New To Reef Life - Advice Needed

[speacci]

Hello all, hopefully I don't make this too long, but I wanted to capture as much as possible in one post, as to not have it lost all over the place. I have several questions and thoughts I'm debating and wanted feedback.

0 - Some basic info about me to give you all an idea of how my brain works.

• New to reefing, but have had fresh water fish for years. I am average with care. Not super ninja, but there isn't death pooling around in the tank either. I am a fairly busy person, but this has long been a dream of mine to get into, and I am patient. I don't need to rush anything. However, if I can do something safely in 1 month, I won't take the most choose the absolute perfect route and wait 2 months. I still have a life and this is 1 component of it.
• My aim is more of a mixed tank, with something like 30% fish, 30% softies, 25% LPS and 15% SPS. I know the percentage thing is weird, but I wanted to provide some reference as to how I envision this.
• RedSea Reefer Peninsula 500 (white, 105 gal in display, 27 in sump, 4' x 2' x 2')
  • The tank is currently physically on the stand, it's all level, but basically nothing else has been done.
  • Bare-bottom is the plan, but I have not bought any HDPE/Acrylic. Still debating that. Kinda don't want to.
• Got the Apex, with the WAV2 (x2)
• DOS Pumps (x2)
• Apex COR20.
• Apex ATO
• BRS 4-stage RO/DI
• RedSea Blue Bucket for salt
• Kessil A360X (x2. I don't plan on using their controller, tho the night mode might be cool)
• I plan on running a refugium, with Chaeto and Kessil H160.
• Reef Octopus 150 Elite Skimmer
• At my core, I love automation. So the Apex makes my eyes sparkle, but if something is best done my hand, I will do it.

1 - Aquascape

I am trash at this. I bought the dry rock from BRS, and though that I supposedly bought the large sizes, however my tank is just that much bigger than I realized. In fact we were shocked when we went to pick it up. Yes, I checked the dimensions, but until you see it in real life you don't get it. I am not disappointed. Just shocked. I will attach pics of what I have right now, but for this, I need advice on how to accomplish some kinda giant rock structure. Basically I like the layout generally of what I have so far, but it just needs more rock. I am thinking a large arch of some kind, or some kind of large boulder in the back.

• How might I achieve this?
• Do I really need it that big, and maybe my lack of visuals is coming from the fact that the tank is just empty, and coral will fill it? SPS? Or something like Xenias? idk
• What if I left it the way it is now, and build some kind of rock bridge across it (across being, left to right, while facing the peninsula short side)? Basically like glue rock to acrylic and have a bridge across the middle?
• Or don't worry about it, it's good enough now, and get the cycling going?
• I wanted to use the plastic beed things from MarineDepot, to kinda attach the rock to the glass. It's semi permanent and I am comfortable with that. I didn't wanna glue it down in any permanent way.

2 - Quarantine Tank

I do plan on running a QT tank generally. I got a 20 gal kit from PetCo and was thinking of setting that up first. Wife is none too pleased with yet another tank in the home (I have a 5 gallon planted), so if I can get away with a 10 gallon kit instead, do let me know. I plan on letting it cycle and when that's ready, go get fish and put in there. Do the QT process and assuming fish are ready and main tank is ready, I transfer. I will have one of those large bio bricks, and will seed with doctor tims, and either a shrimp from Whole Foods (rolls eyes at my boujie-ness) or some frozen food. The questions are:

• How long should the cycle be for the QT tank? Recall that everything is dry right now. I've seen several posts/videos where they cycle the QT tank for maybe a week.
• Can I get away with the 10 gal kit?
• Even tho my display tank is dry, should I risk that tank by introducing the fish there first and not do the QT process? (Yes, I know I still need to cycle THAT tank as well.)
• My concern is that many things just take time, so things I can do in parallel would help.

3 - "Nutrient" Supply

Kalkwasser, BRS 2-part, or Triton?

I personally like triton, but I am not feeling the idea of tying up 4 pump heads, as my original plan was to use 1 DOS pump (2 pump heads) for automatic water changes. Basically I am seeking simplicity. I am an engineer at heart.

• If Kalkwasser gets me 90% of the way, why do 2-part, or further more full Triton?
• I also understand that if Kalkwasser isn't providing enough of what I need once the tank gets further along (months from now), I will need to use 2-part etc. Should I plan for that today? Or is Kalk good enough?

