Starting a Reef Aquarium

[Kirsten Adams]

I have a saltwater aquarium, 75 gallons, with a canister filter. It currently is stocked with 1 ocellaris clownfish, 1 frostbite Clownfish, 1 Fiji Blue devil Damsel, 1 Kupang Damsel, 1 Lawnmower Blenny, and 1 Sand Sifting Sea star. I would like to turn this into a reef tank, I am aware of the lighting changes I need to make and the water chemistry requirements. But do you have any advice for going into changing my aquarium into a reef aquarium?

 

[El_Guapo13]

What is your filtration like? Sump, refugium, protein skimmer, etc? Do you have a CUC? How is the flow in your tank?

 

[Dragon52]

Read this to for starters.

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean, but it is nowhere near simple. This task is going to take patience, a...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[ZoWhat]

Kirsten. Welcome.

Im a straight shooter. Going to corals is going to up the output of money. Are you prepared to spend hundreds and hundreds if not thousands and thousnads?

I too started with a 75g tank. After lighting alone I was in $1500 bc I wanted quality over mass produced Amazon/Ebay Chinese "black box" lights. Even those, for a good quality one, runs about $200 each and I would hang 3 of them over a 75g

I started slow on my 75g going to corals. $20,000 later (prob more) I'm into a 180g with a 100g sump in the basement.

Doing reef and corals...costs are a run away train.
High initial investment.
High monthly maintance.
Then you'll prob have about $1000 worth of corals you'll completely lose due to your own learning curve.

By 2022, I could see you easily in the $2,000 to $5,000 range with corals.

Yeah yeah yeah... there WILL be post below me saying they have a 75g reef that in total cost them $1200 for everything. But thats like 5% of what I've seen. 95% of ppl in your 75g will prob spend around $3k, $4k, $5k or more.

Did i scare you?


.

 

[MichaelReefer]

Honestly, you shouldn't run a salt water tank that large on a canister. Just my opinion.

 

[El_Guapo13]

Also curses to Fiji Blue Devils!! I had two before, and they killed everything that was beneficial to my tank.

"Oh whats this? You got a sixline wrasse to keep the vermited and bristleworm populations in check? Not anymore!!" "Hey look at this coral banded shrimp. Would be a shame if he went.... uneaten!!!" "Aw look, the hermit is trying to get a new shell. Quick!! Pull from the other side of it like we are breaking a wish bone!!" "This snail is doing a good job eating the algae. But he looked at me. He must die now."

Never again will I get a damsel. Excluding Clowns, of course.

 

[El_Guapo13]

What is your filtration like? Sump, refugium, protein skimmer, etc? Do you have a CUC? How is the flow in your tank?

Lol reread orignal post. Did not notice first read through that you had a canister filter. That would be the first thing I would want to upgrade. You might not think this is so, but corals also produce waste, so that would be an increase on the bioload of the tank. So if you can, you might want to upgrade your filtration to something better.

 

[ZoWhat]

Yes. You absolutely gotta ditch the Canister. It traps debris and causes the Ammonia/Nitrates cycle that are harmful to marine life. Althought Nitrates actually help feed corals, but not at the rate a Canister would be producing.

Also expect this coral reefing madness to be an absolutely puzzle. Some ppl will say "Do this" others "No do this"

Keep in mind to keep READING R2R and know that having corals is a balance btwn Art (your skills) and Science.

 

[Kirsten Adams]

What is your filtration like? Sump, refugium, protein skimmer, etc? Do you have a CUC? How is the flow in your tank?

Idk, I have a canister filter, water is pulled out of the tank and into the pressurized canister, goes through multiple layers of filter media and is pumped back out through a spray bar. I’d say the flow is pretty strong, the spray bar has the water going out in multiple directions and then it’s pulled to the left side of the tank towards the intake tube.

 

[Sailingeric]

I would look at doing a HOB if you cannot drill your tank and get sump going. I used a 20 gallon long tank under my 75 gallon tank and it has plenty of room. You can have a nice reef tank with softies and mushroom corals, maybe a few LPS. They are easy to keep and you don't have to worry too much about your Alk, calcium, and other elements. Go slow and tank your time.

 

[Kirsten Adams]

Also curses to Fiji Blue Devils!! I had two before, and they killed everything that was beneficial to my tank.

"Oh whats this? You got a sixline wrasse to keep the vermited and bristleworm populations in check? Not anymore!!" "Hey look at this coral banded shrimp. Would be a shame if he went.... uneaten!!!" "Aw look, the hermit is trying to get a new shell. Quick!! Pull from the other side of it like we are breaking a wish bone!!" "This snail is doing a good job eating the algae. But he looked at me. He must die now."

Never again will I get a damsel. Excluding Clowns, of course.

I had another Fiji Blue Devil just like that his name was Barbossa, like from Pirates of The Caribbean, and he killed several fish before he died, the one I have now I bought with barbossa, his name is Pete, and he is actually calmer than my frostbite clown, he is surprisingly accepting of newcomers and is friendly with everything in the tank. I’ve had some really really aggressive damsels and others be uncharacteristicly peaceful. I had a striped Damsel that was given to me by my grandparents because it had killed everything in their tank, I got him and he turned peaceful all of a sudden. Damsels are super unpredictable.

 

[El_Guapo13]

Idk, I have a canister filter, water is pulled out of the tank and into the pressurized canister, goes through multiple layers of filter media and is pumped back out through a spray bar. I’d say the flow is pretty strong, the spray bar has the water going out in multiple directions and then it’s pulled to the left side of the tank towards the intake tube.

Like myself and others have said, a canister filter would not be our choice for filtration on a reef tank that size. It really would be best if you could convert it to a different form of filtration such as an overflow and sump. Heck, you could even convert it into an AIO tank, although you would lose some space internally in the tank. You can click on my build thread badge to see how my 10 gallon looks after I installed an AIO kit to it. It lost about 4 inches in length, but i still have plenty of room for coral and 1 or 2 super smlal fish.

Btw, can you post pics of your tank?