125 1st time reef!!!

[wah-zoh]

well i see a lot of people start a thread and track their progress, here is mine. this is my 1st time trying reef tank had fowlr for 1 year in a 55 gal, but i decided to upgrade.

currently only has a 260 w cfl light, plans to build 250w x 2 halides.
also want to replace sea clone 150 skimmer with something better after i do more research on skimmers. sump needs extension built on soon so i can start a fuge for macro. i have 50 lbs of marco dry rock seeded with about 20lbs of live rock. ordering 50lbs more live rock in a few weeks.

i have a few beginner soft corals kenya tree and xenia. plan to stick with beginner corals for a bit until i get better, and get some equipment upgrades.
live stock list already made and changed 100x.

i am always open for ideas and i love the help! i have already learned so much from this forum, thank you!!!

 

[Namyar]

Wow thats a lot of tank with nothing in it yet.. you cycling still?

 

[Haffs09]

Congrats on the upgrade! Tank and stand look sharp! You'll have fun filling that bad boy up!

 

[wah-zoh]

cycle is done for now. might get a shock when i add 50lbs more live rock.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

i am always open for ideas and i love the help! i have already learned so much from this forum, thank you!!!

looks good so far.

Suggestion: upgrade the skimmer before the lighting.
On a 72" long aquarium you might want to use three halides rather than two.
Three 175w halides would be a better choice than two 250w halides.

 

[wah-zoh]

Congrats on the upgrade! Tank and stand look sharp! You'll have fun filling that bad boy up!

I'll have fun, but the bank account wont! lol thanks for the comments i like the canopy style tanks over rim less and open top. unless its a zero edge that's the coolest tank ever!!!

 

[wah-zoh]

looks good so far.

Suggestion: upgrade the skimmer before the lighting.

yeah i have read so many bad reviews on the sea clone. i got it for free now i see why.

 

[RGC]

I run 3-150W HM and 4 PC over my 125 and I agree the 3 HM spread the light much better then 2.

Here my when I first put rock in it.

And here it is a year later. Have fun.

 

[wah-zoh]

And here it is a year later. Have fun.

wow that looks amazing. i hope mine looks that good in 1 year!!!!

 

[wah-zoh]

Three 175w halides would be a better choice than two 250w halides.

i have a bar that runs front to back in the center of the tank. if i put a halide there would this block alot of the light from reaching the tank? my plan was a 250 watt MH on each side then 36" t5 in the middle.

 

[Piazzon12]

That's always an issue, and there are ways around it. Some people remove the center brace and replace it with a thinner piece, or clear acrylic. You could offset the center potential 3rd halide (to one side). You could up to 4 halides , two on on each side, Or you could just stick with the two, and plan your coral placement based on the lighting. I don't think two is that bad, as long as you place your clams and high light corals accordingly. I have a 120 and only run two halides, granted it's a 4 foot tank.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

personally

personally

I'd offset the middle halide by a few inches. Is the crossbrace glass (clear)?

 

[GMaquarium]

i have a bar that runs front to back in the center of the tank. if i put a halide there would this block alot of the light from reaching the tank? my plan was a 250 watt MH on each side then 36" t5 in the middle.

I have a tank with 2 250 mh on sides and 4 36"t5s in the middle. LIght is not very even but I like it. To balance it out a bit I added a 6foot vho actinic on side of everything.

 

[nwrogers]

I ran 2 175W bulbs over my 150 gallon tank and it worked out fine. The trick is to use good reflectors and bulbs with a high PAR output. I used the PFO reflectors with 175W XM 10K bulbs...

 

[pimpinitup6969]

I currently have Nate's 150 and i run 2 175watt halides with no problem

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

no doubt it CAN be done with two bulbs......

I was simply suggesting what might be considered an optimal lighting arrangement for a 72" long aquarium.

 

[wah-zoh]

I'd offset the middle halide by a few inches. Is the crossbrace glass (clear)?

the brace is solid not clear, but Piazzon12 the idea of 2 250's on each side and 2 150's in center sounds interesting.

 

[wah-zoh]

I ran 2 175W bulbs over my 150 gallon tank and it worked out fine. The trick is to use good reflectors and bulbs with a high PAR output. I used the PFO reflectors with 175W XM 10K bulbs...

looking at this really makes me want to change my overflow box to the corner overflows. this looks a lot better than having a big square box sitting on one side of my tank.

 

[nwrogers]

the brace is solid not clear, but Piazzon12 the idea of 2 250's on each side and 2 150's in center sounds interesting.

I replaced the plastic brace on my current 65 gallon tank so that I could have one 175W MH in the center (directly over the brace). You can read on my build thread how I did it...

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1122036

Also here is a picture of it before I started to convert it to a softy tank (I don't have any newer pictures yet)...

 

[wah-zoh]

I replaced the plastic brace on my current 65 gallon tank so that I could have one 175W MH in the center (directly over the brace). You can read on my build thread how I did it...

i see what you are talking about. that's a great idea, but i dont think i trust my self to try that just yet. really good info about plumbing on that thread.