100 Gallon Tank with skimmer - What else do I need?

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drbrown13

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Oct 8, 2012
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I'm new to the SW world but have been interested in getting started for a while. Just aquired a 100 gallon tank & custom cabinet with a protein skimmer, power heads, and lights. I'm wondering what else I need to purchase to get the tank set up so it can start cycling. I've been doing a lot of reading about Sump and refugiums and would like to go that route but not sure if I should do that right off the bat or not.

I've gotten a few different opinions on cycling time as well; anything from 2-6 weeks without fish. Any suggestions on that would also be greatly appreciated.

Basically I'm wanting to get started as quickly and inexpensively as possible with plans to add and upgrade over the next 6-12 months.

Thanks for your help :)
 

TL1000RSquid

AC Members
Apr 6, 2011
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Its certainly alot better to have a sump and if you want to do it now is the best time before its setup to drill for it, also I believe Petco is still running the $1 sale so you can pick up a cheap tank if you want to go the DIY route for the sump/fuge.

Things you'll need off the bat, salt of course, refractometer, heater, aragonite sand, dry/live rock, SW test kits, RODI unit would be very beneficial.

Cycle time will depend on many factors, using some live rock and live sand will speed it up some, but expect it to be a few weeks before you can start safely adding any livestock.
 

drbrown13

Registered Member
Oct 8, 2012
2
0
0
Its certainly alot better to have a sump and if you want to do it now is the best time before its setup to drill for it, also I believe Petco is still running the $1 sale so you can pick up a cheap tank if you want to go the DIY route for the sump/fuge.

Things you'll need off the bat, salt of course, refractometer, heater, aragonite sand, dry/live rock, SW test kits, RODI unit would be very beneficial.

Cycle time will depend on many factors, using some live rock and live sand will speed it up some, but expect it to be a few weeks before you can start safely adding any livestock.
Thanks! So setting up the Sump now = saving me a headache later! Do you know where I can find details on exactly how to build a sump and what materials and items I will need to do so. I have found several sites that have a brief overview but I wouldn't want to mess anything up so I want to make sure I know exactly how to do it. I think I'm looking for almost a blueprint of how to make it, how big it should be and a list of items to purchase.
 

greech

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May 13, 2009
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Graham
You need to figure out what your sump will include in terms of contents. Will it just be a sump with nothing but heater(s) and a return pump? What kind of skimmer did the tank come with (submersible, hang on style or a completely external)? Will your sump include a refugium to grow macro algae, etc.?

Once you know that you can start laying out the chambers and the approriate dimensions (length and height) of each. For skimmers you need to consider the footprint of the base of the skimmer to make sure you it fits and you can remove it easily. Assuming your skimmer is submersible, the other important consideration is at what height of water does your skimmer work best so you can set your baffle height for the skimmer section at or above that recommended level. For refugiums, bigger is always better so if you end up with a 20G or less sump, you may just want to forgo the refugium all together.

The most popular sump design is skimmer(where drain empties)-->fuge-->return pump. However, there are lots of other ways including the return pump being in the middle of the sump and the return line also feeding the fuge. This is done to better control the flow in the fuge section.

http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

The only way to know if your tank is cycled is to test your water. Cycling with fish in the tank will not make it cycle faster regardless of what anyone tells/sells you.
 

TL1000RSquid

AC Members
Apr 6, 2011
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I think Greech covered it well, go with the biggest sump/tank that will fit under your stand if you want a fuge.
 
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