75 Gallon Setup/New Member

[Steve McKay]

You'll be fine,there are a lot of people here that will help you.One good thing to do,which I also do is when I ask myself a question I Google it and I usually get an answer.

[metalhead]

Ordered 150lbs of the Aragamax Sand.....Should have all of this by next week. Buyers regret is setting in heavily. I feel sick for ordering all this stuff...hopefully it was all wise and not done hastly. I took the advice given to me by you guys. I appreciate it.

Hang in there, you'll be much happier in the long run....

Though you probably won't realize it!

I say this because you will never experience alot of the problems you would have had with your original setup, which is a very good thing.

[Parrothead]

Random Note:

I just pulled the plug on everything in my tank. I can't stand the sound of the wet/dry filter anymore. I know that eventually it'll drive me crazy so I am thinking this....

I'm just going to drain my tank since removing the crushed coral caused the water to be all murky and nasty. By doing this i'll just move my whole setup out a few inches so I can hang the new skimmer I ordered on the back of the tank. I will also just buy a regular hang on the back filter and use carbon bags to put in it. I'll do away with the wet/dry/small sump and just operate the system with everything hanging off the back. I figure the more products breaking the waters surface the better the oxygen flow will be....Right?

I'll try to sell the wet/dry on craigslist to put towards paying off a portion of what I ordered.

Chicago, you really, really need that sump running right now, for water flow, you don't want your rock just sitting there in the water with no movement, it needs flow, do you have any type of powerhead or anything that can create flow till your K4's get in. If you don't, please plug the sump back in, you need the flow to keep your rock live

[ChicagoReef]

Yes i'm sure it will all be worth it in the long run. I would never want to take apart a full setup....right now I don't mind adjusting things to get it right. I've never setup a reef so I have a lot to learn.

I plugged back the sump to have some water movement. All seems well so far....

Thanks for the advice again.

[Parrothead]

Within a couple of weeks you won't even notice the noise the sump makes, it becomes whats called white noise, I did away with one once and the wife came home and was looking around because she didn't hear the noise from the sump

[ChicagoReef]

Within a couple of weeks you won't even notice the noise the sump makes, it becomes whats called white noise, I did away with one once and the wife came home and was looking around because she didn't hear the noise from the sump

I didn't mind the noise when the bio-balls were in there because they broke the fall of the water. Once I was told to remove them and I did the break of the water on water was like chinese water torture....It was just too darn loud. Is there any way I can break the fall to reduce the force?

[Parrothead]

Take a couple pics of the Wet/Dry and post them, we'll see what you got, I've got to step out for a couple of hours, I'll catch up with you later

[ChicagoReef]

Here are a few pictures of the sump when it had the bio-balls in it. Offer your advice when convenient. Thank u.

[Deathsmile]

If you run a filter bag in your sump where the balls used to be, it'll be quiter and help the water a little bit, you just have to change them out after a while though.

I had the same noise problem you did, my tank is in my bedroom so sleeping wasnt easy, but the bag makes it a lot less noticeable if it hits the sid eof the bag and then sinks into the water

[ChicagoReef]

I went ahead and drained the tank to allow enough clearence for my new protein skimmer which should hopefully arrive next week. I took out all the crushed coral residue and pretty much started new. I however raised the salinity to 1.025 this time...I recall someone telling me that 1.022ish was too low for a reef? Am I right?

I can't wait to get my sand, koralia powerheads and protein skimmer so I can feel like I'm making progress.

Happy New Year to anyone reading this.

[Parrothead]

Good Job, gives me hope going into 2010

[Deathsmile]

You did good ChicagoReef, ya made me proud

1.025 is good, i keep around there to 1.026 which is a tad high, but it all works.

Youll be happy with the new sand and the fact you took the crushed coral out will make you A LOT happier in the future.

Happy New Years, looks like we'll both be starting the new year with new tanks, our tanks will progress similar, but yours will be a tad ahead of mine do to all the set backs Looking forward to see the directions we go with them.

[ChicagoReef]

Thanks . I'm glad i'm making you guys proud. I think that my salinity isn't even throughout my tank. One side is a little higher then the other. Once I get my koralina power heads I think it'll all be mixed more evenly.

I just noticed that on one of my live rock pieces I have a group of 3 anenome/soft coral looking things. It's small...about the size of a penny each...round, pinkish with small white tips on the outside rim. It closes and opens depending on the light. I wonder what it is.

Death I also look forward to seeing where our tanks go. It's going to be an exciting journey. Not to mention EXPENSIVE!

[Steve McKay]

Can you get a photo of said anemones,does it open and close or shrink down.It could be good or bad in that order.Sounds like it might be good,a good photo will help.Yes it will be expensive I have spent 6500 on my tank so far.

[ChicagoReef]

Steve it appears that it closes. They're currently in a tight closed bud looking formation with a tiny hole in the center. Seems like it completely closed up but i'm not 100% sure. It's difficult to get a picture of them but I'll try and post one in a little bit.

[Deathsmile]

ChicagoReef, youll learn that around these forums, pics are a must

To make it easy i just made a photobucket album dedicated to these forums to house all my pics, that way its just quicker

And yeah, i wanna see pics of this little guys as well

[cwoods5]

How are you mixing your water? Are you buying premixed or making it at home?

[ChicagoReef]

This is the best my camera can do right now . The fellas in question are the pinkish colored circle things. They're closed right now. When they open up they become a lighter pink with white tips all around that are small dots. I'll work on better pictures and I'll try to capture them when they're opened up.

I look forward to your opinions.

[ChicagoReef]

How are you mixing your water? Are you buying premixed or making it at home?

I'm using Instant Ocean salt and mixing it at home.

[cwoods5]

Are you using tap water or RODI?