firereef 180 gallon build

[firereef]

Help me build a hard/soft coral tank please!! Thanks.

 

[firereef]

This is my skimmer. asm g3

 

[firereef]

My return

 

[Michael]

hey pal, nice tank, you are always going to get different opinions and views here, as we all have opinions and you will have to decide your self on most issues, but we all try our best to help, firstly id remove the tray from the top,keep it open, its an issue i have my tank has a hood and im not happy with it, i wish mine would be totally open, better for gas exchange and keeping the ph stable, plus the panel will get messy and you will need to keep cleaning it, a lot of guys do have a top tbh, but i dont like them myself,you will soon work out whether its for you or not.

have you got a sump under the tank?

are you going to get more rock?

 

[Michael]

i guess i posted too soon.lol

 

[firereef]

Lol!! Thanks. That is my sump that you see with the return lines and I also removed the tray like 30 seconds ago after reading your reply. I have about 200lbs of live rock that I have to pick up for my tank

 

[Michael]

200 pounds? sounds great, have you decided what aquascape you are going for yet? i personally like the 2 islands look and would do it when i ever start another tank.

 

[Michael]

do you need those blue bio-balls floating in the sump?

 

[firereef]

I wanted to fill the tank all the way across with live rock so that I would have more places to sit more corals and grow them.

Should I get rid of the BIO balls? I also have BIO balls in the two overflow boxes.

 

[Michael]

yep no need for bio-balls, best get rid now pal, best bet is flow rock and skimming to start, you can add reactors and other things later, the rock quantity is great, you just need some decent flow in and around them, and you have a skimmer so looking good

 

[firereef]

I will take the BIO balls out tommorow. I have a maxi jet 1200 and a koralia power head until I recieve my ecotech power heads

 

[Michael]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14694482#post14694482 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by firereef
I will take the BIO balls out tommorow. I have a maxi jet 1200 and a koralia power head until I recieve my ecotech power heads

probably a good idea, they will cause nitrate problems eventually, especially as you intend to keep a reef, they can be useful to covert ammonia to nitrite and then nitrate, but struggle to convert the nitrate to nitrogen gas, thats why most reefers suggest avoiding them, the phs will be fine for now to help the tank cycle, need around 3,500-4,000 gals per hour turnover in the long run though.

 

[firereef]

sweet! Now I know what power heads to look for with ecotech. I get my light friday. Do I need them on during the cycle?

 

[Dweezle]

Check out the DIY forum and other builds to get a look at some aqua scaping options. People are doing some great stuff with some fairly simple techniques. Thats way too nice a tank for a rock wall and its a real pain to change once you've got some corals. Just my .02. Looking good so far. Taggin along.

+1 Michael on bio balls

 

[firereef]

Ok dweezle! will do!

 

[Michael]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14694515#post14694515 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by firereef
sweet! Now I know what power heads to look for with ecotech. I get my light friday. Do I need them on during the cycle?

you dont need the lights on, but come on who does that, its exciting and you will want to put them on occassionaly to check the water is clear and inspect the reef wall to ensure your happy with it, id suggest a couple to 3 hours a day just for pleasure

 

[firereef]

LOL! Ok. I will post more pics without bio balls and when I get my light. Oh my rocks too.

 

[PRDubois]

Make lots of Flat ledges and caves

 

[firereef]

you got it

 

[jasonrp104]

Are you building the tank based only on suggestions you get in this thread? A sort of Frankenstien?

That would be a neat thing to see. You'll get a million different opinions but you could go with the most popular ones and have a sort of Reef Central Built tank.

Just a thought