?'s on Lighting, algae, fish, ro/di, etc...for new setup

[wubaguba]

Hello all. Just setup my 75g (pic below) about 9 days ago...just rock and fish for now but plans to add soft corals later. Several questions in my head if anyone wants to lend a word of advice. Thanks in advance.

-PC, MH, or VHO...adequate wattage for soft corals...and any favorite brands?
-Substrate...should i add some sand to my crushed coral?
-How do i get rid of the brown algae growing like mad in my tank?
-Can i keep a hepatus tang, yellow tang, 2 clowns, misc inverts in my 75g?
-Best RO/DI unit?
-How do make a baffle to get rid of microbubbles from skimmer return?

Again, thanks! -Bill

75G All-Glass with stand
All-Glass dual strip light 80w
Aqua Clear Aquatics 125 wed/dry
Aqua Clear Aquatics 75 skimmer
1 Powerhead
Crushed coral substrate
Fiji live rock
79degrees

 

[Dubge]

Most people will tell you to ditch the CC for sand. I have a mix of both and have had no problems with it but I am still new as is my tank (less then 6 months)
The first 6 months of a new tank you will see many different algae blooms and they should go away in time.
I have a hippo tang and a yellow tang as well as 2 clowns in my tank with a few other fish and inverts and they all get along great except those blue damsels (need to remove those bastards)
The tangs will out grow the 75 over time

others will have to help you out with the other things as its beyond my knowlage

Ray

 

[ChrisRD]

You've gotten some good advice from Ray...

-PC, MH, or VHO...adequate wattage for soft corals...and any favorite brands?

Tough to answer as this is highly subjective. Personally I like MH, but PC and VHO work also - especially for a soft coral tank. PC setups can be a very cost effective way to go, but IME/IMO there are a lot of crappy PC lamps on the market. URI makes excellent quality VHO lamps, and T-5s are another fluorescent alternative that seems to be gaining popularity. Not sure if that really helps...LOL

BTW, wattage isn't really a good guideline for how much light your corals will actually be getting IMO. Just as a rough guide - 4 X 110 watt VHO, 4 X 96 watt PC, or 4 to 6 X 54 watt T-5s (w/good reflectors like the Sunlight Supply units) would work well for a wide range of corals...

-Substrate...should i add some sand to my crushed coral?

I don't think adding some sand will do any harm. With the crushed coral in there it might be hard for you to get something like a cuke to clean the bed as effectively so you might have to syphon/vaccum more to keep it clean though.

-How do i get rid of the brown algae growing like mad in my tank?

Time. Your tank is very new and this is the first of several algae blooms you're going to see.

-Can i keep a hepatus tang, yellow tang, 2 clowns, misc inverts in my 75g?

IMO you're OK with all except Paracanthurus hepatus. They get large and need a lot of swimming room. I'd do a couple of other small fish instead...

-Best RO/DI unit?

Again, tough to answer as I would say there are a lot of good units out there. They all look pretty similar to me. Kent, Spectrapure, ARS (Aquatic Reef Systems), etc. are all quality brands IMO...

-How do make a baffle to get rid of microbubbles from skimmer return?

If you do a search you should be able to find some pics of sump/baffles designs here on the board as this has come up quite a bit in the past.

 

[ChrisRD]

BTW do a search on the bioballs as well...

 

[vsmith]

stay away from damsels
I made this mistake. This is a very addictive hobby. Try to avoid the mistakes that other people have made and you will save yourself money and aggravation. My tank is 3 years old. Only algae bloom I've every had was 2 weeks ago. I used live sand (actually came in a bag with seawater, RO/DI water...yeah made 100 gallons of it, and this stuff called "cycle", put my live rock and 6 damsels. Took about 2 weeks to cycle and that was is. I'm not saying that's the way to go,but it worked for me.
Now back to the damsel. The guy in the thread above described them as bastards. I agree!!! If you plan on adding some nice cute docile little fishes like clownfish, jawfish, firefish, wrasse, etc basically anything smaller than tem without teeth. The damsels will pester your new fish until they are dead and buried!!!!!
Who's idea was it to ever put damsels in a tank!!!
stay away far far away.
If someone tells you well you can take them out once your tank has cycled don't believe them. Try to get those things out with live rock in your tank sucks. They're smart too. When you put your hand in the tank the bite your arm and hand. put a net in there and they run for cover.
Devils I tell you Devils!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Vince

 

[vsmith]

got so carried away with the damsels forgot to answer the rest of your questions.
My sump (the thing under the tank in your picture) came with an overflow box which I didn't need. in that box was a sponge. I took that sponge and placed directly below the 2 return pipes. This eliminated the bubbles. Not sure if this will cause other problems but it worked for me. I use a Kent Marine RO/DI its 2 year old and works great. My girlfriend gets pissed because once a week for several hours she can't use the shower. So get a 60 or higher whatever brand you get. I'm sure lots of people use different things. just ask around, but if anyone tells you stay away from something and they've been in the hobby for a while I'd listen. This is expensive enough. Learn from someone elses financial disaster.

 

[jsbradbury]

I think people are a bit harsh on damsels. Maybe not the best for a reef tank, but I have several in my 125g aggresive fish only tank and have been happy with them. Two big domino damsels should be in there for good, and the small blue and yellow tail will soon be food for my Lion and Snowflake eel, ahhhahah

 

[wubaguba]

Wow, just came back to notice all of these replies to my post. Thanks for all the advice guys. Looking forward to getting to know all of you through this board. Thanks again, -Bill