New Member to the Large Reef Tank

[PoukieBear]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12678151#post12678151 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mcliffy2
Poukie - marco rocks are the way to go. IMO they are better than live rock, because of the hitchhiker issue I mentioned.

Great. That's one hurdle dealt with.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12678151#post12678151 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mcliffy2
I would look into using ATI Blue plus bulbs instead of actinic bulbs as a supplement, they will give you PAR to grow corals under, with the blue actinic look you want. From an efficiency standpoint, the big question is what kind of reflectors they gave you. If they are smaller DE pendants or fixtures, it really isnt enough to cover the 36" width, by themself. I'm wondering actually how 2 6-bulbs T5s + 3 MHs is going to fit? The ideal lighting IMO would be either 3x400w Lumenarc (large size) reflectors with Reeflux 12k bulbs, or a 10x80w Tek T5 retro. I'm guessing you could break even by selling the lighting you have and buying these units. Might not be necessary tho, just depends on what exactly the lighting you have is, and how it will fit.

And now you might as well be speaking Greek, because I have NO CLUE what any of that means. :lol: I'm just here to look good ! UH_OH will know what you're talking about. He'll be online later tonight.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12678151#post12678151 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mcliffy2
Also, on the stand, I do remember now that the stand seemed very short (maybe 30"?), so that will be limiting if you intend to run everything under the tank. Do you have room for an external skimmer, or better yet, a fish room behind the tank? Another thought would be making this an open top tank since the stand is so short...invincible569's tank is a very good example of this type of look:

The tank will be moved when we move to a new house. So, we'll probably look for something where we can have it in a fish room, and have ample space for all the equipment.

 

[GSMguy]

those new marineland tanks are very nice,

not having any SPS, thats criminal.

 

[UH_OH_5_OH]

Here is the protein skimmer that came with the filter....

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4392+18985&pcatid=18985


and here's the three pendant lights that were donated by Turillio Dellaquila...

http://www.omegasea.net/fixture.html

 

[Jflip2002]

I dont know much about those skimmers, but I would say its a safe bet you should upgrade that baby.

 

[UH_OH_5_OH]

I agree....I don't know however if it will be better to just add another one of the same skimmers since most of the others are too tall to fit under the stand ! I'll have to get under there and measure the height of the interior room to see what might fit under there with the least amount of difficulties !

 

[UH_OH_5_OH]

Good luck with the job situation, will this opportunity be bringing you to Chicago? [/B]

Well actually there are several job prospects that I have cast a line out for....several are in Chicago, St. Louis, Springfield and an adjacent office opening up a bit closer to where I live now.

 

[UH_OH_5_OH]

So regarding the lighting......how strong a MH light do you Big Tank guys use to reach the bottom of the tank ? This tank is 27" deep !

 

[mcliffy2]

Two of those skimmers is not the answer....Poukie mentioned you guys are planning a fish room behind the tank, so I'd take her up on this Be prepared to spend 700+ on a skimmer, it might seem like a lot, but IMO it is the area where you just can't skimp.

As for the lighting, those look like pretty nice pendants, but I don't think the three of them will cover the 36" width. What are the dimensions of the pendant? Also, did they give you ballasts? (seems weird they wouldn't with everything else) If not, I would go with a 400w bulb for your system.

Also, can you give more info on the T5s you won? Dimensions? Single reflectors? etc.

I have a feeling that unfortunately, the lighting that was included is not ideal for this system. However, on the bright side, from a wattage perspective, it seems like overkill. IMO, if you were starting from scratch the ideal setup would be 3x400w Lumenarc reflectors or 8x80 or 10x80w T5 Tek Retro (for this you'd order two 4x80 or a 4x80 and 6x80). I think its very possible you could sell what you won and purchase one of these lighting setups with the money, no additional cost (and if they didn't include ballasts/bulbs, you were going to be looking at $500 or so for these anyway). Both these system will give you the spread you need to cover the width (the lumenarcs are 19.5"x19.5", whereas I'm guessing the Omegastars are about 14x9)

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...duct_Code=ICE-T5-6X60R&Category_Code=IcecapT5

http://www.reefexotics.com/lumenarc.htm

Sorry I'm suggesting such a swap out, but the amount of planning and design required for a big tank grows exponentially, I had a 125 before my current 360g system and had no idea what I was getting into. It sounds like they threw together whatever people were willing to donate. The tank is gorgeous, but it sounds like there was very little or no thought put into the equipment. But on the bright side, its very easy to sell things via the equipment forum here, and its not like the equipment is junk, its just not best suited for your system. It will be very well suited for someone elses smaller system however, which means you should be able to sell it and not pay too much more (at least for the lighting) to get a setup that is perfect.

