New Tank Setup

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Guy W

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Apr 8, 2002
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Hey group, I have a few questions about a new reef-tank setup I'm wanting to do. Sorry this is going to be long, but I hope I can get some help.

First of all I've been running a fish only 125gallon for a year and a half, and while it's been going fine and I've never lost a fish, I'm not happy with it for a few reasons.

1.) It was a cheap tank/stand. The stand isn't tall enough for a good sized skimmer.

2.) I started it with a wet dry and the sump is very small, I can't get a good sized skimmer in there either.

3.) I had to get a cheap skimmer for a 75gallon tank just to fit.

3.) It's not a drilled tank.

4.) My lighting isn't very good. I have 3 6 foot light fixtures, 2 NO and 1 PC. Because they all sit on top of the tank it fluxates the temp of the tank alot while they are on and off.

5.) I don't have a wooden canopy.

6.) My plumbing job is pretty basic.

Now I do have some things about my tank that are ok. I have about 120lbs of live rock, a good 4 inches of sand, I've got a couple fish I really like (but some I can't put into a reef tank), and I did invest in a good RO/DI unit a while back.

So here is what I want to do and what I need help with.

I want to get a 180 gallon tank and set it up as a reef. I have access to a good drilled tank with a nice wood canopy and pretty tall matching stand, for a great deal. What I need to decide is what equipment I should use. I don't want to spend 5000 dollars on equipment but I want some good stuff.

So here are my questions.

1.) I'll move my 120lbs of rock and my sand over and add more as needed. Do you think an additional 200lbs of rock will be enough for a 180, or more or less?

2.) Lighting.... I will probably gut my existing PC fixture and build it into the new canopy, so that will be 2 36" 96 watt PC bulbs. Probably for Actinics. What Metal Halide Bulbs and Ballast would you recommend for a 180gallon tank? And how many bulbs/watts (2 400w, 3 250w???)?

3.) I'm not very good at building stuff. So I'll probably have to buy a good Sump. Any recommendations on this? i want one with enough room for a good skimmer, heaters, and I've seen some that have canisters for chemical media which might be nice.

4.) What skimmer? I requirement here is it must be quiet. My house has wood foors though-out and vaulted ceilings. Echo Echo Echo... My current little skimmer can keep me up at night and thats with my door mostly closed.

5.) What return pump? I have a Mag Drive 9.5 that I like. Do you think I need something bigger? Also the pump must be quiet. one that goes in the sump would probably be easiest for me, but an inline pump would be ok if I can find a sump that is drilled already.

6.) Do you think the plumbing should be PVC, or some type of hoses? Right now I have that flexible spa type hose coming from my overflow box, and just regular clear tube for my return pump. It's not pretty thats for sure. And breaking up the return to allow multiple places for the water to get pumped back up into the tank would be nice for added current.

I'm also curious about those miricle mud filter systems anyone have any experience with those? Or would running a good quality skimmer be the smarter way to go?

I have to admit I'm a little worried about running a tank with no wet/dry. I know people do it every day, but it just seems that you wouldn't have the ability to filter as much with just Rock/DSB. I have a friend that has a rock/sand bed only system and I see the amount of fish loss he has and it just scares me. But everyone else I've talked to says it's not a problem and it's better. I guess thats a fact I'll have to trust.

Thanks and I look forward to your suggestions.

Guy
 
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slipknottin

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Originally posted by Guy W

1.) I'll move my 120lbs of rock and my sand over and add more as needed. Do you think an additional 200lbs of rock will be enough for a 180, or more or less?
Depends on the type of rock, with Figi or other porous rock, 200 lbs would be about perfect.

2.) Lighting.... I will probably gut my existing PC fixture and build it into the new canopy, so that will be 2 36" 96 watt PC bulbs. Probably for Actinics. What Metal Halide Bulbs and Ballast would you recommend for a 180gallon tank? And how many bulbs/watts (2 400w, 3 250w???)?
Well, it really depends on the color you like and the corals you want to keep, for bulbs that are whitish (the AB 10Ks or the Ushio 10k) you could get 3 250 watters, if you prefer a bluer bulb such as the radium, youll want to get 3 400s.

