new 58 gallon set up, I need advice....

[zrs6v4]

just bought a oceanic 58 gallon rectangle shaped tank. I obviously dont have anything for it yet other than a stand. right now I have a 24g nano, and I have never had a tank of this size so what all do i need to buy to make this most successful besides sand and the live rock--> ( what is the best bang for the buck on the pump, skimmer, lighting etc...) ? I plan on stocking it with corals, fish and more than enough rock by the way....

thanks for the help

 

[spooda420]

before you do anything, even fill it with water read as much as you can about the live stock you would like to keep and revolve your decisions around that.

your flow, lighting, and skimmer will all have to do with the animals you select to keep.

go pick up a couple of books at a book store: The concience marine aquarist, and reef inverts.

also visist wetwebmedia.com for info.

 

[pewter_jean]

You have several things to decide. Lights, do you what to ge MH, T-5's or CP's. That would depend on weather you want to have a Reef, Fish only or mixed. And if you want a Reef, what do you want to keep. Softies, LPS, SPS. That is why spooda 420 sugest going and picking up the books, So if you know what you want to keep in your tank, you can choose proper lighting, etc.
But lets assume you want to do a Reef, more newbies do. Take your tank, does it have build in overflows. if not, would you want to use a sump, then you will need to get the tank drilled or get over flow boxes and a sump and a return pump. If you do not want to get it drilled then you would need to get a VERY good hang on the back filter (HOB). As far as a skimmer goes, always get the best you can afford. And if your tank is a 58gal then look for something that can handle about 150gals. That way it can handle your sump if you use one. and you will have a nice good quality skimmer for when you want to upgrade a bit (maybe a 75 or 90 gal) Plan on your two biggest expenses while setting up your tank to be your skimmer and your lights.
But also think about a RO/DI filter for your water, or would you plan on hauling water every week from your LFS.
But basically your list will look something like this:
Lights - Metal Halids, T-5's or PC
Filtration- HOB filter or sump,
If you go sump then a return pump
Skimmer - Something at least rated for up to 150 gals.
just my 2 cents worth, stay away from skilters and sea clones,
most people do not have much luck with those. More aggravation
than they are worth.
Power Heads - You will need some for flow. You must have a good
flow in you tank!
RO/DI water filter- just something handy to have, not a must to buy
your own, just a lot easier carrying a jug from the sink instead of
LFS and car, (can't tell you how many times my jug turned over
and I ended up with salt water all over the inside of my car) not
a good thing.
I think that is most of the basics. If I forgot anything someone will chime in. But first get the books, so you can make an enformed chioce. You don't want to spend $300 on lights and find out that those light won't take care of what you want to keep. Then have to go out and spend another $500. That happens all to often, You don't what to spend $$$ to throw it in your closet to collect dust.

 

[zrs6v4]

ok thanks so much for the help. I am planning on doing a fish and coral aquarium, as I said I have had my nano so I am not bad at balancing everything, but I realize that a bigger tank is a whole new ball game. here is what I have, so if you have any opinions on exactly how you'd set a fish/ reef aquarium please tell me what I need to buy? I am picking some books up here today.

1) Aquarium:58 gallon Oceanic white oak tank , 36" L x 18" W x 21" H
2) Stand & Hood: Oceanic white oak
3) Lights: Matching striplight
4) Filtration: Emperor 400 power filter, large sponge filter with airpump, and powerhead
5) Background: reversible dark blue/black
6) Heater: 200W Ebo Jager
7) Extras: 1 10G aquarium with sponge filter, tan pool sand, flake food, water conditioner

this is what it came with when I bought it.....

 

[Shooter7]

Striplight won't do you much good with a reef. That emperor filter probably won't either. I am assuming this is not a reef ready tank? If not, you might want to consider looking into getting it drilled for an overflow so you can run a sump. Many things you can read on doing this. The other option is getting an overflow like a lifereef. I'm not sure, but that heater seems like it might be a bit small for your tank. The 10 gal and supplies would be very good to set up as a quarantine tank, which I highly recommend.

Go to the New to the Hobby forum and read the stickied post titled, "Please Look Here Before Posting". There are many linked threads in there regarding starting a new tank, filtration methods, lighting, and many other things. Make sure you read those and start formulating an idea of what you want to do before you start pumping water into your new tank.

 

[chadfarmer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7971216#post7971216 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by zrs6v4
ok thanks so much for the help. I am planning on doing a fish and coral aquarium, as I said I have had my nano so I am not bad at balancing everything, but I realize that a bigger tank is a whole new ball game. here is what I have, so if you have any opinions on exactly how you'd set a fish/ reef aquarium please tell me what I need to buy? I am picking some books up here today.

i have the same tank

most corals need more light, unless you are going with mushrooms

 

[Mykayel]

yes, do your research... the newbie forum all the way at the top of Reef central is where I did the majority of my research by just reading otheres threads. A 250w MH would probably do fine over that tank for most corals. I have a 175w over a 30g with a couple of sps in my tank. I personally like the MH because of the shimmer lines that it gives you, but you also have the heat issues and you'll need a hood (most likely a custom one but htey are very easy to build if you have any wood working experience at all) to put it in.

I would suggest a sump. So if your tank isn't reef ready, it might be worth looking to see if you can take your tank back and get a reef ready on. Not that an HOB overflow is bad (I currently use one but my next tank will definately be reef ready). With a sump you can keep all your heaters, skimmer, macro algea, some extra live rock all down there and leave your display for just your corals and fish.

And then you will also want good flow, 20-30x turnover/hour or more if you want.