Help on starting a reef tank

[Chad_Asmus]

I would like to start around a 100 to 125 gallon reef tank. I tried reading up on what i need for filters and stuff but i i did was get confused. I have been doing freshwater for a while and i wanted to do something different. any information on what i need would be greatly appreciated.


I was also wondering if it is easy to move them once they get set up? I am in the millitary so i move around alot

[LCP136]

I was in the same boat as you for a while regarding doing freshwater and wanting to do saltwater. As for filtration, you will want a good protein skimmer, that is key. You will probably want a UV filter as well. Most of your filtration will come from the nitrafying and nitrifying bacteria on your live rock, which is the calcium skeletal remains of dead corals. It is called "live" rock because it is covered in bacteria and other microorganisms. You will hear about canister filters, which are in my opinion unnecessary. Although they provide more space for beneficial bacteria to grow, it will pretty much cancel itself out because extra food that would be removed by the skimmer gets trapped in there and creates more nitrates than you would have without it. You will also here about calcium reactors, which are very beneficial if you want to do hard coral, but if you want to go with soft corals, I have found them unnecessary.
As to the movement of tanks, it is quite difficult. Chances are you will have to restart the tank every time you move. If you are moving a long way it can be very difficult to transport fish and corals. Even though you will have to restart, it won't take as long because of your live rock.

Good luck on the new task, and post any questions.

LCP

[scubadude]

LCP makes some good points. The only thing that I would add is that you might want to make a list of the corals/fish/inverts that intrigue you most or your most interested in keeping and check their compatibility levels w/each other then check their requirements and husbandry levels.....You could do alot of this with the internet but I recommend a few good books if you plan on getting in this hobby to help you too. Corals by Borneman and Reef Fishes by Palleta would be 2 great starter books to help you get going. Go slow and dont make drastic changes to your tank (i.e. dont put alot of fish or corals in your tank @ once) as this is the most common mistake people make when starting a reef tank.

[Chad_Asmus]

Thanks for the info, I will get the 2 books mentioned. I have already bought a couple. I read that the larger the tank the easier, I'm ussuming that is because it takes longer for the water to get really out of balance like with freshwater. What size would you recommend for a starter? I just plan on doing some of the fish from Finding Nemo for my 2 Boys.

[Reefland]

Hi Chad and Welcome to Reefland!

If your going to do the Hippo Tang, I would go no less than a 75 gallon. However, this isn't the easiest size to have to move often. You could go with a much smaller tank that is easier to move around when needed and still get the clown fish (and some other cool fish) but would have to forgoe the blue hippo tang.

[Ninong]

Corals by Borneman and Reef Fishes by Palleta would be 2 great starter books to help you get going.

Rocky,

I thoroughly agree with you on Corals by Eric Borneman but are you sure that Michael Paletta has written a book called Reef Fishes? Are you perhaps thinking of Scott Michael?

[Ninong]

Chad,

First of all, thank you for your service to our country!

Second, welcome to Reefland!

Thanks for the info, I will get the 2 books mentioned. I have already bought a couple.

What books do you have already?

I read that the larger the tank the easier...

That's true for a variety of reasons but it's not true if you have to move the tank. In fact, the larger the tank, the more difficult it is to move.

What size would you recommend for a starter? I just plan on doing some of the fish from Finding Nemo for my 2 Boys.

You can do Nemo but you can't do Dory unless your tank is fairly large, at least 135 gallons, in my opinion. Some recommend a minimum as low as 75 or 90 gallons but I think that's too small for the long-term for this particular species.

A nice, economical size that can be moved without a great deal of hassle, would be a 40-gal breeder. That tank measures 36"L x 18"W x 16"H. It can be easily and economically lit with fluorescent lighting, especially the new T5 HO lamps, and the 18" front-to-back dimension is about the smallest you want to go for a reef tank. The standard 55-gal tank is one of the worst possible sizes for a reef tank but it makes a decent fish-only tank for smallish fish.

You could keep a pair of Nemos in a 40-gal tank (either Amphiprion ocellaris or A. percula). You could consider a bubble-tip anemone (Entacmaea quadricolor) as a host for a pair of A. ocellaris but not until your tank has been set up for at least six months. This would make a very interesting combination for your kids to observe.

