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lskurys View Drop Down
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    Posted: September 01 2011 at 11:04am

Hello,

 

I am new to saltwater/ reef tanks.  I have a 75g tank which I have been using as a freshwater tank for nearly 4 years.  Unfortunately, I could not find a freshwater set-up that yielded enough variety.  I have heard so many wonderful things about saltwater, and I love the vibrant colors and shapes.  I started checking in to the cost of converting my tank from freshwater to salt. I went to several pet stores from Salt Lake City to Ogden.  Every stores sings a different song and dance.  One pet store told me that I could convert my take over for roughly $120 this was including salt, RO water, sand, and live rock.  To make a long story short, $1100 dollars later (yes that is right…$1100 not $120), I have a 75g all glass tank drilled with a center overflow, 90 pounds of sugar sand, 85 pounds of live rock, Coralife 108w light with (1) 10K and (1) act, 39g over flow split with refuge on half (this has an additional 15 pounds of sand), 770 gph return pump, and an old Berlin 25-250 skimmer. 

 

My goal is to be able to keep my expenditures down but grow all types of coral.  Do you have any suggestions on what I need for my tank?  What corals are best to start with?  Where are some good places to buy coral?  Suggestions on live rock?

 

On a side note, Ryan at Aquatic Dreams, has been great.  His showroom has several beautiful tanks.  He has given me a lot of useful advice, but I hate to keep bothering him.  If anyone out there can provide some much needed advice, I would greatly appreciate it. 

 

Thank you,

 

Shelby and Leslie

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Aquaristnewbie View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Aquaristnewbie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 01 2011 at 11:09am
Welcome! You can find a lot of coral and livestock here on the board that you can buy from other members. Softies are usually easiest to keep and good to start with.
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lskurys View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lskurys Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 01 2011 at 11:36am
here are a couple of Pictures of what the tank is looking like.  They are about 2 weeks old so we have added about 25 more pounds of live rock. 
220g , large elite aquatics sump. 3 Radion Pro Gen 3 lights 3 Mp 40's
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220g , large elite aquatics sump. 3 Radion Pro Gen 3 lights 3 Mp 40's
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Adam Blundell Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 01 2011 at 12:41pm
Welcome! Nice to have you here.

Adam
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lskurys Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 01 2011 at 12:48pm
Thank you for your quick response.  Based on my current set-up do you think that I have proper water flow and lighting for soft and hard corals?  Right now the only flow that the tank has is from my return pump.  What additional water flow options should I be looking at?  Also, do you have any recommendations on lighting? 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Aquaristnewbie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 01 2011 at 12:55pm
You are free to come look at my setup anytime. I have some mushrooms and other softies I would give you for free to get you guys started if you would like. Also have some equipment for sale that may or may not help you get started. For the lighting it all depends on where you want to go with the tank. What type of corals are you planning or want to keep? Feel free to come by. I live by the e center and have a reef setup and a fish only setup you can look at to see the different setups and what you like best.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jwoo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 01 2011 at 12:56pm
You'll want to get some more flow in there regardless of the corals. A return pump is not going to cut it. The Koralia line of pumps are popular and there is the always solid MaxiJets - you can usually find these pumps for sale used here on the board or on KSL and pretty much all LFS carry them new. For a 75 I'd probably recommend two koralia 4's or 3's.

It looks like you are running PC Lights? You can grow coral under this light but may be hard pressed to grow most SPS. On a 75 a good T5 Fixture would probably be the best bang for your buck. I'd look around and see what other people have on their tanks and ask lots of questions here. In the mean time you can def start with some Softies and LPS if you get some more flow in there.
None at the moment
Soon: 72 Gallon Bowfront
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Oh and far as flow I think you definitely need a bit more. I would think 2 koralias or something similar on opposite ends of the tank placed at the bottom pointing up would probably be sufficient depending on how your return is set up and where it is pointed.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lskurys Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 01 2011 at 1:06pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Aquaristnewbie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 01 2011 at 1:10pm
Thats is exactly like something I was thinking. I am not sure about the quality of the brand but personallu I would give it a shot. If you do let me know how they work out for you. If you go with something else I would recomend either maxi jet or koralia leaning more towards the maxi jets. They both last for years and years. I ahve an old maxi jet that has been in pretty constant use for about 15 years and it is still chugging along. Hope that helps. Ask tons of questions on here. People are very helpful.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Aquaristnewbie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 01 2011 at 1:13pm
Oh just saw for lighting you want to do hard corals. Your current setup would work for soft corals but not the best for hard corals. I would go with a T5 setup or metal halides. I have a fixture for sale if your interested and their are quite a few others on the buy.sell/trade section I have seen lately
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lskurys Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 01 2011 at 1:34pm

Lighting has me more confused than anything.  I am just so unsure what I should be looking at.  With fresh water for the most part you just need light, just about anything will work unless you had plants.  So I have been looking at some t5 x4 setups to add to the light t5x2.  That would give me 6 total, but I am really not sure if a MH will be better... Then there are LED’s.  They look really cool but I think the are still a little out of my price range.    

 

Thanks again for your advice.

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LEDs are awesome but new and very expensive. T5s work great and I think if you addes a four bulb setup to what you have that would work great. MH would work just as well for your size of a tank. The difference between the 2 is mostly preference although from what I understand a metal halide will penetrate better to deeper ends of tanks but with what you have that is not really a worry. Its a lot to learn and research and lighting is definitely confusing. Look at lighting for saltwater a lot like growing plants in freshwater. your corals need the light to grow and some need more light than others.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lskurys Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 01 2011 at 2:20pm
Thank you so much for your help.  Does make me feel a little better.  I am getting close to an end on spending.  One more thing.  I have just been reading about Utah rock.  What is it and can I really use it?  I have spent so much money on live rock so far that my wife is starting to roll her eyes when I talk about the tank.
 
I am guessing that I still need between 30 and 50 pounds of rock.  so anything that I can do to get to the right amount with out breaking my bank any more is great. 
 


Edited by lskurys - September 01 2011 at 2:22pm
220g , large elite aquatics sump. 3 Radion Pro Gen 3 lights 3 Mp 40's
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It is rock found out around the great salt lake that you can make live. I have it in both of my tanks and it works great. It does not look as cool as the other stuff but works great. You can find it a lot on the board here for sale or free. Its a great way to populate your tank with rock for cheap you just have to wait a while for bacteria and things to start growing in it to make it live. It does get expensive quick but you can get a lot of good deals from people here on the board.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Laird Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 01 2011 at 2:52pm
I live in Roy too and have a couple different tanks if you ever want to stop by and talk "shop."

Indefinite hiatus from sw aquariums.

Once I have my glorious return I'll set back up the following.
50 Gallon rimless cube.
180 Gallons mixed reef paradise
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lskurys Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 01 2011 at 3:22pm

Thanks for the offer Laird.  You would be welcome to stop by also and give me any pointers you could. 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote P.Kapp Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 01 2011 at 3:29pm
I live in Roy too, and I am working on setting up another tank in the next little while. If youre not in a huge rush I will have some live rock for sale that is probably a lot cheaper than what the stores sell it for. I also have some soft coral you could have. Catching me at home is the only hard part...LOL
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lskurys Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 01 2011 at 3:53pm

Well I will see what I can do about getting more flow in the tank before I add much more.  I just needed a direction of what I needed to get first.  My wife and I have really enjoyed getting home from work and look to see what had changed through the day.  That has been the best part for us so far.  With our fresh water tank it never changed.  Well fish would grow, or one would die. With a salt water tank every time we look at it there seems to be something new or something has changes or moved that we did not know that it could.   

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