So it begins...

Well I finally did it after several years of thinking planing and changing my mind, the marine adventure has begun. I have converted my Juwel Rio 300 to marine.
I would like your thoughts,

1/ I have 4 powerheads and a fluval 405 external all adding up to about 28 times turnover per hour
The external has the ROWA phos and the carbon + white pre filters or polishing pads. I also left the large white sponges in (is this right or wrong) which are cleaned weekly.

2/ I have 2 54 watt t5 Juwel marine bulbs with reflectors and will be adding two more of the same, so will have 208 watts of light over the tank,
how will this set me up for for corals, I'm thinking only suitable for soft corals but would love to be corrected on this !!

3/ I have a deltec MCE600 skimmer attached to the back of the tank.

4/ Theres 66 kilos of live rock in the tank which has matured nicely and a small covering of live sand to take the bare look off the bottom of the tank. ( should I add more sand )

5/ Stock so far, 2 hermit crabs, a fire shrimp and a cleaner shrimp, a sea urchin(came attached to the live rock), several soft corals (also came attached to the live rock), a pair of percula clowns and a yellow tang.

Fish i would like to add, ( I'm not saying I will add all of them to the tank just deciding between them.)
Algea Blenny
Mandrin Fish
Flame Angel
Scotts velvet fairy wrass (if i can source one)
Tail spot blenny
Fire fish.

Would love your opinions on the setup so far, what changes or alterations ye would suggest.
Any other suggestions for fish i could consider, what corals I should be looking at, and what additives i might need to keep the tank healthy.



I think thats nearly enough questions for one post:)

Thanks

Mick

prepare to be broke now mick haha

i always wanted a flame angel in my tank but as far as i know they may eat some corals so that shattered that dream

yea was thinking as much !!
well one fish down,
anybody else want to shatter any more of my dreams.......

Mick

fairplay to ye Mick for takin the big marine plunge, takes a lot of balls and money. Get some pics up if ye can.

Yer right about money I'm already broke,

more money than balls it has to be said ha

the regal tang is a whitespot magnet but such a beautiful fish

i have found since i added a UV sterilizer he has been free from it about 3 weeks now, which is the longest i've seen it ich free

I suppose if you had lots of money you would not really need balls, but I have no money

Was thinking about a uv sterilizer alright but don't know too much about them. Are they expensive remembering I have no money, what do they get attached to I assume the external, how often do the bulbs need changing and you guessed it, are the bulbs expensive !!

mine cost €90 but that was for a 100l-200l so im not so sure ill let you know when i find out
yeah i just cut my return pipe and attached it onto that
and you should be replacing the bulb every 6 months
and i haven't a clue how much they are but they cant be mad money (i hope)

Cool cheers mate

Hi Mick, sounds like an awesome setup, can wait to see some pics and a clip or two. Regards the Flame Angel, these are known to nip at LPS and SPS polyps, zoanthids and clam mantles but some wont. Its a bit of a hit and miss with them but I would certainly try one and see what happens. If it turns out to be a nipper, you could always rehouse him as they are always in demand. I would hold off on the mandarinfish for a while, at least until the system is fully established as they are difficult to feed and will eat only live prey such as the brown flatworms that can infest reef tanks. They will also take live vitamin enriched brineshrimp and blackworms but do not like to compete for food. These also like a sandbed they can bury themselves in at night so thats another thing you must consider. I recently installed a sterillizer in my own setup and noticed a large drop in unwanted algae so for that reason alone it may be worth considering but they are by no means an essential piece of kit. I think if you double up on your light you will be able to keep many (not all) hard corals but theres an ocean full to choose from so go for it. There are some serious reef keepers here, Reefpaddy and Seany come to mind, but they dont be on much these days but if you happen to catch them they can answer all your questions. Best of luck with the system and dont forget the pics .

Jay

Thanks for the reply,
I do like the way it's heading alright, I have no idea how to put up photos, I might ask Stephen to help me with that
I must say I need very little encouragement to convince me to try a flame angel, and you have made my mind up to try one and if it doesn't work I will be happy that i tried !!
I will be leaving the mandrin fish until around about Christmas, any suggestions how to encourage copepods and other live to grow over the next few months.
I think a uv sterilizer is a very good idea, already the algae is growing fast !!
I haven't been on the forum that much of late myself an 8 month old baby Cian has seen to that hopefully the old reliables will make their way back to the site, I suppose its ye guys that make the site as informative as it is,

Mick

No Algae + No Algae = Phosex. Rowaphos is great too but more expensive.


Kev.

Thanks Kev,

will look up phosex, love the info...

Mick

The Algae Blenny will soon sort your algae problem, they absolutely hoover the stuff up. Great fish too with great personality. As for the flame angel, this should be your last fish as they get very territorial and will bash any fish gone in after. Keep it well fed and you shouldnt really have a problem with nipping at coral either. Oh and deffo double up on the lights, even softies will struggle on 2 lamps.

Right so, the lawnmower blenny will be the next addition to the tank, I would like to add more coral sand to the tank for the blenny and eventually the mandrin fish, from what I have read it does not have to be live sand, the coral sand could be rinsed before putting it into the tank so would not fog up the tank too much or for to long. I have done it with my tropheus tanks with great success barely fogged up the tank at all. The new light unit will be arriving in the next 3 weeks, a friend is bringing it back from England for me when he comes to visit, it almost half the price I got quoted over here ! Will leave the flame angel until the end, keep the best for last and all that

Mick