Help? reef tank 75 gal

hello I have been doing fresh water tanks and this is my first shot at ocean stuff, hence Fishnoob101

I bought a 75 gal tank came with a heater and a duel Biowheel deal and the lady is going to give me a Fluval?

anyway I have bought a reef light that contains day, evening, moon lights
I bought a timer power center for it and 2 auto oscillating power heads that I wanted to put on the timer as well to make the tide or current deal for a reef tank.

I have 2 Damsel fish in there to help pop the tank and a piece of live rock my friend gave me.

I didn't want to use the Volcanic rough stuff I see all the time and wanted to go with something smooth and rounded and Light weight to create the reef with.

Is there such a thing and if so would it hurt the fish?
And maybe something that wouldn't cost an arm and a leg.

Oh also I wondered what to set the timers for the lights day, evening, night for best heath.

And what intervals going back and forth for the power heads to create a natural tide or current.

Thank you in advance for any help

 

I personally would leave both powerheads on all the time. posibly add a good korillia or seio to the mix.depending on budget. from what ive learned here flow is super important. the more the better. you can get base rock (dead) very cheap considering ,and hide it with good fiji or marshall island to keep the cost down. As for the lights , You dont need them on during the cycle. from what ive learned here ,then bring them up slowly starting with the actinics. over time until you reach i think 10 to 12 hours a day.

 

I run about 10 hours of day light and the actinics come on an hour before, and stay on an hour after the daylights shut off (I'm assuming that's what you mean by evening lights).

 

I go about 13 hours and do the same routine that Reeron does. Simulates sunrise and sunset. A fluval is good but not required. In fact, going through these forums, you are soon going to wonder what's really OK and what isn't. There are a lot of ways of doing things, just find your niche and go with it.

Now.....give us a rundown on your set up. What KIND of lights do you have PCs, T5s, Metal Halides? Do you have a protein skimmer yet? Did the set-up come with a stand that can house a sump?

Ooooooo sooooo many questions!!!

With the flow: I keep mine on all the time. I run about 2500GPH in a 75 gallon tank. It seems like a lot, and it is, but it does a great job at surface water agitation and keeps the water well oxygenated

Also, I would not buy any more fish until your tank is cycled. In fact, it is possible to cycle the tank with just the addition of LR (the die off will pop the cycle). So if the fish die, I would not replace them until your tank is conditioned.

So that is my two cents worth. Any questions....give us a holler. There are a TON of resources here.

Peace.......John.

 

I always enjoy your posts.. theyre always so polite ,neatly spaced and correctly spelled... ;D

 

Everyone above has given good advice.

I would wait at least 45 days from the start up of your tank before adding any other fish. Study the fish you are interested in a book to see what is compatible with each other.

Find out where people close to you are posting their sale items and you can get live rock for a fraction of fish store prices. You can also get larger corals at a lower price buying from local groups. There are a lot of reef web sites that have local forums that you can subscribe to.

 

Thank you very much!!! However, that last post was missing a period after the word oxygenate. The OCD is screaming at me, "EDIT, EDIT". But I will resist. And I will win.

 

thank you for the help

well like i had said i am new to this so some of the terms i see i do not under stand like some of the things or animals used to clean the tank or keep the water clean I will look them up.

the 2 fish i put in there are still alive and hungry going on day 3 i do not know if this means i am doing something right or if the bad stuff just hasn't happened yet.

The equipment I bought was used i got a 75 gal tank with a black matching stand, 3 power heads worn out, the top glass , a regular non reef type light 48" and a duel marine bio wheel a bunch of different marine type chemicals a heater some fish nets I paid $150 for all.
And the Fluval that she is still looking for.

I put new bio wheels in that filter and some of the filter cartridges.
the neighbor let me have a bottle filter cleaned everything and put a new filter in that along with the charcoal I ran it before I put the fish in to clear the cloudiness, i am not running that all the time, most of the time its off.

Had the water tested and was told its great but?

I bought 2, ZooMed Power Sweep 228 powerhead PS-40 270GPH

And the lights I bought on eBay like the power heads they are:

**Items in stock ​

Here's what a best deal we've got for you......​

**BRAND NEW IN BOX/ Ready to plug & play​

A sleek 48" total output 260 Watt​

Compact Fluorescent
aquarium lighting
NIB​

Quantity: 1 fixture​

Perfect for fresh water & marine fish aquarium ​

Fixture Supports & Specification:-
Fluorescent lamp: 4 x 65W Power Compact
Dual LED: 4 x Blue Moon night light
Fixture unit dimension: 47" L x 7" W x 2.75" H
Fixture unit finish & material: non-corrosive powder coated aluminum housing
Internal built-in cooling fans: 2
Internal ballasts: Yes
Individual power cords: 1 x PCs, 1 x PCs, 1 x LEDs
Plexi PC splash guard: 1
Individual timer compatible: Yes
Free items included:
65W 12,000k daylight PC bulb: 2 pcs FREE (Also available for sale: $16.99 ea, plus $8.00 flat rate shipping)
65W Actinic True 03 PC bulb: 2 pcs FREE (Also available for sale: $16.99 ea, plus $8.00 flat rate shipping)
Dual LED Blue Moon: 4 pcsFREE (Also available for sale: $19.99 set, plus $8.00 flat rate shipping)
Mounting leg brackets: 2 pcsFREE (Also available for sale: $14.99 set, plus $8.00 flat rate shipping)

Will this stuff support a reef?

 

Clean up crew, a group of invertebrates, crabs, snail, shrimp, and or fish that eat Algae, detritus and generally keep tank clean.

How long has this tank been up and running? Cycling takes many weeks. What kind of fish are they? some of the stronger fish like damsels may never show nay stress during cycling.

lose the glass top, lose the Bio wheels and run the filter without them. Fluval is OK if you want to run carbon for a few days, I would not run it continuously. I would invest in a fuge or sump. Put all chemicals away and don't use any until you know what they are, what they do and how to use them if you need to.

Invest in some test kits of your own, your going to need them. Power sweeps are good but I found that they don't last very long at least the sweeping motion doesn't. I would purchase a couple of Korolias for a tank that size.

Light is fine, will support all kinds of soft corals and some LPS corals. Would not try and keep SPS or clams with them though. As a whole you should do just fine. Just remember to take it slow.

 

thank you all so much

the two fish in there are damsels one is a yellow tail the other is smaller no yellow tail but the same color blue maybe a baby or?

the fish are still alive and doing well so far the yellow tailed one likes to look straight at me and i look back its odd to me that he or she has no fear.

today i built two reef like rock formations out of slate and made tunnels in them leaving the tops open, i cleaned them well and the fish seem to like them.
they are only about 8 inches high if that, the slate is so heavy, i fear that they will bust the bottom of the tank i wanted to make them higher but i don't know what will happen if i add to the weight, does anyone know?

the tank seems to just sit on the top of this wooden stand around the edges with no cross supports under it.

i got my lights today and set them up on the timer, they are really cool

even the lunar lights are bright 8 total lcd's.

thank you all so much for helping me out, this is fun already.

oh yeah i was wondering about the clean up crew, do i wait for the tank to pop before i worry about getting those?

and as i have 3 kids could i leave the glass on top if i leave the plastic strips off the back to vent it? my youngest will be sticking his hands and everything else in there

and also, is there some kind of primordial ooze i could put in there to help things along?

OH! and whats a fuge?