whats key in rock work for a coral tank?

[scalesandfins]

as you may know i am moving my reef tank soon and am wondering if ther are any guide lines to setting up a good structure? its a 90 bow front ao its kinda hard to setup like a normal rectangle i want somethin that accents the front curve of the glass and gives me tons of space for all sorts of corals.
so any ideas would be awesome.

 

[Heathd]

Adequate flow around the rock work. No dead spots or blocked off spots from flow so that crap cant settle and decompose.

Should be secure. If you think it will fall off, something will make it fall off. You can drill holes in your LR with a drill bit made for concrete/mortar and insert plastic or fiberglass rods.

Should have some hidey holes for pets to swim through and chill under.

I like to have varying zones/heights so I can keep a garden of corals that have different light and flow needs. But, if you are into one type or types of corals, then shoot for those requirements.

 

[nonstophoops]

Adequate flow around the rock work. No dead spots or blocked off spots from flow so that crap cant settle and decompose.

Should be secure. If you think it will fall off, something will make it fall off. You can drill holes in your LR with a drill bit made for concrete/mortar and insert plastic or fiberglass rods.

Should have some hidey holes for pets to swim through and chill under.

I like to have varying zones/heights so I can keep a garden of corals that have different light and flow needs. But, if you are into one type or types of corals, then shoot for those requirements.

+1 here. Covered it all.

 

[scalesandfins]

ha thanks heathd.
how do you get a good flow?
i have that double fan and my outflow as my current an dthey are on opposite ends of the tank shooting at eachother.
should i do that diff? i would like more flow all around the tank.
i am also keeping a variety of corals from zoas to sps and clams so i need multi level

 

[Heathd]

I have my return and then two power heads, offset, blasting parrallel to the rock structure on different sides.

 

[Juxtaroberto]

If you look at this guy's reef tank: http://energyreef.com/ he built "shelves" for his live rock/coral. This way, you can have stacks of live rock that aren't prone to toppling, you can have everything raised off the substrate so that stuff doesn't accumulate under the live rock, and so that you can create easier flow throughout every part of the tank.

 

[scalesandfins]

also another question. i want to make my tank a complete reef. so what do i need to do to my stock to make that possible?
i have a klunzinger wrasse a angler fish(small for now) a coral beauty a yellow tang a panther grouper (also small for now)
i want to have a good clean up crew and a good reef system. right now i have poop everywhere and it seems like my nitrates are high. i am thinkin its bc of the predators and lack of clean up crew. also my sand is getting brown.
so whats an ideal stock for a well balanced reef tank?

 

[nonstophoops]

also another question. i want to make my tank a complete reef. so what do i need to do to my stock to make that possible?
i have a klunzinger wrasse a angler fish(small for now) a coral beauty a yellow tang a panther grouper (also small for now)
i want to have a good clean up crew and a good reef system. right now i have poop everywhere and it seems like my nitrates are high. i am thinkin its bc of the predators and lack of clean up crew. also my sand is getting brown.
so whats an ideal stock for a well balanced reef tank?

Well the angler and grouper would have to go for starters.

I would really work to get your tank currently under control nitrate wise, but you won't have nearly as much room for error when you do a reef. Do frequent water changes, increase the flow in the tank, and monitor you feedings to make sure you don't overfeed.

Look into your sump and see what you can improve. If you can keep wastes suspended you want filters to capture that waste in the sump so you can remove it.

I am not sure what your skimmer is, or if you have one, but you need a very nice one to do a reef so you may want to upgrade here.

So to improve your flow I would add at least 2 big powerheads to the ones you already have. Something like Koralia 4's. You can do 2 on each end with the overflow return in the middle, or you can do 1 on each end with 2 in the middle of the back wall facing opposite directions at an angle. Just play with it until you find a flow you like. It will depend a lot on what corals you are trying to keep.

Basically, you want to keep adding(powerheads, skimmer, filter pads) and doing(water changes, cleaning of filters) things that will make your tank better. Once the tank has all those components the water parameters should be very good and you will be ready to get some corals.

 

[scalesandfins]

i have a reef. did yo look at the pic?
i have a octopus skimmer thats rated for i think 150 gallons and a sump with culurpa and mangroves also i have that double koralia that says it pushes like 600 gph and my pump does about 700 gph
i have 2 250 what halides with 4 65 watt pcs and 8 1 watt leds
its set up to be a reef but i was just wondering if there are any secrets on where i should point the flow or if i should get a wave maker or what i can do.
right now it seems like i have alot of flow over the front and not much on the sides or behind the rock. i guess i can put lockline on my output so i can angle it down behind the rock.
but idk whats best.

 

[scalesandfins]

this is my drawing of what i think i want to do. what do you think about it?
dont laugh at me either. i got bored ok....