Starting a reef tank (soft corals)

[mjk77]

As the topic states I am looking to start a reef aquarium. Im goin to build the tank (90 gallon) with Plexi. My questions are what makes the best reef tank from substrate, filtration, rock, protien skimmers and water flow. Im thinking of using live rock with live sand. Im up in the air on what filtration to use. is a refugium (spelling?) the best way to go? If so any tips and guidance on getting it stated would be great. And lighting? I have 2 metal halide (250 watts) with ballsts. Should I add more? or go with VHO or PC? Potien skimers are good I hear? But when to add them to the tank is my question.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Robin Goodfellow]

hi.
Welcome to RDO! My suggestion is to read the archived articles as well as current posts and googling on the Net. Have fun!

 

[Expos Forever]

I would say start with a good book. I recommend Bob Fenner's The Conscientious Marine Aquarist.

This is a great place to start on the web:

http://www.reefs.org/links/index.html

Good luck

 

[liquid]

Hi mjk77 and welcome to reefs.org!

Probably the best thing I can point you to is our library: http://www.reefs.org/library/ There's a Newbie FAQ, extensive articles, recommended reading list, etc, all at your finger tips there. Also, to help you get the most out of our website, head over to http://www.reefs.org/library/howto.html .

hth!

Shane

 

[amonhen]

mjk77,

I agree with the others (that is, read first) but will also give you this piece of advice: ask three people and you will be told to do things five ways. There are a lot of ways to do things that work. Don't try to find the absolute best way; find a way you *understand* and are comfortable with, and go with it.

My personal preference:
4" sandbed (I used dead sand and just seeded with live sand)
about 0.7 pounds live rock per gallon.
definitely drill your tank for the plumbing
I think 2 x 250 watt MH is plenty for soft corals--you can add actinic (PC or VHO, both are fine) later if you want
add a refugium later, but it is a great thing to have. Just seed it with live sand from your main tank, and get some macroalgae.
Definitely get a protein skimmer, have it functioning before you get your live rock.

--Jeff

 

[binylee]

Well, this is kinda obivous but important sidenote.
Don't add your skimmer during reclyling the tank. I would say the first 3 or 4 months. The skimmer will take out all the goodie stuff that is required for your jumping starts.
Just remember to do a quick research on your fish/coral requirement upon your purchase. That is the only way to save your money and environment.

 

[mjk77]

Appreciate the warm welcome and the helpful comments. I have an all fish (marine) tank now. Just ready for the next step

 

[tetra]

I second what everyone else had said. Read first but my preferences are:

I had pc actinic and now I have vho actinic...I like vho more.

sand: Southdown is good.

skimmer: I bought mine from jeff's exoticfish.com Southbay 6-1 for $200