NoobtoSalt Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Hey everyone so I've just recently been brought into the world of saltwater. I have been dealing with African Cichlids for awhile now and figured the next way to graduate up would of course be a saltwater tank. I currently have a 75 gallon TruVu tank with a Tunze protien skimmer etc... I bought the tank used and it has been cycled for around a year now. I have 50-75lbs of live rock and tanks to a very nice person on the boards "David" I now have a decent amount of live coral in the tank as well. Livestock in the tank are as follows (at least that I know of): 1 Coral Beauty 2 Fire Fish 1 Dragon Goby 1 Blue Hippo Tang 1 Clown 1 Foxface 1 Green Bubble tip anenome 1 long tentecle anenome 1 Fire Shrimp Lots of snails Any help would be appricated in helping me out with knowing what to do with salt tanks. I have of course made my rounds to most of the local shops and they are probably already getting sick of me.. so any other suggestions on how to keep the tank somewhat easy maintence would be great. One question that I do have is if it is neccesary to have a cooler for the tanks. I have AC and my house even on the really hot days usually never gets hotter than 78 degrees with AC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted April 12, 2010 Author Share Posted April 12, 2010 Oh yeah I forgot to talk about lighting... T5 ballast with 12k daylights, 65 watt actinic lights and the night time led's. I also bought a rock a few weeks ago and noticed that it came with a couple of straglers.. namely some worms.. any ideas on what to do to get rid of these guys? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltfinsax Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Welcome new toad. Good to see another reefer on this side of the river as well. Sounds like you have a good start there with tank and fish. What are your plans as far as corals? What type of fixture is the T5 and how many lamps? O and pics are always good to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted April 12, 2010 Author Share Posted April 12, 2010 Just uploaded a few pics. would love to have a full reef tank to get rid of some of that blue background I have in the tank right now... The ballast has 4 T5 bulbs not sure what brand of a ballast it is though. I'm working on posting pics as we type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 You might want to rethink the tang in the 75g, they need a larger tank to be truly comfortable, minimum 6' long. Looking good so far, and I'd look into upgrading to MH at some point depending on the corals your wanting to keep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfisher Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Water changes, water changes...10% a week and have a lot of patence,corals don't grow quickly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted April 12, 2010 Author Share Posted April 12, 2010 Yeah the tang came with the tank when I bought it. As of right now the Foxface is the largest of the bunch. I'm sure within the next few months I will want to do some trades with either some of you guys online here or a local shop for some diffrent fish. I've already lost a diamond goby, a fu man chu lion fish (not going to try that one again but he had some amazing colors), and a star fish (not going to do that again either). I bought a few smaller frags from some of the shops in town here but again most of what is seen in the pics was from a generous donor from the forms. I was expecting a small frag or two and he really hooked me up. I did my first major water change two nights ago about 30 gallons and everything seems to be happier in the tank. I have done 3 other smaller changes around 15-20 gallons but thought that a larger one was in order. Every time I test my water it seems to be just fine. I use a refractometer to test the salinity and it typically tests around 1.023 to 1.025. I have heard good and bad about these but I hear they are better than a hydrometer. Temp is 77.8 to 80 degrees at all times. I have a small BTA that seems to deflate quite a bit still but it's only been about 3 weeks so I'm sure it will just need sometime to adapt to the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 WELCOME!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckie Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Welcome to the form. I am sure you will enjoy the folks here. All questions are good ones. Depending on what reflectors are on your lights you can grow a large amount of corals. I have Tek 8 light fixture and have many SPS corals doing fine. I do agree with the regular water changes and daily wiping with a magnet scrapper. Beckie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted April 12, 2010 Author Share Posted April 12, 2010 It's an acrylic tank, do they make a magnet scraper that won't scratch it? If so where can I get one? This would make it so much easier to deal with. Should I allow the alge to grow on the back wall? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Yes to the backwall algae growth, if its purple, its good, and as for the cleaner, MagFloat makes an acrylic version that you should be able to pick up at any of the local stores, I know Nick at RoseCity has some magfloats in stock, just didnt look to see what kind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClayTheSavageFraser Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Acrylic magnets always end up scratchin the tank! I hate them!! You know what I have found to be the best is small pieces of acrylic from a local plastics shop. It does mean you have to scrape it yourself, but use the corner of it and it works like a charm!! Worms, if it's black and looks like a bristleworm then get rid of it, if you can catch it!! If it's pink, then leave it alone they are good scavengers!! Welcome to the forum, I love this forum and have benefited tremendously from the combined knowledge of all the experts and seasoned hobbyists here!! Great group!! Best ever!! Clay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stylaster Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Welcome to the club! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 IME, magnetic scrapers for acrylic tanks are a waste of money. They do okay on diatoms if used daily, but aren't worth anything when it comes to coralline algae on the tank walls. And just wait until that first time you get a bit of sand or a baby snail between the pad and the tank wall... it'll make your soul ache. I use a Magic Eraser pad a couple of times a week to take care of diatoms and have a clear plastic scraper that I use on coralline maybe once a week or so. I can't wait to replace my acrylic scratch-fest with a glass tank... metal scrapers are where it's at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gumby Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 They are a few of us that live in the Vancouver area. I am sure that most of us would not mind if you stopped by to check out our systems to give you info and ideas for your system. PM me if your interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Ditto -- maybe we should have a Meet 'n' Greet here in the 'couve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted April 13, 2010 Author Share Posted April 13, 2010 Yeah I'd be interested in checking out other's tanks! I will be off on Thursday and Friday so maybe I could meet up with some of you guys then. Not a big deal this week if it doesn't happen. I appriciate all the help everyone has already given me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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