HELP im setting up my first reef:)

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joe1123

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well I been on and off in the hobby for about 7yrs. now I want to start my first reef tank, I have kept saltwater, fresh water systems in the past with more success in the fresh water systems. BUT now I really want to keep a reef tank. I have been looking for the equipment on craigslist and have found this so far..Precision Marine Acrylic Sump (16 gal - 24x11.5x14), single inlet with refugium chamber and a seaclear 60 gallon acrylic tank. I wanted to know what the best way of setting this up as far as the filtration goes
I hear you can put a phosphate reactor and a protean skimmer to set it up, am I missing anything besides live rock and water changes, lights? in a set up like this??
I also know I need to dose the tank with the trace elements???how?
 

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Smite

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Nice start.
The liverock and skimmer are your main sources of filtration. I wouldn't buy a reactor right off the bat, I don't run one anymore. Put that money towards a light.

Next on my list would be getting the tank wet and cycled, buying test kits
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate

Alkalinity
Calcium
Magnesium

Refractometer to measure salinity

10% water changes a week should keep you parameters in check the beginning. Eventually you'll need to dose clacium, alkalinity and possibly magnesium. But I wouldn't worry about that for the start.
 
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cymaster007

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Depending on what you want to grow- be sure to get some powerheads to get good flow and invest in some decent lights. Get a Reverse osmosis system for mixing salt water.

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk
 
cymaster007

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Oh and congrats on joining the saltwater group! You'll see lots of good used equipment posted here

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk
 
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joe1123

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I do have some experience cycling a tank right now I just have a little 5 gallon saltwater that im messing with to prove the principal( so I'm not learning it the expensive way with a big tank.) so far so good I been able to keep those black and white striped damsels and a green chromis. but for some reason when I put the blue devil damsels they end up dying..
why don't you run a phosphate reactor?
what type of lights do you recommend? the tank is 48 inch long and about 18 inch tall
 
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Looks pretty good to me. Has the bubble trap before the return. Hard to tell how big each section is but it looks like you may have to choose between a refugium and skimmer unless you can divide the 2. I like my sump to flow skimmer,fuge then return.
 
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I don't run one because my refugium is lit 24/7 and has controlled phosphates extremely well. I keep a mixed reef and everything seems happy at .02 phosphate. When I ran rowaphos, my level was zero and my LPS weren't happy at all. It's also much cheaper. Running the fuge light 24/7 or opposite the displays photo period helps maintain a stable pH

I love led lighting. I've had sols and now have radion pros. I did end up supplementing both with t5 lighting when I got into sps. Everything works, it's really preference. A great middle ground is t5 though.
 
BeanMachine

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Good advice here.

First thing I would do is build yourself a stand because you can't put one tank on top of the other! :)

Welcome to SCR. We will get you off on the right foot. Just post here before you make any spontaneous purchases of items you dont need or equipment that may be of poor quality.

Careful with the acrylic tanks as they scratch easy. So do some research on the best way to clean the inside without scratching your tank all to hell.
 
mmarro22

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joe1123 said:
I do have some experience cycling a tank right now I just have a little 5 gallon saltwater that im messing with to prove the principal( so I'm not learning it the expensive way with a big tank.) so far so good I been able to keep those black and white striped damsels and a green chromis. but for some reason when I put the blue devil damsels they end up dying..
why don't you run a phosphate reactor?
what type of lights do you recommend? the tank is 48 inch long and about 18 inch tall
Click to expand...
First of all welcome! Second. ...Damsels are super aggressive and chromis can sometimes actually be more sensitive than we think. 5 gallons of space for 3 fish and I'm assuming no adequate filtration either your amonia is spiking causing them to die or they are fighting to the death over territory. If you really want to try it with fish I would only do 1 damsel in a 5 gallon tank.

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
 
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joe1123

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Smite said:
Looks pretty good to me. Has the bubble trap before the return. Hard to tell how big each section is but it looks like you may have to choose between a refugium and skimmer unless you can divide the 2. I like my sump to flow skimmer,fuge then return.
Click to expand...
so in a nutshell I can put a protein skimmer or a refugium in the bottom? or both.. I would like to put a refugium but I don't know if that size of sump would be able to take the bioload for a 60 gallon? and I think im stuck between one or the other being that its a 16 gallon sump?
 
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joe1123

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Smite said:
I don't run one because my refugium is lit 24/7 and has controlled phosphates extremely well. I keep a mixed reef and everything seems happy at .02 phosphate. When I ran rowaphos, my level was zero and my LPS weren't happy at all. It's also much cheaper. Running the fuge light 24/7 or opposite the displays photo period helps maintain a stable pH

I love led lighting. I've had sols and now have radion pros. I did end up supplementing both with t5 lighting when I got into sps. Everything works, it's really preference. A great middle ground is t5 though.
Click to expand...
so once the tank has cycled what I would want to do is manage phosphates.. and dose the tank with mag,cal with proportion to the corals I have when I have them ... but like you said its nothing I should be concerned with at the moment./
 
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joe1123

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mmarro22 said:
First of all welcome! Second. ...Damsels are super aggressive and chromis can sometimes actually be more sensitive than we think. 5 gallons of space for 3 fish and I'm assuming no adequate filtration either your amonia is spiking causing them to die or they are fighting to the death over territory. If you really want to try it with fish I would only do 1 damsel in a 5 gallon tank.

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
yes very true they are aggressive fish so I have heard for many... but the weird thing is I don't see them nipping at each other I don't think that's the issue with these guys. this would be the second time I buy a blue devil damsel only to die I also bought some damsels with a yellow tail and they also died... but they were not nipping at each other.. and as far as filtration goes yeah I don't have a very good filter its a whisper filter with the carbon and the bio sponge... I do frequent water changes to keep everything under control in regards to ammonia and such.
 
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joe1123

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BeanMachine said:
Good advice here.

First thing I would do is build yourself a stand because you can't put one tank on top of the other! :)

Welcome to SCR. We will get you off on the right foot. Just post here before you make any spontaneous purchases of items you dont need or equipment that may be of poor quality.

Careful with the acrylic tanks as they scratch easy. So do some research on the best way to clean the inside without scratching your tank all to hell.
Click to expand...
lol ah yes I need a stand ...im a DIY type of guy...so the way I figured it is that.. im gonna get all the equipment ready ( or most of it ready) and then see what size of stand im going to make. I don't want to make a mistake of building a small stand ..
 
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