Finally

thaks for the tip.

after doing some research as Mr. Moderator suggested here i what i was thinking and tell me if i should change

Coral Banded Shrimp - 2 (Bristle Worm Killers)
Cerith Snails - 5 (sand Stirrers)
Margarita Snails - 3 (Alge eaters)

if there are some addtions or subtractions let me know
 
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I can't honestly say i have read all of Mr. Moderators articles, but I have chatted with him numerous times and he is a very knowledgable person.

Again my :twocents::
1) Don't put a coral banded shrimp in your tank if you plan on going reef, those little claws get them in trouble sometimes with soft corals when feeding, others might disagree here, but i wouldn't...... if you want shrimp stick to peppermint, skunk cleaner, and Fire shrimp, but I personally would wait till everything had settled down before adding shrimp, because they are very sensitive to high levels of nitrate.

On Snails:
Nerite and Astrea --- are good choices for film algea, cynobacteria, etc

Nassarius and Cerith --- are good for detritus, excess food, fish waste and keeping the sand good and stirred up.. Nassarius are about half the size of cerith.

Margarita and Turbos-- are good over all algea eaters, but i would recommend against Turbos even though i have a couple... they get big and like to push smaller rocks and corals out of their place.


Natural way of pest deterants:
A six line wrasse is probably one of my favorite fish, though i have lost a couple to the carpet since they can jump and i have an open top. Read the article I have linked.. they will eat flat worms, small bristle worms, and some other clam type pests....

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=375

Like I said these are just my opinions and anything that Mr. Moderator says would also work. There are a million different ways to do things I personally like SeaChem others like Kent, but in the end its like a honda and a toyota they will both get you where you need to go its how you drive and maintain it that determins which is better.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Brandon
 
Good advice by bK. so i wont muddy the water at this time. for shrimp i have always had a soft spot for the skunk shrimp. they tend to not be too descructive on the soft corals, however, any shrimp will walk and poke around the corals so keep that in mind. good luck.
 
All right here is what i have for my intinal clean up crew

5 - Cerith Snails because i have 90 lbs of live sand
3 - Margarita Snails because after all the tank is 75 gallons

i have another question too
i am adding cured live rock to my tank will it hurt to use the fishless cycle process that Mr. Moderator spoke of where you take some RAW shrimp and let it break down. will doing this harm my rock or in any way have an adverse affect on my tank?
 
you may still get some die off from cured rock if there is any amount of living growth on the rock, so, let the rock do its work and test for a cycle once the rock is in. give it a week or so. if nothing happens you can add a little bit of shrimp and watch it dissapear. remember it takes time to establish your biological bed so dont go too fast. adding your bio load very slowly and not a lot of animals all at once will also help. each time you add live things test and watch for a spike/cycle. sometimes with live rock you will get several cycles so just be patient and add all your rock and watch for the cycle to complete and then sit for an additional week at a minimum. if all looks good at this point add one live thing and watch to see what your system does, if no cycle in a week or so then you can add more but do not add a lot of fish at the same time so you will need to plan out your additions. hope this helps just my 2 cents worth.
 
While cycling just enjoy and test at least every three days and keep a log. this will be valuble to you later on. watch your rock and see what developes. if algae start to develope you start to add your clean up crew. you will need to seed your sand bed with some live stuff. try indopacific sea farms, or dr. Foster and Smith. just be patient and keep us posted on the progress of the system. I have posted several very good articles that walks you through the setup process. hope you have had time to browse the article forum. good luck with your project any questions just post um. This is the time the majority of hobbist just cant stand the wait, so, be patient a bit longer and it will pay off. in the long run.
 
Mr. Moderator and others thanks for all your advice i am taking things very slowly my tank has been up and running for about 2weeks now with just the live sand. the rock should get here today and i will be adding that. i have a wet/dry with my skimmer hangning on the back of the tank. i have 4x65 watt lights 48"

here is my list of corals that i plan to add.

