Newbie with many questions

[Daniel1979]

Hello, how are you all? My name is Daniel, i live in Western Australia. At present i am researching marine tanks as i am interested in starting one up. I'm a little confused though about what exactly i need. I am building the tank myself, its final measurements will be approximately 8ft long X 3ft wide X 2 or 2.5ft high. I am wanting to build a reef and fish saltwater tank. What i have found so far is that a sand base with plenty of live rock is essential and as such that is what i want, plus it looks more natural. The area that i am getting mixed stories on is the filtration. Some have said to use a sump, others have said to use a canister, some have said not to use any filtration at all and rely on the live rock to do it's stuff. I want to try and keep in tank equipment to a minimum as such i want external filtration as well as an external protein skimmer. I have heard that the best way of plumbing external equipment is by drilling holes in the base of the aquarium. I was thinking of going with a sump, external protein skimmer, internal poweheads and plenty of live rock as well as a sand base. Would that be sufficient for a reef aquarium? also i spoke with one marine aquarium shop that said i shouldnt use any biological filtration in the sump, that it would lead to an unnecessary build up of nitrates, and that the live rock would be sufficient. Does that mean that the sump would simply contain mechanical filtration to remove debris and particles etc? what sort of media would be used in it? and how is a sump designed and how does it function? Also, the equipment that this particular aquarium shop suggested was the following:

- Tunze 240/3 1000 - 2000L protein skimmer (powerhead driven) $862.10
- Tunze Turbelle stream TS24 24000L/H with 2 X 6100 pump/multicontroller for variable flow and wave action $1336.85
- 4 X 300W Aqua one heaters @ $70.95
- 4 X 250W Metal Halides @ $550 each complete with ballast
- sump return pump Eheim 1260 $352

Does anybody have any assistance that they can offer me in this area? How do the prices compare with your experience?

Your assistance is greatly appreciated. I apologise for the length of this post but i thank you for taking the time to read it.

Kind regards

Daniel

[TKOS]

I would probably stay away from a canister as it is a waste of money in a reef setup. You wouldn't be able to run it with media or else your nitrates will keep building up really high and require you to do lots of water changes or constant media changes. The LR and LS mixed with a good current from powerheads will do the trick fine.

You don't need a sump but if you can build your own they are handy. They increase the amount of water in the system plsu they give a great place to tuck away the heater, skimmer etc.. so the tank looks much cleaner and more natural.

[mogurnda]

Hey Daniel,
For a reef, you won't need much more than live rock, sand, a good skimmer and lots of circulation. The sump will be a nice place for the skimmer and possibly a refugium with a deep sand bed, but isn't absolutely necessary. I have never worked with anything on that scale, but the recommended equipment sounds reasonable to me.