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Old 03-05-2018, 12:42 AM
Llorgon Llorgon is offline
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Default Newbie 75 gallon

Hey everyone,

Recently got out of freshwater and trying my hand at full time reef keeping!

I started about a year ago with a 10 gallon and it has gone... Well, honestly its gone to shit. Over last summer I skipped some water changes and I got overrun with bubble algae then I got rid of the bubble algae and got red slime. I was shocked how fast it spread and I lost most tank inhabitants. I have a snail, 4 hermits and 3 corals left

So now that I know what not to do. I can hopefully make a whole new set of mistakes with the 75 gallon!

My plan is to have the tank as a mixed reef. And keep the 10 gallon as a quarantine/frag tank. I'm not sure what sort of fish I'm going to add. The wife says she wants clown fish. So I guess there will be at least one clown fish. So pretty open to fish ideas.

I picked up a 75 gallon setup from a member here for a great price. So I have a tank, stand, sump and return pump.

I still need

Heater - eheim Jager 200 watt

Skimmer - I'm guessing this is like freshwater filters and it's better to get a bigger skimmer than smaller.

Lights - my heart says LED, but my budget says t5

ATO - are there good and bad types of ATO pumps or will a cheap one do?

Sand - what are my options? I think I have only seen the bagged "live" sand.

Dry rock - I have some places in mind. What are some good places to get dry rock from?

Ro/di unit - parents have a extra one, just need to pick it up from their place in Kelowna.

Does anyone have recommendations on ATO units and skimmer?

I think I can get the lights last since I can start cycling without them.

I have two hydor koralia 1150gph powerheads. Will that be enough flow or will I need more?

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Old 03-12-2018, 10:35 PM
Llorgon Llorgon is offline
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Picked up some lights and live rock from a fellow members last night and on Saturday I got some sand at j&l aquatics.

Going to pickup a spare ro/di unit at my grandparents house this weekend so I am on my way to getting water in the tank!

Still need to get a heater and ATO. For ATO I am thinking of going with Apex. I like that it has the 2 sensors plus a float valve and in the future I can hook up sensors and all that fun stuff.

Also started playing around with the rock scape. I think that's the hardest part so far!

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Old 03-12-2018, 10:56 PM
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Frogger Frogger is offline
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That rock doesn't look live. To avoid other reefers problems you might want to bleach your rock if you haven't done so already. You learned the hard way last time. There are lots of nasties out there much worse or difficult to treat then bubble algae and red slime.
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Old 03-12-2018, 11:06 PM
Llorgon Llorgon is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frogger View Post
That rock doesn't look live. To avoid other reefers problems you might want to bleach your rock if you haven't done so already. You learned the hard way last time. There are lots of nasties out there much worse or difficult to treat then bubble algae and red slime.
My bad! Meant to say dry rock! Got a box of dry rock he didn't use in his new tank.
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Old 03-13-2018, 04:20 PM
Llorgon Llorgon is offline
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Played around with more rock scapes.

I think this one is too low in the tank. I might need to pick up some more rock.

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Old 03-13-2018, 05:31 PM
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IMO your aquascape is taking a minimal approach. I have a similar scape right now and it makes cleaning the sandbed easy. Keep in mind as things grow out / up it will fill out nicely. That being said you could always build a little higher if that’s what you are thinking.
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Old 03-13-2018, 08:28 PM
Llorgon Llorgon is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DKoKoMan View Post
IMO your aquascape is taking a minimal approach. I have a similar scape right now and it makes cleaning the sandbed easy. Keep in mind as things grow out / up it will fill out nicely. That being said you could always build a little higher if that’s what you are thinking.
I wasn't going for minimalist approach it just kinda turned out that way. Actually it was the wife that was like I have an idea and rearranged all the rocks in the tank. I kinda like it, but I wonder if I should add a few pieces to make it a bit taller/more caves and such?

I checked out your tank, looks like a bit of a similar rockscape. Anything you would change about it?
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Old 03-14-2018, 04:03 AM
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To be honest I wouldn’t change a thing. The fish love to swim around laps in my tank so they love cutting through the center rockwork and corals. Since most my frags are small colonies everything has been rowing up/out. My problem now is to transfer my tank and make as close to the scape as I have now.
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Old 03-14-2018, 03:51 PM
Llorgon Llorgon is offline
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That's good to know. I think I have finally settled on a rockscape. I can always add more rock later if I need/want.

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Old 03-15-2018, 06:09 AM
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Looks good! Your fish will like the swimming room. Keep your eyes open for some unique pieces to add overhangs or caves
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