125 Gal+ Reef Tank Blueprints

[GAB99]

well,today i kept the lighting to about 6hrs and some of it is gone, then i had the notion of taking my magnet aglgae scrapper from my freshwater (not being used since the oto takes care of it) and put it in the saltwater to get rid of more. i could stilluse the phosphate remover which imcluless on

 

[seffieuk]

i could still use the phosphate remover which imcluless on

Cheapest way is buy some and put it in a media bag inside a skimmer (if your skimmer has a media box)

Seffie x

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Regarding the phosphate remover:
Most phosphate removers are granular ferric oxide and work in the same way. You need to have water flowing over it (so put it in a filter or a phosphate reactor) and the phosphate binds to it. It can only bind so much phosphate though before it stops working and then you need to replace it. How often you need to replace it depends on the phosphate levels in your tank.

There are other phosphate removing methods though. One is to use a refugium which contains macro algae such as Caulerpa and Cheato 9I would stay away from Caulerpa because it can "turn sexual" which in some cases has wiped out peoples tanks. The algae grows and absorbs phosphates and nitrates then you regularly prune the algae back which then removes the nutrients from the system.

On a similar vain some people use turf/algae scrubbers. These are basically areas which are set up to encourage rapid algae growth. Have a look at the thread below for more info:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/253010-mega-powerful-nitrate-and-phosphate-remover-replaces-skimmer-refugium/

There is another option which is basically a liquid that you add to the tank which binds to the phosphate and then gets pulled out by the skimmer. I haven't used this yet though so cant really comment on it.

Regarding the mag cleaner:
One word of advice. when you are not using it make sure you put it so the inside part is out of the water. If you don't you will get marine critters growing in it, most of which will have hard shells which will scratch the glass when you use it.

Regarding mandarins:
Correct, the male has an elongated spine on its dorsal fin. Not sure on the court jester, personally I would recommend leaving both the court jester and the mandarins for as long as possible to make sure the tank is mature and you have a good pod and micro fauna population.

 

[GAB99]

thanks guys i dont have a skimmer or sump, just the mere basics cuz my dad is cheap, i do have the old filter running on it with a cartridge and live rock behnd that, maybe i could put some in there?

and i wish i had chateo, life would be so much easier, would it by any chance be ok in the main tank? would it provide food for anyone?

and how do you sex fire fish?

 

[xxBarneyxx]

You can get hang on the back 'fuges which is a good option for growing macro algae. You can also convert a hang on the back filter to a fuge as well.They just need a good flow of water from the tank and enough light to grow.

Regarding the fire fish. As far as I remember there is actually no reliable way to sex them.

 

[GAB99]

can you give me a link to do that? i feel it would serve a much better purpose if it was a fuge

and i notice that sometimes 2 firfish swim together away from the others sometimes at lfs stores so i was wondering if it would be safe to get the 2 that swim together. or buy a proven pair

 

[seffieuk]

You need to have a proven pair - the fish in the lfs are usually juvies

Seffie x

 

[GAB99]

maybe thats why they werent tering each other apart hehe, thanks, and the pairs arent that costly so i guess it would be a deal. the reason i asked is because i want to attempt to breed them, cuz it hasnt been done.

and barney if you can get a link to a diy of a filter to fuge that would be awseome

and btw i did check out the mandarin diner, i really want to train my guys to eat pellets. and my mom has like 10 unused bottles so well find one with minmal creature entrance for the mandarins.

after that all thats needed are nemo's cardinal pics and im preped for this tank, he said he has a 200 w/100 sump on hold for 2000$ so idk.....

 

[-Nemo-]

The group I am apart of, one of our current goals this year is to breed and raise firefish
Just a side note

 

[GAB99]

awseome, have you guys had any success?

i want to do it because i love watching things start so small and grow up, example being my once 12" snake now a 7' monstrosity, i loved watching my gold barbs and right now i waiting for my 2 types of rainbows to give me some eggs (freshwater).


not to mention we can sell them and help stop them from being collected in the wild and make them hardier, if they havent been bred so far i can only imagine how many we have taken and how many are actually left out there, and not just with them but with the cardinals and actually alot of the fish we keep.

still need those pics!

 

[GAB99]

btw there is this algae that killed some of my zoas and established itself between 2 colonies, it hasnt killed since, should i rid my tank of this? i think it might be hair algae.

 

[GAB99]

also, if i can get chaeto for my 20 can i use a magnet like my cleaner to pin it to the back of the tank so it will stay in place and and then remove it to prune it? i cant risk messing up the filter to make a fuge and my dad says no sump or fuge for that tank but he will allow the algae.

so im preped for this tank but i could still use the help on my 20, the red stuff is receding alittle but the hermits are munching n it but it seems to recover overnight and then some the sand bed looks like the sahara desert.

and nemo if theres a way you can give me more info on that group that would be amazing.

 

[GAB99]

well, we are close to finding our new house in georgia and there will most likely be a finished basement for me and for my tanks , my dad says that i can have my current tanks in my room, my snake can have an old snakes 30 gal as a home (poor thing is stuck in 5 gallon fish tank for now) in a gym coming off my room , and the monstrosity can be in either the pool table room or the theatre (hope its in there as ill be in there playin xbox on the gigantic screen hehe, would a tank that big resist the noise of a small theatre?

plus the other questions ^

 

[GAB99]

*cough*

just the last 2 post above this please, thanks



sorry that was cpu not me i only did it once

 

[GAB99]

ok, heres an update on this situation

im getting rid of the soldierfish because my mom called them ugly

2 ocilleris clowns
1 flame angel
2 mandarin goby
2 bangaii cardinal fish
2 fire fish
2 of clown goby
2 jester goby
3 chalk basslet
2 tail spot blenny
2 long fin fairy wrasse
2 blue gudgeon dart fish
2 yellow head jawfish
1 long-nose hawkfish
1 dispar anthias
2 bellus angelfish pair
1 pacific redstripe hogfish
1 sankey's dotyback
1 achilles tang
10 black and white chromis

coral offenders being:flame angel, jester gobies, hawk fish

we look on craigslist first with a 2000$ limit on tanks as thats how much the 200 gallon comes with: tank,sump, and stand w/standard lights

lighting will be metal halides

custom built stand

and the 20 gallon and my 3 others (i had snakes and geckos, now down to 1 which needs more space) will be now used for any attempts at raising any fry/ coral fragging ill be doing to help fund this monster

coral:


frogspawn
disk coral
leather
blue xenia
xenia
zoas
stylophora
green bubble coral
bubble coral
candy cane
kenya tree
mushrooms
favia/brain coral
cup coral
hammer coral



and lastly, 200+lbs of live rock eeek!! there has to be an easier way, im thinking get 20-30 more lbs of LR, then add that with the rock from the clownfish=40-50lbs then either make my own or buy dead rock to seed and ill have to make sure that new live rock actually has critters in it so i can rock watch.

sound ok?