Agh, I just had a huge post, but when I clicked submit it said no post mode selected. Trying again 
My friend went off to med school, and I bought his tank. It is a 125 gallon tank that had been running for years. It only had 2 fish in it at the time, a black damsel with a bit of yellow at the very end of its tail, and a ocellaris clownfish who is just as personable as can be. It had 2 powerheads, 2 returns, a wet/dry sump? with bioballs and pebble like rocks, 2 glass tube heaters and about 2 inches of crushed coral substrate. No live rock, but 1 great rock that had lots of holes, and 2 dead corals.
We took the tank down around 1pm, and had it back up and running by 6pm. We were told by 3 LFS's that by keeping the filter wet and the substrate wet, we wouldn't have to really cycle the tank. Does that sound reasonable? We also kept a few gallons of the old water for the fish during transport.
My wife picked out the following other fish:
1 adult azure damsel
1 juvi black and gold damsel
1 juvi blue reef damsel
1 juvi yellow tail damsel
1 blue and gold damsel? (more like blue and cream, not sure)
1 six lined wrasse
1 golden head goby
2 peppermint shrimp (who promptly disapeared)
We also picked up about 40 lbs of good live rock, got rid of the two dead coral pieces, probaly 20-30 lbs of builder live rock (big rock,b ut not as well grown over) and 20 lbs or so of just plain rock. We built upon the original rock and the plain rock, placing builder rock ontop to make structures, and the good live rock in places to hopefully stimulate growth across all of the rock. The rock was all cured before we purchased it (and didn't smell rotten).
We are considering getting:
1 more Ocellaris clown
1 royal gramma
later down the road, once the tank has matured, a mandarin dragonet.
I also like the sound of a Jawfish, from this quote alone:
"They will typically spit gravel at any fish that comes too near to the burrow (and even at the hobbyist who tries to get a closer look). "
We eventually want to get some coral, so I can forsee returning some of the damsels. Especially since I read they are so aggressive. So far they aren't really. The black one we got with the tank is actually quite passive. The only agressive one is the Azure. Clownie stood up to him, and he has since left him alone. The lil guys have figured out they can team up against him, and so now he just swims around, very occasionaly he will dart after one for a brief moment. No nipping at all.
What are we missing? I bought 2 4' power compact light sets, each has 2 actinic? blue and 2 regular lights in them. They overlap for about 2 feet in the middle. What about a protein skimmer?
What other things would go well for the "clean up crew" as I have read it is called. The 2 shrimp were a start, but I've read about hermit crabs, brittle starfish, and snails? Would adding "live sand" help, or is the crushed coral the same? Do we need more live rock?
Thanks for any help, this site has already been quite helpful
Jason
My friend went off to med school, and I bought his tank. It is a 125 gallon tank that had been running for years. It only had 2 fish in it at the time, a black damsel with a bit of yellow at the very end of its tail, and a ocellaris clownfish who is just as personable as can be. It had 2 powerheads, 2 returns, a wet/dry sump? with bioballs and pebble like rocks, 2 glass tube heaters and about 2 inches of crushed coral substrate. No live rock, but 1 great rock that had lots of holes, and 2 dead corals.
We took the tank down around 1pm, and had it back up and running by 6pm. We were told by 3 LFS's that by keeping the filter wet and the substrate wet, we wouldn't have to really cycle the tank. Does that sound reasonable? We also kept a few gallons of the old water for the fish during transport.
My wife picked out the following other fish:
1 adult azure damsel
1 juvi black and gold damsel
1 juvi blue reef damsel
1 juvi yellow tail damsel
1 blue and gold damsel? (more like blue and cream, not sure)
1 six lined wrasse
1 golden head goby
2 peppermint shrimp (who promptly disapeared)
We also picked up about 40 lbs of good live rock, got rid of the two dead coral pieces, probaly 20-30 lbs of builder live rock (big rock,b ut not as well grown over) and 20 lbs or so of just plain rock. We built upon the original rock and the plain rock, placing builder rock ontop to make structures, and the good live rock in places to hopefully stimulate growth across all of the rock. The rock was all cured before we purchased it (and didn't smell rotten).
We are considering getting:
1 more Ocellaris clown
1 royal gramma
later down the road, once the tank has matured, a mandarin dragonet.
I also like the sound of a Jawfish, from this quote alone:
"They will typically spit gravel at any fish that comes too near to the burrow (and even at the hobbyist who tries to get a closer look). "
We eventually want to get some coral, so I can forsee returning some of the damsels. Especially since I read they are so aggressive. So far they aren't really. The black one we got with the tank is actually quite passive. The only agressive one is the Azure. Clownie stood up to him, and he has since left him alone. The lil guys have figured out they can team up against him, and so now he just swims around, very occasionaly he will dart after one for a brief moment. No nipping at all.
What are we missing? I bought 2 4' power compact light sets, each has 2 actinic? blue and 2 regular lights in them. They overlap for about 2 feet in the middle. What about a protein skimmer?
What other things would go well for the "clean up crew" as I have read it is called. The 2 shrimp were a start, but I've read about hermit crabs, brittle starfish, and snails? Would adding "live sand" help, or is the crushed coral the same? Do we need more live rock?
Thanks for any help, this site has already been quite helpful
Jason
