need some advise

[grannybj]

I am putting togeather a new set up and I need some guidance. I have had a 29 gallon Reef for a year now . My hubby has bought me a new cabinet and canopy for a 75 gallon setup for christmas. I am looking into getting a glass cages RR tank to go in it . I will need a pump and lights. I wanted to hear from some of you that have had really good experiences with the brand of lights and pumps you are running and also which NOT TO GET. I want 2 150 watt MH pendants. The set up he bought has glass tops in the canopy so that pretty much knocked out retrofitting the hood. I will be converting the 29 gallon to a sump. This will be a work in progress while I am building it but I really don't want to make a bad choice in my equipment. Any help will be appreciated.

 

[Sir Knight]

lighting will depend on the types of corals you are planning to keep. 150's may not be enough light for light demanding SPS's and some clams. Brands for MH I would recommend PFO, sun light supply, Ice cap all are very good companies. You could also go with T5's since a 75 is not that deep.

If the tank is going to be a standard 75 RR the prefilter box will most likely only handle around 600 GPH, so make your pump close to that. Since you are using your 29 as a sump are you planning on internal return pump or external? For internal, I recommend ehiem. Stay away from Mag drives they add a lot of heat. For external their are a lot of excellent pumps but I would not do the T4 they also add a lot of heat.

For skimmers Euroreef, ASM, My Reef creations, etc. You will also need more flow in the tank itself you can do a closed loop or internal pumps. I would stay away from Serio's for internal. I have them and every time I shut them down to do water changes I need to take them apart to make them restart. This still happens after Taam sent me new parts that was suppose to fix the problem. Some people don't have this problem but a lot do. Tunze or VorTech are good for internal use. I am thinking about going with the VorTech because the motor is not in the water only the impeller is in the water.

Also, I don't like anything Coral life it just looks very cheaply made to me, but that is just me.

Just my opinion their are many other good companies out there. So I will let others comment on their equipment.

Also forgot to say that there is a reef club in your area and they have a forum here on RC. The name is:
"West Tennessee Reef Club"

Joe

 

[danieljames]

Check these out granny. Lamps with decent par in a pair of these and you will be fine for whatever you wish to keep in a standard 75. I've used them for well over a year with no problems whatsoever. You won't beat the price.
http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/3777

 

[crumbletop]

I've had good luck with eheim pumps. I run an eheim 1250 for my return right now. I like it because of the low watts. I have heard good things about oceanrunner pumps and just picked a 2500 up to try out. It is similar to an eheim 1260, but costs a lot less and uses less watts (38W vs 60W). Eheims are supposed to have a lifespan of decades and are very quiet. Not sure about the oceanrunner, but I figured it was worth a try. I like silence and low watts, so we'll see

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=14677&N=2004+113041

As far as tank flow, I had good luck with seio powerheads. I had 2 M820s that worked great. No restart problems -- they just plain worked. The Tunze nano streams look to be fairly cost competitive with the seios, but they are a new product so I don't know how they will last.

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=T6025.000
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=T6045.000

I'd recommend a couple of seios (not the 620s), some maxijets (narrower harsher flow), some nano streams, or some kind of closed loop. Since it looks like you are just starting out, I think I'd recommend the seios. 2 M820s would work reasonably well in a 75.

RE lighting: I don't think you are limited to no retrofit with a glass top canopy. If you remove the glass, you'll get great upward venting of hot air. You can probably put a simple wood frame on the inside to hang things from. If the canopy is less than say 8" tall you may not be able to do halides, though. You could likely use VHOs or T5s, though. You can keep pretty much anything under T5s. The look is nice, but is different than halides, IME. 6x54W T5s with individual reflectors (like a TEK retrofit kit) would be a ton of light for a 75.

http://www.reefgeek.com/products/categories/lighting/104069.html

 

[grannybj]

thanks to all of you . I was so confused about what to get and this is clearing up for me a lot . Please don't hesitate to post more info if you think of anything that would help me out .
As far as a submersible or outside pump, I had not decided on that just yet but was thinking about the heat factor considering submersible pumps. I am making a list of all your recommendations to I can refer to them when it is time to order. I had not considered T5 lighting until now . I don't think I would ever want to keep anything more than LPS and softies and an anemone. I have 2 types of star polyps , different mushrooms, some brown polyps, 2 kinds of sponges, xenia, 2 occ. clowns and a midas blenny and a flame scallop along with the usual clean up crew in the 29 and that is what I would build from in the 75. I do want some ricordea and leather corals someday . I really don't feel an attraction to SPS at this time but I would not want to have to replace my expensive lighting just to be able to add some if my taste changes. I had an LTA for a short time but once I figured out my lighting on the 29 was not up to par, I found someone with a better setup to give him to . In setting up the 29 gallon I did make a few bad choices that cost me a good bit in the long run so I am taking this setup a lot slower and doing it right to start with.
Oh and I am registered with the west tennessee group also but they do not have as many members and are not as active as you guys . I have been reading your posts daily for months and I knew I was asking a knowledgable group for help.
You will probably see more questions from me as time goes by .

 

[fishdoc11]

[welcome]

Chris

 

[aquaman67]

Hello,

Just in case you didn't know, there is a reef club in west tennessee too!

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=378

It's nice to have "local" people to meet and maybe trade with. It's also a great way to see different equipment in action before you buy it.

 

[grannybj]

aquaman
I went to the west tennessee site and bookmarked it so I could visit on a regular basis. I thought I already had been looking at that site but I don't know what i was thinking since I had not read any of the posts that were there. Yes it would be great to be able to see other set ups when I get to the actual plumbing part of this process. With the 29 gallon it was pretty simple but I want this one to have a sump and all the buzzers and whistles. Buzzers and whistles are expensive so this will certainly be a slow process but well worth the time. Thank you for sending me the west tennessee link...