Finally Making the leap to reef!

Hello everyone, I'm very excited to say that I am finally making the leap to setting up a reef tank! I have ran multiple Cichlid tanks for years, and judging by how obsessed I am by that, I can only imagine how bad this will be...

I just recently bought a 75g, and I'm very excited to get it up and running. With that said, I plan to take things very slowly. Luckily a family member has had a (not so successful) tank in the past and I was able to inherit the light and about 100lbs of rock. As far as the light goes, I dont know much about it maybe you guys could tell me if it will do the job. It doesn't have any identifiable marks that I can tell, but it is a Coralife long metal light with 4x connections for dual lights (sry dont know the lighting lingo so far).

As far as the dry rock goes it had been sitting in a garden for the past few years, so it was very dirty. So far, I have rinsed it and soaked it in some vinegar. The smell was SO bad that I was forced to sit it outside, where it grew a nice amount of algae. I thoroughly washed it off with a strong current from a shower head, then scrubbed it as much as possible. Currently it is on day 2 of soaking in a large amount of bleach and some water (want to make sure it is white so I can watch its growth). After this I am considering leaving the hose on in the bottom of the container for about 8 hours, and then soaking it in water/baking soda for a day or 2. I've heard that allowing the rock to air dry helps, so after that I will allow it to air dry. Would it be harmful to allow it to dry inside the empty tank (dieing to get something in it)?

My main goal is to get the tank cycling and the rock starting to seed as soon as possible. I plan to take things very slowly after this, but would like to at least get the rock/sand/water in the tank. I would like to take my time to research for myself and to find the best/build my own sump and refuge. So my question is would it be possible to start the process if I just add 2x HOB filters that I have sitting around (rated for 55g I believe)? I would also have a heater, add a few lbs. of live rock to start the seeding process, and the light if needed (it has been used in a cichlid tank so needs the better bulbs).

I appreciate the helpful advice in advance!! I will get pictures up as soon as possible.

 

Welcome to 3reef. The light fixture is called a power compact. It will be OK for most corals as long as you put the most light needing corals to the top.

 

i would try to brush all the algae off the rock then boil it. also as for light lingo there are several well known to reefers. those are

power compacts- able to grow most softies, maybe a bta
t5-all softies most lps, sps if enough bulbs and most anemones aside from carpets and ritteris
metal halide-you can grow anything under these but they are very hot and costly and consume energy like crazy. grows all anemones
LED's- grows anything without the drawbacks of halides. no heat and less electricity.

 

hold on I have sps and lps in my nano cube that uses PC lights!

 

ny light if you ahve enough buls over a small amount of space can grow sps. your tank is only 6 gallons with a two bulb light right? how long have you had the sps?

i too have kept sps in a 20 long. had a 6 bulb pc light tho.

 

So looks like down the road I will also have to get a new light. Now what about starting the cycle is that alright with the 2 HOB's, if I allow the sump to run for a while before I add fish?

 

Yes having the HOB's running during the cycle is good IMO. You are providing oxygenation to the tank and if you are using any type of media in the HOB like floss, carbon, sponge it will colonize with the denitrifying bacteria and assist in the cycle and contribute to the biological filter of the system.

 

Agreed,i would run the hob during the cycle

 

Alright sounds like a plan. Anyone know if air drying the rocks in the tank (after running the hose in it for a day and soaking it in baking soda) would cause any harmful effects. Don't plan to start the cycle until next week. Also, would a cheap led like a marineland reef light with 35 1w 10k and 6 650nm blues be in the category of being able to grow most everything? I'm assuming you are referring to stronger leds only.

 

The rock should be fine, they are rinsed and you still have to cycle. I know nothing about LED's though.