My setup good or bad? 125g reef

[daniel89]

So I'm buying a 125 gallon tank with a stand. I'm gonna be setting up a reef tank. For starters I'm gonna have two overflow box's on the back of the tank one on each side as the tank isn't drilled and I'm not taking a chance with drilling it. When i say overflow box's I'm talking about a hang on the back overflow box.

In the bottom of the stand I will have a 40g long. In the first section it will be empty so the water can run off into it. The next section will be either 2 foot or 2 and half foot section fuge. The next section leading from the fuge will be my Coralife super protein skimmer http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4392+13924&pcatid=13924. It is rated at 220 gallons. I'm still doing a little research on return pump but any suggestions would be great.

I'm ordering 180lbs of live Caribbean sand. I'm shooting for 2-3 inch deep sand bed but if I come up short I'll order some more sand asap. To cut a little corner I was gonna Use about 50-80lbs of dead base rock then stack about 50 lbds of live Fiji or Caribbean live rock on top of that. I hope this will work as I really don't feel like purchasing 1000$ of live rock unless some of you know a good site that has some cheap live rock for sale ?

For power heads I will be picking up some Hydor Koralia pumps. Either 4 size 3's or 3 size 4's. I'm not sure yet I still need to do a little research on this and decide what way will give me a better flow and less dead spots.

For lighting Is the tricky touchy subject so far. Ive narrowed it down but I'm stuck on the size of the light fixture I want. The 125 I'm getting has only one center brace and its in the middle so if i order a 72" MH light strip the middle MH light will be right above the center brace and I believe the middle brace will block some of the light. Verse buying 2 36" fixtures and placing them side by side on the tank. The only bad thing about this is it will be 200$ more and i will loose one MH lamp :/. So I really need some good in put on this. Here is links to the fixtures. The 72" http://www.fishtanksdirect.com/72inchprometalhalidefixture3x150whqiand8x39w_t5.aspx
And this is the 36" lamp that I would have to purchase two of http://www.fishtanksdirect.com/36inchprometalhalidefixture1x150whqiand4x24wt5-1.aspx So as you can see The 72" has 3 MH lights and the 36" has one each so id be loosing a mh lamp and it will cost me 200$ more if i bought two 36"s. Any advise? And i will have glass tops on top of the tank also.

For RO water I will be buying a RO unit Coralife Pure-Flo II and it Produces 50gpd and is a 3 stage filter.

I will be picking up the basic stuff as in chemicals as in all API stuff; buffer, reef test kit, refractometer, and those good things.

A few questions of mine that I could used answered.
Which is better instant ocean salt or instant ocean reef crystals? And if you use reef crystals can you tell a difference in the water nutrients?

So if you feel i have left anything out please give me a hollar. I will let you know what I plan on doing from there.

 

[bertoni]

I would get the three-bulb MH setup and live with the blockage. I don't that that two bulbs will cover that tank well. I'm not sure how deep your tank is, but 150 W bulbs might be an issue unless you're careful to pick high-efficiency bulbs.

I like MH, but a T5 HO setup might save some money, and can support the same animals, if chosen appropriately. I'd probably use a more DIY setup, like getting three LumenMax pendants and working from there.

Instant Ocean and Reef Crystals are both fine, but I prefer to avoid the vitamins in RC.

For the sump return, I'd get a pump rated for about 400 gph, after deducting for head loss.

 

[bertoni]

Oops, meant to add that I have a smaller CoraLife skimmer, and I'm not sure that it's all that great. I don't know much about skimmers, though, and there's no objective data on how well they work.

 

[daniel89]

Im not to sure about a complete t5ho fixture :/ and my tank depth is 23 3/8 inchs. All the reading ive read states MH seems to produce more growth than just t5's

 

[mikid]

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i would recommand installing you skimmer in the first camber,to remove as much protein as you can,then let you fuge do the rest,note(a skimmer is most likey the best investment you"l make,so invest in as good of one as you can) as for the money the octo reef extreme with the new bb pumps are not to $$$ and they work great......mike:thumbsup:

 

[bertoni]

Well, I like MH much better than the T5 I've seen, so I don't want to discourage you, but people get great growth with T5. With that tank depth, 150 W might be fine if the bulbs are selected carefully, or you're planning on some lower-light animals towards the bottom.

 

[lordofthereef]

I would "cut corners" with getting dry sand and just seeding it, unless you KNOW you are getting good live sand. Generally the live sand that we order in the hobby is bagged stuff and IMO not worth the price hike. I have no experience with the coralife super skimmer, but I hear nothing good about them, so that is a place where I would reconsider. As far as lighting, have you looked into a retro fit? You can get exactly what you want that way. I wouldn't get one with a light directly above your acrylic center brace. I have seen acrylic crack all the way through from the direct/constant heat of the halide bulb above.

