Okay new question!

First bit of advice is go see other set ups. Most everybody will welcome you over to see what they have done/ are doing and what they would like to have done different. My home is always open.

 

By doing this you can see many different options as you head down life's little adventure. You will see everything from the extreme in automation and equipment to the extreme of diy. And of course everything in between. Then you can start to formulate your ideas and plans and go from there.

 

The buy/sell forum here is awesome to pick up used equipment for great prices. And as always research this board to all ends. There is years worth of information just waiting to be used. And don't forget our meetings. Typically the first Thursday of every month. This month its today!!! (see the home page for more details)

 

And foremost Welcome to our slice of heaven!

 

Mike

Mike

 

I'm pretty excited to get it up and running myself.  Question though, what kind of lights do I need?  I like the look metal halides give as far as the rippled look on the tank bottom, but what do I need?  I want fish, coral, live rock, anenomes in the tank.

 

Hi Matt -

 

Thanks for your kind comments.

 

The weight of a 75g setup should be able to be easily supported by your floor, espcially if the floor joists are running perpendicular to the length of the tank (meaning the tank's "footprint" spans several floor joists)... if the joisting is parallel to the length of the tank you should still be OK but your floor may "deflect" a little bit when you walk near the tank. If you are not dead set on the location of your tank you can always move it to make it run perpendicluar to the joists if it is not already that way.

 

I chose to place additional support under my tank because A) I placed my tank in a location where the tank length runs parallel to the floor joists rather than perpendicular, and didn't want to change the tank location; B) my 225 gallon tank weighs 3 times as much as your 75g will once filled; and C) my custom tank stand is also super-heavy compared to the 'normal' stands that most people use (like yours).

 

For a sump I reccommend you go as big as will fit inside your stand. I made my own sump setup as it can be quite expensive to go out and buy a purpose-built sump system at the LFS (Local Fish Store). You can occasionally find used sumps for sale on our "Buy / Sell" Forum; the prices there are usually much cheaper than new retail...

 

The "grate" on the bottom of my tank is called a plenum and is used for biological filtration. I have used them forever and love them; however, most people here do not use one and you certainly do not  have to use one.

 

I would not get too concerned with "making mistakes" as you will make them. We all do. If you are patient, ask questions when you are unsure on something, and go slowly, then hopefully the mistakes will all be small ones. There is a saying in this hobby that "nothing good ever happens fast in a marine aquarium" and it is a good truism. Don't rush things, especially when you first set up your tank and the water is in and you can't wait to go down to the LFS and fill up your tank with all kinds of fish and corals... take your time. Stock the tank slowly. research your fish and coral choices first to be sure you are putting compatible things together in your system that are not too delicate or demand extreme measures to keep alive, etc. And there are certainly many good books out there on the hobby; you can usually find several at your local library as well.

 

If you are patient and make good choices and informed decisions this hobby can be alot of fun... and doesn't have to cost the proverbial "arm and a leg".

 

So, Good Luck with your first marine setup - and welcome to the Club

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little background and pics for ya.  I bought about 25 lbs of LR, and 15 lbs of dead rock.  I was told this was ok as dead would be live with time.  I also bought 15 crabs as I was told these would live through the cycle spikes I will have, and they will help keep tank clean during the cycle.  I have about 2 inches of crushed coral in the bottom, also not live.  For filtration I have one filter that ties to where the water dumps in the sump, and another filter between the two chambers of the sump, right before the return pump.  Someone told me to add "purple up" to my tank to speed up getting the dead rock to live.  So have been adding that as directed on the bottle.  My tank stays between 78 and 80 degrees, with my MH's on 10 hrs a day, and t5's on 14 hrs a day...10 hrs with MH's and 2 hrs before and after MH's.  So, what's this white film and should I be concerned?  I'm hoping its just part of the cycle and to just ride it out.  Also on a side note, the crabs are doing just fine, moving around lots and seem to be enjoying life.  Thanks for your help!

 

 

I'm completely confused by my sump at this point.  I bought an oceanic sump, like 30 gallons that sits in the stand under my tank.  The water level in my sump is what I consider somewhat low.  It's only like an inch above the intake for my return pump.  I would like it a bit higher so allow for a bit more time between adding water.  So the way I figure, if your pump is pumping lets say 800 gph, and your drain is draining 800 gph back to the sump, you should be able to add more to the sump with no problems.  So I added water to the sump.....instantly the level in my tank went high (to a point I'm not real comfortable with)  I'm very confused.  If my pump is puting out what I'm draining, wouldn't the extra remain in my sump?  Am I just too simple minded to figure this out?  How can I get my sump level higher, and not get my tank level too high?  On a side note, I did have to slow my pump by turning the ball valve above my pump, as I was pumping more than draining, but this was at initial setup.  There's the question for the day.  Sorry if I'm drivin ya'll nuts with my stupid questions, just a newby here.

I used lace rock like that in my fresh and brackish tanks in the past and always got that white film while it was cycling. I believe it is some kind of bacteria or fungus that consumes the lichen/moss on the rock. IME it never caused any problems and went away in less than a month.

 

After this week I see the sump is getting a bit low, so I add about 3 gallons of water directly in the sump.  NEVER touch the ball valves or anything, simply dump water in the sump.  Also the water was not low enough that the pump was sucking air or anything, so it was pumping as much as it could.  So after about 5 minutes after adding water to the sump, the level in the tank starts to rise, up to the point it is hitting the support bar across the top of the tank.  This is where my confusion comes from.  Anyone get this?

 

Thanks

 

Matt