starting salt

[Darbex]

You really dont need any lights on till you get some corals. Once you add corals then start lighting it up. Depending on the coral I would start with about 6-7 hrs a day and work up to about 10+ once you start getting a decent amount in there. Like Thai said I would do a coral every week or two.

[Andrew_B]

Be sure to dip everything you get! Flatworms are the devil! My tank wasn't mature enough for the treatment and pretty much crashed the tank, so be careful with where you get stuff from. I don't think it will be an issue for you though, you'll get some hookups I'm sure.

[myjohnson]

Nice set-up, Tim!

This is how I would proceed.

1) test water condition to make sure cycle is complete.

2) add soft corals like zoas and mushrooms to tell is everything is on point.

3) Add one monthly colony of corals once a week. Start with softies and LPS first.

Re: light

This is my setting.

1pm-10pm blues only
2pm-9pm whites and blues
3pm-8pm whites and blues and 2x15w LED

[armthehomeless]

Tonight i added my first inhabitants... snails. How long should I have my light on? Should I get some simple corals now? I'm relying on y'all at this point to tell me what to do. Perhaps frogspawn?

I want to be extremely careful with adding new stuff. What types of tip and how many should I do?

[armthehomeless]

I haven't cleaned up the cords yet, but this is what I have.

[makatak123]

A good beginner coral are mushrooms, they only need low lighting and easy to take care of.

[armthehomeless]

Apex will be coming down the road... perhaps a Christmas present to myself.

I've hung the lights, installed an ATO (not the Tunze one yet), and been dosing bacteria for two weeks. What's next?

[myjohnson]

Weak, who wants cheap and easy?

[reefling]

Reefkeeperlite is cheap and easy. Ph control, temp, and orp. Basic one is 120$. Ph package is an add-on and I forget the price.

[mgarrido]

True, that would be even more beastly.

Miggy, which do you prefer more Apex or reef keeper?

Both are good ime but apex net interface is much better IMO. What I like about the RK is that you can start with a very basic configuration and upgrade according your requirements.

[armthehomeless]

If you want to drop the money, then the Apex is damn sweet. We talking about remote access from your phone dude.

Only thing it's missing is a live-view camera which streams video to your smart phone. lol, but that can be set up later.

Maybe eventually. Let try to keep something alive first. :)

[Darbex]

I run apex but use the avast marine for ATO. I have the float switches just dont use them. Avast has a new ATO that connects to the apex so I will eventually spring for that one.

[myjohnson]

If you want to drop the money, then the Apex is damn sweet. We talking about remote access from your phone dude.

Only thing it's missing is a live-view camera which streams video to your smart phone. lol, but that can be set up later.

[myjohnson]

I'm leaning towards Elos. Does the Tunze have moving parts?

The Tunze does.

The normal everyday sense is an electronic optics sensor. The emergency back up senor is a normal float switch.

[armthehomeless]

Apex uses a float so its moving and I wouldnt recommend it.

I still recommend the Apex though its the most handy thing for a reef.

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