Back in the hobby after 20 years

[wgambella]

Greetings All,
The kids finally got me to give in and get a tank again. Got rid of an old custom acrylic I had which was more advanced and difficult to work on in lieu of a smaller system that they could help me with. The hobby was much less advanced back in the 80's so any feedback and advice is greatly appreciated. So this is what I picked up.
60Gal Rimless Cube with corner overflow. (the space under is very confining) (wish I realized this before I got it home)
MarineLand LED Light set featuring (24 leds) 10,000K White, and (12 leds) 480nm Actinic, with timer.
20 Gal Wet/Dry Sump. I would have preferred a filter sock system but the sumps with it were too big.
Reef Octopus BH100 HOB Protein Skimmer
Hydor Koralia 850 Submersible for movement
ViaAqua 300 Titanium Heater
50lbs Live Fuji Rock
30lbs sand

I have my eye on a media reactor using both Carbon and GSF. Space is tight though. It looks like everyone is recommending a RO/DI as well.

At this moment I have already done my initial cycle and have 2 turbo snails, 12 small snails, 6 hermit crabs, 2 clowns, and some live plants.

Water condition is looking great. I am going on 3 weeks of live creatures in there so I think another week or 2 I can add some additional residents.

Opinions, thoughts, recommendations.

The kids want to have a "Finding Nemo" like tank. Obviously can't do all that with a small tank. But, keeping the clowns, adding an anemone, what else would you suggest?

 

[Aquarian]

Welcome back.

 

[ErinCahir]

What else are you looking for? Movement? Color?

 

[wgambella]

I think a little of both.
While I would have personally gone more towards the corals, the kids want the fish.So it will be a community of reef fish.
So I am looking for soft easy going little guys. I will definitely add an anemone or 2, some cleaner shrimp, a diamond goby, royal gramma, a crab. What else would you suggest?
And as for the equipment. Any opinion on what I got vs. what I need.

Thanks

 

[Sidekick41]

Personally, I think your equipment is pretty good. I don't know anything about the HOB skimmer but that's a good brand. You might want to do some research on it just to make sure. I previously had a HOB skimmer and it didn't work very well. My in sump REEF works much better. You might want to add another power head. Having just one migh not give you enough coverage.

Also, I'm told you should wait about a year before adding Anemones to you tank. Also make sure you have enough lighting for Anemones.

Good luck

 

[wgambella]

Personally, I think your equipment is pretty good. I don't know anything about the HOB skimmer but that's a good brand. You might want to do some research on it just to make sure. I previously had a HOB skimmer and it didn't work very well. My in sump REEF works much better. You might want to add another power head. Having just one migh not give you enough coverage.

Also, I'm told you should wait about a year before adding Anemones to you tank. Also make sure you have enough lighting for Anemones.

Good luck

Thanks for the feedback Rob. Unfortunately the sump is too small to get a unit that fits inside with the pump I have in there. It was a challenge just making room down there for the heater. I still want to add a media reactor. There were a few really small profile units out there but not of the quality of the Reef Octopus brand. Besides these cubes have so little room under the stand that it makes work on the sump really difficult. I forgot to mention that the main pump is a Supreme Mag-Drive 12 rated for 1200GPH so I have pretty good flow. The power head I added was mainly for the lower portion of the water column movement. So you are thinking a year for some basic anemones. Wow. I never anticipated that kind of delay especially using live rock and sand to expedite the start up.

 

[ErinCahir]

Anemones aren't really "basic". They need stable water conditions and good lighting. There are lots of easy corals you can practice on in the meantime. :)

 

[fc_uk]

Those reef octopus HOB skimmers kick all sorts of a**. Don't worry about it.

I've got a 2000... It put my in-sump skimmer (not a reef octopus) to absolute shame. Reef Octopus skimmers are worth their weight in gold.