 

[sharky's machin]

I have a 125G that I'm converting from a FOWLR to a reef. I run a Mag 12 which has 1200 gph. I don't think you'll be happy with your skimmer and will need to upgrade sometime. I would go ahead and use it if you already have it, but just know there are better ones under $300. I run my skimmer in the right section>>>refugium w/chaeto>>>return pump.

I would probably go with T5s in that shallow of a tank. I don't think you need MH and could save some money and heat. I use 6 T5 retrofit in my 110G reef and I grow LPS and SPS just fine. If you went cheaper on the lights...you could use the difference to buy a better skimmer IMO. Those lights are pretty expensive.

 

[sharky's machin]

2 Koralia 4's will be fine in that tank.

 

[miztahphong2]

your base rock/live rock seeding should be fine. the coralife super skimmer is a fair skimmer for the price. i use one in my 100 gallon aquarium and it works well. for the price it has done the trick and i was very satisfied. metal halides or t5. i like both but prefer the t5 myself. looking into t5 retro fits could be a money saver and it would also give good lighting.

 

[SATAN FISH]

Only suggestion I have is to get a larger RO unit. I have a 100gpd unit, but my water pressure is only about 40psi, so I can only get 50gpd out of it. You will go through more RODI water than you think. Just in top offs you will go through at least 5 gallons a week. with my 125 gallon, I go through one gallon a day during the dry winter and 1/2 gallon a day during summer. Also, get an auto shut off for it. There are many many many many threads of people flooding their houses due to people forgetting to shut off RODI units, myself included. I have flooded my basement twice now.

50gpd may sound like plenty, but if you do all of your top offs, then at the end of the week when it is time to do a water change... Basically I'll cut to the chase and just say get something larger than what you are planning.

Lighting... That many MH's is going to put out some heat. Make sure you have a way to keep your water temps under control should it become a problem. I personally run 1 single 400 watt MH that sits dead center (yes right above that bar you were concerned about) and about 30 inches off the top of the water so it spreads and hits the entire tank. I also have two 96watt actinic PC's. The PC's put a nice blue to everything (especially coraline algae) while the 20k MH makes everything look crystal clear and bright. I have heard people say that coraline algae hates MH lighting and will cause it to reside, but mine loves it and thrives.

 

[daniel89]

I haven't bought anything yet, I was just posting what i have to come conclusion just in case i needed to buy something else. So i will start looking for a new skimmer asap. And im just gonna go with the 72 inch 12x39w nova extreme pro light fixture for 700 bucks

 

[potterjon]

I would get a better skimmer. Just my 2 cents.
I have the nova and I like it on my 150.

 

[jformani]

I'm also setting up a 125. I think I'm going with the Octopus Extreme 200.

 

[jetboatjoe]

I have a 125g reef set up with 55g sump/refuge, Aqua C 180 with mag 9.5, 3 150 mh, fans in sealed hood, 2 return pumps queit one 4000, 1 goes through chiller then to tank, 1 goes straight to return on tank. Power heads are 2 maxi fet 1200 with hydor flows, 2 seio 820. Plenty of water movement.

 

[cmbspd]

try to buy liverock from someone local who is tearing down their tank. Price should be $1.50-3.00 per lb for rock that is pre-cured, encrusted with coralline, and might even have polyps on it. Just be aware of the quality of the setup - is there a lot of nuisance algae on the rock, history of problem with high phosphate, etc.

IMO this is a major cost saver that also jump starts your tank cycling.

 

[bertoni]

I'd recommend a 75 gpd membrane. I think the 100 gpd membranes are less efficient at typical household water pressure. That information might be out of date, though.

 

[Mad_Reefer]

I think it would be best to skim before the fuge.

 

[daniel89]

Thanks for all the great advise guys n gals Things seem to be looking great atm, Currently painting my room white cause its pink atm -.- and i should be done by tomorrow and tank friday so yay!

 

[newtank]

Most of the advice so far is good. You can save tons of money by hunting and being patient. Get the rock out of someone elses tank, if thier tank looks good then wheel and deal. This is the best way to get rock, I have that same skimmer and tank, the Coralife is fine..for now, put the skimmer first in the sump, put a filter sock on the effluent of the skimmer, any skimmer doesn't get it all, your water quality will improve if you do this. not sure the fuge will be big enough if the sump is a 40, add baffles, skimmer chamber etc, you probally won't get the 10% you need for a fuge...the korilla's are ok, but you will get better flow for less money if you get two maxi jet 1200's, with the eco mod, that will save you about $80 or more. loose the glass lids, those might work for fish only setups, but without a chiller, you have green house effect by order of magnitude regardless of light, by the way should be Halides, three in one 72" fixture, use the shadow in the middle for lower light corals, pretty much anything will be fine. Ihave a very similar setup, and have learned alot, probally saved about >$2K by using craiglist and making friends at the LFS.