First tank, have I bitten off too much?

If you haven't bought the equipment yet.Consider T5-HO with individual reflectors.It would do basically everything MH does with less heat and electricity consumption.That way,you wouldn't even have to worry about a chiller.I recommend the Tek and Aquactinics fixtures(yes.I'm doing again!).A UV sterilizer isn't necessary for a successful reef.For me,the bad outweighs the good.It kills the bacteria/plankton from the water column that could be beneficial for inverts/corals.It does reduce fish disease/illness and helps keep the tank clearer with less algae.The decision is really up to you.You can a successful reef with or without one.
 
Yeah, I was thinking about that on the uv, but I just can't seem to make up my mind, I think I'd like to personally see some tanks using it to judge the difference.

As far as the lighting system goes, I have purchased it already, so I guess I need to invest in the chiller. I don't mind, it's more a space concern than a cost concern.
 
I wasn't trying to sway you guys one way or the other about UV.For me,I don't think its necessary.I don't know enough about Ozone to give any advice.All I read on it was too complicated and expensive,for me.Maybe Jhnrb might chime in on ozonizers.
 
I would recommend a UV. It does kill bacteria, but since I am in it for fish and disease is always an issue, it is worth it. The clarity of the water is remarkable. Check out my pics, I use a UV and my corals seem to be pretty darn good. Using a UV steralizer hasn't changed my coralline algae growth or coral growth. Just my opinion.

-Dr Marco :sfish:
 
do you run your's 24/7 doc? or on a alternating schedule? i'm shooting for that ultraclear water too. but i was worried about killing pods, coraline and plankton.
 
I run all my filtration 24/7: UV, skimmer, phosguard and carbon. I believe that is why my water is crystal clear. There is a risk of carbon leaching phosphates into your system or nitrates as well, but I have found that with frequent changes of the carbon (monthly) that it really doesn't have an effect. As far as killing useful bacteria or plankton, I have not found it to effect my tank. I feed enough to keep all the organisms happy. Hope this helps.

-Dr Marco :sfish:
 
Alas, even the best laid plans go awry. I set up my quarantine tank and my main tank at the same time, pretested with fresh water, filled with salt water, got a great deal on live sand and got 100 pounds of lalo live rock from the 2 docs, let that cycle until I got 3 weeks of consistent readings in the appropriate ranges and I was off the the store for my first fish. I HAD intended on getting my first false percula (all the rage these days I know, but they are nice) but that's not what happened.
I was peering through the tanks, mainly out of curiousity, when I spied a fish that I had previously heard of, but had only seen in photos. Short, squat, rather ugly, yet cute in it's own way. Jet black with small white dots (at first I thought to be a disease) and a large "head" with a big mouth, four stubby finny "legs" and a wonderful waving fishing lure right between it's eyes. I was immediately smitten with the frogfish. I am not sure how much info the person I was talking to new about these guys, He assured me it was a species that only grew to four inches (I am still not positive on it's ID, it's about the size of my thumb at the moment), but I have a sneaking suspicion that it is a larger variety.
I know and understand all about it's carnivorous tendancies, and know that it is going to be the only fish in my tank, and that it is going to cause a lot of problems for almost all my invertebrate options, but to be honest, I love it. Still planning on going with Tridacnids, and lps and sps (actually have a couple of mushroom corals that came in with the live rock, and made it through the curing, hoping they can make it while the tank continues to mature) and still wanting an anenome, but I think the tank will be fully stocked fishwise with this one guy.
 
best of luck to you and hope you enjoy your purchase. We have all done something similar when we got our first fish.

-Dr Marco :sfish:
 
Welcome to the reef... Everyone has got ya covered, lets see some pics when ya get a chance.. We love the pics around here...
 
Back
Top