new reef setup. Do i have the right stuff.

chuckh

New member
hello all. here is what the local aquarium store set me up with to get my first 75 gallon reef tank up. Please me being new and all is this the proper gear? Did they add something i dont need just to make a buck? Is there something i might need.

One thing that stuck me as odd is when i bought the new tank and stand they did not include the glass top. they said i dont wanna use it. with the lights that i am getting (see below). but the people that sell light say to never use lights with out the glass cover. i asume that water will splash and ruin the lights. the lighting unit is raised off the tank though.

here is what i have.

75 gallon reef tank equipment

1)Coralife Super Skimmer Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer for 125 Gallon 500 gph.

2)Pondmaster Mag-Drive Pump PM 7 700 gph.

3)Amiracle Pre-Filter Box Set Skimmer 650gph flow rate (this is the only item i could not find information for on the internet any idea where i can read about this)

4) Visi-Therm Deluxe Heater 14" 300watt 55 - 100 Gallons

5) Maxi-Jet Powerhead/Pump SAID I NEED 3 OF THESE

6) Aragamax Sand 2 bags 60 lbs

7) Coral life Turbo-Twist UV Sterilizers

8) Oceanic Natural Sea Salt Mix 200 gallon mix

9) Fiji Live Rock said 77 lbs

10) Coralife 48" AquaLight Pro HQI(is this a good light?)
(48", 492 watt, 2-150 watt HQI, 2-96 watt, 3 Lunar Lights, Base=34" Square Pin)

i am going to buy most of the stuff on line. because i was researching the stuff and i will save well over $700 from the price the local dealer quoted me.

So did they or i leave anything out. should i get something different. i am in no hurry at all to get the tank up and running. i want this to be fun for myself and my family. i want to make sure it goes well to.

i plan on having mostly corals and inverts in the tank and maybe 10-12 fish. so if i need anything different to support the setup i wish to have please let me know.

i have enjoyed reading and doing the research on the stuff i am going to buy and i am understading it more and more. i cant wait to get going.
 
Welcome to Reef Central! :)

If you haven't bought the tank already, I would save yourself some headache and get a reef ready, pre-drilled, tank. The tank will cost a little more, but it will remove the need for the pre-skimmer and overflow box.

The only thing I am not sure about is the UV sterilizer. I am not sure that is a necessary piece of equipment as I have never used one.

Other than that, your setup is going to be almost exactly like mine. I added a home made refugium and am running the 3 Maxijet 1200's on a Red Sea Wavemaster Pro.

You can see my setup here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=818344

The light set is awesome and I am running mine over open top. I have a good picture of it set inside a canopy on the above thread.

I hope this is helpful and I am sure others will jump in too!
 
Sounds like a pretty good start. If it were my tank, I'd make a couple small changes though...


Two small heaters are better than one large heater. Try two 150w heaters instead. Reason: If one heater stops working, you'll still have heat. If one heater gets stuck 'ON' , then it will take longer to overheat the tank. Hopefully you'll notice these problems before they are BIG problems.

Personally, I prefer bare bottom tanks, so I would skip the sand. This is just my opinion, and there are many advocates for each method here on RC.

UV sterilizers aren't really nessisary. Some folks use them, but most, I think, don't.

I would also avoid Oceanic salt like the plague. I've heard too many horror stories associated with it. Instant Ocean and Reef Crystals are both my favorites.

You didn't mention a sump. I assume you know that you'll need one. Make it yourself!

Good luck.
 
thank you both.

Fred as for the Sump. i believe they included one on the order. but all i could make out of it were the first 3 letters of every word like. aqu. li. aquarium system or somethign like that . it was around 20 dollars. im not sure if that was it.

i was reading else where about using 2 heaters and i had planed on making that change.

As for the pre-skimmer and overflow box. i asume those hang on the back of the tank? do they or can i make them go under the tank out of view.

i would rather not have anything big and bulky hanging on my tank as it will probably be in my living room.
 
"here is what i have.

75 gallon reef tank equipment

1)Coralife Super Skimmer Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer for 125 Gallon 500 gph.

2)Pondmaster Mag-Drive Pump PM 7 700 gph.

3)Amiracle Pre-Filter Box Set Skimmer 650gph flow rate (this is the only item i could not find information for on the internet any idea where i can read about this)

4) Visi-Therm Deluxe Heater 14" 300watt 55 - 100 Gallons

5) Maxi-Jet Powerhead/Pump SAID I NEED 3 OF THESE

6) Aragamax Sand 2 bags 60 lbs

7) Coral life Turbo-Twist UV Sterilizers

8) Oceanic Natural Sea Salt Mix 200 gallon mix

9) Fiji Live Rock said 77 lbs

10) Coralife 48" AquaLight Pro HQI(is this a good light?)
(48", 492 watt, 2-150 watt HQI, 2-96 watt, 3 Lunar Lights, Base=34" Square Pin)"

sounds like a good start. here are some things i would change and add though. as said i would go with a reef ready tank rather than an HOB overflow.
items 1 and 2 are good choices.
item 3 don't need if you get a reef ready tank then just make a sump out of a 30 gal. tank.
item 4 i would go with 2 150 watt heaters due to the reasons above
item 5 and 6 are good choices
item 7 not really needed IMO
item 8 i have heard bad things about that salt i would go with reef crystals or instant ocean salt mixes
item 9 good choice may want to go with 100lbs
item 10 good choice and don't need glass tops for them

items i would add are:
refractometer
test kits (salifert) IMO
20 gal. QT tank with small heater and and HOB filter
 
I think the aqu. li. aquarium system would be an aqualifter which is supposed to hekp keep air out of your overflow box.

