in what direction should i take my reef

[victor626nj]

ok i have gone up and down about this in my head over a billion times and they all are great ideas .i have been stuck on wanting to do a sps clam tank but that would be a very high demand in calc and alk and my paremeters really need to be in line and i want to have alot of fish wich would have my bio not so well for a sps tank i have a great skimmer but probably not that great for a full blown sps and hight bioload .so i have been leaning toward more a mixed reef and i get to have my fishies and be able to keep the water just a little dirty. lighting is not a prob as i have good lighting and am going to add more to it just because .so now i want all of you guys to give me your input. thank you .victor

 

[dakota9]

I think a mixed reef is the greatest!

Lots of diversity.

An sps tank can be really cool when done well, but when it isn't done well, it looks like an expensive disaster.

You could start like I did, or actually, you are ahead of me,. but first I did FO then FOWLR, then gradually moved to a softie's tank. I'm currently in my "aquiring lps " mode. Another 10 years from now I might move up to sps, but doubt it.

Oh, and ofcoarse a few low maintance sps could be thrown in anytime

 

[showtime305]

As much as I love SPS and clams, I would probably do a mixed reef in a 90g. I'm probably going to do another small mixed reef after my next tank upgrade.

 

[dakota9]

Oh, and you have uber lighting, so you could have a clam or two also in a mixed reef

 

[wasabi]

i would do fish only untill you are ready to invest in or build the right equipment.any way you go i dont think anyone would recommend keeping the water quality just a little dirty.if you have the money start out with the right lighting/skimmer/reactor and the right corals and dont rush the tank then start out with what you want to keep.

 

[victor626nj]

wasabi;90192 wrote: i would do fish only untill you are ready to invest in or build the right equipment.any way you go i dont think anyone would recommend keeping the water quality just a little dirty.if you have the money start out with the right lighting/skimmer/reactor and the right corals and dont rush the tank then start out with what you want to keep.

thanks boss but i what i mean a little dirty is that there can be more nutriants in the water for lets say softies that work like filter feeders not really dirty as for equipment i think im doing better than most on the forums i am useing a das ex1 for a skimmer and i have all sunlight supply lighting .i tried to get the best my money could buy so i could have a good system not half done :roll: .and as far as a reactor thats one of the reasons im thinking about not doing full blown reef i dont like the fact that ill be putting c02 into my tank lol

 

[cameron]

You don't need a reactor unless you are doing a high demand tank. Kalkwasser will get you through in your topoff if you evap enough each day. Also supplementing calcium and buffer is pretty easy if you need.

Personally, I used to like the challenge of SPS but I have to admit the softies look prettier to me. I think some LPS and some softies with maybe a clam is a good start. You can always shift to another style tank later.

 

[jaustin]

I would say mixed reef too. I love softies, LPS, and SPS. Softies at the bottom, LPS in the middle, and monti and acro at the top.

I don't have a heavy load from corals just yet so dripping kalk every other day i top off works just fine for cal and alk.

 

[tnyga]

I started with softies and a few fish...its been 5 months and just added some stonies...Not sure if thats right but works for me...I added a carpet too quickly and lost him so patience is a virtue Im finding out...

 

[wbholwell]

Definately mixed reef to begin with. Softies are usually cheaper (sometimes even free to members of this great club)and they usually grow faster, and so it'll be easier to fill your tank at the beginning. And if you want to go more sps dominate later, you can just sell off your softies.

 

[dough]

How about a lagoon tank, that would be a mix of sea grass, a clam or two and some LPS and softies. Would be rather easy and would not need a lot of "high tech" equipment.

 

[seedless reefer]

Left. I would take it left.

 

[dough]

Taking it left .... sort of like a NASCAR race?