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fresh start need opinions

M

MU8ST7ANG

OK so I have a 54 gal corner bow front with dual 10k actinics and 150 metal halide. I just did some house cleaning and got rid of the fish that where in there as they were not the right fit my koran ate all my coral lol. So now I have this tank with about 60 lbs live rock a cleaner shrimp,feather duster, snails and a mushroom rock and I want to make it nice and bright lots of colors and a very friendly reef tank with fish. So im looking for opinions of what corals and fish to get looking for hardy creatures but not afraid to go with the delicate ones either as the tank has been up for about 4 years I just wanna make it one of those tanks you look at and go wow thats nice lots of colors . So all opinions are welcome and pictures are a major plus let me know
Thanks Don
 
mynd

mynd

Hello there,

I happen to have a hard time buying a fish that cost more then 20.00. You never know how old the fish is or how long he will last. Not to say that most people here have had no problems and love their fish. However, for me it just seems like a gamble.

On the other hand we have corals. :) There are so many options for you there for color and such. If you have the time and don't mind waiting awhile for frags to grow you can pretty much get anything you want ( based on your lighting ) and place it anywhere in the tank and watch it develop. Good stuff!

What you need to do is give pnoy a PM and see what he has to frag. There is nothing more inspirational then seeing all the colors in his tank. Makes you want one of everything. Chances are some people will tell you aussie acans since it is the IN thing now, but move quickly as I have heard they won't be available next year. Amazing colors!

I am going somewhat exotic in my tank.. Lots of colors. You just have to get yourself a piece of Rainbow Monti in there some place. :)
 
M

mladencovic

If you want a wow effect then you should first decide on wether you want to keep soft or hard corals. In small tank like that, any combination will be only "nice" and not "wow" :) Look online at well established tanks to get the idea. The really good place is to look at are the "Tank of the month" tanks featured in Reefkeeping onlin magazine like this one:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-08/totm/index.php

Check the previous issues as well.

Once you decide what type of corals you want to keep, then, based on your aquascape, budget and amount of attention you want to give them, decide which species you would like to keep. "Wow" effect is unfortunatelly coming eaither from years of well established and balanced growth or from very finickey settings of parameters (just the right lights, water flow chemistry) and demanding corals :(

Finaly after you have decided on corals, you start looking at the fish. There are plenty of small reef safe species that will be suitable for a small system. Take a good copy of marine fish book, walk to a nice LFS (like Hiden reef), look around for ideas, research the species in the book or online and try not to be impulse buyer (like me ::) )
 
M

MU8ST7ANG

Yeah im a real dumb a$$ when it comes to coral as I dont know the names or what they like, dislike what they dont do well with ect ect ect. But i like the Zoo's and alot of the softies. Ive been told with my lighting that I can have basically anything I wanted but im trying to see what is out there.
 
mynd

mynd

No No.. I was pointing out that even nano's can be WOW and giving mladencovica little fun dig about nano's being good but not WOW.

Read here and do what I am doing.. I took a picture of my tanks rock work. Then I went online here and there to get pictures of corals I like. I then take the coral pictures and put them on my rock in the picture starting with the bottom up. At the end I will have a photo of the corals I need on the rock I have. This way I can show it to people here and ask. Will this work? Will these corals get along like this? etc..

Having a visual aid is really nice. I am a bit more patient then most and will go the extra 10 miles to achieve exactly what I want. I had the tank for 7 months before I put water in it. I think that says it all.
 
D

DaveK

There are so many things that contribute toward a tank to give it that big "Wow factor" that it would be impossible to even start to list them all.

I would say the best thing to do is have a plan. You don't need to stick to it, but you need a good general idea of what you want. For example, small fish can be real gems, but you may not be able to see them across the room, or they may always hide. Larger fish are easily seen, but you can only add a few.

It's similar for corals.

I would recommend that you choose carefully, with item selected to show off something special. Don't feel you need to fill the tank up right away.

Always leave some space for that special addition that you come across that you just have to have.
 
M

mladencovic

mynd said:
No No.. I was pointing out that even nano's can be WOW and giving mladencovica little fun dig about nano's being good but not WOW.

...
Click to expand...

mynd, unfortunately you have completely missed the point that I was making. I have never implied that nano tanks can't have "wow" effect. What I was saying is that in the system of that size you have to focus on a certain type of corals that will be in harmony. And if you have read the article about that particular tank, you would have seen that the author was saying precisely what I was saying - that he started it as a mix of softies and sps corals, but that he then focused on the sps and moved most of the softies out.

DaveK has an excellent point about planning and a need for a discipline, but I would be first to admit the weakness in that department :( . Fortunately, as the time passes and you acquire more and more experience, the infatuating need to try every single coral you see on the market, subsides and you start finding out what works in your tank and what you really really really like :)
 
M

MU8ST7ANG

Yes I would say over the last 4-5 years I have been an impulse buyer not really looking to see what corals fit the tank but rather what I thought looked good. Now I guess after dumping thousands of dollars into this thing im starting to realize that patience and planning is the key. I like to ask alot of questions on here so that I know im not making a mistake even though there inevitable. When you say soft corals what comes to my mins is mushrooms, polys, zoo's leathers i kinda have a good idea reagarding them but I get lost when you say sps these i have no clue about and would love to learn about them. what are examples of these????
All help is much appreciated
Don
 
M

mladencovic

Non-scientific division of corals in this hobby is usually in the following categories:
  • Hard corals - corals that build skeletons. They are further divided in the
    • SPS - Small Polyp Stony. Polyps (protruding part) are relatively small, anywhere from 1/16" to 1/2". Examples are Acropora, Montipora, Pocillipora families
    • LPS - Large Polyp Stony. Polyps are much larger, colonies' skeletons more massive. Examples are brain corals, trumpet corals, frogspawn etc.
  • Soft corals - corals that do not build skeletons. Some people bunch mushrooms and zoas in those but many don't, and think of them as separate (since scientificially they are separate). Examples of other soft corals are various leather corals, toadstools, Xenias, cauliflower and tree (Kenya) corals

This: http://www.pbase.com/clippo/corals is a very nice place that where you can get better idea of this divission.
You can see a bit more comprehensive species list here http://www.corallibrary.info/
And finally for a bed time reading :) a bunch of links from Wet Web Media:

soft: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/soft.htm
stony: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/stonycor.htm
 
M

MU8ST7ANG

I think I may start off the process with a nice little mandaran goby Ive had alot of luck with htme in the past and there very small and very colorful I have lots of coepods for it as well
 
blange3

blange3

Don,

Since we are neighbors you are welcome to stop by and see my Softie focused tank and my LPS focused tank to get ideas. You need to do it before the end of the month though as they are moving into a 180 as a mixed reef shortly.

PM me if you are interested.

Bill
 
M

MU8ST7ANG

bill that would be cool. If you rememeber you had come over to my condo and looked at my tank once. And I had run into you at aquatic obsession. Where do you live ??
 
blange3

blange3

MU8ST7ANG said:
bill that would be cool. If you rememeber you had come over to my condo and looked at my tank once. And I had run into you at aquatic obsession. Where do you live ??
Click to expand...

That's me! ;D

Sending a pm with contact info.
 
M

MU8ST7ANG

Ok so I made a trip to aquatic obsession last night to look at some livestock and with the help of will there choose a nice bartletts anthias and a red tree coral as my starting pieces. I brought them home dripped them and then 5 minutes after putting them in the tank the bartletts was already eating brine.
 
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