rich_one June 5, 2014 Share June 5, 2014 Hello, all... My name is Rich. I've been keeping freshwater aquariums for about 25 years, and finally made the leap to salt. I have a 6 ft. 125 gallon running right now with approx. 150 lbs. live rock. Not running any filters. Just a wavemaker and a power head to move the water around the tank. Basically just transferred someone else's established system into one of my empty setups. The fish I currently have are: 2 clown fish (don't know the specific variety, but can post pics) 2 blue damsels 1 striped damsel 1 banggai cardinalfish 1 serpent starfish The tank has been up and running for two weeks now, everyone seems happy... so far. This tank is a work-in-progress. I plan to add more live rock, and more sand as well (I think). I am also running a 48" Deep Blue Solarmax T5 HE light fixture running a 10,000k white light and a blue actinic light. Not sufficient for where I want to eventually be, but will do for the short term. Well, those are the basics of my tank. On to the questions: 1. I want to add a protein skimmer. Eventually I plan to add a sump or wet/dry of some sort, but that is a bit down the road. For now, I'd like an affordable hang on back skimmer that gets the job done. Any recommendations? 2. After I add more live rock, and perhaps upgrade my lights, I plan to add more fish. Suggestions on fish that are compatible with what I have so far? I want activity all over the tank, I want fish that are reef safe, as I hope to have plenty of interesting critters and eventually easy to care for, non-demanding soft corals. So, fish that won't harm these things. Those are my specific questions for now, but please feel free to comment further in any way that could help me be successful. Thanks in advance, everyone... and looking forward to learning a lot on this forum as I continue on this new venture in my fishkeeping hobby! -Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette June 5, 2014 Share June 5, 2014 First off welcome aboard. I do not see anything about you running a sump, is there one with the system? As for fish you are going to want to get rid of those damsels, they are pests and will cause you nothing but problems with their aggressiveness in the future. You can add all kinds of fish with a 125g tank, most tangs will be good in there, rabbitfish, wrasses, anthias, and more. Your best bet is to go to liveaquaria and look through all their fish and see what peaks your interests and read about those fish. But if you want a reef tank, stay away from the large angels and triggers their are a few exceptions but for the most part they are not reef safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildcrazyjoker81 June 5, 2014 Share June 5, 2014 Welcome Rich. A 6' 125 is a really good tank size for most things in this hobby. You will need a sump sooner (preferably) or later. As most on here will chime in, you should see if you can get the tank drilled and plumb it to a sump before going much further. There are people who still use the CPR overflow's and such so that is an option too. HOB skimmers for that much water are pretty much pointless and not as effective as you would think. As far as fish go, MBvette hit the nail on the head. First off get rid of those damsels (I call them devil fish lol). They are a heartache and get very aggressive over time. Go to liveaquaria and read, read, read. Lots of gorgeous fish in this industry that work well together. How much sand do you have now? Also 150lbs is a good amount of live rock for a 150 IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgan175 June 5, 2014 Share June 5, 2014 Welcome. I will leave the rest to the others. Join wamas and look through the classifieds a lot of good stuff for sale. Best 20$ spent. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR-Tanked150 June 5, 2014 Share June 5, 2014 Welcome, first come join and become a member it will be the best $20 you spend in the hobby. I agree with the others get rid of the damsels, they are aggressive fish. I think you have enough live rock already, and you really should look into a sump and a protein skimmer first. This is a hobby that will test your patience and you need to go slow and allow your tank to mature, before adding to much. Are you planning to have corals? Or fish only? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich_one June 5, 2014 Author Share June 5, 2014 Thanks, everyone... will check out live aquaria, and start figuring out which way I want to go in regards to sump. -Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich_one June 5, 2014 Author Share June 5, 2014 I eventually plan to have soft corals... easiest to keep that I can find. -Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makai531 June 5, 2014 Share June 5, 2014 I, as well as a friend of mine, have Reef Octopus BH1000 skimmers on our tanks. It pulls a lot of gunk out of our tanks. It's $190 new, but if you join WAMAS sooner or later you will see someone offer one up for half the price. Once you get further into this, you will find a sump is the way to go if you can swing it. I do not have a reef ready tank and have a HOB filter and skimmer right now. It's ok, but would