthias
ORA Black ice snowflake clowns(2)
Black neon dottyback
Springer dottyback
Indigo dottyback
Bluefin watchman goby
Gold head sleeper goby
Helfrichi firefish



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S

Scubanj1

Oh, Reefco, based out of Bridgewater is doing the maintenance. Guy named Brian and he is incredible. Customer service is outstanding (I basically text him all day every day with questions and he gets back right away) and the tank is pristine. He is super knowledgeable about the fish and corals too. I highly recommend him.


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