Help me set up an SPS tank

[Ben]

The tank will be built into the wall of my toy store. I already have the tank, its a 58 gal oceanic.

How would you light it, I was thinking of a single 400 watt in a lumenarc and some VHO actinics? Any ideas

Current I was thinking of two of the new Vortechs, plus the return.

CA/ALK I was thinking of a geokalkreactor

A small 1/10 HP chiller

Return pump would be a ehiem

What Skimmer would you recommend for this system?

Any thing I would be missing here?

I want to start off right and be able to add some frags by the 6 month mark.

All water will be RO/DI.

 

[twon8]

you might not need a chiller, what are the dimensions of the tank?
i prefer t5 over actinic

imo you only need to go 400 w if you are going 20k, in which case you don't need the vho.

 

[TCU Reefer]

Are you doing a sandbed or bare bottom?

Two Ecotechs may be overkill for a 58 with a sandbed.

You could go with a 20k bulb or even consider T5's for actinic supplementation. I was going to go halide only on my setup but I'm glad I went with actinic supplementation. The color is so different.

For a skimmer,do you have a preference on beckett or needle wheel? What's your skimmer budget?

 

[DaddyJax]

Personally I would go 2 175w mh instead of 1 400w. I would recomend a ER skimmer.
Vortechs, Luminarcs, Reactor? Thats alot of expensive stuff!! You could easily cut ALOT of the cost down by using some Randy's 2 part and spider reflectors and Maximods!! Just my $.02

 

[tnyr5]

2x 175 or 2x 250w if you're interested in the most light demanding sps.
if you're going to use lumenarcs use LA3 minis so they don't waste light cast over the side of the tank. I'd shoot for three flow sources in the 600 gph range. Vortechs will probably blow everything around like a tornado in a tank that size. You won't NEED a calcium reactor right away but if you can afford it up front, get it, you'll thank yourself later. I'm also an advocate of running carbon and phosban right from the get go, that's my personal opinion however. Skimmer wise depending on your bioload i'd say ER CS 80 / 100 , or ASM g1x / G2, looking at the footprint charts all of these skimmers should fit in a stock 15L or 20H for a sump. geo reactors have a pretty good rep. if you can have the sump drilled a small pan world or iwaki pump would probably get you much better circulation per watt at that head pressure than an eheim. and of course there's the little things like using a refractometer instead of just a swing arm hydrometer, again , you'll thank yourself later.

 

[Ben]

I have a lot of the small stuff like refractometers. I was going to go faux sand bed.

For a skimmer I was thinking a ER RC135?

So maybe two 250s in mini lumenarcs, I liked the idea of the two vortechs but if everyone thinks its overkill maybe one and a CL with a seaswirl?

The tank is 36" Long.

 

[RichConley]

Ben, if you're going to spend the money on flow, get the Tunzes, as of this point, the Vortechs still arent controllable, they need their bearings replaced frequently, and dont have any evidence that they'll work long term. Tunzes on the other hand do.

If it was me, I'd do the maximods though.

I'm not sure 2 lumenarc minis would even fit. I've got 2x250 on my 58, and its overkill.

 

[Ben]

Are the maxi mods just cutting off the nozzles?

 

[RichConley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7945433#post7945433 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ben
Are the maxi mods just cutting off the nozzles?

No, its basically replacing the impellar with a small prop, so they are more akin to Tunzes. Theres a big thread in the DIY forum.

 

[xtrstangx]

Go with Tunzes.

 

[antonsemrad]

If it were me, I would skip the reactor... Just go with two dosing pumps and an interval timer. It sounds like you would have plenty of room for reservoirs. Two part is easy, and now days cheaper too. JMO

 

[Ben]

I like the stabily of the reactor and have had good luck with them in the past. I will probably go with a geo, and tunzes over the vortechs