First Saltwater Tank. 150g Display - 40g Sump

Seek&Reef · Nov 23, 2021

Hello everyone!

So I recently bought a setup from someone local who is moving and upgrading to a larger tank. He had the system running for a year. Here is a list of equipment I am using.

Equipment

Prostar V2 150 Gallon Aquarium 61"L x 24" D x 24"H
Triton 40 Gallon Sump
Jebao DC 15000 Return Pump
(2) Jebao RW-8 Wavemakers
Eheim Jager 300 watt Heater
Micmol G1 Aqua Air for 60" tank
Simplicity Protein Skimmer
180lbs Caribsea Live Rock
Sand (unsure of brand and amount) 1.5" of coverage

Livestock

(1) Powdered Blue Tang
(1) Blue Hippo Tang
(1) Gladiator Clown Fish
(1) One Spot Foxface Rabbitfish
(1) Diamond Goby Sand Sifter
(1) Lyretail Anthias
(7-8) Blue Leg Hermit Crab as CUC

So I really want to get to a point in 6 months where I start diving into some soft corals then slowly work into some LPS. I have maintained "high-tech" planted freshwater aquariums in the past. High par lights, co2 injected, dirt substrate type tanks. I know this is completely different, but really looking forward to learning the dark side of aquariums ;Vamp. (huge Star Wars fan) Does anyone have any knowledge on my current led light and its par output at different depths? Will upgrade eventually but if I can run soft corals before upgrading that'd be awesome.

Also what does everyone think of the rock aquascape?

I also wanted to say it is nice to have found this group. I posted in the new member section and had feedback within hours. Seems like one awesome community! Live in Midland, TX if anyone is close let me know!

blaxsun · Nov 23, 2021

Lots of caves and hiding spots. Your fish will give you two fins up!

fushi · Nov 23, 2021

Your scape looks great man!

Its pretty hard to find good information on lights that aren't from the top brands (EcoTech, AI, Kessil, ATI) but sometimes you can get lucky on google. As each setup is different the most reliable way to get par and spread information is to rent or buy a par meter. Podyourreef.com has a pretty cheap rental.

https://www.podyourreef.com/product...rental-full-spectrum-underwater-quantum-meter

If you really like to dive deep into the finite details the reef moonshiner method is great. But as you probably know there is no magic potion that makes a tank great.

https://www.reefmoonshiners.com

The only thing all great tanks have in common is stability.

Seek&Reef · Dec 9, 2021

TANK UPDATE

Had my first cyano outbreak. So I ordered better test kits and adjusted flow for the time being. Tests ended up pegging out the Hannah at .9 and nitrate came in at 45mg/l. Did a few extra water changes, added filter socks, and tuned skimmer. got nitrate to go down a little. Ordered all the gear for the Refugium last week and built a diy “podhotel” (see Refugium pic below PVC with holes and loose floss).

Was looking at my tank last night only to discover I had copepods. Talked with previous tank owner and he had no clue. He used dry rock and sand. Only ever added fish so probably came with the water. Well my Refugium stuff came in today from Algaebarn (pods, red ogo, & phyto). Set all of that up and hoping to see phosphates slowly lowering.