new build 120g

FishyFarr · Mar 22, 2010

Ok so I am infected LOL

In about 2 months I will tear apart my 55 gallon and move it into a 120g

I realize I will need more sand/crushed coral and live rock
I will be sticking with easy corals mushrooms, sps etc.
I have a kenya tree coral that is going crazy with growth.
and my candy canes are exploding with growth.
most of the other stuff is growing slowly.

Ok so one of my main questions is when I switch over to the gently used tank/stand It has 2x-250W metal halides with electronic ballast.
will just the 2- 250 watters be enough for the whole tank?
It does have a nice flat reflector on top of the canopy.
(should I bend the ends of this down)

also I was looking at some LED's to provide dawn/dusk lighting and/or moonlight. instead of t-5 actinics.

just looking for suggestions.
tank dimensions are 5' long 26"tall 18"wide

FishyFarr · Mar 25, 2010

Looking over fish ideas as well.
trying to find something that will add movement to the water column.
I have enough stuff that will provide action around the rocks.

I have 4 royal grammas (1 pair) 2 clarkii clowns (one has adopted the bubble tip and its growing insanly big fast)
1 emerald crab I like a lot
cleaner shrimp and peppermint shrimp
way to many snails various hermits and one red spot blenny.

so any ideas for maybe something that does not mind having similiar friends in the tank (another fish I could 3-4 of would be ideal in the new 120g)

eoliver123 · Mar 30, 2010

We recently did the same thing. the best advice i can give you is make sure the new water that you will be adding to you 120 is close to the temp of your 55. After changing over our 55 to a 125 our water temp was 65 degrees and we lost some coral and fish because they had to stay in buckets while the water heated up. good luck!!

FishyFarr · Mar 30, 2010

thanks

any other tips I am willing to hear them out.

my general plan was to add new sand and some new live rock to 120 get it up to temp so it matches within 2-3 degrees the 55 gallon(also salinity,ph,etc all very close)

then I will remove the overflow and sump and transfer that to 120. (figure the established live rock and sand can carry the 55gallong for day ?)

anyways when the overflow and sump are working good I will remove all the live rock and put it in tubs,

Then I will put all the sand into the 120g tank,

Should I catch the fish first so the sand is not all disturbed although then I would have to put the fish in tubs as well because the sand will make the water so cloudy for several hours I am guessing?

any ideas on the proper order for the best results.

lazyreefer · Apr 1, 2010

Your gonna have a cycle of some sort which will include a diatom bloom. I moved the same 120 from one place to another (45 minutes away) and kept as much of the old water as I could. I kept maybe 2 gallons worth of the old sand that I placed into the sump to seed it, the rest I replaced. I kept all the old rocks - if you add any "new" rocks, even if they were cooked, your gonna get a diatom bloom from the leaching of phosphates or maybe a build up of detritus on the rocks.

If you use new water, you are gonna get a diatom bloom. I tied a 50 gallon frag into my 120, let that frag tank water "nurture" for about a week with a powerfilter that had a seeded sponge in it, and released the 50 gallons into the 120 over the course of a day and a half, and that frag tank was covered within days with algae. (turn off lights if not needed)

Now the diatoms ain't that big of a deal, its completely natural process of a cycling tank. But, the addition of livestock into a cycling tank may not be good. This of course depends on the amount of livestock and to what degree the tank is cycling, there are 2-3 day "mini cycles" which seem to be nothing more than a blip on the radar screen which a lightly stocked tank can survive with no problems. IMHO

I myself, would run a 10 dollar power filter on the 55 to keep the fish and "balance" of the tank running long enough until the cycling of the 120 is over. Put a little phosban or carbon (maybe both) in the filter mechanism and it should be fine. I know when I moved my tank I had alot of differing opinions, I tend to lean towards the cautious side......

PS.....the lights should be plenty, I run dual 250w MHs but they are lumenbrite reflectors. Not sure of your set up but "bending reflectors" can't hurt.

FishyFarr · Apr 3, 2010

Thanks,
I have 2 power filters that are pretty big as this was originally a 55 gallon freshwater tank I can put those on my 55gallon next month to start the filters off and then just move the sump to the 120.
hopefully they can carry the load ok until the 120 is ready.
I can also move 1-2 fish (grammas) and maybe their rock to the 120 so that it will start to cycle the ammonia etc.
I was thinking stick the sand and new live rock into the 120 and wait about 2-3 weeks to transfer everything over?
that should give teh new live rock a chance to die off and not hurt anything. If I move a few pieces of live rock and only 1-2 grammas that should help cycle the 120 quickly.

thanks for the tips.

FishyFarr · Apr 8, 2010

anyone know a good algae eating fish.
I have a green crab but he does not eat much green macroalgae.
I have caulpera and halimeda I think are the correct names
one is very prolific and thin feathery dark green.
the other is segmented almost flat light green.
here is a pic.

fishoutofwater · Apr 8, 2010

I would suggest getting that Razor caulerpa out of the main display asap. I had some in mine at one time and it overtook it. I had a yellow tang and blue tang and they didnt really eat it much. It grows way too fast. I my new 210 its in the fuge and thats where it will stay. LOL.

FishyFarr · Apr 9, 2010

Thanks so the lighter green bladed stuff is razor caulerpa right?

FishyFarr · Apr 18, 2010

My macro algaes are out of control so I bought a foxface rabbitfish.
I know I jumped the gun a bit since the 120 is not set up yet. I bought a very small one so I am hoping in one month
when I switch tanks he will switch over to a bigger home and be happier.

He displayed stress colors and has not moved much since hitting the tank.
I am waiting to see if he will do better in a few days.
I have not read anything about them not liking other fish but could my other fish be freaking him out?

I will wait a few more days to see if he comes out and eats.

FishyFarr · Apr 25, 2010

Foxface is eating small amounts of the macros especially the razor caulpera so that is helping.
His color is great.
Today at fintastic they took my 120 g and are checking it out to see if it can be drilled in the back to eliminate the overflow wooohoooooo

also I picked up 2 sets of actinic blue LED's to complement the 10,000k 250w metal halides. I also picked up one set of the soft blue moonlights.

I was talking to someone in there (the store was packed) about to reuse my sand or not.
Since my live sand is less than a year old I was going to reuse it is there any problem with that?

anyone have any horror stories about reusing sand?
I thought if I was careful and just did not disturb the lower levels of the DSB as much it should be ok.
Do I have to let it sit for days or anything before adding back the fish?
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