HAHA I got it! Now what?

Aquareefer776

New member
Heya folks!

Well I got my tank as the title suggests :p. So now that I have the tank and stand, I am looking to start piecing together the equipment I am going to need. I will be starting out with a FOWLR tank with the possibilty of going full reef. I am looking for suggestions on needed equipment, types brands, etc. I am gonna try and post pix of all 3 tanks I now have I have the 100g I just got, a 45g which will be my sump/refug (after I figure out how to section it out :confused: ) and a little 12 that I am thinking of using as my Q tank. I have been devoring the forums, and my new book "The Consientious Marine Aquarist" with just about every free moment I have. I am still trying to grasp everything, its a bit overwhelming, but I am taking my time and going slow. Any and all input and info is greatly appreciated.
 
Ok to add on more stuff to my post I have made a tentative list of things I THINK will be needed, in what order I plan on getting them, qty, and comments or questions regarding them. So please be patient.

1) RO/DI (Not sure on type, and how I am going to be able to use it as I am in rental atm, looking at one that has 3/4 garden hose adapter.)

2) Protein skimmer (Found a used Euro-Reef CS6-1 that I might pick up for a $100)

3) A slew of test kits including hydrometer etc.

4) Heaters (Based on fact that I am hoping to use my 45 g as a sump/refug. plus my 100g @ 4watts per gal I am looking at buying 2 200w Pro-Heat Titanium IC Heaters and 1 250w Pro-Heat Titanium IC Heaters. Is that about the right amount of wattage per gallon?)

5) Pump (Am totally lost on this as to what kind of, size I will need. As I have no clue on how to setup my plumbing, The tank I have is drilled, but still lost even with all the reading.)

6) Powerheads (I am guessing will really depend on plumbing and pump choices?)

7) Substrate (As I am kind of working on a budget like most people and using the calculator thing, wanting a 4"dsb I plan on using about 180lb of aragonite and seed it with about 50lb of LS)

8) Live Rock (hehehe, this is where I am kind of twisting my noodle. I have read about people using 100% LR and then using some base rock and letting the LR seed it. I am leaning towards the later, money issues, I am pondering a setup of 75lb of LR and 75lb of base which will give me 1.5lb per gallon based on my display)

9) Lighting (Another no clue, but am leaning to NO or VHO since I don't plan on keeping any corals for a while at which time I will upgrade)

Again thanks for all the help and advice folks!

Tommy
 
Hey sounds like you're getting closer! Ok here's my .02 on your equipment list.

1) RO/DI
I currently have, and have been very happy with the aqua-safe unit purchased on ebay. The new units are even better than the one I have which is a few years old (http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfrtsZ50...aquasafesystems)


2) Protein skimmer (Found a used Euro-Reef CS6-1 that I might pick up for a $100)
Euroreef makes good skimmers, you can't go wrong with them and that is a good deal if the skimmer is in good condition.


3) A slew of test kits including hydrometer etc.
I would recommend Salifert test kits and a refractometer rather than hydrometer (or in addition to).


4) Heaters (Based on fact that I am hoping to use my 45 g as a sump/refug. plus my 100g @ 4watts per gal I am looking at buying 2 200w Pro-Heat Titanium IC Heaters and 1 250w Pro-Heat Titanium IC Heaters. Is that about the right amount of wattage per gallon?)
(2) 200w heaters should be more than adequate.


5) Pump (Am totally lost on this as to what kind of, size I will need. As I have no clue on how to setup my plumbing, The tank I have is drilled, but still lost even with all the reading.)
Drilled where? The back is drilled? The bottom? Both? If you specify we can help you decide.


6) Powerheads (I am guessing will really depend on plumbing and pump choices?)
Yep. see above.


7) Substrate (As I am kind of working on a budget like most people and using the calculator thing, wanting a 4"dsb I plan on using about 180lb of aragonite and seed it with about 50lb of LS)


8) Live Rock (hehehe, this is where I am kind of twisting my noodle. I have read about people using 100% LR and then using some base rock and letting the LR seed it. I am leaning towards the later, money issues, I am pondering a setup of 75lb of LR and 75lb of base which will give me 1.5lb per gallon based on my display)
Personally I would go with almost all base rock and a few select, very clean pieces of LR to seed it.


9) Lighting (Another no clue, but am leaning to NO or VHO since I don't plan on keeping any corals for a while at which time I will upgrade)
I would recommend a couple of T5 HO flourescents over the other options you listed. They are more modern than VHO's, not as hot, and very intense. The bulbs can go a little over a year w/o needing to be changed and 2 bulbs would light your tank just fine until you want corals in which event you just add some more bulbs to the setup. Coral Fantasy, Reefgeek, or Innovative Lighting can get you these.
 
Tommy,

That is one great deal on the skimmer. Was there anything wrong with it?

You can use 100% aragonite for sand, when you put in your live rock, it will become live sand anyways.

I think your ratio is about right. For me personally, I would add only the right amount of rocks to meet my aquascaping needs. I did the same thing you did with the base rock. There is nothing wrong with them. I might suggest that you put them on the bottom as support for the rest of your rock. It's also a good a idea to wash them very good. Another cheap route you can take is buy the rocks from members who are leaving the hobby. They usually sell them for $2 per lbs.

For pumps I would look into something at can do up to 1000gph or less. You don't want to much flow into your sump. It would also add to the noise of the water rushing down your piping. Trust me, it not something you want to keep hearing every day. As you move into corals, add another pump for a CLOSE LOOP. That will give you the turn over to keep corals. If you have a good amount of turn over, that would eliminate the needs for power heads.

