help me pick a setup please help

[clownfool]

I am going to start a new SPS only tank with the amount of $$$ I have.
I will be getting the new tank in about 2-3 months.
I have my mind set on the 24g aquapod with HQI 150w MH.
I was wondering if I will need a calcium reactor for the tank once I have a good amount of SPS? I read that I need at least 4inches of sand in the tank to keep the sand from being a nutrient sponge. I plan on having at least 20lbs of live rock. I don't know what brand double end MH bulb comes with the stock lamp, so I plan on buying a new mh bulb from the start and just save the stock mh bulb for an emergency. What 150w MH DE bulb do you recommend? I like my MH bulb to have a lot of blue coloring, but want good SPS growth, so I cant decide if I want 20K, 14K, or 10K. I wanted a anthias for my only fish in my tank, but after reading about them, I have decided it would require too much food and raise the nutrient level, plus the tank will be too small for the anthias, so I decided I want just one colorful fairy wrasse. I am wondering if I will need a chiller( I was thinking about the Pacific Coast GenX CL-150 Micro Aquarium Chiller/Heater) Then I wouldn't have to worry about heating or cooling but the website said 10 degree cooling up to 22 gallons. (assuming the ambient air temp. is below 85 degrees). Not recommended for tanks using metal halides.

http://www.marineandreef.com/shoppro/chillers.html

I am also considering using the CPR Aquafuge medium Hang-on Back Refugium W/Pump and Protein skimmer.
The aquapod is 20inches wide, the cpr 19inches wide. so that would be a good fit.


So that is what I am considering for my new aquarium. As you can read I am taking my time to do all my homework so I am not hitting my head into the wall by not taking my time to reserch all options.
Any comments or suggestions are welcome so let me know what you think.

 

[Corn]

what size tank, just sps or will you have a mixed reef, what size fuge, will you be willing to add equipment to the tank later or do you want to buy it all at once, do you have a lot of sps experience. what type of sps do you want to keep, where will the tank be in you house can you put it in the coolest place in the house, will the tank be a open top?

 

[clownfool]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8461359#post8461359 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Corn
what size tank, just sps or will you have a mixed reef, what size fuge, will you be willing to add equipment to the tank later or do you want to buy it all at once, do you have a lot of sps experience. what type of sps do you want to keep, where will the tank be in you house can you put it in the coolest place in the house, will the tank be a open top?

AquaPod is 19.75" x 17" x 22" high.


CPR AquaFuge2â"žÂ¢ PS Small AquaFuge2â"žÂ¢ PS Large
Includes Powerhead for Protein Skimmer
Water Capacity: 3.6 Gallons
Dimensions: 19 1/4" L x 4" W x 15" T

http://www.cprusa.com/products/aquafugeps.html


All SPS tank, I don't have to buy everything at once. The chiller I don't have to have right away, it could be bought by next summer.
I could just buy a heater to make it through winter. I just want the chiller/heater because as you know in the ocean the temp doesn't go up and down like a tank. The room it will be in is always 76degrees ambient room temp. I just wonder how much heat the MH will put off. It will be opentop.
I have about a year worth of SPS knowledge from my last tank. I am aware of the water quality requirements and things like calcium levels, ALK, Temp, and such, but I'm just trying to consider myself a begginer so I can make sense of new knowledge in the reef tank that's come out in the last year. I will only be having SPS that has been aquacultured not wild SPS. Any website I should study about SPS please send me a link so I can learn more

 

[clownfool]

Tank is 24g
I will be keeping hardy SPS like Montipora, Green slimer, all easy SPS
till it's been setup for like a year I won't try to keep hard SPS till the next year

 

[Corn]

so will you be getting a bigger tank soon do you think. because I would go with a vary big sump IMO. also with that 32g is not that big and you will fill that up quickly! so if you build a bigger sump then you will not need to get another one later on. you may not save money on this tank but if you up grade you will save money then. get a pendent MH you can hang then you can use that later and thing like that. buy quality and buy once! another thing that you can do is hang the MH and put fans blowing over the tank and that will help with heat to a point.

 

[Corn]

this is MO I could be wrong. I have been keeping sps for about 21/2 years now and I am still a beginner, even if I had 10 years under my belt I would still be a beginner at best.