Hi everyone. Next month will be my 10th anniversary and my wife want to upgrade my 30 gal to a 75 gal. I need some help with this set up so that I wouldn't waste any money. I need to know if I should have the tank drill for a sump, I know that I will be able to put the heater in the sump a get rid of any powerhead in the tank so that it would have a clean look to it. My fear with going with a sump is that there is a chance of it flooding my living room. I know what a sump is, but I never had one so I'm not sure how they work. I was think of going with a really good HOB skimmer, but didn't want to regret not getting the tank drill for a sump in the future. So if I go with a HOB skimmer which one should I get. I want to stay with T-5 lighting, because I love the one that I have on my 30 gal, but I want to know if I should stay with Current-USA. Also what kind of powerhead should I get. If I'm missing anyting please let me know. Thanks everyone for your help.
Help with 75 gal setup
- Thread starter Quis
- Start date
if i was you, i would go with a pre-drilled reef ready tank...this prevents flooding unlike HOB overflows...i went with a reef ready on my 75 bc i like the clean look of no equipment in the tank, but thats just me.
lighting and flow all depend on what kind of corals you want to keep
lighting and flow all depend on what kind of corals you want to keep
Having a sump is basically up to you, Some people will say they are a must, others wont.. I have a 55 gallon and know alot of people who have larger and do not have sumps on them.. Yeah its easier when it comes to cleaning.. As with anything there are advantages and disadvantages to it all.. Look into it and do some thinking before you do something you would regret, its alot of money to play with and have something you dont like.. This site offers alot and alot of people have alot of good suggestions..
Fred_J
New member
My 75 came drilled so I use a sump. I also have a 55g that was not drilled, I use an overflow. I tried the CPR and while on vacation it flooded a little water. I use one of the U tube overflows now. Even with a sump you are going to need a closed loop or power heads in the tank for turnover. It will keep the debris from settling on the bottom of the tank.
There is a stickied thread on skimmers by Anthony Calfo in the advanced section, you only need to read the first few pages. Get the best skimmer you can afford. I listened to my LFS when I got back into reefing, and paid $125 for a bad skimmer on sale. Since RC I am using a Euro reef.
Please read more before you buy. You will save a lot of money and misery by checking some of waterkeeper's threads.
Good Luck
There is a stickied thread on skimmers by Anthony Calfo in the advanced section, you only need to read the first few pages. Get the best skimmer you can afford. I listened to my LFS when I got back into reefing, and paid $125 for a bad skimmer on sale. Since RC I am using a Euro reef.
Please read more before you buy. You will save a lot of money and misery by checking some of waterkeeper's threads.
Good Luck
I would go with a sump. There are so many advantages for using one. Adding more water volume to the system, the more water volume you have the more fish you can have. Place to put heaters, reactors etc. Also in sump skimmers are better than hang on back type. You can have a reef w/o a sump. But I have ran both ways over the years and I have so much more success using a sump.
yoboyjdizz
Active member
yes its adds more water volume to your system but that dosent mean you can have more fish.. the extra water volume just helps with the water quality. If you have a 75 gal tank with a 30 gal sump dosent mean you can put the same amount of fish as someone with a 105 gallon tank without a sump...
If i were you i get a 75 reef ready tank already drilled can get a cheap sump look into the asm skimmers good bang for the buck and as far as T-5 light i would look at the tek lights from sunlight supply 6-54w bulb fixture would be good and you could probably have anything you like.
I didn't say that having a 75 gallon tank with a 30 gallon tank is the same as having a 105 tank without a sump. Please read my post!! But having a 75 gallon tank with a 30 gallon sump is alot better than having a 75 gallon tank w/o a sump. I feel you can have more fish in the 75 gallon with the sump than a 75 gallon w/o sump. Of course you need to choose your fish correctly for territorial reasons. You can house extra live rock in your sump which gives you more biological filter. Just some more advantages for having a sump.
As for powerheads I use Seio Pumps they work well with coral. They pump a lot of water with a nice steady flow.
As for powerheads I use Seio Pumps they work well with coral. They pump a lot of water with a nice steady flow.
Thanks alot for everyones input. Ok it seems like having a sump is the way to go, but I have a few questions. How do you build a sump with all those different compartments, such as hight of the divider, space between each divider, how many divider and so on? I am not sure how to do the pluming for the sump also. I'm going to take alook at the Tek, and the Sunlight supply T-5 fixture. Jedi31 does the flow of Seio pumps random?
Yoboyjdizz, I just took a look at the Sunlight Tek Light 6x54 which is 324 watts total, but on a 75gl that is only 4.32 watts per gal. I have no plans on keeping any SPS or anemone, but would like to keep LPS, and a clam. They have a 432 watt model, but do not want to spend the extra money when the 324 watt model will do the job for what I want to keep in the tank. It seem that this brand is the best out there for T-5.
yoboyjdizz
Active member
Its the best brand and watts per gallon dosent really matter...Im sure lps and soft corals will ok you could probably keep a clam i havent tired this myself so i wouldn't know.. but there are many good t-5 lit tanks out there im sure you would be ok. anyone else wanna chime in on this ...if not i would go to the lighting forum they have great people with info on t-5 lighting.
pikachusalad
New member
I've been looking at this guys site for some ideas...
http://www.melevsreef.com/
I uh...couldn't possibly make anything that fancy...but that's where I'm looking for ideas.
