New Tank/Setup

[riverviewmike]

I am just getting into the hobby and have done alot of research and want to set up a FOWLR tank. I am thinking around 75 to 110 gal. I am still kind of clueless on what is the best type of filtration system/equipment to get if you want to maintain a healthy reef environment. Any suggestions or advice would be most appreciated.

I am planning on setting up the tank in the next month and ordering "the package" from TBS.

 

[noahm]

Primarily you will need a good skimmer. Needlewheel types are nice. I am happy with my ASM g2 on the 125g tank. Reef Octopus are pretty good bang for your buck.

If you have the room in your stand it is nice to utilize a sump (extra tank) to put heaters, pumps etc. and possibly a refugium (place with macro algae, maybe a few rocks/sand with no fish to eat microcritters).

Finally, good flow in the DT (display tank). Powerheads work well for this. I am happy with my koralia 4's. Tunze streams, and vortechs have a nice broad flow pattern as well.

Other than the skimmer, the rest of the filtration will be taken care of with the critters, macroalgae and bacteria on the live rock/sand. No need really for a standalone filter, unless you just want a quick way to pull water through for mechanical filtration or treating with carbon.

Spend some time in the reef discussion or even the newbie forum here at RC and also Wetwebmedia.com is a great resource. There are no real concrete answers for a lot of stuff and you really have to use your judgement according to your budget and personal habits.

If you have a specific question about a product brand or something, you can usually get a quick response on the Reef Discussion forum. For TBS stuff this is the spot.

 

[riverviewmike]

Thanks for the information it is very helpful. I guess I just got confused because of all of the conflicting advice out there. Everyone has there own opinion as to what works best for them. I have gone to a couple of LFS in the Tampa area and they always tell me I need wet/dry system, bio balls, etc.... I want to keep things as simple as possible, but at the same time maintain a healthy tank that I can enjoy for many years.

 

[noahm]

Yeah, I am by no means any kind of expert, but I like would not have felt comfortable making a lot of my set up decisions if I hadn't spent wayyy too much time on RC and Wetwebmedia. I feel pretty comfortable now, but I was clueless as well a year ago. I think my wife would agree that I was AWOL for about 2 months before I started to slow down the research.

 

[NeonFish]

Getting the best Protein Skimmer really only matters if you plan on stocking your tank very heavily. Avoid anything that breaks easily. There many skimmers that had cheap parts, or are difficult to adjust. Do you care how loud the skimmer is?

 

[divemonster]

What do you mean by very heavily stocked?

 

[kilroy217]

one piece of advice that I would like to share is this: listen to what people are saying on these forums, but don't take everything as written in stone. There are a lot of people out there (especially in the newbie section here on RC) who like to give advice but really have no basis for providing that answer. In other words, take everything with a grain of salt. I have gotten a lot of great advice on these forums, but a lot of bad advice as well. Take it slow, and you'll be fine.

 

[noahm]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14643201#post14643201 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NeonFish
Getting the best Protein Skimmer really only matters if you plan on stocking your tank very heavily. Avoid anything that breaks easily. There many skimmers that had cheap parts, or are difficult to adjust. Do you care how loud the skimmer is?

Neon, Do you have a loud skimmer? If its the venturi tube, there is an easy DIY silencer. Night and day.

 

[riverviewmike]

Thanks for the great advice everyone. I am very excited about getting involved in the hobby.

 

[Too Sweet]

I too am getting ready to set up a SW tank. I am VERY intrested in doing a reef tank. Here is where I at; I have purchased a 60 gal tank w/stand, Odyssea 48" 260W Aquarium Reef Light, a wet/dry filter that works like a sump, a 180 gal. protein skimmer, I own a hydrometer already. I want to get everything that I need before I set up my tank. I have a few questions. Is a chiller necessary (I've heard to many stories...they r very expensive)? I heard a fan placed next to the tank can help keep it cool. What about heater, & wave makers? Also I was going to try build a DIY rufugium w/ plans that I found on the internet. Is there anything that I have not listed that I DIFFENATELY need.

P.S. I own a 30 gal. SW fish tank w/ a few live rock, some fish and a mantis shrimp.

 

[shadowbearwv]

I'd definitely look into about a 200 to 300 Watt Heater, I'm finding my 300 Watt is a little underpowered for my 75g.

As for wavemakers/powerheads, I like the Koralia ask around for the correct flow that people recommend they come in alot of sizes. I have 2 2's and 2 3's running on the 75g but they are getting replaced with 2 Vortech MP40W's. I saw those wavemakes at a FragFest and they are incredible. If you plan to use a wavemaker i.e., Reefkeeper Lite or other controller to create waves be aware that the Koralia can make alot of noise when starting up and shutting down, another reason I'm switching to the Vortechs.

I built my refugium for my 75g off of a design at www.melevsreef.com. If your tank isn't reef-ready you'll need an overflow box.

As for keeping the tank cool, you can use a clip on fan to blow air across the water to help with evaporation that will cool the tank. I'm going to wait and see if I need a chiller, I'm running about the same wattage as you for lights.

Other things I'm looking at getting a little later down the road. Automated top-off and maybe a kalk stirrer.

I'm totally a newb so you'll want more guidance, WetWebMedia, Melevsreef and Tampabaysaltwater are some of the sites I tend to read the most.

SB

Oh I did forget to add, read up on plumbing!

Also you can check out some pics of my tanks at Albums

 

[Too Sweet]

Thanks for your input shadow

I ordered a wet/dry filter with an overflow to accomadate that problem...I think.
Here on St. Thomas it is SO hard to find a store that will ship me any products to include livestock. There is one store here but it lacks a lot of things needed to run a SW tank.
But I am anxious to get into my hobby.