The overflow box will hang off the back of your tank, so reef ready would definitely be the best way to go if you don't want to see all of that. This would also eliminate the need for an aqualifter.

As for the sump, you can use a smaller aquarium under the stand and make your own to save a whole lot of money. There are some great plans for sumps here: http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html
 
I agree with the Reef-Ready idea. If you'r budget allows, Reef-Ready tanks are definatly the way to go, especially for someone new to the hobby. The Amiricle overflow is a good product, but will require some attention to keep is working over the years. Reef Ready tanks are less problematic, and have a cleaner look IMO. RR tanks also allow you to place them closer to the wall, where as an overflow box hangs on the back, and needs 6-8" clearence.

As for a sump, you can make one yourself. Here's what to do:

After the tank arrives, and is set in place on the stand (no water yet), buy the largest glass tank you can get that will fit under the stand. Keep in mind the center brace of the stand. You want to be able to remove the sump from the stand while the tank is up and running. As for myself, if my sump needs to be replaced, I'll need to tear down my tank in order to remove the sump from the top. I'm just hoping that this error in judgement doesn't come back to bite me.

Cheap sump tanks can be bought from PetSmart for under $100. Once you have the sump tank, look at Melev's site for info on installing partitions, etc. Here's his link:

http://www.melevsreef.com/
 
i dont knwo if they can or will order me a reef ready tank. im sure they will. i just put down 100 dollars on the tank and stand. i figure i would use the 90 day hold policy they have to buy the other stuff i need so i dotn get the tank home and get all excited and rush into it out of excitement and screw everything up
 
all glass i believe. we only have 2 aquarium dealers here in erie. i go to both. the one i got my tank at sells glass. the other deals in mostly salt tanks and thats where i will buy live stock from. they only sell glass in the show room as well though.

im sure i can go get my money back or see if they can get me what i need.

like i stated in my first post though i dont plan on buying my equipment from them as im saving a heck of alot of money buying on line.

i do live between cleveland oh, buffalo ny, and pittsburgh pa. i wouldnt mind driving the 2 hrs to one if not all of the places if anyone knows of a good store in one.
 
All Glass, AGA, is a tank manufacturer, not the type. Ask the LFS you made a deposit with if they can get you an AGA Megaflow or an Oceanic or Perfecto pre-drilled tank.

They should be able to find one for you from one of their suppliers.
 
RO/DI unit. Maybe the most important? I see you have salt listed, so I assume you'll be making your own water.

eee
 
Good point, smleee! An RO/DI set up is almost mandatory. If your planning on having corals and inverts, it's a must-have, unless you buy RO/DI water locally.
 
yeah i agree and i can't beleive i didn't think of it as i just bought my 2nd rodi filter 2 weeks ago:p but yes it is a must IMO
 
RO/DI unit is that the reverse output unit that takes the bad stuff out of the tap water correct? i will be making my own water yes. if i need one of those then i will add to my list.

i just got back from both local fish stores.

the store where i ordered my tank from does not have any instock the use perfecto. the salesman placed a call to the someone and they will call him back later with a price. for the record my 75 gallon non reef was $168 bucks. he told me it might be $100 dollars more to get a reef ready.

prior to going there i went to the LFS that deal alot with salt. they had a perfecto 90 gallon pre drilled reef ready for $299 in stock.

so i told the my sales man at my place of purchase that if he was going to charge me 268 for a 75 gallon perfecto reef ready and i can get a 90 gallon for 22 dollars more. then i would like my deposit back.

So now i need to call him back at 7:00 tonight and he should have a price for me. im guessing i should not pay more then $250 for the 75 gallon reef ready. what do you think.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7150442#post7150442 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chuckh
RO/DI unit is that the reverse output unit that takes the bad stuff out of the tap water correct? i will be making my own water yes. if i need one of those then i will add to my list.

Yes, you will need one, reverse osmosis unit. Some key things to remember when choosing an RO/DI unit for aquarium use:

1. Make sure and get a genuine DOW FilmTec membrane. These are the best performing membranes available. Some sellers make other claims, but are flat out lying. Some also sell cheap knock-offs of it and some just use the DOW material.

2. Full size vertical DI canisters. Hollow horizontal DI tubes are not as affective even when mounted vertically and/or packed tightly with resin.

3. Customer service.

eee
 
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