3.) I'm not very good at building stuff. So I'll probably have to buy a good Sump. Any recommendations on this? i want one with enough room for a good skimmer, heaters, and I've seen some that have canisters for chemical media which might be nice.
I personally like www.wetdryfilter.com, good quality stuff, though it is a bit expensive. Christian does a good job and I have yet to hear a complaint.

4.) What skimmer? I requirement here is it must be quiet. My house has wood foors though-out and vaulted ceilings. Echo Echo Echo... My current little skimmer can keep me up at night and thats with my door mostly closed.
Most skimmers are noisy, either by the venturi design, the water pumps, or the air pumps. Some of the quietest are the Euroreef and the Aqua C EV series.

5.) What return pump? I have a Mag Drive 9.5 that I like. Do you think I need something bigger? Also the pump must be quiet. one that goes in the sump would probably be easiest for me, but an inline pump would be ok if I can find a sump that is drilled already.
The mag 9 would be fine.

6.) Do you think the plumbing should be PVC, or some type of hoses? Right now I have that flexible spa type hose coming from my overflow box, and just regular clear tube for my return pump. It's not pretty thats for sure. And breaking up the return to allow multiple places for the water to get pumped back up into the tank would be nice for added current.
Regardless of how you plumb it, you wont be getting enough flow through your tank with just a mag 9. You should look into other ways to move water around, you dont really want to be moving 10x your tank volume an hour through your sump. Look into closed loops or wave2ks or reeftec's/tunze streams.

I'm also curious about those miricle mud filter systems anyone have any experience with those? Or would running a good quality skimmer be the smarter way to go?
Well, they can be combined. Different people favor one over the other but they both are used for nutrient export. Personally I prefer using some sort of refugium with plants (macros or vascular plants) to skimmers, as they provide a nice haven for pods to grow, arent nearly as noisy as skimmers, and wont remove plankton like skimmers will. However, refugiums take up alot of space, and getting plants or macroalgaes to grow without problems can be difficult.
 

Guy W

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Apr 8, 2002
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Re: Re: New Tank Setup

Thank you for the reply slipknottin. I have a few return questions to follow-up with.

Originally posted by slipknottin

Well, it really depends on the color you like and the corals you want to keep, for bulbs that are whitish (the AB 10Ks or the Ushio 10k) you could get 3 250 watters, if you prefer a bluer bulb such as the radium, youll want to get 3 400s.
I like a more blue color personally. But as long as it isn't to yellow I'll be happy. Would I be more restricted on what kinds of corals I can keep with 3 400 radiums vs. the Ushio?

Do you have any recommendation on a ballist and where to look for good pricing on those?

Thanks again for the help. Your the man.

Guy
 

slipknottin

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With either the 250 ushios, or 400 watt radiums you can keep just about anything. They have very similar PAR (photosythetically active radiation) levels, meaning they both could support the same corals, however the radium has very high peak in the 'blue' region, which corals are said to favor. Many have seen their corals 'color up' when put under 20k bulbs.

Hellolights has just put out a new bulb the 'XM' thats been getting pretty rave reviews lately, Id wait until there are some tests done on its PAR rating, but it seems to be faring well so far.



You should decide on a wattage and bulb first, as there are a variety of different ballasts for every combination. You can put together a cap&coil ballast for roughly 1/2 the price a company like PFO sells them for.
 
Last edited:

Ray Pollett

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Instead of buying 200 pounds of LR; you could save some money.

Buy 100 pounds of base rock from someone like www.hirocks.com and then buy only 100 pounds of live rock. Use the extra monety somewhere else. Pu the base rock on the bottom of the tank with the new live rock and your LR on top. The base rock will be LR in a month.

Ray
 

Guy W

AC Members
Apr 8, 2002
623
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Naples, FL
Originally posted by Ray Pollett
Instead of buying 200 pounds of LR; you could save some money.

Buy 100 pounds of base rock from someone like www.hirocks.com and then buy only 100 pounds of live rock. Use the extra monety somewhere else. Pu the base rock on the bottom of the tank with the new live rock and your LR on top. The base rock will be LR in a month.

Ray
That's not a bad idea. I thought about using base rock but I'm not a fan of Lace or Tufa rock, however that place seem's to have pretty nice stuff at a good price.

Thanks,
Guy
 
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