100 Gal. Firstever Marine Tank

King Kronos

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Following the crazy frozen weather in Texas I lost my entire freshwater system. We had been talking about moving to saltwater but we weren't ready for two tanks and making lemonade out of lemons we moved to saltwater. To get started, we used what we had. We are currently using a API cannister for filtration and some Discovery Channel LED lights (FOWLR tank until we buy new lights). We purchased Caribsea live rock and integrated some natural limestone. We have the Caribsea Hawaiian black sand and have almost finished our cycle. We followed the brstv 5 minute guide on how to cycle and have two teeny tiny clownfish "Sushi and Mochi" eventually we will upgrade a whole slew of things but this is our start!

Resized_20210317_135359(1).jpeg Resized_20210317_135644(1).jpeg 20210317_192904.jpg
 

vetteguy53081

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The lights will be fine for fish but not for coral. You may want to start seeking a hang on back refugium and hang on skimmer as your tank has no overflows.
Honestly, unless youre prepared to clean and change media in that canister weekly, you are going to encounter ammonia and nitrate issues.
I would remove the limestone which will cause a high elevation with your PH
Tank looks good otherwise
 

CMMorgan

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The lights will be fine for fish but not for coral. You may want to start seeking a hang on back refugium and hang on skimmer as your tank has no overflows.
Honestly, unless youre prepared to clean and change media in that canister weekly, you are going to encounter ammonia and nitrate issues.
I would remove the limestone which will cause a high elevation with your PH
Tank looks good otherwise
I was wondering about the limestone - thanks for chiming in.
@King Kronos .... +1 everything @vetteguy53081 said. He's one of the smart ones around here. :)
Hi to Sushi and Mochi!
 
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King Kronos

King Kronos

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The lights will be fine for fish but not for coral. You may want to start seeking a hang on back refugium and hang on skimmer as your tank has no overflows.
Honestly, unless youre prepared to clean and change media in that canister weekly, you are going to encounter ammonia and nitrate issues.
I would remove the limestone which will cause a high elevation with your PH
Tank looks good otherwise
For right now the plan is to clean the canister as it's what I've got. We've spent quite a bit to get started and will be doing upgrades as we budget for them each month. Of the things you suggested what would you do first?
 

CMMorgan

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For right now the plan is to clean the canister as it's what I've got. We've spent quite a bit to get started and will be doing upgrades as we budget for them each month. Of the things you suggested what would you do first?
I vote skimmer - stay away from SeaClone.
 

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For right now the plan is to clean the canister as it's what I've got. We've spent quite a bit to get started and will be doing upgrades as we budget for them each month. Of the things you suggested what would you do first?
The refugium which will take the load off frequent cleanings and provide both mechanical and chemical filtration since you have livestock. Next would be skimmer and since being a hang-on unit, the Ice Cap K-3 units would be perfect.

Sample of hang on refugium:

1616450668493.png
 
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King Kronos

King Kronos

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The refugium which will take the load off frequent cleanings and provide both mechanical and chemical filtration since you have livestock. Next would be skimmer and since being a hang-on unit, the Ice Cap K-3 units would be perfect.

Sample of hang on refugium:

1616450668493.png
Great! Thanks for the info!
 
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King Kronos

King Kronos

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The refugium which will take the load off frequent cleanings and provide both mechanical and chemical filtration since you have livestock. Next would be skimmer and since being a hang-on unit, the Ice Cap K-3 units would be perfect.

Sample of hang on refugium:

1616450668493.png
Can you add a sump without plumbing the tank? Like can I just run return and intake over the back similar to the canister? It seems like it might be cheaper to go for the full sump with a spot for a skimmer and refugium than to buy all these pieces as hob separately.
 
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King Kronos

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The tank is a little over a month old and is doing great! Totally cycled, water parameters are perfect, and we have added two new tank mates. Maki the foxface and Soba the lawnmower blenny. They have adapted super well and the foxface is already eating out of hand and no longer camouflaged!
 

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King Kronos

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2 month update:

The tank is doing great. Parameters are stable and fish are loving it. I have upgraded lights to two AI Prime 16hds and added our first corals. A Darth Maul Zoa and a GSP. I have also added a small clean up crew of 5 astrea snails and 5 red hermits. I also introduced a gold spot rabbitfish into the tank in hopes it pairs with my foxface. With about 4 days in it appears they have paired and are shoaling well! Things are going really well when it comes to water changes and the fish seem healthy and happy. I am running the BRS Ab+ schedule on our lights with an acclimation period as we just got the corals 4/25/21. 2 months in qnd I'm loving the hobby!
 

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A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 64 36.8%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 59 33.9%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 14.4%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 26 14.9%
  • Other.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
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