I'm sure there are 40 more things I wanted to ask, but can't remember right now. So this is it for now.

Thank you for all who respond. I may not reply to all of you, but I appreciate the feedback.

 

[Taxus812]

First I get to say welcome to R2R (hopefully the first)
10 Gal QT will work but 20 is better (I am using two 10 gal tanks)
The cycle will take as long as the Display tank. I added a tray of live sand I can dispose of to help the bacteria.
Wait until the cycle is done or you will have sick fish.
Look up the rule of three for aquascaping. Once you see a few videos you will understand.

Its WAY to early for dosing so don't sweat it yet. You have about 6 months to go.

Hope this helps. I bet a lot of other folks will have better info/.

Oh yeah I love shiney automated things to. You should subscribe to the DIY forum and start a build log. It a lot of fun and great to look over (check out mine in my signature)

Edited: Horrible typing ​

 

[speacci]

First I get to say welcome to R2R (hopefully the first)
10 Gal QT will work but 20 is better (I am using two 10 gal tanks)
The cycle will take as long as the Display tank. I added a tray of live sand I can dispose of to help the bacteria.
Wait until the cycle is done or you will have sick fish.
Look up the rule of three for aquascaping. Once you see a few videos you will understand.

Hope this helps. I bet a lot of other folks will have better info/.

Thanks for the reply. I dabbled into a little photography in another life, so I understand the principle behind the rule of thirds, but my gripe here is that I just think I lack mass. It just looks sparse. is it because my "thirds" are off, or I just need more rock to fill the void? Also, is that enough for coral to be attached to?

 

[speacci]

First I get to say welcome to R2R (hopefully the first)
10 Gal QT will work but 20 is better (I am using two 10 gal tanks)
The cycle will take as long as the Display tank. I added a tray of live sand I can dispose of to help the bacteria.
Wait until the cycle is done or you will have sick fish.
Look up the rule of three for aquascaping. Once you see a few videos you will understand.

Its WAY to early for dosing so don't sweat it yet. You have about 6 months to go.

Hope this helps. I bet a lot of other folks will have better info/.

Oh yeah I love shiney automated things to. You should subscribe to the DIY forum and start a build log. It a lot of fun and great to look over (check out min in mu signature)

​

Oh, and thanks for the welcome! You were indeed first. lol

 

[Taxus812]

Thanks for the reply. I dabbled into a little photography in another life, so I understand the principle behind the rule of thirds, but my gripe here is that I just think I lack mass. It just looks sparse. is it because my "thirds" are off, or I just need more rock to fill the void? Also, is that enough for coral to be attached to?

Im not a bare bottom guy but I think you are going to want surface area for the bacteria to live on so more rock is better in this case. I like the sparse look with sand personally. Once it if full of corals it will fill up quick. I guess would think about the fish you want. Do they like holes or open spaces ? I built min with lots of hiding spaces. the fish and inverts dart in and out. I like to watch them and see if I can find them when they are hiding. Catching them is a PIA so that should be considered.

 

[virtual reality]

Looks like your getting good advice. So, welcome to R2R

 

[speacci]

Im not a bare bottom guy but I think you are going to want surface area for the bacteria to live on so more rock is better in this case. I like the sparse look with sand personally. Once it if full of corals it will fill up quick. I guess would think about the fish you want. Do they like holes or open spaces ? I built min with lots of hiding spaces. the fish and inverts dart in and out. I like to watch them and see if I can find them when they are hiding. Catching them is a PIA so that should be considered.

Yeah, your setup looks pretty nice man. I do not have that much space. As for the surface area, I plan on using probably 4 of those bio bricks in the sump, so I am little less concerned about that part. I am debating taking several of those shelf rocks and stacking them to make a giant boulder.

 

[Taxus812]

Yeah, your setup looks pretty nice man. I do not have that much space. As for the surface area, I plan on using probably 4 of those bio bricks in the sump, so I am little less concerned about that part. I am debating taking several of those shelf rocks and stacking them to make a giant boulder.

I really like what you have. I think you are just missing an arch on the right side (if you are looking for my opinion). I would leave everything else where it is.

 

[speacci]

I really like what you have. I think you are just missing an arch on the right side (if you are looking for my opinion). I would leave everything else where it is.