A 40-gal tank would be large enough for two or three other smallish fish provided you choose them wisely. It just isn't large enough for any tangs at all. Sorry.

[LCP136]

I agree with much of what has been said. If you are moving often the 40ish tank is a good suggestion. Also, im just going to throw out the idea of a micro reef. These are rather easy to move and you could have a pair of ocellaris (nemo) in a 15 or 20 gallon micro. It may not be a very exciting suggestion, but you could try that and if you wanted to go bigger you could.

[scubadude]

Rocky,

I thoroughly agree with you on Corals by Eric Borneman but are you sure that Michael Paletta has written a book called Reef Fishes? Are you perhaps thinking of Scott Michael?

Yup...thanx Ninong!
I knew it was someone with Michael in their name

[Chad_Asmus]

One of the books is called Marine Aquariums, Basic aquarium setup and maintenance by Ray Hunziker, and another is of fish and corals, but i don't have it with me at the moment. Is it just Harder to move a larger tank or is it just imposible to move? When the military moves you they pay a moving company to pack and move everything. The moving companys insurance doesn't cover teardowns moving and assembly so they contract that out to a pet dealer to do. So frankly i could care less if it is only because it was hard. I just thought that i read somewhere that the live rock will grow together and then you have to break it apart. This is something that a experianced store could do or no? right now i have a tank that is about 500 gallons and has 2 altum angels in it, and all live plants, and it has been moved twice with no problems or dead fish and plants. Altum angels are a very sensitve and expensive fish for freshwater.

[Ninong]

Chad,

To move a reef tank, you have to remove all of the corals and live rock to separate containers with something to maintain temperature and water circulation in each. You have to remove the fish to similar containers. You have to save as much of the tankwater as possible so that when you restart the tank you won't be using all freshly made-up saltwater.

The tank has to be completely empty (as I'm sure you already know) before it can be moved.

Most reef hobbyists who move their own tanks wouldn't even consider a move that is more than a 15-hr drive away. For something greater than that, you would probably have to have all of the livestock packaged in separate plastic bags (with saltwater and oxygen) and shipped overnight air freight. The live rock could be shipped air freight, too. The sand bed is usually discarded and new sand is used for the new setup. The tank itself, could be crated and shipped air freight, assuming cost is no object. All of the equipment would have to be shipped air freight.

The tank would have to be back up and running in the new location within about 24-36 hours.

When I discussed moving a 40-gal tank as being easier than moving a much larger tank, I was thinking about a situation where you move the tank yourself by car or truck -- meaning no more than about 850 miles away at the most. For moves longer than that, most hobbyists will sell the livestock locally before taking their tank down.

How was your 500-gal tank moved and how far was it moved? Who handled the move for you? Just curious.

[Chad_Asmus]

My Big tank was moved By a Local fish store in Fond du Lac Wisconsin. They removed everything and put it in 20 gallon rubbermaid bins, except for the fish I Made 2 seperate acrylic tanks, 1'x1'x2'high, because of the hight. then it was taken to a airport abought 120miles away and flown to oklahoma, about 1100 miles away, and then they set everything back up for me.

[Ninong]

My Big tank was moved By a Local fish store in Fond du Lac Wisconsin. They removed everything and put it in 20 gallon rubbermaid bins, except for the fish I Made 2 seperate acrylic tanks, 1'x1'x2'high, because of the hight. then it was taken to a airport abought 120miles away and flown to oklahoma, about 1100 miles away, and then they set everything back up for me.

The local fish store in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin set everything back up for you in Oklahoma? That must have been really expensive for somebody???

In any case, if the government is going to pay the full amount of having your tank (even one as large as 500 gallons) moved and then set up for you in the new location, then I guess it's not all that difficult after all to move a large reef tank. I wasn't thinking about having other people handle everything on both ends. I was just talking about how difficult it is for an individual to handle something like this if the distange is more than a few hundred miles.

[Cymig]

Hello! I got a lot of advice from this short video clip: YouTube - Saltwater Aquarium Fish Selection Advice

[Ninong]

Hi Cymig,