Ed says hello!

[eddiekern]

Hello everyone :wave: ,

I'm new to the forum (obviusly:mrgreen:). I'm also semi new to reefing. I worked for an online aquarium supply place for about a year. I've been wanting to set up a tank ever since. But I'm pretty anal about over engineering stuff so I never had the money to do what I wanted. I've had a 37G tall tank for a long time (now I realize it might not have been the best choice, but alas I have the tank and stand already). I'm just gonna do a setup in the 37G. I'm a student so its better that I go small because I'll be moving around some in the next few years.

Here's my plans for livestock :sfish: ...
Pair Maroon Clowns
Flame Angel
Flame Hawkfish
Lawnmower Blenny
Mandarin Goby
Bulb Anemone
Xenia
Polyps
Mushrooms
... and a few other softies, a couple of hermits, and snails

Here's the setup I'm looking to build...
37G Tall 24x15x24
Cabinet Stand
Tons of DIY Rock & Sand
10G Sump & 10G Refugium (DIY projects, w/ MagDrive 7 Pump)
Reef Octopus NW 150 Skimmer
Odessia 250W HQI + 2 x 65W PC light

*****
PLEASE tell me if you have any suggestions ... for example if the light I am considering is a pile of crap :pooh:, let me know!!! Or if I have incompatible livestock choices ... let me know!!!
*****

What I'm working on now is the DIY live rock. I looked all over for ingredients (:frustrat: ... huge pain in the arse) and the ones I could find in my area are: crushed oyster shells, white limestone "pool sand", White cement #1-2, and rock salt. I'm playing with the ratios for all the ingredients right now (and all the screwups turn into refugium rubble!). I'll report on how it goes and post pictures in a few weeks when I get it all figured out.

The tank is going to take a long time to set up because I can only get stuff as fast as I have $$$ for it, which is not very fast.

If you have ANY suggestions, please shout them out!!!

Thanks everyone
Ed

 

[Bifferwine]

Hi and welcome! Sounds like you're a man with a plan. Your stocking list sounds good, as do your equipment choices.

The only suggestions I have are to rethink the hawkfish if you plan on keeping a cleaner crew (they are not safe around inverts and smaller fish), and plan on having the tank set up for a while (about a year) before adding the anemone, since they require mature established tanks. When you get ready to go, be sure to start a thread in the "Tank Showcase" forum so you can show us all your progress in setting it up.

 

[daugherty]

welcome

 

[eddiekern]

Sound advise bifferwine. Thanks. I had the itching suspicion that crabs are never a good thing ... lol. I'll probably end up not getting crabs. At least I hope not .... haha

 

[dustin_P74]

Hi and welcome! Sounds like you're a man with a plan. Your stocking list sounds good, as do your equipment choices.

The only suggestions I have are to rethink the hawkfish if you plan on keeping a cleaner crew (they are not safe around inverts and smaller fish), and plan on having the tank set up for a while (about a year) before adding the anemone, since they require mature established tanks. When you get ready to go, be sure to start a thread in the "Tank Showcase" forum so you can show us all your progress in setting it up.

let me ad to this saying that you need to wait just as long before you add the mandarin

 

[yote]

Welcome to the site and the hobby.
Biff is dead on with her advice.
But I'll go a step further and completely advise againt an anemone period.All it takes for them to wipe out your tank,is for them to get unhappy or just decide to move,then the other reason is when they die they take everything else with em.

 

[daugherty]

Welcome to the site and the hobby.
Biff is dead on with her advice.
But I'll go a step further and completely advise againt an anemone period.All it takes for them to wipe out your tank,is for them to get unhappy or just decide to move,then the other reason is when they die they take everything else with em.

yea you would know after loosing almost 1k of coral because of one. i have wanted a carpet for a long time but not going in with my coral so i just have to want.

 

[yote]

yea you would know after loosing almost 1k of coral because of one. i have wanted a carpet for a long time but not going in with my coral so i just have to want.

And what makes it worse,is it happened just because I moved a powerhead and changed the flow a little bit.:frustrat: There WILL NEVER be another anemone in my reef.

