Possible new setup... looking for insight (Please?) :P

L

Laz A

In Memoriam
As some of you guys might have read on some of my other posts, Im completely new to he hobby and dont even have a tank yet. Doing my research on equipment and trying to plan out a tank for myself. Ive been getting tons of feedback from RacerMike27, he definately knows his stuff hehe. But I figured getting feedback from others would help too.

Protein Skimmer: a Euro-Reef RS180 or the MRC MR2 (so i have upgrade room for later)

Pump to skimmer: Quietone or Mag (know how many gph I should be looking to have)

Return pump: Mag or Quietone (don’t know how many gph I should be looking to have, don’t know how that’s gaged, Id appreciate it if youd let me in on that hehe)

30g sump |skimmer -> return <- cheato|
(was thinking of putting a drain in the sump for easy water changes and to keep all that I don’t have to disrupt the tank that much,
I chose to use cheato instead of wet/dry to keep the nitrate down since I want my tank to look like a coral garden… wanna have the best parameters possible so the coral can thrive)

Powerheads: 2 Seios 1100s?

Lighting: Icecap 660 (4 lamps, not sure how many of which bulbs would be best)
Icecap 250w MH

Will also get a calcium reactor but will hold off on that too since its pretty pricey, and I wanna get the hang of keeping my basic parameters before going into one. Right now Id rather spend some cash on a good reliable skimmer and lighting.
Lemme know what you guys think (remember I pretty much know nothing and any criticism would help :P)

-Laz
 
Opps... Im looking at either a 65g, or if I can find one at a good price an 85g tall (no room for a huge tank at home)
 
Welcome to the world of Reefing and money spending.
BTW if you decide to get the 65g for sure, then you could have a stand I have for a 65g tank for free. Just come get it....asap
No canopy but, but you could get a fixture to go on top of the tank.
LMK what you think...

Mel
 
Hey Laz like mentione above remember to check out the info on myreefcreations.com It will have some info to help you with pump selection for the skimmer. If you have the space there opt for an external pump with high pressure like the GEN-X pcx55 or something. Only thing is you will have to drill the sump for the pump feed, not hard though I have the bits if you need.

Als for the lighting try to decide what you definitely want to keep in the tank. 4 VHO plus halides are hard to cram inside the canopy.

Also keep in mind that the MR-2 skimmer is very big. So this won't fit under the stand. My stand is 40" tall and I can't fit mine under there LOL. It can fit but it would be a pain to service.

-Mike-
 
Thanks alot for the input guys... any other suggestions on what I can do better? I actually saw a retrofit kit on the hamilton site thats 2 250w MH with 2 96w florescent...

any other suggestions? theyed really help!

Reddawg... thanks alot for offering that stand! I will try and take some measurements for placement at home asap and let you know... prolly by this weekend.

Thanks again guys,
-Laz
 
Hey Laz if you can let me know....
Probably by Wednesday or Thursday I will dump the stand, as I have no use for it at all and it is in the area for the Christmas Tree. Wife wants the tree up on Friday or Sat.
 
joecool is selling a really nice 65. don't know the price, but it had a skimmer, pumps, closed loop, oceans motions, 6 bulb t5 light, stand, rock, and some corals. I would look for that thread as it's probably a good deal for what he's got! good luck! p.s. I would say get the biggest tank you could afford because I can almost bet money that if you like the hobby within a year you'll be upgrading the tank! it's just how this hobby works!
 
Totally agree with you on that one about upgrading LOL.
Laz I would check out the what JoeCool has for sure. That maybe be the deal you are looking for. Send him a pm and ask what he has left.
 
Lots of nice feedback here but I haven't seen what you plan on keeping "IN" the tank.

Determining what you want to keep will determine "what type of lighting you will need", "what type of flow you will need", etc. etc.

So what do you want out of this tank would be my first question?
 
Well i want this tank to be mostly coral, will include sps but only once I feel I can handle hardier corals with no prob (dont want the more fragile corals dying on me). For now Ill probably get hammers, brains, gsp, zoos) Im going for a marine garden kind of look with maybe 6-8 fish in it total... 1 larger fish 3-5" (maybe a yellow bellied blue tang or a yellow tang), and the rest smaller ones (like wrasse, clowns, mandarin gobie etc.).
I know i will need pretty heavy flow and lighting.

-Laz
 
Laz, sorry for not responding to your PM earlier, I've just been doing school work while at home since I got up at 1pm today.....

I wouldn't do the MRC, as it's external and needs a pressure rated pump, adding electricity usage and heat to the tank. My vote goes to the RS180.

For the return I would go for the Eheims. They're nice and quiet and cool.

As far as powerheads, I've got 2 Seio 1100s, and I'm very happy with them. I also got a Korallia 4, and it gives wider flow that I can point at corals. The seios I have pointing at the glass to bounce back to the corals.

DO NOT USE PC FOR ACTINIC IF YOU CAN AVOID IT. I know that seems a bit rash of a reaction, but I'm almost 100% positive that VHO or T5 will better color up the tank and be just as expensive as PCs. Even if they cost more, they're so much more worth it IMO. I had this discussion with some reefers last night, and it was agreed upon.

Definitely chill on the calcium reactor for a while.

PATIENCE AND STABILITY. Follow those for the first 6 months while the tank is settling. Once the tank is stable, coralline starts growing, other algaes start to recede, then you can start slowly piling in the livestock. Once the tank is slowly and comfortably growing, you can ramp up production with daily dosings of 2-part. If you like where you're going and want more, only then can you jump to a calcium reactor.

Good luck, and if you'd like to see a demo setup, you're always welcome to stop by my place... I'm home all break.
 
Oh and do yourself a favor and don't put GSP or zoos in your tank. If you do, make sure they're small growing zoos. Still NO GSP, mushrooms, palys, etc. They'll take over the tank before you've got a handle on them.
 
rics are okay, because they're usually slow growers, but I've got my Riccordia Yumas on their own rock, and they've absolutely covered it in the last year or so.
 
which corals would thrive without having a reactor? I wanna get the basics of water chem before i bother with onea those and kill the whole tank lol. I know SPSes are outta the question... is everything else ok?
 
Anything but SPS will thrive without a reactor, and to a large degree, I've had montiporas thrive without reactors.

Keep in mind that MOST reefers do not have calcium reactors.

I'd say anything but SPS will thrive given that all other parameters are in check.
 
Depending on your goals and $, I would suggest looking at the ocean runner pumps. I have a 2500 as a return and a 6500 as a CL.

As far as needing a reactor, I agree with Erik, you do not need a reactor yet. I am dosing two part after only using Kalk, and my acro's are finally taking off. I started using a dosing pump, this combined with Kalk in my ATO I am finally getting stable Alk (4.0) and calc 450.

Btw, I think you forgot an ATO, I feel that this is one of the fundamental pieces of equipment needed. In my old tank I had underpowered lights. Sps would not grow and were barely hanging on, never mind coloring up. As soon as I add the ATO to keep the salinity stable I started seeing growth and color started returning to monti's. You can setup an ATO for around $60. IMO $ for $ this is one of the best investments.

Once again, I am not as experience as some of the people out there, but I thought I would help.
 
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