Noob to reef tanks....

As a fellow noob to reefs I can tell you my mistakes.. Don't do more than one dose of calcium a day, don't use reef crystals unless you plan on letting the water mix for a few hours. Don't start using different water once it is set up, what ever water you start with, keep using it. I used my tap/DI water and than used RO water and my tank is cloudy.. It's slowly going back to normal. If you want cool fish, don't have a reef tank. But cool preds like triggers and whatnot need a 120gallon. Your 75 would be plenty for a few years. I have a pink tail in my reef and he won't even eat the crustaceans, guess I lucked out. Don't worry about a protein skimmer right away, yes what ever pros are reading this, don't have a fit, but my hang on back with poly pads and artificial carbon works just as well. If you're doing a reef, get most corals how you want them and throw in some test dummies/chromis in there. Then add fish. Better to add all the community first and semi aggressive last. Get a test kit for water. Cannot stress enough about that. Buy all your trace elements, iodide, coral foods, calcium. And for the love of reefs, get a sump.. If I could redo anything, it would be using a sump. Canisters SUCK. And don't pay more than $6 per lbs for live rock.. And it better have nice coralline on it for that price. And if you want an awesome current fan, get an sicce. For a 75 gallon, you're gonna want Atlease 2 1200 gph ones. Face onedown and one towards surface. Get a nice circular motion current going. And some triggers are reef safe. They are pretty neat. Blue throats are best along with red tails.


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Oh and if you're on a budget, don't do a reef setup. You will bankrupt yourself doing it correctly. I've easily spent a grand on my 56 gallon reef. And that's skipping a few corners on stuff. Lol. Not to mention how easy it is to want MORE AND MORE for the reef cause they are really cool. But if you can swing it, power to you.


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I read and still read on wetwebmedia.com, reef central, check amazon or book stores for decent books.

Don't waste you money on live sand.
Buy cured live rock.
Invest in good quarantine and take it slow.

What's your budget if you don't mind me asking?


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Yeah, liveaquaria.com


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And only use pure aragonite,, no silica sand unless you're planning on having a massive algae growth


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Hey BasicallyBane,

Setting up a Reef Tank requires a lot of thought and proper equipment, on a 75 gal you have to figure a monthly expense of $50+ your Elec bill will take off my tank costs me an average of 100$ per month to keep going x 12m =1200$

If money is not really an issue then go for it I never looked back after switching years ago.

Things you must think of when setting up a Reef....

What kind of Reef do you want to have?
Softy`s + Zoos = least expensive to run and good starter level
LPS ( Large Poylp Stoneys) a little bit more$$ than Softy Intermediate Level
SPS (Small Poylp Stoneys) the most expensive with several additives being added daily or weekly. Advanced Level

If you know what type of Biotope it would give a better idea of equipment needed.

+1 on wetwebmedia, the single best source of info out there.

My advice:

Don't add any trace or supplements you aren't testing for, and use good test kits, very rare to have to supplement unless you have massive coral growth or don't do water changes regularly. Weekly 10 to 15 percent changes will take care of everything

Develop a relationship with the best LFS in your area if there is a good one.

QT everything wet that goes in your tank for at least 6 weeks

Invest in a couple of books, the information is more in depth than magazine articles.

Have a complete stock list in mind before you buy the first living thing to put in your tank and add very slowly, nothing good happens fast in a reef tank!

Life is much easier with a sump, and a skimmer is a very important piece of the puzzle for a new reefer. There are other ways but this is the easiest for a new reefer IMO. Canisters and HOB filters are excellent at breaking down nitrogenous waste, and the result is algae.

2 small heaters are better than 1 larger one

Don't cycle with fish, and never add a fish you think will be temporary, if I had a buck for every damsel, chromis, and six line wrasse I've seen people trying to regime after a tank was established I could afford a much larger reef!

Live sand in a bag is a sham, use aragonite and seed it with a small amount of sand from a fellow reefers established system

Most importantly... Don't accept any one person on a forum's advice as gospel, forum advice is free and you generally get what you pay for!