Newb here!

rebecky45 · Jan 3, 2013

Hi all,

I'm hoping for some tips advice from some folks. I'm delving into SW for the first time, and I am SO excited. I'm getting an established tank (soft corals, a few fish, lots of inverts...) Its a 45 gallon. I've purchased LED lights for it. I'm replacing the sandbed before I put all the live rock back in after we move it. It has a hob refugium that's attached to the skimmer. I'm going to clean out all of the skimmer/refugium stuff as well. I've had the water tested and everything was great, except the salinity was a tad high, but the LFS is great and has premixed saltwater which I'll be using to fix the high salinity. I've got mysis shrimp and phyto feast for food. I'm wondering if there's anything I'm missing or if there are any tips anyone can offer before we move the tank (in two days!!!) Oh, I was also wondering...my LED lights are all white 14ks. Do I NEED blue lights? The tank comes with a moonlight, but I'm sure if I need blue lights, thats not enough. Advice? Thanks in advance!

ShannPeach · Jan 5, 2013

It's good to clean out the skimmer, but you don't want to completely clean out the refugium. To do so, you would essentially be eliminating the "established" part of the tank since there should be lots of goodies in there for your fish and coral.

What's your plan to actually move the tank? Are you taking everything out, putting it in a bin or some other temporary storage container? If you are replacing the sand (or even just keeping the old sand) you are going to want to let the sand settle for awhile before you throw the rest of your stuff in there. Otherwise you'll have sand settling on your corals and your fish swimming around in a dust storm. Be prepared to do several water changes since this will likely also cause a spike in ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.

I wouldn't use the phyto feast too soon either, simply because your tank will have enough going on in terms of nutrient cycling for awhile after moving that you don't want to be throwing anything additional in there.

For your lights, 14k is actually a little blue. Your softies won't be too picky, the only thing you may need to do is slowly adjust them to LEDs if they were previously kept under a different type of lighting. You don't NEED blue lighting, but it can add nice color you wouldn't otherwise get. Just run your lights for a bit and see how you like it.

Good luck!

rebecky45 · Jan 6, 2013

Thanks for the comment! So we already moved the tank, and yes, we moved everything in buckets with lids, so we were able to keep almost all the water. I did replace the sand (it was foul!), but I pre-rinsed the new sand, so it didn't take too long to clear up, and all the coral and fish seem to be doing just fine (the move was yesterday). The refugium is small (a few gallons, maybe), but it had a LOT of sand in the bottom, and from what I've read, this is a no no, so I ditched the sand. There was also a lot of live rock and chaeto back there, which I kept, without rising or anything. I cleaned the skimmer/intake tube, as well. so far so good! What do you think about the refugium? Should I be adding anything else to it? Thanks a ton!

ShannPeach · Jan 7, 2013

I personally prefer sand in my refugium, but if you already have sand in your tank, I'm sure you'll be fine without. Just keep on eye on your water parameters and be ready to do some water changes if need be.