New Marine RR94 Setup Advice Required; please have a quick read

[Ironfish]

Hello everyone i am new to this forum however I have been keeping fish for most of my adult life. My current tanks are as follows..

I have a 180ltr community tropical freshwater tank full with the usual suspects.

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40 ltr community tropical freshwater tank with Liby the red tropical lobster (was meant to be blue).

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60 ltr brackish tank with a juvenile green spotted puffer called easy along with a Jolidochromis Trangcriptus and a Labidockromis carellius.



I have recently acquired an interpret River Reef 94 and am seeking some advice in setting up my first reef tank.




What I got…

The tank came with standard lights that I will be modding so I can timer control them.
100w heater
2 interpet 550 power-heads/pumps


What I have done so far..

Chamber 1.. heater
Chamber 2..coral bones




Chamber 3 coral bones sat on top 3 inch layers of filter wool with phosphate media inside, carbon
Chamber 4 the power heads

12 kg live rock temporarily piled in middle




Filled with de-chlorinated tap water and neomarine salt to 1.024 salinity.. ro unit in post so I can purge asap.

I filled the aquarium yesterday evening and have had the lights on today for 12 hours.

I am looking at getting a skimmer as soon as the tank will need it
I have an old 600ltr powe-head in to add some movement


Questions..

· Do I need to break the coral bones up any smaller?

· I know I used tap however my ro unit is coming Monday.

· Should I pack my chambers differently or should I have anything else in there at this stage?

· I have gone bare bottom to aid cleaning is this a bad idea as a newbie?

· Are my poweheads powerful enough for this application.. Maths says they turn the water over 10 times an hour .. I usually work on 4 times an hour for tropical freshwater!

· Can I stack my live rocks up on the back wall? I was told to leave a gap all the way around the edge.

· Are the stock rr bulbs sufficient for a reef tank or should I look at upgrading.

· Should I swap out the said power head for a wave maker?

· Where can I get a weir gate to control the water level for future skimmer fitment.

· What skimmers will fit in my sump?

· Do I really need to change 50 percent of the water for 4 weeks running to purge the live rocks?

· When can I employ a clean-up crew?

· Will a uv steriliser be of any use in my application

· Shull I employ some Chaeto ?





I have read so much on the above issues but found so many contradictions so I thought I would start my own thread in hope that I could get a little assistance from you experienced marine water keepers.

Realistically I am looking at having a few marine fish and as many corals as possible but am in no rush to get there.

Thank you for your time in advance…

Angus[/URL]

 

[StandbySetting]

Questions..

· Do I need to break the coral bones up any smaller?

· I know I used tap however my ro unit is coming Monday.

· Should I pack my chambers differently or should I have anything else in there at this stage?

· I have gone bare bottom to aid cleaning is this a bad idea as a newbie?

· Are my poweheads powerful enough for this application.. Maths says they turn the water over 10 times an hour .. I usually work on 4 times an hour for tropical freshwater!

· Can I stack my live rocks up on the back wall? I was told to leave a gap all the way around the edge.

· Are the stock rr bulbs sufficient for a reef tank or should I look at upgrading.

· Should I swap out the said power head for a wave maker?

· Where can I get a weir gate to control the water level for future skimmer fitment.

· What skimmers will fit in my sump?

· Do I really need to change 50 percent of the water for 4 weeks running to purge the live rocks?

· When can I employ a clean-up crew?

· Will a uv steriliser be of any use in my application

· Shull I employ some Chaeto ?





I have read so much on the above issues but found so many contradictions so I thought I would start my own thread in hope that I could get a little assistance from you experienced marine water keepers.

Realistically I am looking at having a few marine fish and as many corals as possible but am in no rush to get there.

Thank you for your time in advance…

Angus

The coral bones will be fine

Your chambers are fine, is probably add a nitrate and phosphate remover, using tap water was a bad move given you want to keep coral, live rock is very porous and will have absorbed many of the total dissolved solids from the tap water, which if copper is present will kill any invertebrates you add - this includes corals.

Definitely go for a coral sand substrate, it will harvest much of the tanks natural bacteria.

As far as turn over goes, power heads will be fine - as a general rule:

Fish only - 10x
Soft corals - 20x
Hard corals 40x

the external walls of an aquarium should never bare weight of rocks.

A skimmer isn't necessary on a nano tank, regular water changes should be sufficient.

Water changes will never rid the live rock of the tap water fully.

As far as cycling goes, the usual method is to add your live rock and monitor ammonia and nitrate levels, the bacterial die off will give you ammonia and any existing bacteria will recolonise to deal with this, once you've had straight 0's for a week you're ready for your first fish - CUC (though personally I wouldn't add any CUC as you've used tap water.

UV sterilisers aren't really necessary on a tank of this size

You could use chaeto but you'd want to light it 24/7 or you will encounter pH swings due to the varying concentraions of carbon dioxide in the water.

 

[Ironfish]

oh no.. i didnt realise the rocks would absorb such metals.. so i can never remove this now meaning i cant grow corals?
will purging with ro not help ?
the rocks are worth 150 pounds, i am a little gutted that i didn't check before i used tap water.

 

[Chad]

It's not likely the trace of copper in tap water will be sufficient to cause issues with coral growth. All of these marine animals require some copper so unless your area is crazy with it then don't worry. Over time the copper will reduce so you could still grow corals then.

Here's a list of what I consider the 4 best beginner corals and a little about them.

My advice is always go slow. Marine tanks mature slowly so expect to see things changing for a year. You will go several months with it all looking fine, then it will go through a very ugly phase, this will go away, then usually come back at around 9 months. If you have done things right it will go away and generally not come back. The ugly phase is passed the diatom phase and into the algae and bacteria phases of growth where phosphates and nitrates are being consumed and adjusted to. The tank strives to create a balance of growth and nutrients and takes a while to get there. I recommend finding a source of amphipods and copepods to seed your tank with as well. These help to create that balance. Don't be afraid to have a bristle work in there either. These are great scavengers.

 

[Ironfish]

Quick update.. question questions ...

I am 100 percent ro-di in the tank now.

I bought 250g CONTINUUM EXXODUS NITRYX and am currently impregnating with CONTINUUM BACTER GEN for 24h. Is this product ok in my rear chamber especially if i plan on upping the flow with; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251239897...49&var=550458390593&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT.
Is this pump ok, it seems cheap, will it be ok with my interpret 550 and if so which one should i have flowing from the top outlet please?

i realise i will be needing a wave maker or circ pump.. what size do you recommend for this tank please?


i finished aquascaping .. what do you think? any good for placing corals etc?

thank you so much for advice and guidance so far