want to start up a reef.any advice would help

[Rich1427]

Would like to start a reef had a FOWLR but my niger trigger went berzerk! and bullied and killed all the fish. so im gonna rehome him because i know he isnt reef safe and im not gonna believe any trigger is community compatible again.so i was just wondering what good advice is out there on what types of corals are best for a beginner reefer?and what other tips and tricks i can learn? what i have is a 120 tank,red sea x2 turbo skimmer, eshopps w/d filter (i know i need a fuge) anything else i need?

[rluix]

You'll need some good lights for that size tank. Metal halides are nice, for your tank 2, or maybe 3 of some 150 w. some 20K others 10K.
Since im not the expert in lighting here, i would recommend to wait for other replys.

[vio]

rluix is right. lighting should be one of your first steps if you dont already have a fixture of enough power. what kind of lighting do you have now?

in order to keep a successful reef nitrate control should be one of your top concerns and wet dry filters are nitrate factories. does your wet dry contain bio balls?

if i were you i would deepen my sand bed to about 4 or 5 inches when you get rid of the trigger and have an empty tank. A DSB is one of the best ways to promote anaerobic bacteria that break nitrates down into nitrogen gas and what better time to add more live sand then when a tank is empty. IMO this would be much more beneficial than a fuge.

good beginner corals are very hard to recommend IMO. If your tank is set up properly you can find some nice low maintenance corals but beginner is not always the best. a lot of beginners end getting easy corals recommended to them that simply grow like weeds and are not all that attractive. really though your lighting will determine the corals you can keep.

read read read. the more research you do and the slower you go the more successful you will be.

check out the lighting forum and the links in before you ask Click here before you ask, (links to answers).

[Rich1427]

thanks for the comback guys were going on vacation in june so i was reading hot n heavy all over on reefs.as for the lighting im waiting on a aquatic life t5 ho systems thats the best i can afford on my budget.do you recommend any good books? im really serious about this i wanna learn as much as i can before i dive right in.as for my sump i have 2 filter socks skimmer live rock and bioballs should i get rid of the balls?got a good design on setup?just wanna do it right from the start i know theres lots of ways and opinions on doing it right.

[rluix]

thanks for the comback guys were going on vacation in june so i was reading hot n heavy all over on reefs.as for the lighting im waiting on a aquatic life t5 ho systems thats the best i can afford on my budget.do you recommend any good books? im really serious about this i wanna learn as much as i can before i dive right in.as for my sump i have 2 filter socks skimmer live rock and bioballs should i get rid of the balls?got a good design on setup?just wanna do it right from the start i know theres lots of ways and opinions on doing it right.

get rid of the bioballs, those are made for freshwater, also sponge filter's should not be used as the live rock its your biological filter.

[gregr]

A sump will help tremendously. More water, more flow, more room for heaters, skimmer, etc.
After the lighting upgrade that'd be my second task- try to make the sump as big as you can too.

[Rich1427]

get rid of the bioballs, those are made for freshwater, also sponge filter's should not be used as the live rock its your biological filter.

so i dont need the filter sock to keep out large particles?

[Rich1427]

A sump will help tremendously. More water, more flow, more room for heaters, skimmer, etc.
After the lighting upgrade that'd be my second task- try to make the sump as big as you can too.

allready have the sump. i was just wondering on reconfiguring it to make it the most optimal

[gregr]

I went without filter socks for a while and about 6 months ago I put one back in place. The sump stays cleaner longer and overall I think it's better to have one than not.