cmbspd

So I'm new to reefing and very excited to be starting my first tank this month. I've done freshwater plant tanks for many years and always avoided reefs because of the environmental impact. Well, there is no way around the energy consumption, but I realize that the hobby has progressed to the point that there are many sources of captive bred animals, trading and aquacultured products so I bought a used setup off craigslist. The only problem is that it came with a beautiful hippo tang. As you'll see, my liverock purchased from a local reefer for dirt cheap, also came with lots of corals (He was very understanded in commenting "oh yeah, there are a few polyps on the rock too). So I'm in the position of starting a new tank with fish and corals - not because I'm impatient or ignoring the need for the tank to mature but simply because the critters "tagged along" with the equipment that I bought. My goal is to provide the tang and corals with as good a home as possible while my tank stabilizes and I learn the essentials of reefing. This is a challenge but I think that it is also doable as I'm a biologist and have a reasonable understanding of ecosystem functioning, nutrient cycling, etc. But I'm certain that I can't do it alone so I plan to post regular updates to get as much advice as possible.

The setup is 3 days post addition of coral encrusted liverock and fish.



Here is the basic setup
110g tank, custom built for someone else, 51" x 21" interior footprint, 24" depth, pseudo-half hex - there are short 5" panels on each front corner, corner overflow with 1" drain
2x250MH, 14000k w/ 4x54 actinic and moonlight (unknown brand)
Octopus Extreme 200 in basement sump
Sump is in basement: 100g rubbermaid with a 20g refugium above it (with Chaetognatha)
~400gph return flow from BlueLine 40
1 VorTech MP40w and a small Koralia for internal flow
2 150W titanium heaters
~150 pounds liverock, all from existing tanks (most less than 30 min from old to new tank
GFO reactor (two little fishies brand)
I have yet to setup the Korallin calcium reactor that came with the tank (including pH controller)

The tank is upstairs and is intended to be viewed from two primary directions - the front faces the living room and the left side faces the dining area, which is 2 ft higher. Thus, I'm trying to aquascape a tank that is visually exciting from all viewing angles. The tank's unusual shape gives it an interesting look, but I'm still at a point where I can move rocks if you see major flaws.

The hippo tang looks healthy and is beginning to swim around and explore - he spent almost two weeks in a small rubbermaid tote while I cleaned the tank, prepared the plumbing, tested the tank, resealed the tank, and then tested it again:



I understand that tangs are hardy but stress easily making them prone to ich. I'll watch him closely over the next few weeks. As mentioned, my rock came with lots of corals (basically a gift to a newbie from an old reefer tearing down his tank). I believe that most are relatively easy, beginner corals - monti's, xenia, mushrooms, a few zoas and many that I cannot yet id. Some are pretty beaten from the previous owner fragging them and then me trying to aquascape the tank while it was full of water and a fish and corals (wow, would I have enjoyed being able to take my time with rock placement in a dry tank!) A snorkel helped



Here is one example of a well-encrusted rock, but with lots of damage



My first concern is obviously whether or not I'll get a significant cycle. I should have tons of bacteria in the rock and very little die off, but I'm still testing daily and have an emergency chemical dechlorinator/deammoniafier if I need it to protect the tang. While testing using a Red Sea master kit, I realized that they pretty much are junk - I simply can't differentiate the different hues on their color charts so I'm switching to mostly all Salifert. Some readings are therefore estimates but here is my three day chemistry:

Day 1
SG=1.023 (okay but I'm going to increase it this week to ~1.025)
pH=8.0 (probably should be 8.2ish)
alk=2-2.5
NH3=0-.25ppm (not too bad considering..)
NO2=.1ppm
NO3=5-10ppm (wow is my RedSea test kit hard to read...)
PO4=.5ppm
temp=72F (apparently the thermostats on my heaters don't work well)

Day 2
SG=1.024 (evaporation will increase it by the end of the week)
NH3=0-.25ppm (probably 0, which is a good sign!)
NO2=.1ppm
NO3=0ppm (wow is my RedSea test kit hard to read, but I repeated it twice...)
PO4=1ppm
temp=74.5F (should be to my target of 79 by the end of the day, my heaters' thermostats seem to be set 10 degrees too low!)
Ca=480 ppm
Mg=900 ppm (an error I believe - I tried the 1/2 volume reaction)

Day 3
SG=1.025
pH=8.2 (wow the red sea kit's pH is subtle so I'm not sure here)
alk=around 2 (red sea kit color scale is really lame here)
NH3=0-.25ppm (I assume zero, but again red sea kit doesn't have good contrast)
NO2=.1ppm
NO3=5-10ppm
PO4=.25-.5ppm
Ca=360ppm
Mg=1200ppm (I think yesterdays test was in error)
Temp=76

So far chemistry isn't too bad. Phosphates are definitely high and the coral-centric minerals (Ca, Mg) seem low. But at least I've yet to see a dangerous buildup of ammonia and nitrites. Any idea where the high PO4 came from? I stored about 60g of the original tank's water in a variety of plastic tubs during the two week setup, cold but aerated, so it could be from the plastic or from dieoff. I also need to verify my RO/DI water. I assume its good, but haven't tested it yet.

Temperature has been a real issue. I need to replace my Finnex titanium heaters because I literally have their thermostats dialed to the max (over 90f), yet they switch off when water temps are around 75f. They are horizontal, one in the DT and one in the sump so they shouldn't be heating their own thermostats.

I plan to monitor chemistry daily for at least 1-2 more weeks. Once parameters appear stable and I've got better test kits I'll try setting up the calcium reactor but that isn't a priority now. I also plan ~20% water changes each week for a while, although longterm I'll be reducing that to about 10% bi-weekly. If everything goes well, then I should be able to add a supplemental cleanup crew in two or three weeks (there are a small number of hermit crabs and snails as well as lots of bristleworms, but likely not enough). Then I should add the first new fish in about a month. I'll follow up with a post about my longterm stocking goals.

Advice and encouragement are welcome as I know this is not the optimum way to start a tank!