Yellow Fiji Leather Coral
Toadstool Mushroom Leather Coral, Brown
Pipe Organ Coral
Sea Pen

in no way am i rushing but i am planing for my tanks furture so i have some more questions:

1. i read the article on how to feed corals and i read the recipe. would it be alright to add the suplements and trace elements in the food?

2. i tried to pick corals that needed the same type of supplements but some need a few extra will it harm the ones that don't need them if they get them

i will try to post the fish i plan to put in a little later but thanks for the help.
 
You will form time to time get some slime/slough off from the toad stool and they can get quite large (6" across not uncommon). they will shed if you will the very outer layer to dispose of algae and other things that settle on them. this slough off is best not to contact other corals so position the toad stool where it is nearest the over flow or water leaving the system, and the yellow leather may also slough off from time to time and needs more light than the toadstool, so position the yellow leather closer to the lighting. the organ pipe coral needs strong illumination, moderate water flow, and should be upstream of the toadstool and yellow leather. the sea pen , well just keep a decent seperation form the others. as for the food, yes you can add what ever you like to the mix. remember that in addition to the contents the size of the food particles is as important for the various corals and fish. (caution though should be exercised so as to not overfeed). you will need to faithfully monitor the amonia, nitrite, and nitrates when you start feeding prepared foods. wrap all frozen in butchers paper or vacuum pack do not use frozen foods that have been freezer burned and use only fresh uncooked marine fare for ingrediants. hope this helps in some way.
 
Trouble

okay i got my pH monitor today a couple of days ago i got 30lbs of live rock and added some raw shirmip for extra cycling. now my pH is up to 9.0 is there someitng wrong?

gravity - 1.025
temp 78 - 80
NO2 - .5
NO3 - 20
Buffer 180
NH3 - 1 its hard to read those strips is ther e a digital one like my pH reader?

is the pH normal when cycling the tank?
 
What all have you added to your tank?

Did you add any rocks and of what type?

If you bought man made rock that was created with concrete and hadn't been cured for atleast 30 days you can have serious issues keeping the PH low.

Guess I'm just trying to ask what all have you put in your tank?
No rocks from the backyard, Man made Aragonite Rock etc.....

If all you have is live rock then I would say just give it some time to settle down, but wanted to run through the above option just incase.

BV
 
pH of 9 is definitely too high. it might be the fresh aragonite sand. has your system completely settled?. if there is powder floating around your pH may read high. are you adding anything other than salt. did you say you ph tester was electronic. if so recalibrate and read again. something dosnt seem right with a 9 reading. for now let the system settle. test the pH every 3 days and keep log. if the pH is still up in a week you will need to determine what is driving it up. if you added man made rock, that is probably your culprit. good luck keep us posted.
 
is it an electronic PH tester? if so they commonly have a calibration solution you have to use to calibrate it.

The other drip test kits shouldn't need calibration.
 
which tester do you have. if it is electronic with a probe, you should have had some calibration fluid, and cleaning fluid. follow manufactures instructiions. or if using a test kit make sure your tube is cleaned with distilled or ro water. let me know which tester you have specifically and its particulars. have you added water for makeup/evaporation. and if so what kind of water, fresh water or salt water.
 
it is a pinpoint monitor. i have not had any evaporation, i have the DIY cooler from my old college fridge but i am getting a chiller in the coming weeks.
 
OK, with the information given: if you have man made rock most likely your problem, if not, take a sample of water to your lfs and if it tests at 8 to 8.3 then the problem is your pin point monitor and it will need to be recalibrated. to do this a cleaning solution is needed 1st, and then you need to have the correct calibration fluid to calibrate your meter. once all of this is done you should get an accurate reading. (you will put the probe in the calibration fluid and adjust your meter to the set point of the calibration fluids rating, such as if you use a 7.0 calibration fluid you will put the probe into the calibration fluid and adjust the meter to 7.0. now you are calibrated. you should have received some instructions with the meter if not I would contact pin point and see if you can get a set of instruction or copy from a friend if someone you know is using the same meter. hope this helps.
 

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