175 gal reef tank questions

[101Mercantile]

So i just picked up a 175gal reef tank setup, up and running for the last 8 years...

1, it has way to much live rock, i'd say well over a 1/3rd of the tank is live rock..

2, there is no live sand

only fish is a old beat up common clown fish... Some snails, sump looks clean, nothing growing in it....



This is my first saltwater tank and i have a game plan on setting it up right but want some feed back incase i am doing something wrong...


Stage 1:
was going to add 120lbs of Arag-Alive Live sand to the tank, Also the live rock looks really bad... So i was going to add Some Liquid Reef and some Reef Solution to help boost the live rock. Then i was going to wait a few days and add 10 hard Coral frags along with some Coral-Vital, then wait 7 days adding supplements as needed, then add 4 Banded Coral Shrimp...

Stage 2:
If all looks well after a month, i was going to add a portion of Chaetomorpha Algae, 1 Bubble Anenome, 1 sebae Anenome, 2 Clown fish, and 4 Kauderni Cardinals

Stage 3:
again after a month, i was going to add 1 blue tang, 1 yellow tang, and 4 pink & blue spotted goby's

Stage 4:
again a month later, was going to add 1 Heniochus Black & white Butterfly Fish, and 2 Flame anglefish

Stage 5:
after another month i was going to add a pocillopara coral, and a acropora coral, and 2-4 Trapezia Crabs.


Am i going around this all wrong, or is my plan solid? One of my reasons for doing it in stages is so i am not dumping a ton of money out of my pocket at one time.... Any advice would be nice....

 

[FLESHY]

So i just picked up a 175gal reef tank setup, up and running for the last 8 years...

1, it has way to much live rock, i'd say well over a 1/3rd of the tank is live rock..

2, there is no live sand

only fish is a old beat up common clown fish... Some snails, sump looks clean, nothing growing in it....



This is my first saltwater tank and i have a game plan on setting it up right but want some feed back incase i am doing something wrong...


Stage 1:
was going to add 120lbs of Arag-Alive Live sand to the tank, Also the live rock looks really bad... So i was going to add Some Liquid Reef and some Reef Solution to help boost the live rock. Then i was going to wait a few days and add 10 hard Coral frags along with some Coral-Vital, then wait 7 days adding supplements as needed, then add 4 Banded Coral Shrimp...

Stage 2:
If all looks well after a month, i was going to add a portion of Chaetomorpha Algae, 1 Bubble Anenome, 1 sebae Anenome, 2 Clown fish, and 4 Kauderni Cardinals

Stage 3:
again after a month, i was going to add 1 blue tang, 1 yellow tang, and 4 pink & blue spotted goby's

Stage 4:
again a month later, was going to add 1 Heniochus Black & white Butterfly Fish, and 2 Flame anglefish

Stage 5:
after another month i was going to add a pocillopara coral, and a acropora coral, and 2-4 Trapezia Crabs.


Am i going around this all wrong, or is my plan solid? One of my reasons for doing it in stages is so i am not dumping a ton of money out of my pocket at one time.... Any advice would be nice....

Sorry, JUST saw this thread. Hope its not too late to help.

Live sand doesnt give you an instantly cycled tank, it has dead stuff in it that just cycles for you. Buy regular sand, wash it, and use that.

Corals should be the last thing you add, especially with hard corals.

4 Coral Banded Shrimp would mean all out war. It might work in a tank this big though.

Chaetomorpha is usually kept in the sump, not the display.

Mixing anemones is usually regarded as bad...and if they ever decide to roam they will kill whatever they run into.

Keeping more than one tang, and more than one angel, especially ones of similar shape or variety is asking for trouble.

 

[Heathd]

Im not even sure I would keep that many of the same gobies in that size tank.

 

[101Mercantile]

thanks guys, how long do i need to wait on the corals? I got my coral in my friends show tank, about 50 frags, those are all doing well... just want to know how long before i can put them in my 180gal

 

[FLESHY]

Sorry for the long wait...this section does not get as much of my attention as the regular salt area.

I would wait until the whole system was stable and running for at least a couple months. I usually advise that people start with a softie tank, just because even advanced reefers kill their first acros (at least I did).

I would stock the tank with the fish I wanted, wait a month or two, and then start adding frags. If you can get them on the cheap, and die off isnt an issue, buy a TON and just see what does well for you in your system.

Good Luck!

 

[101Mercantile]

ok this tank has be up and running for 8 years, just moved to a new location... I am planning on adding hammerhead and frogspawn coral to this tank, but i am not sure about my lighting...

right no there is 2 175watt MH, unknown K rating
2 54watt HO T5's 12,000k

and i am adding 4 more 54watt HO T5 (2 20,000k, 2 Actinic 03 blue)

Do i need to add more lighting?

 

[Heathd]

ok this tank has be up and running for 8 years, just moved to a new location... I am planning on adding hammerhead and frogspawn coral to this tank, but i am not sure about my lighting...

right no there is 2 175watt MH, unknown K rating
2 54watt HO T5's 12,000k

and i am adding 4 more 54watt HO T5 (2 20,000k, 2 Actinic 03 blue)

Do i need to add more lighting?

How long and tall is your tank.

Most 6ft wide tanks have 3 MH. One for every two feet in length. The wattage you need will depend on the depth.

If you havent already bought the t5 setup, I would look into VHO for actinic supplementation. VHO is so much more superior when it comes to that

 

[Gprime]

Atleast 4-6 months depending on how stable the tank is to start adding corals.

4 of the same species of goby usually isn't a good idea.

Blue hippo/regal tang? It'll be find with the yellow just if they start fighting section off a part of the tank for awhile for one of them.

2 Flame angels will be fine in a 180g.