To save electricity and money, I would go with T12 NO bulbs. You can find the ballast and bulbs at Home Depot. You can also over drive the NO bulbs to HO using a bigger ballast.

Good Luck,

Lak
 
The only thing I might add is that the live rock can be purchased for $2.15 lb. plus shipping unless you feel like driving to L.A.(which I did last weekend). That is the best price I have found so far.
 
First off thanks for all the advice and input! Now to try and answer the questions...lol I will try and go in order as I read the replies :) This is prob gonna be long...lol

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7001502#post7001502 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mothra
Hey sounds like you're getting closer! Ok here's my .02 on your equipment list.

1) RO/DI I currently have, and have been very happy with the aqua-safe unit purchased on ebay. The new units are even better than the one I have which is a few years old (http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfrtsZ50...aquasafesystems)

I will definately look into ones on ebay!

2) Protein skimmer (Found a used Euro-Reef CS6-1 that I might pick up for a $100)Euroreef makes good skimmers, you can't go wrong with them and that is a good deal if the skimmer is in good condition.

Skimmer is in excellent condition so says seller, lol getting out of hobby so he is selling it.

3) A slew of test kits including hydrometer etc. I would recommend Salifert test kits and a refractometer rather than hydrometer (or in addition to).

I keep hearing that I should get a refractometer, so I guess I am getting one. :D

4) Heaters (Based on fact that I am hoping to use my 45 g as a sump/refug. plus my 100g @ 4watts per gal I am looking at buying 2 200w Pro-Heat Titanium IC Heaters and 1 250w Pro-Heat Titanium IC Heaters. Is that about the right amount of wattage per gallon?)(2) 200w heaters should be more than adequate.

The reason I was looking at 3 heaters was one as a back up in case of a failure (See! I am learning! lol)

5) Pump (Am totally lost on this as to what kind of, size I will need. As I have no clue on how to setup my plumbing, The tank I have is drilled, but still lost even with all the reading.) Drilled where? The back is drilled? The bottom? Both? If you specify we can help you decide.

Ummmm bottom back corner behind overflow box. I think you can see it in the pic I posted on my other thread, and I think its in my gallery I will check.

6) Powerheads (I am guessing will really depend on plumbing and pump choices?)
Yep. see above.


See Above lol

7) Substrate (As I am kind of working on a budget like most people and using the calculator thing, wanting a 4"dsb I plan on using about 180lb of aragonite and seed it with about 50lb of LS)

Guess this is ok? :confused: Also might go to a 5" dsb but keep the ratio the same or close.

8) Live Rock (hehehe, this is where I am kind of twisting my noodle. I have read about people using 100% LR and then using some base rock and letting the LR seed it. I am leaning towards the later, money issues, I am pondering a setup of 75lb of LR and 75lb of base which will give me 1.5lb per gallon based on my display)Personally I would go with almost all base rock and a few select, very clean pieces of LR to seed it.

Sounds good, how will this affect my cycling if at all? And how much would you consider "a few select, very clean pieces of LR"?

9) Lighting (Another no clue, but am leaning to NO or VHO since I don't plan on keeping any corals for a while at which time I will upgrade)I would recommend a couple of T5 HO flourescents over the other options you listed. They are more modern than VHO's, not as hot, and very intense. The bulbs can go a little over a year w/o needing to be changed and 2 bulbs would light your tank just fine until you want corals in which event you just add some more bulbs to the setup. Coral Fantasy, Reefgeek, or Innovative Lighting can get you these.


What wattage of these bulbs will I be looking at?

Ok Lak's turn! lol
1)Nope nothing stated wrong with skimmer just getting out of hobby; 2) If I went with 100% ag sand, how long generally does it take to become "live" and how will this affect my cycle if at all? 3) What is the major difference between T12 NO and the T5 HO? Since I can "overdrive" the T12 wouldnt they be about the same? 4) heater brand is Pro-Heat found on Marinedepot.com

Rulesmith- Is there a website selling rock at that price?

So about length of this.

Tommy
 
RuleSmith -

What is the name of the place you are ordering LR from? When I first started, I ordered some LR from a place around Chino, CA and the price was about $2.00 per pound (not shipped). Had my GF's brother drive it up for me since he was heading up anyway. At the time I was pretty happy with the rock. Looking back though - I don't think I would buy rocks from that place anymore. Some of the pieces were boulder size. Now I prefer to go to a LFS and hand pick my own rock. You might want to check with John (yourreef.com) in north Sac area. I think he sells them for $3.00/lb - but they are very nice rock. Another option is to buy the cheap rock to use as a base, and buy John's rock to use for the top.

Minh
 
Hirocks has some really nice base rock, it ends up being about $.90 a pound (shipping included). Jesus, one of our members, and the previous owner of Aquascene both used 100% base rock from Walt Smith (I believe) to start their display tanks. It was hand picked and they got some pieces with great shapes and large pieces. That is the way I would (and will) go when I start another tank.

As for getting some 'clean' live rock your best bet is to get a couple of clean looking pieces (closely inspect for short turf algae, bubble algae, etc...) from the fish store and 'cook' them. Here is some info on cooking rock: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=405128&highlight=cooking+rock
 
Ok updates? not much gonna pick up a berlin turbo skimmer from rules hopefully this upcoming weekend, and then its time to hit the tanks with some elbow grease to get them cleaned out. Asfter that...lol not sure yet.....bayby steps man baby steps! lol

Tommy
 
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