 

[drauka99]

mcliffy - he got 2 - 48" 5 or 6 bulb T5s (single reflector )and the 3 pendants. My thought was to keep power consumption down some but still have plenty of light so I though - 3- DE 250 MH along the back (where 90% of the corals will be) and run the 2 - T5 setups along the front of the tank overlaping in the middle for supplamental and acentic light.

I will just point out I don't really care for 400watt MH from the cost vs. reward standpoint and at 27" deep unless they want a clam on the bottom of the tank I THINK 250 woudl be enough, with the DE putting out a little more par I think he might be able to even do a clam along the back

 

[PoukieBear]

In the end, I think 400w will be overkill. That lighting set up will be ideal for someone who wants to do SPS and clams, but it will probably fry everything that I'd like to put in there.

I think the 250w will be better suited for our plans for this tank.

 

[mcliffy2]

Poukie you are right, I keep letting my SPS tendency creep in 250w will be plenty, and you should have no problem keeping SPS in the top half, if for some reason you decide to come to the dark side...

Drauka - The only concern I have with that layout is the light up front...I just don't think those reflectors are designed for a 36" spread. I think 3 250w Lumenarcs w/ 12k Reeflux, no supplementation would work very well. You don't really need those T5s with Lumenarcs. If anything I'd buy a couple single 80w T5 retros for supplementation, no need to have 600w of T5s running with the proper reflector. You could probably sell those T5s for $250-300 each, and the reflectors for about $75 each, so thats $725-825 total. I'm assuming you werent given ballasts, in which case you are on the hook for those ($350 or so) either way. So if 3 Lumenarcs cost $950, you are essentially paying nothing more to get Lumenarcs (and maybe even pocketing a little cash).

 

[PoukieBear]

I've searched and searched for a picture of the sump online, but there just isn't one ! Not even on thier website.

So, I've taken a picture of the add in a magazine. Sorry, it's the best I can do for now.

 

[mcliffy2]

That is the one I was thinking of. It would be great for an african cichlid or fish-only (no live rock) aquarium (or koi ), but is really not very ideal for a reef. can you take those two whole acrylic contraptions on top off? (so you are left with just the rectangular tank essentially?) If so, you could probably make use of this if it is 55 gallons...either as a fuge or depending on the size of the middle section, a sump to hold an internal skimmer. In the end, if you are setting up a fish room, I'd just sell it and buy a 100g rubbermaid stock tank for $75 at menards - it will better suit your needs and you'll probably make money on the deal

 

[PoukieBear]

This is a blurry pic of the tank, but it's all I've got right now.

The tank dimensions are 72" x 36" x 27"

 

[mcliffy2]

Now the tank there is nothing wrong with, its gorgeous

 

[UH_OH_5_OH]

So I was contemplating selling my 135 but in thinking about the inefficiency of that small sump that came with this system...I'm leaning more toward turning it into a sump/fuge.

I also have a 75 roughneck tub but I like the idea of having a tank to make into a sump/fuge instead maybe because it's uniform shape and having it behind and below the display in the fish room won't result in a waste of space like the curved sides of the roughneck.

 

[GSMguy]

that sump is a nitrate factory with those biowheels, keep it simple use the 135 as a traditional sump fuge. the more volume you can add to the system the better.

Uh oh you can always plumb the roughneck in to the system later for more volume or a giant Remote deep sand bed, or a big frag/ growout tank, if you have a fish room go for it.

 

[GSMguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12683281#post12683281 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by UH_OH_5_OH
I agree....I don't know however if it will be better to just add another one of the same skimmers since most of the others are too tall to fit under the stand ! I'll have to get under there and measure the height of the interior room to see what might fit under there with the least amount of difficulties !

there are lots of skimmers that are fairly short and would blow that marineland away but its a decent skimmer you should definitely put it to use in your QT system, then again if you have a big 135g sump you can fit a really big skimmer or an external in the Fish room.

 

[UH_OH_5_OH]

So does anyone have a generic schematic type layout for a fish room ?

As I haven't even located the house that I'll be moving into yet, I want to have something to go by when I'm looking at properties !

I don't want to buy a place that is nice EXCEPT for not having enough space for the fish room ! I only want to move this big monster ONCE !

 

[UH_OH_5_OH]

Anyone ?