ReefWolf - 125 FOWLR - To be Reef Soon

[MVlk]

After many years I finally decided to get back into the hobby. Several visits to the Chattanooga Aquarium and a desire to quit smoking gave me all the incentives needed. (Had to quit to justify costs and the work on the tank took my mind off cravings!)

Mid December I took the plunge and ordered the equipment. December 18th 2008, I had everything setup and added some starter Damsels to get the tank cycled. It has been just over one month and several failed lighting attempts. Below is a description of where I am today and some thoughts on what is next. I hope to add some pictures within a week.

I of course welcome comments and suggestions.


Equipment and Tank Setup:
- 125 Corner-Flo
- Marineland Sump Model #3
- 72” Current Nova Extreme Pro Saltwater T-5 Fixture
- Jäger 250 Watt Heater

- ~70 lbs of live rock. I plan on doubling that over the next year. I also have ~70 pounds of base rock.

Future Plans: (If you have any for sale, give me a shout)
- Coralife Super Skimmer Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer – 220 Gallon – Or some equivalent.
- Replace current sump or convert into refugium. In hindsight, I should never have bought the Marineland sump, but having previously done Fish only tanks about 10 years ago, it seemed to make sense at the time. Luckily I got a good price on it as it was a demo unit.
- ReefKeeper Elite
- ???

Fish: ( Common Name / Scientific Name /My Family Names / Commentary )
- 2 - Yellowtail Damselfish (Chrysiptera parasema) - Bacon and Eggs - Leftover from the cycle crew.
- 2 - Black and White Ocellaris Clownfish - (Amphiprion ocellaris var.) - Barack and Obama
- 1 - Six Line Wrasse (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia) - Rex
- 1 - Diamond Watchman Goby (Valencienna puellaris) – Carl Rove
- Sailfin Tang (Zebrasoma veliferum) – Name Pending

Future Additions:
- Powder Blue Tang (Acanthurus leucosternon)
- Bartlett's Anthias (Pseudanthias bartlettorum) – Want to start with three and add more Anthias for a nice school.
- ???


Cleaner Crew: ( All numbers approximate )
- 6 - Scarlet Reef Hermit (Paguristes cadenati)
- 20 - Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit (Clibanarius tricolor)
- 6 - Mexican Turbo Snail (Turbo fluctuosa)

Corals:
None currently. My plan is to wait about 1 year from startup to beginning adding corals. The idea is to allow my tank and my skills to mature. Will also allow me to finish getting the equipment I want. With that in mind, I can guess that the reality will be that I will start adding corals within a few months.

 

[MVlk]

Forgot to list the Koralia's..

- Hydor Koralia Water Circulation Pumps ( 2 Model 3’s)

Will eventually add two more. Probably will be two model 2's. The existing 3's almost seem to powerful already. Occasionally I will see one of my fish get in front and have to fight to swim.

 

[d2mini]

Cool! Welcome aboard and congrats on not smoking. :)

I'd ditch the coralife skimmer idea and look into the Octopus needlewheel skimmers.
Those keep getting rave reviews from users.

I'm looking at the reefkeeper elite too.

You also might want to rethink your cleanup crew. Some people end up hating their hermits. They get big, knock things over, kill other snails for their shells, can be a nuisance although fun to watch. I have one scarlet. Turbo snails are good. Are you doing a sand bottom? If so you'll want a bunch of nassarius snails. I got my crew from reefcleaners.org. They'll email you a custom crew recommendation for your tank.

 

[d2mini]

The K3's are not too powerful for a 125.
I just put a 1200gph Tunze Nanostream 6045 in my 46g and that's on top of the two K2's and two K1's.

 

[MVlk]

I have heard the same about the crabs. I think Bifferwine has said the same... Of course I did not discover that until I had bought the crabs. I will probably not add any more of the except a few Emerald Crabs. All future purchase will be snails and will probably pull the larger crabs out once I have a good snail population.

 

[dustin_P74]

unlike some i like my hermits, they are probably some of the hardest working cleaners you can get, and if having that means i have to replace a snail or two and month i have no problem doing that. an algae free tank is worth spending a dollar or two a month on snails

 

[daugherty]

i keep blue leg hermits and not one of them has killed a snail

 

[reeffreak]

Everything sounds good to me.Even your fish choices are compatible with reef system whenever you are ready.Give yourself time before adding a powder blue tang,one difficult but beautiful fish.

 

[yote]

I had 4 of the K4s in my 75.So I'd add at least a couple of those to your 125.
As long as the sands staying on the bottom,you dont have to much flow.
I also think the CSS 220 would do a fine job,but there are better skimmers out there.But I always had good luck with my super skimmer.

 

[Alexander]

2 k3 will not be enough flow for a tanl that size. Your going to want to get I would say at least 2 more

 

[MVlk]

I will add two more to my purchase list. Which model? 2/3/4?

 

[dustin_P74]

some fours are nice, but you could also look into the 6,7's, and 8's

 

[Altohombre]

I love my hermit crabs, don't get rid of them. They are much more fun to watch than snails.

Love the black and white fish names =)

 

[MVlk]

I am going to keep the crabs for now. If they get out of hand I may give them a firm talking to and return them. For now, everyone is happy together and doing their appointed jobs.

 

[Keaton]

welcome to the forum. I agree with d2, ditch the coralife superskimmer for an Octopus. I had a CSS originaly and broke it and replaced it with an Octopus. The Octo was cheaper and seems to a LOT more skimming. Nice plan, good luck and congrats on quitting smoking!

 

[Bifferwine]

Hi! I second (or third, or is it fourth now?) the suggestion to get an Octopus skimmer too. They are in the same price range as the one you plan on getting, and they outperform the CSS skimmers BIG TIME.

 

[MVlk]

OK. I can take a hint. Octopus it is. Which one and where is a good place to get them?

Also, once I get the Octopus, but before the refugium is added, should I remove the mechanical and bio components of my current sump? I have already pulled out using carbon.

 

[daugherty]

OK. I can take a hint. Octopus it is. Which one and where is a good place to get them?

Also, once I get the Octopus, but before the refugium is added, should I remove the mechanical and bio components of my current sump? I have already pulled out using carbon.

it is not needed. just keep up on water changes. sometimes the bio and machanical parts can lead to high nitrates.

 

[Bifferwine]

I had my LFS order my Octopus skimmer for me, because he matched the lowest online price I found, and I didn't have to pay shipping.

But www.aquacave.com and www.saltysupply.com sell them too.

 

[MVlk]

Thanks... I will probably look to get the skimmer after my Tax damages are determined.

Will keep the mechanical/biological components of sump in place for now and keep an eye on my parameters of course.