malkz

Experienced Reefer
Location
miller place
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hello everyone, just purchased a 90 gallon reef ready corner tank, i currently have a 55 gallon fish only tank, i figured to add a bit more color in the house so why not try something new, i dont wanna jump the gun, so i would love some great advice from everyone, from what type of sand would be best and how to start up the tank, thank you.


sincerely Malkz :tub:
 

baja2700

Active Reefer
Location
Forked river NJ
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Hey Malkz like mckostya says read everything you can mr.com is a great place to be everyones very helpful i would start with thinking a bout what kind of corals you want witch will decide what kinda lighting you want.
 

DHaut

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Location
Brooklyn
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Assuming you already know about cycling and water chemistry, then the big part is done. Lighting and filtration is a big deal for reef tanks. Research all the different types of coral (SPS, LPS, Softies) and their lighting requirements (SPS and clams need MH or T5 or powerful LED, LPS and Softies can make do with PC lighting).

For filtration, are you doing a sump/refugium? Running a skimmer? For a tank that size, a skimmer is almost a necessity.
 

jhart

Advanced Reefer
Location
Yonkers
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GOOD LUCK , Take your time read, ask questions ( alot of em ) .. set your system up so it is as easy as it can be. dont go crazy be smart buy once..
and for god sake set a schedule do do you water changes religiously , Use RODI water and a good salt mix, with a high calcium.
Determine weather your going to dose or use reactor ect.
dosing is cheaper upfront, reactor makes life easier.
Lights are going to be your biggest cost\( chiller ) .
look for great deals here on MR. someone is allways selling what u need...

best of luck..
Water Change dont forget Ever!
 

malkz

Experienced Reefer
Location
miller place
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thank you everyone, have a wet dry filter, protein skimmer and uv light set for it, just dont have the right lighting i assume, i will read as much as possible, thanks again.
 

Killerdrgn

Advanced Reefer
Location
Park Ridge, NJ
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thank you everyone, have a wet dry filter, protein skimmer and uv light set for it, just dont have the right lighting i assume, i will read as much as possible, thanks again.

if you're going to be going reef, you may want to ditch the wet dry, or at least the bio balls that come with em. They tend to be nitrate factories which is not good for corals.
 

LeslieS

Advanced Reefer
Location
Manhattan
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This is kind of trivial, but the one thing that I would NOT have done when adding corals/animals to my tank is adding mushrooms. At first they are nice because they add some color while everything else grows. Now they are taking over and killing everything they touch. They are almost impossible to kill. I would rather have aptasia because at least somethings eat that!
 

johnvic

Experienced Reefer
Location
Sunnyside
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This is kind of trivial, but the one thing that I would NOT have done when adding corals/animals to my tank is adding mushrooms. At first they are nice because they add some color while everything else grows. Now they are taking over and killing everything they touch. They are almost impossible to kill. I would rather have aptasia because at least somethings eat that!

Oh great! I just bought my first coral, a green mushroom coral.
 

Awibrandy

Old School Reefer
Location
Far Rockaway
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LOL, mushrooms can be a pain, but if you set them off onto their own little island (like many other corals such as xenias, anthelias, gsp, and the list goes on) they can be controlled while enjoying their beauty.;)

Malkz, read read read. All have given you good advice so far. You asked about the sand in your openning and that again will depend on the animals you plan to keep (such as wrasse - I'd go with a fine sand for them) and then of course there is your preferance as well to be considered...
Most importantly first thing to get is an RO/DI. DO NOT fill that tank with tap or well water.........
 

daisy

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 100%
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Hey there - welcome to MR...

Reading up is key, going slowly is important, and the quality of the water you put into the tank will determine pretty much everything at first.

Soft corals are the easiest to keep, and you could very well be happy with a soft coral tank for a while, but as Leslie said, they grow FAST and are hard to get rid of when you're ready to move on to LPS and SPS (if you want to do that)

Best thing might be to figure out the softies that don't grow so fast and master the husbandry needed to go straight to LPS...

But the truth is that a really good idea is to figure out what your dream reef tank looks like, and build up to that idea. Like Leslie, I, too, have mushrooms in my tank I'll be lucky to get rid of one day....

Best of luck!

-tahl
 

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