matt_shanahan
New member
Good Morning/Afternoon all, I have been reading this forum and others for about two years now and have finally decided to start my own thread for my tank. I Have posted this thread in other forums, local and international (mainly just to get different worldly opinions)
About 8 months ago I purchased a 2nd hand 5.5ftL x 2.5ftW x 2.5ftD tank from a fellow reefer in sydney, Australia (for those overseas members) and was waiting until my girlfriend and I bought a house which we have done, so now its time to get the tank started. This will be my first marine setup.
This is my first tank thread so if my questions seem obvious to you please be patient as the amount of conflicting information out their is seriously overwelming. I have been reading over the last couple of years regarding different lighting technologies and options available and at this point it seems that LED does seem like the way forward but im not sure all of you will agree.
I havent had the personal experience with MH lighting as some of you would have had, so I cannot compare but from what i have read as long as the parameters are correct the benefits should outway the negatives.
I was hoping to setup my sump as close as possible to what Melev has designed in his Modified G design http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/sumps/chvy/chvy_sump.html and were wondering if anyone has had any experiences with anything similar? possible concerns or objections to the set up?
I am planning on going all out with this setup (hopefully SPS + livestock) but I need all your advice, good and bad regarding my choices for flow, lighting and filtration etc
My think tank:
How would you filter, light and control this tank? basically how would you spend my money? my thoughts below:
First buy a box of beer and stare at the tank for another 6 months.... haha
Then
Skimmer able to handle twice the amount of volume in the tank/sump
Enough flow 25x to circular water and help remove waste/ nasties etc (maybe 2 MP60's on the sides and 1 MP40?on the back)
Some form of control panel to control the tank including but not limited to lighting, flow rate and modes, supplementation, probes, ATO maybe even automatic water changes?
Lighting- obviously everything depends on money and most LED's are quite pricey but I was looking into those 50W ecoxotic Cannons and the looked like they would do the job, I would like to stock SPS corals and a couple of clams (As for how many and how far down the tank im not sure). what say you ?
Return pumps- Needs to be quiet, The weir is set up as a coast to coast bean animal arrangement so that should be really quiet but Im really dont know which return pump to go for (how many Litres per hour? this will also affect the flow rate im assuming)
Some form of reactor, maybe for carbon pellets?
Uv filter/sterilizer
Am I on the right track here? What would you differently/ What would you modify?
There are so many brands and companies out there able to deliver very similar things and believe me I have read over quite a few but nothing beats personal experience so any advice on any of the above subjects or anything else would be greatly appreciated.
Hopefully I havent rambled on to much and you can help me figure some of this stuff out.
Thanks in advance.
Matt
This is the first picture of the tank in the new house. My girlfriend couldnt believe the size of it and had to get in the picture to prove she thought it was huge (if only she had taken a look at some of the monsters on here lol )
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=6013&pictureid=41297
About 8 months ago I purchased a 2nd hand 5.5ftL x 2.5ftW x 2.5ftD tank from a fellow reefer in sydney, Australia (for those overseas members) and was waiting until my girlfriend and I bought a house which we have done, so now its time to get the tank started. This will be my first marine setup.
This is my first tank thread so if my questions seem obvious to you please be patient as the amount of conflicting information out their is seriously overwelming. I have been reading over the last couple of years regarding different lighting technologies and options available and at this point it seems that LED does seem like the way forward but im not sure all of you will agree.
I havent had the personal experience with MH lighting as some of you would have had, so I cannot compare but from what i have read as long as the parameters are correct the benefits should outway the negatives.
I was hoping to setup my sump as close as possible to what Melev has designed in his Modified G design http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/sumps/chvy/chvy_sump.html and were wondering if anyone has had any experiences with anything similar? possible concerns or objections to the set up?
I am planning on going all out with this setup (hopefully SPS + livestock) but I need all your advice, good and bad regarding my choices for flow, lighting and filtration etc
My think tank:
How would you filter, light and control this tank? basically how would you spend my money? my thoughts below:
First buy a box of beer and stare at the tank for another 6 months.... haha
Then
Skimmer able to handle twice the amount of volume in the tank/sump
Enough flow 25x to circular water and help remove waste/ nasties etc (maybe 2 MP60's on the sides and 1 MP40?on the back)
Some form of control panel to control the tank including but not limited to lighting, flow rate and modes, supplementation, probes, ATO maybe even automatic water changes?
Lighting- obviously everything depends on money and most LED's are quite pricey but I was looking into those 50W ecoxotic Cannons and the looked like they would do the job, I would like to stock SPS corals and a couple of clams (As for how many and how far down the tank im not sure). what say you ?
Return pumps- Needs to be quiet, The weir is set up as a coast to coast bean animal arrangement so that should be really quiet but Im really dont know which return pump to go for (how many Litres per hour? this will also affect the flow rate im assuming)
Some form of reactor, maybe for carbon pellets?
Uv filter/sterilizer
Am I on the right track here? What would you differently/ What would you modify?
There are so many brands and companies out there able to deliver very similar things and believe me I have read over quite a few but nothing beats personal experience so any advice on any of the above subjects or anything else would be greatly appreciated.
Hopefully I havent rambled on to much and you can help me figure some of this stuff out.
Thanks in advance.
Matt
This is the first picture of the tank in the new house. My girlfriend couldnt believe the size of it and had to get in the picture to prove she thought it was huge (if only she had taken a look at some of the monsters on here lol )
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=6013&pictureid=41297
