New reef tank! 41 Gallon Fluval Osaka. Suggestions?
 

Hi everyone!
I am Tasha and am starting a reef tank.

It is a Fluval Osaka 41G

I have in it so far:

30lbs argonite
50lbs live rock (Some is lava?)
2 powerheads, (1 small and one large)
A small fluval internal filter.
A Current USA SunPod 250W MH Fixture
5 hermit crabs
2 pink turbo snails

I also added some green zoos and green star polyps

All of my levels are now good and at zero, but I just got a bunch of brown algae all over my rock, pumps, and sand! it looks terrible, I am thinking this is a normal process though?

Anyways I know I will need to add more things soon, and figure out something for a skimmer/filter. and stocking help too :)

I am fairly new and have been doing a lot of research but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks :)

nice start better get to frag fest 4 at blue world on sunday lots of people there to answer questions

The Brown algae is Diatoms normal in a new set up. IMO you may want to beef up filtration or look into a sump this will clean the electronics out of the display and add to your over all water volume which is always a plus. Not necessary though if your on top of water changes.

Any algae at startup is normal
You're going to go through some cycling before it calms down

Read, read, and read some more
There are SO many posts here to look through :razz:

Ditch the internal filter

I read for months before I started my tank and still had to ask questions ...

I've heard mixed things on lava rock, the general consensus seems to be not to use it.
http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f6...tank-1754.html

another thing that helps is listing exactly what is in your tank
example powerheads, filters.
who makes them? what size?
example a maxijet 900 or 1200
or a tunze 9002 protein skimmer?
Information helps everyone help each other.

Nice start!

Thanks! I will certainly put more information up later on today.

The quality of your rock looks questionable, some being lava and the rest I can only assume being made up of lead being that you have 50lbs in a 41 gallons and it looks empty :razz:

You might want to consider new rock all together, unless your rock was freshly shipped/uncured then you shouldn't get major algae problems right off the start. I'm guessing it's just a bunch of random rock from another hobbyist, so not only is the wrong stuff but probably polluted as well. Not a great way to start your first tank!

Thanks for the input. It may not be exactly 50lbs.. We didn't weigh it. I may Get rid of one of the lava rock pieces, and replace with some different live rock. The lava is still live rock and came right out of an established tank. And I like the caves that it provides.

There are many little things growing all over the rock. I am by no means an expert but it looks pretty healthy to me. All of my levels are still testing great.

As I mentioned elsewhere, ditch the internal filter and the lava rock. You have no idea what's in it, and you don't want to spend thousands on corals and have to ask one day why they keep dying. Lava rock is an unknown and should not be in a tank. Save yourself a lot of potential grief right up front and go buy 15 pounds of fresh live rock at the LFS. Make sure it's new rock, not something they bought off someone else shutting down. IMO the biggest mistake in this hobby is using somebody else's old rock.
Other than that, the list looks fine. Brown stuff is diatoms, perfectly normal and will go away on it's own.

:sad:Ooooookay :sad:

I like the look of it, but I guess if it has to go, it has to go.

This is going to take me longer to set up than I thought, I was pretty happy with the deal that I got on the Live rock, because I wanted to avoid spending hundreds of dollars on it.

One little thing at a time I guess. I am going to buy a used protein skimmer and get rid of the internal filter, I am also thinking of adding another powerhead to replace the small one.

I did clean off most of the diatoms from the glass yesterday, I couldnt see much in the tank, so hopefully that is okay that I did that!

They'll come back, but it's fine to wipe them away until they stay gone.

I know it sucks spending money on stuff, especially rocks, but rock really is the main life support of your system. If you have to, you can try used, but I wouldn't.

Don't believe everything you read on the Internet. Some people have a vested interest in keeping sponsors happy. There's nothing wrong with buying used rock or even dry rock.

Most stores take in people's rock when they shut down. And that's what they end up selling you at 4 times the price.

Just use common sense look at what kind of tank its come out of

*UPDATE*

It is a Fluval Osaka 41G

30lbs argonite
15-20lbs live rock (About 30lbs of lava which I will be removing)
2 powerheads:
Active Aqua pump 250GPH
Laguna pt 8100 80GPH
A Current USA SunPod 250W MH Fixture
Aquaclear 10 submersible heater 50W

5 scarlet hermit crabs
8 blue legged hermit crabs
2 pink turbo snails
Brittle sea star
2 paradise snails

85 gallon Osaka,love the tank eccept for the corners:biggrin:

This is a bunch of crap Marko. I have no interest in keeping anyone happy other than fellow hobbyists. Used rock is just that, used rock. Rock acts as a sponge and will adsorb nutrients and eventually leach them back out into the water, usually causing all kinds of algae problems. We see it all the time in posts here and other boards. Someone buys a bunch of rock someone had sitting around, then they battle algae forever. I can list the members that have done that in the last year..many very experienced people that maintained their tank well. Sure, it's possible to buy rock that's used AND clean, but it's a gamble. Fresh live rock from the ocean is the best product to use when starting a reef. That has nothing to do with keeping anyone happy, just years of experience with tanks and reading the "help, I have a tank full of algae" threads.