look a lot better without all the stuff on the back. I started in fresh too. Welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich_one June 5, 2014 Author Share June 5, 2014 Thanks for the heads up. In regards to the sump, wet/dry, refugium situation... I fully plan to go in that direction. Just taking things step by step at the moment, and asking questions as I go along. I will definitely be joining this club, and am in fact, currently a member of the CCA, for what it's worth. -Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makai531 June 5, 2014 Share June 5, 2014 Rich - me too on the CCA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob A June 5, 2014 Share June 5, 2014 Welcome! Regarding your serpent star...if it's green its bad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich_one June 5, 2014 Author Share June 5, 2014 Cool! -Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich_one June 5, 2014 Author Share June 5, 2014 My serpent star looks black, and so far has been extremely harmless. -Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Mc June 7, 2014 Share June 7, 2014 (edited) Welcome! Regarding your serpent star...if it's green its bad! This got my interest. Can you explain more? Rich welcome to the dark side. As others have said I would get the sump and drill the tank before doing much more. Edited June 7, 2014 by Jim Mc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob A June 7, 2014 Share June 7, 2014 (edited) What I've been told...The greens ones have been known to kill fish by getting into positions like inside a cave where a fish might sleep and then somehow trapping it. I don't know if this applies to every single green one...I've just been told this by fellow enthusiasts. If you Google it there is more info. Edited June 7, 2014 by Rob A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Mc June 9, 2014 Share June 9, 2014 Oh yes mine does that all the time. He hasn't killed anything yet though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM June 9, 2014 Share June 9, 2014 If you are already looking at upgrading lights it is evidence that you have the disposition to end up in a year with a full tank of sps and lps and in 3 months posting here about how to drill a full tank for overflows and if the skimmer rated for 400g is overkill for your 170g total volume system. The WAMAS meetings and copps and gws3 posts of frags for sale before the meetings are what got me into sps after starting off talking about softies and some lps. I'd think, one or two easy sps frags, like montiporas couldn't really push me over the edge, then an acro here or there, then some millepora, and next thing you know I'm the owner of 5 peristaltic dosing pumps and am trying to get my phosphate below 0.05. It happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich_one June 9, 2014 Author Share June 9, 2014 I don't have any plans to drill the tank, but I will add a sump w/ hang on back overflow, and an in-sump skimmer. Hope to have all of that installed over the next few weeks. -Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami June 9, 2014 Share June 9, 2014 There aren't too many hang-on skimmer's that I'd recommend for a tank-only setup of that size - maybe a Deltec MCE-600. Having a sump can open up a lot more options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich_one June 9, 2014 Author Share June 9, 2014 Yeah, after asking many question across two forums, it seems clear to me it is time to stop thinking about a hob skimmer and start thinking about installing the sump and putting the skimmer in there. -Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Mc June 11, 2014 Share June 11, 2014 Another bonus of the sump will be adding to your total water volume making it a bit easier to keep water chemistry stable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grav June 21, 2014 Share June 21, 2014 Are you thinking of drilling the tank or an over the back overflow. We could show you how the drilled internal overflows work, and if you want a used over the back, we have a few CHEAP. They are cheap because they are trouble makers :o( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott3569 June 22, 2014 Share June 22, 2014 I didn't see anything about a cycle period is this tank a new tank that has only been set up for two weeks? If that is the case, you may end up with more problems then what has been mentioned already..you tank has to go though a cycle period or else the amonia stage will kill off just about everything you have..you may be able to hang on to the fish with doing water changes..but your tank still needs to build up the bacteria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott3569 June 22, 2014 Share June 22, 2014 LOL my bad i just went back and reread the orginal post..you can ignore my first post..and Welcome by the way..I John and most of his employees are great at BRK(blue ribbon koy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich_one June 23, 2014 Author Share June 23, 2014 Thanks, all! And no, no plans to drill. Will use a hang on overflow. -Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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