New to Marine

[rawhideshaba]

Ok starting a 120 reef tank and its my first time in the saltwater game. Plenty of freshwater experience and actually half of the equipment already.

So i want to do a MM refugium in the sump and a dsb in the dt. I know there is controvery on all ends of dsb vs shallow and MM vs both, so i figure why not do both dsb and MM. I want stability more than anything. I have 40 breeder sump or a georeef su36r sump to choose from. I believe i will use my su36r since it has all my probe holders and all of the goodies for saltwater. But that will limit my MM and chaeto room. I will be buying dry sand and getting some live from a buddy to start it. What grain size sand is best for a dsb?

I will have live rock in the display tank but i doubt i will have much in the sump so that i can maximize the room for chaeto and a small skimmer.

And should i get a detrivore kit off the internet? I will not be getting any gobies or sand sifters for this tank.

Going to run the led/t5 hybrid setup off BRS with 2 x ai prime hd's. But i am worried about all of the comments about the primes "disco effect" so will the t5 combo cut some/all of that effect out?

I want this light setup so that i can go with the corals that are more "light demanding" but i do not have a clue what type of corals i want. So with that combo i can turn the lights up or down as needed. Since SPS is the higher light demanding option is it also harder to take care of? ie: more feedings needed and all of that?

Of course i want fish but i also want the reef to be my primary concern so i will be learning and setting up my reef and basing the fish i choose on what works with my chosen coral.

Im not seeing much info on the mechanical filtration on the net though. Are filter socks the only mechanical filtration needed in saltwater? Should i run a wet/dry (tanks already setup this way) over some poly fill or go ahead and just run through filter socks?

Also the sump has a reactor chamber so with this setup would i want gfo or phosban in the thing? I truly dont know the difference.

How much calcium and akalinity needs dosed? I have a dosing pump that i have never used but i have no clue when to dose and what to dose.

Everything i read online fights something else i read online so i figure i will try my hand at this setup to begin and figure it out from there.

Background on equipment.
120 gallon 48" X 24" X 24" glass aquarium
2 X 2" drilled baffels. (Thinking of using 2 X H2 overflows since no weir setup) canopy on tank and side canopy blocking view of all piping.

Maxspect Gyre 250 X 2 , Vectra M1 pump, 1 lockline in each top corner of tank from return, 2 uv sterilizers to choose from or avoid. Jebao 55watt huge monster or 24watt green machine(not sure if these are good for marine tank or not) some small mp10 powerhead as well as a maxijet 1200. Apex, ph probe,temp, ato, and purchasing an RO system of course too.

I think im all set for flowrates and such but who knows. So please fill me in on whatever information i am missing here. I will be letting this thing cycle for a few months once i have it setup with the sand and all.

Any help is duely appreciated.

Pic of the tank below just empty and ready to roll.

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[thegrun]

Hello Raw, welcome to Reef Central and the world of saltwater aquariums! You will get more and better answers if you break your post down into multiple posts with one or two questions. When you ask several questions in a single post few viewers have the expertise or time to go through all of them and will just pass on answering any of your questions.
That said here are a few of my observations/opinions:
If you are going to use a DSB, use a fine grained sand with a larger grain 1"-2" top layer to prevent the sand from blowing around as much.

You are going to need a clean up crew, but i would start off with a small one and add to it as the need dictates.

You shouldn't see too much of a disco effect with the Prime, all the LEDs are clumped together on a single puck so even without the T5s there will be very little color showing. I do worry however that you may not have enough light for the most light demanding corals with only two Primes on a 120 gallon tank. For comparison purposes I run three AI Hydra 52's with and additional two T5 lights over my 120 gallon system. Granted my lights are only running at 70% on the outside two lights and 50% on the middle light, but that is still a lot more light than you will be able to get from just two AI Primes.

SPS corals are usually more difficult to care for since most require lower nitrates and phosphates than other corals, need more stable water parameters (calcium, alkalinity and salinity) than most other corals and generally need more light.

Rocks will provide the majority of your biological filtration, you can use filter socks if you want but use them if you are willing to change them out every 3-4 days. If you can't maintain them at that frequency you are better off not using them at all, as they will lead to higher nitrates. Many very successful tanks do not use any mechanical filtration at all. I still like to use them as they remove nutrition before it breaks down into nitrates and to a lesser degree phosphates, but I'm willing to spend the time changing them out three times a week.

GFO removes phosphates, something that you will likely not have an issue with initially, but it is frequently used in reef tanks. Carbon is used to remove toxins with can be an issue particularly in a mixed reef tank as many corals use forms of chemical warfare to stun surrounding corals in their effort to dominate a reef. These toxins can build up to problematic levels in our enclosed systems.

 

[rawhideshaba]

Ok that makes sense. I will break it down and post in the right sections then. On bulk reef supply they had a video on this t5/led combo that seemed like I would have about 230 par at 18" depth with that light combo. I may have to dish out the extra cash for another prime or switch to the radeons. ( i like the radeons) but that initial price plus the rest of the setup hurt a bit.

Seeme like i will be starting with some soft coral anyway since they are a little easier for begginers wuth the photosynthesis part being half of their nutrition.

So sugar sand bottom and heavier sand top? I want a quality dsb so is that ok to do or would that interfere with the natural layers of oxygen depletion that occurs in the sand?

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[rawhideshaba]

Heres the light combo

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