90G for Starter

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karmakaze

Hey guys! I just bought my first soon (hopefully)to be saltwater tank and was referred here for some good insight! I've had aquariums for years, my most recent being a 46G planted tank. Always wanted a saltwater and I finally have it but it is far more complex than I'd ever imagined... I didn't even know you couldn't put a puffer with coral [smilie=itwasntme.gif] ! I've got the tank flowing and the water at 1.24 salinity but I'm still trying to figure out what's best for what I'm wanting to do.
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So far I have a 200w heater, 40lbs of live sand, 10lbs of live rock, sump, pump, mineral mud, macro light & some rocks. The plan is to grow coral and have a mixed reef sometime in the future, mainly anemones with a few fish. I plan on using anacharis in the sump to control nitrates & know I'll eventually need a protein skimmer but need some guidance on what to do with the rest.

First I need a light: I'd love to go LED but am trying to stay under or around $500 so I don't think I'm there yet. I was looking at the 48 inch Current USA 6x54W Nova Extreme Pro T5HO 3-10k/3-460nm Actinics until I read in the manual it can not be installed inside a canopy. I really like the look of the canopy adds to the tank but am I going to have to get rid of it to find a solution within my price range?

Second I'm gonna need a powerhead: I found the Hydor Koralia Evolution Circulation Pump/Powerhead 750 gph which looks like a good buy. Would this work or should I buy a more/less powerful model for this size tank?

Any help is much appriciated!
 
Welcome. Your off to a good start but just take it easy and be patient. Nothing good comes fast [smilie=wink.gif] as far as puffers and coral, I've had a porc puffer in my reef that didn't bother anything. Cool fish and fun to watch. Do you plan on getting more rock? For a protein skimmer reef octopus are good affordable skimmers. Just depends on space in your sump. Ive seen a few led modules on the sell listings for cheap.as far as t5 There are retro kits you can get to mount inside your canopy. You should go with the evo 1050s for powerheads. I've got 750s in a 75 and I think they are kinda weak. They were good in my 40g.

Ask all the questions you've got. Lots of brains here too help all the time
 
First I want to say welcome. Now a couple of things for starters I would recommend.

More rock-dont totally let anyone say what is too little or to much find a setup that you like BUT i would say the rock provides natural filtration along with hiding places for your fish and places ho place corals. I have a 70g with about 90lbs of rock in the tank.

Sand is also a preference some people run a bare bottom some run a 6" sandbed.

dfwminis is right reef octopus skimmers are good and affordable. Just do your research and ask questions.

As far as lights go you can run LEDs and they can be had for less than $500 just look and do your research. Check out www.rapidled.com and www.stevesleds.com

Powerheads-The 750gph by itself wont by enough but you might be able to get away with 2 of them. dfwminis is right you will most likely need 2 of the 1050s.

Also do you have a saltwater test kit which includes ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph? These will be crucial in the life of your aquarium. Before adding any fish or corals to the tank you need to go through a nitrogen cycle.

Conitinue asking questions and be patient there is a little saying in the saltwater community that nothing good happens fast and its true. If you have more questions post them here or feel free to send me a PM and ill do my best to answer them or find you someone who can.
 
Is anacharis able to live in sw? Or are you talking about chaeto or calurpa for the fuge? just wondering...i can't seen to grow chaeto at all, but I can grow calurpa and anacharis really well....
 
Ok I just ordered a few more things for my tank including:
Hydor 400 Watt Theo Aquarium Heater (200 I had wasn't cutting it)
Coralife Digital Aquarium Thermometer
Red Sea Reef Foundation Pro Test Kit
Red Sea Marine Lab Master Aquarium Test Kit
Coralife Digital Power Center Timer (Light Controls)
Current USA Dual Outlet Aquarium Timer (Semi-wavemaker)
Aquarius Premium Aquarium Fish Net 10" X 7" Net, 24" Handle
Rio+ Aqua 50 Powerhead (Pump) (Mixing Salt)

I plan on ordering a Reef Octopus 100 Skimmer soon but before I do I was wondering if the Dual timer outlet would work well enough as a wave timer or if I should by the complete JBJ Oceanstream Circulation Pump/Powerhead + Duo Wavemaker 1600 gph kit (once it's in stock). I was going to buy the Hydor Koralia Evolution's but I heard way too many things about them not working with timers or operating in reverse which really scares me [smilie=worried.gif] . Opinions?

Now I'm having a few issues I have a 950gph Danner pump but when it's pumping into the aquarium its causing tons of bubbles to pour out instead of even water flow.

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I think this is largely due to my pump, pumping too fast because if I turn it off and then back on it doesn't do it till the chambers water level gets low. or it could be because of this:

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I think my filter bag (dunno what it's for really) is all sandy and causing the water to not flow correctly (it's overflowing the sides). MAYBE this is all normal but for what I've seen at the fish stores and friends houses I don't think it is. Any help is appriciated

@satyra Calurpa is what I was referring to, thanks for the correction.
 
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