 

[daugherty]

And what makes it worse,is it happened just because I moved a powerhead and changed the flow a little bit.:frustrat: There WILL NEVER be another anemone in my reef.

i had a long tentacle that was huge but got rid of it because it was the size of a football in my 50 gal. but never will i have another unless it is in its own tank

 

[eddiekern]

Wow, intense stuff I'll remember that when I'm looking at corals for this tank ... The anemone and pair of maroons are my first priority. I can get some free mushrooms and xenia from a friend in california, so I'm not so worried about those, mostly filler so my tank doesn't look empty. So I guess I'll be taking a gamble. I'm designing my rock setup (started last night) and return line flow (potentially planned, but not started) around a center ledge where I plan on having the anemone. I put a great golf ball sized hole for the anemone to settle down in on the ledge, and am going to plumb great flow around the area, all thats left is hoping that the anemone finds the spot suitable ... wish me some serious luck on this one, I know I'll need it, with these damn fickle anemones!

 

[yote]

:D Yeah,you'll need A LOT of luck to get the nem to stay where you want it:D

 

[dcantucson]

I agree with everyone here. I too have had bad luck with nems, but mainly because my tank just wasn't old enough. I also understand your wanting to have clowns and a nem. For me it's just what having a SW tank is all about. About 3 months ago I purchased a nem and it took to a rock and hasn't moved. It seems very happy and my mated pair of maroon clowns love it too. They seldom venture very far away and are fascinating to watch as they interact together.

 

[dcantucson]

Oh...and welcome to the site!

 

[eddiekern]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome and good info!

 

[mng777777]

Hello and welcome! Please realize that you are not the first one to come to the site wanting a clown/nem pair who was told not to do it because your tank is new and the nem will die. Most don't take the advice, and most end up regreting that decision. I hope you will consider all of the experience here before you make up your mind. I have a couple of clown/nem thoughts to add:

- There is nothing that you can do to guarantee the clowns will host the nem, it's about a 50/50 shot if they are wild caught clowns, less if they are not.
- Clowns will host LPS corals with about the same success rate.
- Clowns can be aggressive so they might be a better last add then first.
- When nems die they release toxic matter into the water that in a small tank like yours will likely kill everything.

I would reccomend that you consider an elegance coral, a hairy mushroom, frogspawn, or perhaps all of the above instead of the nem, and that you consider not placing the clowns in first. Also remember, 1 new fish per every 3-5 weeks after you have cycled. Take your time, enjoy your self, and post up some pics!

 

[eddiekern]

Okay guys, heres a few questions ... if the anemone decides it's going to be a knob jockey and die, does it usually kick the bucket within a month of being introduced? If I get the tank established w/ a couple of damsels, add an anemone after about a year, does that lessen the risk? For that matter what is the least risky way to introduce an anemone?

I did kinda have my heart set on a rose anemone, but now I guess I have to do some cost/benefit analysis.

Thanks

 

[Bifferwine]

It's hard to say. Anemones usually take a while to die (several weeks or months) which is why they can be so tricky. People will insist that their anemone is "fine" and they've "had it for weeks" and it looks "great" and we're all like, "Hey your nem looks like crap, it's gonna kick the bucket soon." They tend to die pretty slowly, so by the time you notice they're sick, it's already too late. You try to get the sick nem out of the tank, and it disintegrates into a million little pieces as soon as you touch it, spreading gunk all over the tank.

But yes, the longer you wait to add the anemone, the greater your chance of success will be with it.

 

[jhnrb]

welcome to our community. good luck with your project. keep us posted and pictures as you can.

 

[Smitty]

Hello and welcome to the site.

 

[mng777777]

Okay guys, heres a few questions ... if the anemone decides it's going to be a knob jockey and die, does it usually kick the bucket within a month of being introduced? If I get the tank established w/ a couple of damsels, add an anemone after about a year, does that lessen the risk? For that matter what is the least risky way to introduce an anemone?

I did kinda have my heart set on a rose anemone, but now I guess I have to do some cost/benefit analysis.

Thanks

Your best bet will be to get the tank well established (1 year or more) and then find a mated pair of clowns with a rose nem and buy them all at once. You may not be able to just walk into your LFS any day of the week and find a clown pair/nem trio, but if you are patient you will. Your local hobbyist community will be your best resource.