Most of the rock bought from the lfs is people's old rock from shut downs.

I've taken lots of rock to the lfs and it just all goes into one bin and all sold at the same price. So the risk to get bad rock is there regardless.

At lease when buying from someone you can inspect it and there's a better chance there won't be any pests

Pests shouldn't be the concern, nutrient build up should be the primary issue. Yes, I know a lot of stores resell the rock from shut downs, that's why I mentioned to make sure it's fresh. I wait for orders or order it in.
While I agree it is possible to get perfectly good rock from someone shutting down, assuming the rock is reasonably young and the owner managed nutrients really well, there is no real way to tell unless you know the person and their tank. But usually, the rock is already in a tub and who knows what's in it.
Again, it still might be fine. But the risk is getting higher.

How many people get out of the hobby before they really even get started, due to unmanageable algae issues? We see it here all the time. So yes, my way costs more up front, but it lessens the risk and increases the chances of enjoying the hobby for many years, instead of trying to figure out how to get the lawnmower in the tank!!

you could always do a dry start. place your dry rock add a small amount of live rock presto! it's all live in a few weeks. Aqua Giant has great base rock for 1.99 a lb. I don't know if rock from shut downs is an issue? people have the same LR in their tank sometimes for 10 years at a time. Just a thought.

Yup, you could do that, couple of weeks in and it's like live rock, only without the live part. And if the dry rock got dried with a ton of dead stuff, you might end up with some algae. Or a lot of algae.
Like someone mentioned in another thread, take advice here with a grain of salt. :razz:

Could not agree more; there is ZERO problem acquiring second hand rock, have used hundreds of lbs of second hand over the last 21 years and never had a problem.

Not sure if these pics will work, but I am wondering what these are? Found them yesterday while rearanging the tank, and taking the lava rock out.

the first guy looks liek a little centepide! I actually took him out, gut feeling was that he isnt a friendly critter. Second pic shows a snail, but there was a little shrimp loking critter underneath him. what is this? Is it okay?

Attachment 9992

Attachment 9993

First one is a bristleworm, IMO, great to have. Second is an amphipod. Also good to have.

Thanks for the quick reply! So I guess I can leave any future "centepides" alone! ;) This is great. Crazy how many living things are still on the rocks that were in a rubbermaid, in the trunk of my car for a few hours. lol

I'll post an updated pic later on or tomorrow, the tank is looking pretty bare without that Lava rock.

I may add in some clowns this weekend too, And I am considering cinnamon/fire clownfish

Just dont touch the bristle worms with your bare hands

Yup both are fine, if your ever no sure there is also a website called chucks addiction
http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchhikers.html
Good place to go in a pinch for a quick ID as well :) I've used it for a few things but usually just ask here :P

Awesome! thanks :)

Grr.. Ive been trying to upload pics on here all day but it isnt working?! home or work computer.

Anyways.. Minor update. I went to Aquarium Illusions yesterday and picked up 2 tomato clowns and a peppermint shrimp!

I also found out that the "cool flowery looking things" on my rock, are not so cool.. aiptasia i think is how it is spelled? So i picked up some chemical to inject them.. :/

Just some pics to update you guys :) Not sure if I should even be posting on here.. I think I might end up just talking to myself! lol
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Sorry for the poor quality photo's and dirty glass. I am LOVING the tomato clowns though! And the smaller one looks like it it trying to host the GSP. lol I have a video, just not sure how to share it on here. Is this common?

I also have a skimmer on the tank too, which is working like a dream :)

I will be adding in more rock and corals over the next 2 weeks.

I'd recommend adding the rock but holding off on the corals... if you add too much livestock too quickly you aren't giving the biofilter enough time to adjust, this can cause water quality issues since the tank is so new.

Biggest issue with lava rock is the fact that it contains a large proportion of silicates, which are nice perpetual algae/diatom suppliments. It can also have other trace elements that you don't want.

Live rock is old calciferous skeleton. Dry rock is generally okay as well. Honestly with "new" live rock, used and dry rock it's good to have a very close look at it to see what you're getting. When you're new to the hobby it's easy to miss potential problems as everything is so new to you.

Education and patience.

Thanks for the suggestions! Maybe I will hold off and do some more research. Yes, the lava rock is gone, but the tank looks oh so empty now :( lol..

The rock I am getting used to be live, but has been dried out.

I have been using aiptasia-x and think i have gotten most of the little buggers.

Update on my Fluval Osaka 41G

I haven't posted in a while but wanted to come and share the progress on my tank. I will get some pictures right away!I now have:

30lbs argonite
2 powerheads:
Active Aqua pump 250GPH
Laguna pt 8100 80GPH
Current USA SunPod 250W MH Fixture
18 blue LED's
Aquaclear 10 submersible heater 50W

15 ish hermit crabs
5 pink turbo snails
Brittle sea star
tuxedo urchin
2 paradise snails
2 cerith snails
1 cleaner shrimp
green bta

gsp
kenya tree
green zoas
orange and green zoas
various small zoas growing on rocks
featherdusters (hitchhikers)

tomato clown
yellow tang
lyretail anthias
bangaii cardinal
2 blue chromis