New mature reef aquarium - advice please

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
C

Chimpro

Feeder Fish
Aug 12, 2013
4
0
0
Frisco, TX
I just bartered some chimney service for an aquarium shop owner's showroom display. It is a 230 gallon mature reef aquarium. It has a lot of coral, anemones, several clown fish, tangs and other life. He is delivering and setting it up. I have had several fresh water aquariums, but salt water is new to me. I have a fair amount of time to devote to the hobby and I real interest in marine life as a scuba diver and fisherman, but I am hoping that this big set-up is not too much as a rookie salt-water aquarium owner.

I would love to hear some input and suggestions from you experts. I am really trying to understand how much time this is going to consume. And, am I better off with this mature set-up or is it better to start from scratch. I do not want to have to hire an aquarium service. I am a fast learner and hobbyist, but I travel a fair amount and don't want this to become a burden. I am getting a seemingly incredible deal on the set-up...two of the fish have the dollar value of what I'm getting. He is even delivering it and setting it up.

Thanks
 
A lot depends on his set up. I think it is best to keep it simple when starting. If he has auto top off systems, wavemaker controls, high featured lights, reverse osmosis and all that other stuff you are just going to overwhelm yourself. What kind of coral does he have? Clowns are easy fish to care for.
 
Here is the least I would do in your shoes:

Spend a couple hours researching the care of everything you're getting, both hardware and animals..

Then start writing out questions as you get them and are unable to find the answers online...

At the very least you would want all the highs/lows of all parameters of the system, the guys schedule as he kept it, ect.
 
I just re read your post. 230 gallons is huge. Especially if he has corals and anemones which require hand feeding. Get more information about his set up, the equipment and live stock. Find out his daily, weekly and monthly routines with his tank. If I was you take what he has and modify it to what you want. Post a picture of the tank.
 
I kept saltwater over a decade ago and ALOT has changed since then. If you're keeping freshwater now, you likely are not using RO water, but it is necessary for saltwater. Otherwise, you will get a nasty buildup of brown algae - I found this out the hard way. Research a good RO system that will handle the % of water you wish to change.
 
Thanks, all very good info and considerations. It is being delivered and set up Thursday. I will post a picture. No auto feeder or top-off system, but I will likely do that and upgrade to LED lighting. I watched him feed yesterday and one of the clowns actually fed an anemone, which was very cool to see. The tank occupants are as follows:

1 Royal Gramma
4 Ocellaris Clowns
2 Black clowns
1 Hippo Tang
1 Purple Tang
4 Green Bubble Anemone
2 Fire shrimp
1 Diamond Goby
3 Peppermint Shrimp
20 Hermit (?)
3 Turbo Snails
1 Green Hammer Colony
1 Purple Hammer Colony
1 Magician Paly
1 Shades of Autom
1 Orange digitata
I had him keep 2 of the clowns for store credit. I want to get another Goby in there.
 
Chimpro said:
1 Diamond Goby

I had him keep 2 of the clowns for store credit. I want to get another Goby in there.
Click to expand...
While I can't offer a whole lot of advice on the entire setup in general (as my biggest Saltwater setup is 60-Gallon, and I have little experience with corals) and can say to be careful when mixing Gobies.
Diamond Gobies are BEYOND amazing when it comes to mixing sand. They spend the day going around the tank in search of food, which in return sifts the sand for you. I always recommended this species for this specific job whenever I would have people come into the pet shop I used to help manage with left over nutrients sitting on or below their sand, and either rotting or growing algae.
Because they are a species that goes through the entire tank, they pretty much claim the space as their own. I've tried smaller Gobies, and I've tried larger Gobies, but no matter what they would always end up getting injured by the Diamond. What I would do is find a male/female (depending on the sex for the one you have currently) Diamond Goby to pair up with yours. They patrol the tank together, and will even dig a burrow where they will stay together during the night. Very cool to see and observe, but they can stir up when heck of a mess if your sand isn't very clean! But that will subside within time as the sand becomes more clean.
That's about all I can bring to the table, lol, post pics as soon as you get the chance! Definitely helps to understand the setup better, and I just wouldn't mind seeing this big reef in general. :D
 
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