Interesting, I was debating an arch in the middle. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

#WelcometoR2R

 

[BeejReef]

You've got yourself a seriously nice setup to get started with!
Welcome, welcome!

You still have a lot of work to do with setup. If it were me, I'd get saltwater in your QT today and get it cycling. Maybe it'll be an agonizing wait for it to finish cuz everything else is ready to go, but there's a good chance that if you just get it started, it will beat you to the punch and be ready before you really are.

If you're going to quarantine your fish, you probably will want to start with the very first ones as well. Not to be gross, but you can think of ich almost like herpes. Healthy specimens rarely have symptoms unless sick or stressed, then it presents and can spread easily. Point being, your first fish may have herpes and live with it fine, but that second new fish you put in (after it was quarantined and confirmed disease free) then catches it from your first batch. Now everyone has to come out and be treated in a small tank AND your DT has to sit fallow for 2.5 months.

As others have said, very early to worry about dosing. FWIW, the livestock percentages you shared look like Kalk would be enough. I would buy the smallest kalk container I could get and just keep it on hand. Live with the tank for 3-6 months, and get a feel for how you want to run it. May well be a cool new doser out by then! Besides, when the time comes, I've got you figured as a calcium reactor guy anyhow ;Smug

 

[speacci]

You've got yourself a seriously nice setup to get started with!
Welcome, welcome!

You still have a lot of work to do with setup. If it were me, I'd get saltwater in your QT today and get it cycling. Maybe it'll be an agonizing wait for it to finish cuz everything else is ready to go, but there's a good chance that if you just get it started, it will beat you to the punch and be ready before you really are.

If you're going to quarantine your fish, you probably will want to start with the very first ones as well. Not to be gross, but you can think of ich almost like herpes. Healthy specimens rarely have symptoms unless sick or stressed, then it presents and can spread easily. Point being, your first fish may have herpes and live with it fine, but that second new fish you put in (after it was quarantined and confirmed disease free) then catches it from your first batch. Now everyone has to come out and be treated in a small tank AND your DT has to sit fallow for 2.5 months.

As others have said, very early to worry about dosing. FWIW, the livestock percentages you shared look like Kalk would be enough. I would buy the smallest kalk container I could get and just keep it on hand. Live with the tank for 3-6 months, and get a feel for how you want to run it. May well be a cool new doser out by then! Besides, when the time comes, I've got you figured as a calcium reactor guy anyhow ;Smug

haha @ Calcium reactor. Thanks for the insightful response. You've kinda nailed down what my most recent thoughts were. Get the QT going while I finalize on stuff for the DT. Really appreciate it!

PS: I was only "worried" about the dosing because I kinda wanted to get the layout of all the equipment down from now. But I get your point.

 

[speacci]

So I went to my local reef store, sold a small child, and got these rocks instead. Please give me some feedback on the scape. Apologies for the lighting.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

That’s going to be a really great tank.

And off subject, I always look at the room tanks go in. Really like your wall colors.

 

[speacci]

That’s going to be a really great tank.

And off subject, I always look at the room tanks go in. Really like your wall colors.

Thanks man, I really appreciate it.

My own off subject: I work in IT Security so I analyzed the images to see if they were sharing too much about my home, before I posted. I then said to myself, those walls really came out nice. lol

 

[Salty Lemon]

If I could advise one thing only...it would be to make certain you have a good quarantine tank/s ready to go. I didn't do it when I first started and have been battling ever since. A qt tank and set up isn't all that expensive but if you start without it -- WOW! Serious problems.

 

[speacci]

If I could advise one thing only...it would be to make certain you have a good quarantine tank/s ready to go. I didn't do it when I first started and have been battling ever since. A qt tank and set up isn't all that expensive but if you start without it -- WOW! Serious problems.

Absolutely appreciate that feedback. The QT is in the same room on the other side. *thumbs up*

Since you brought it up, do you know of a good thread where folks discuss what they treat the fish with out the gate, regardless of seeing illness? Basically what regiment they follow once they buy livestock.

 

[sfin52]

 

[Alexreefer]

Welcome to r2r!! The aquascape looks, killer! Keep up the work. Following!

 

[Dub_G]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Aquascape looks great and you have a beautiful tank.

Here is a link to several articles from fellow R2R members about quarantine. I think you'll find some great information in these.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/thread-links-to-all-things-quarantine-fish-inverts.602917/