60 gal newb

[Distemper]

Here are a couple pics of my new (to me) 60 gal. I bought this from a friend last Wed. What I got was the tank, a black stand, 2x 15w 18" T8 lights, 350gph biowheel filter, refractometer, 30-40 lbs of what was originally live rock (when he broke down the tank he stored the rock in fresh water), a 1500gph powerhead and a 250w heater that is apparently broken because it won't turn on even tho I have it set to 80 and the thermometer is at 76 (it's 76 in my house) I just added water to it and bought another 25 lbs of dry rock from local store. I will seed that with live before the end of the week. I also have a 26 gal tank that I'm going to turn into a sump. My future equipment list is:

CPR CS90 overflow
Reef Octopus skimmer
Current USA 6x54w Nova Extreme Pro lights
plus various pumps and powerheads for flow

Will probably dump the biowheel once the sump is up and running.

Last night my wife went out with friends and I decided to basically build a stand around the one that was given to me. This way it matches the rest of my furniture. I still have to make the doors but that can wait until after the sump is installed.

I just started my cycle with a chopped up shrimp in a sock. I can't find pure ammonia around here and I don't want to cycle with fish, so this is what I went with.

Feel free to give me any advice or comments. I still feel like I have no idea what I'm doing here.

 

[Distemper]

Just a couple pics for starters.

 

[meshman10]

sound's like you did your homework first, keep us posted..

 

[Distemper]

A friend of my wife's recommended a product called purple up to help with seeding my dry rock. Has anyone tried this?

 

[Jmck]

you dont really need it, it will take a while, but all you have to do is drop one peice of live rock in the tank and it will just seed all the rocks. It will take time but nothing that is worth paying extra for!

I look forward to seeing your new cabinet as well :)

 

[Smitty]

Your tank looks great so far....I agree, you don't need purple up, it's more for the increase of coralline algae, and not for the cycle itself.

 

[Distemper]

I'm having some difficulties planning my sump. My sump tank is 32x10 1/16x19 7/8. I'm thinking 4 in for the drain, 12 for the skimmer, 10 for the fuge and remaining 5-6 for return pump. The skimmer I've chosen is almost exactly as tall as the sump tank, and that leaves me about 6 in clearance in my cabinet. I can't find information on this skimmer as to how much water it needs to run in. Without knowing that I am having a hard time deciding how much water I should run in my sump and how tall I should make my baffles. If anyone can point me to more/better info on
Reef Octopus 4 (100 Gallon) In Sump Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer w/ Bubble Plate

it would be much appreciated.

 

[Distemper]

Ok I found the manual. It requires 6-10" of water. So here is my first draft. I have to turn the skimmer lengthways to the tank because of it's footprint. That's why I had to dedicate a full foot of tank space to it. If I put it on a 3" stand that water can flow through then I figure I can easily run 11" of water. My only question then is that if the power goes out and the water rises above the recommended 10" on the skimmer, will it damage it before the return pump can drop the level when power comes back on?

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome.

 

[little_fish]

Looks you are off to a great start! And that is a great skimmer you got!

 

[wontonflip]

+1 everyone....you seem to have done your research :D

My only question then is that if the power goes out and the water rises above the recommended 10" on the skimmer, will it damage it before the return pump can drop the level when power comes back on?

I don't think it will damage anything. It's all made to get wet. I would think the recommended depth is to keep the skimmer working efficiently -- not too deep, not too shallow. If it goes past the 10" mark, I think it might just cause backflow, or an overflow into the cup. But I highly doubt it will cause major issues. I have an octopus...love it :D

Is the skimmer going to pour into the fuge area? It would be good for chaeto to have water movement in there, unless you plan to rotate it daily to prevent other algae from growing on it ;)

 

[Distemper]

Ok, so I've come up with a rather lengthy stock list for this tank. I know there's absolutely no way I can fit all of these but these are the ones that I want to choose from thus far. My ultimate goal is to have a Mandarin down the line so any advice as to which of these others would be good or bad tank mates would be much appreciated.

Zebra barred dartfish
Yellow banded possum wrasse
Six line wrasse
Scissortail dartfish
Red head solon fairy wrasse
Orchid dottyback
Ocellaris clownfish
Citrinis clown goby
Carpenter's flasher wrasse
Court jester goby
Firefish
Lawnmower Blenny
Kaudern's Cardinal

My goal is to have a nice friendly tank that has alot of color and personality.
Again, thank you all for the warm welcome.
@wontonflip-I hadn't thought too much about putting the skimmer outlet into the fuge. I suppose if I did I could actually use a hose that lifted the outlet over the bulkhead. That should also allow me to run deeper water in the sump.

 

[little_fish]

That looks like a good mix of fish. I personally LOVE 6 lines wrasses. But i would pick from your list when the time comes to add a new fish, and then be sure to leave a spot for the mandarine when your tank is mature enough for one. Which is usually around 6 months. I would avoid adding the wrasses before the mandarine because they are pod eaters too and it will take longer for the pod population to growing in if they are mowing it down.

 

[Distemper]

So the wife and I went to Petland tonight to check prices and get a chunk of live rock to seed my tank with. I couldn't resist getting this little clown pleco.

 

[Jmck]

Hold on, your doing a salt water tank right now? thats a fresh water fish?

or do you have a fresh water tank running as well?

 

[Distemper]

I have 3 FW tanks with another one coming soon. Hope you don't mind my FW updates as well.

 

[BL1]

I don't think you'll be able to keep a sixline and a mandarin in that tank as the sixline will out compete the mandarin for pods. Unless of course you can get a mandarin eating frozen.

Also, you'll have to choose only one between the firefish, zebra barred dartfish, and scissortail dartfish. If you put them all in a tank together, they'll fight till only one is left.

And finally, you should plan on adding some type of screen or cover for you tank as most of the fish you have listed are jumpers.

 

[Distemper]

do you know if a premade screen for a reptile terrarium would leach chemicals into the tank?

 

[BL1]

I believe those are metal aren't they?

 

[Jmck]

If they are metal like brian said, then yes, if plastic you can get away with it.

We dont mind freshwater updates, I just didnt know you had a fw tank :D

 

[Distemper]

I was amazed a couple mins ago when I discovered life in my tank. I just added 2.5 lbs of live rock from petland today and I just found this little 1/2 star.