Newbie in Indy - looking for setup help

[Crutch77]

Hello! I've done a fair amount of reading, but I'm brand new to the hobby. I've got a 125 gallon tank acquired from craigslist, an RO/DI system due to arrive any day, a used protein skimmer, and not much else

I'd like to get water in my tank ASAP with a sandbed and liverock. I'll be visiting Premium Aquatics this Saturday looking for what I'll need. Are there any veterans out there who would be willing to help a new guy out and donate some livesand, liverock, or unneeded powerheads?

I also have a lighting rig that's serious overkill for me right now that I'd be willing to sell/trade. It's a 72" fixture with three metal halides and two fluorescents. If anyone is interested I'll try to come up with detailed specs this evening.

What have I gotten myself into??

 

[TRANSMATT]

You should hit up the frag swap.

I know last year people brought all sorts of pump and misc equipment.

As far as your light how many watts are the halides. Because depending on what kinda corals you want. You might want to hold onto or use them.

 

[lange103]

ill trade you the halides for 4 VHO 72" with 2 ballasts. the setup is old but works great

 

[zack1a]

If you would like I could help you build a spray bar and you can skip the power while keeping your aquarium from being cluttered at the same time. If you can hold off for a bit I help you build everything from the spray bar to a foam rock wall. I am have been doing all of these projects in my own aquarium and have alot of left over components.

Let me know if you are intested.

Oh, yeah keep your lighting!!! It may seem over kill now but if you wait a bit you will probably end up buying the same thing you have now.

 

[Crutch77]

Zack, I'm definitely interested. I'm not sure yet what a spray bar and foam rock wall are, but I'm interested! What side of town do you live on? I live near Brookville and Frankin (about 10 minutes from Premium Aquatics).

 

[Crutch77]

OK, I've educated myself a bit. Both of those sound like great ideas. The foam rock wall also sounds like a huge money saver. What are the downsides?

 

[clevengergl]

There are really no downsides that I've heard of regarding the rockwall except that some people prefer a more "open" concept of small islands and atolls for their aquascape. The foam concept can also be used with those designs and can act as a filler to significantly minimize the amount of real live rock needed for a decent sized aquascape. You just secure your LR on a PVC/eggcrate frame in the design you want, spray in the foam, trim the foam to shape after it's expanded, brush on epoxy and then cover it with crushed coral/rubble. Looks pretty natural!!! Only downside with that is that it can limit the number of natural caverns/tunnels that our more skiddish fishies like so much. Also, it won't already be populated with as much of the beneficial bacteria that comes with an all-LR structure at first, so it may take a bit longer to build that up.

 

[TRANSMATT]

Hey my buddy billy is at franklin and rawles. Maybe we could stop bye and se what you are working with

 

[TRANSMATT]

I forgot to mention maybe you could see his set up. I also believe he still has lots of left over equipment and misc stuff

 

[Crutch77]

Excellent! I have tomorrow off, and I'll be home pretty much all day Friday through Sunday. I'm planning on a trip to Premium Aquatics tomorrow or Saturday.

Email me and we can set something up: crutch77@gmail.com

 

[TRANSMATT]

I talked to billy and sent you an email with his # give him a call.

 

[zack1a]

Crutch77 PM sent

 

[Crutch77]

Matt and Zack, thanks. I'll be in touch soon.

After doing taxes and seeing the damage, I'm going to have to slow down for a bit