Need help with new tank setup

[creep]

I am planning on setting up a reef ready 180gal tank. This is what i'm planning on using on it. I want to keep a mixture of corals plus several fish. SPS will be towards the top, and LPS and softies lower in the tank.

180 gallon reef ready tank
75 gallon sump with section for skimmer, fuge, and return. any suggestions/diagrams on how to set this up?
72" Aquactinics constellation 14 bulb T5 fixture
ASM G-3 Skimmer
Quiteone 4000 pump for return. Possibly split using a SCWD.
250lbs of LR
200 lbs of LS
4 Koralia #4 powerheads. one on the top left back, one on the top right back, one middle left half way down, one middle right half way down
2 Koralia #2 one back bottom left pointing at a 45* angle towards the surface, one back bottom right pointing at a 45* angle towards the surface (is this too much flow? are power head placements good?
10gallon tank for auto topoff system.

Anything I am missing, anything that is too much. Please critique and help me plan the ultimate system. this will be an open top system with no canopy. Stand will be custom built. rockwork will be highest on the sides and slope down towards the center from front to back. There will also be a mound in the center middle of the tank.

 

[demonsp]

To much rock. Minimum is 1 lb per gallon to 1.5. Go with 1 lb cause as you add frags the wieght will rise.Plus you want a looser rockwork for water flow to move around.

 

[Capt_Cully]

why not halides?

 

[creep]

I really like T5's. They run cooler, and they use less electricity.

demonsp thanks for pointing out the info about the rocks. i will definitely use less rock. Saves me a couple hundred bucks

 

[Capt_Cully]

I was just wonderin'

I do like demonsp's suggestion on less LR. Alot of people are using less rock and letting the coral growth do the talkin' instead of aquascape. I think it looks great! I only have about 150# in my 180 and I kinda wish I put less in there. At first it seems like more realestate for corals. But after stuff grows in you realize, less rock actually makes for more room for the coral.

Anyway, best of luck. Can't wait to see what you put together!

 

[demonsp]

A good mix of base and live works best.Like 50% live and 505 base.Decrease the chances of bad hitchhickers and get all the pods and worms. Plus many frags come on rock and this will increase your total.GL.

 

[creep]

is the ASM G-3 enough for a 180, or do I need to go with something like the ASM G-4x?

 

[demonsp]

Yes this skimmer should be fine.

 

[creep]

you mean the G-3 right? just makin sure

 

[demonsp]

Yea.The G-3 is rated for a 250 gallon.

 

[creep]

awesome thanks. Does the rest of the setup seem like it would be enough?

 

[Roy G. Biv]

Do you want to replace 14 bulbs every year?? I guess its not more expensive than halides at $15X14. Would make for a really awesome sunrise/sunset

 

[creep]

the costs of replacing bulbs for the 14 bulb T5 fixture would be about the same as a metal halide fixture I would get. i would use 3 250W metal halides supplemented with 4 T5 bulbs. The main difference is I can run my whole tank for less electricity than what the metal halie ligthing setup would cost me. I'm looking at about 800wph for the whole tank with the T5 setup, where as the metal halide setup would be at 906wph alone. Not to mention the rest of my equipment.

 

[Patrick12]

The extra 106 Watts will pay for themselves in other ways. Also, a watt of heat is a watt of heat. The T5 fixture will not run that much cooler. That is a misnomer I too once believed. T5s run hot too. You are only talking one 100W lightbulb difference here and the cost of that annually is miniscule compared to your total cost in general. Not trying to convince you to go MH, just don't want you to pass on the best form of lighting (my opinion) for the wrong reasons. P.S. Not trying to flame any of you die hard T5ers...so please take no offense.

 

[creep]

I've used a T5 setup on my 40 gallon and was extremely pleased with it. that 100W difference was between my WHOLE tank setup and JUST the metal halide setup. From my experience the T5's put less heat into the tank. thus reducing the need for a chiller. I did extensive research when I went with T5's before. I have seen some awesome SPS tanks using only T5's. Plus with T5's I have more control over the types of bulbs I want to use. the setup i'm using has 7 rows, each row using 2 36" bulbs. With this, the possibilities for growth, color, etc is endless.