My reef tank...

[Ryan C.]

It's a start anyway. New to the forum! I thought I'd post on this forum to get some more reviews. More rock will be added later. Clowns have been in for almost two weeks now. Let me know if you see anything wrong with my tank. Thanks guys.

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[Ryan C.]

Sorry for the small pics. It's a 30 gallon with Aqueon filter and Biocube protein skimmer.

[Ryan C.]

Oh yeah and 65 watt Coralife, and 32 watt smartlight compacts.

[TRe]

inwall? i like .... definitly make sure u get pre cured live rock when u get more and evn than itd be a good idea to put it in a seperate container for a little while to be sure... i didnt see any powerheads in ther, youll prolly want 2 one on each side facing each other ...that skimmer doesnt look so hot, you'll prolly wanna upgrade that sooner or later but as long as u keep up on your water chanes you should be ok....

[Lotus]

Welcome to the site

I agree that you should cure the new rock outside the tank. Looks nice

[AnimalBabe]

Originally Posted by TRe

inwall? i didnt see any powerheads in ther, youll prolly want 2 one on each side facing each other ...that skimmer doesnt look so hot, you'll prolly wanna upgrade that sooner or later but as long as u keep up on your water chanes you should be ok....

I'm definitely thinking of changing over my whole tank to one with live rock...ditching the canister filter (or at least running it for extra flow without the filter media), and adding a powerhead and a protein skimmer. Do you really need two powerheads?? Mine is a 50 gal tank. And what I really want to know...should I add pieces of live rock a little at a time or can I ditch the plastic decorations and add the 40-50 lbs of live rock at all one time??

Btw, do you guys know of any books on reef tanks that are good for beginners? I'd eventually want to buy some corals.

Thanks!

[Ryan C.]

Yes, my case is a homeade job but sticks out of the wall. Powerheads will be added this weekend or sooner. Protein skimmer will be upgraded to down the road. 20% RO water changes have been done. Thanks guys.

[Lorna]

Ryan looks like you may be off to a great start....keep it up.

Animal babe, nice little highjack.... just kidding..... a good book for beginners "The New Marine Aquarium" by Michael Paletta is an excellent beginner resource. You need to get the live rock and cure it in a bucket with a powerhead and heater for a couple of weeks possibly depending if you purchase fully cured or not. Either way as your tank is already set up you should put it in a bucket to cure and measure the parameters so you don't spike your tank and kill your existing fish. Yahoo, get rid of the plastic stuff ....

Powerheads are essential for water flow and to provide surface agitation to aid in the oxygen exchange. Most marine tanks try to imitate the reef environment which is a turbulent place of tidal flow and wave action.....most fish prefer the current to swim in and it gives them exercise etc. Corals need the water movement to bring food to them as they are imobile and can't hunt it down for themselves. Please do some reading BEFORE adding any corals to your tank.

[AnimalBabe]

hehe, guess I should have started a new thread. Sorry Ryan! Thanks Lorna, I'll check out that book.

[Ryan C.]

I hear the Fission skimmers are junk? Is this true? What should I get? I was told the Coralife super 65. Seems like a good one. Any other suggestions?