whats next?

[cowdust9]

so i just got a 210 gal tank and a great skimmer, sump, and reflectors. i already know that i will have to get new lights and all that but what else do i need? what do i need to run a bare bottom tank well?

 

[PotRoast]

You are going to need MEGA FLOW BRO!

Seriously, I have a 240 bb and I have three vortechs, and overflows. The system moves 12000 gph which is 50x.

Things are going good, but truthfully I could use another 12000 gph.

 

[Double-J]

yeah 50 -150 x flow would be what you need! flow and big skimmer are the key to running a proper BB setup.

Also you will need a piece of cutting board to put on the bottom of the tank, try cuttingboards.com for it, they can custom cut you a piece, you will just have to router around the overflow.

a bigger cleaning magnet that will work on >1/2" glass

 

[cowdust9]

ok so alot fo flow and cutting board, and i got a octopus 200 skimmer and a 75 gal sump, i know i will need 400w mh or thats what i want. im betting around 3 will be ok, whats next?

 

[PotRoast]

1 (400w) won't be near enough.

If you go MH I would go (250w) minimum (x 4) across the top. Some would even say (400w) min (x3) across the top.

That being said I went with t-5 ho.
Icecap 660 ballasts x4
16 x (54w) bulbs.
(all tucked under my canopy...not that you care!)

 

[PotRoast]

you might consider keeping extra live rock in a tub instead of in your tank.

That way you can get better flow going in your tank.

also I just noticed you are already planning for 3x 400w mh. sorry.

 

[cowdust9]

i also have a 55 gal that i could use towards the main tank im sure there is something that i could use it for?

 

[ipiniowa]

You have the cutting board to Johnny. It's in the bottom of the tank already.

 

[cowdust9]

sweet that saves me 170 bucks nice

 

[johnike]

Why be sorry about 3-400 watters? I love my 3 Hamilton 14K pendants. No supplemental lighting needed, everything is thriving.

 

[Double-J]

MH>T5's IMO

3x 400watts would be awesome, but you are definitely going to need a chiller if they are going in a canopy, You need to keep the temp swing down.

 

[cowdust9]

oh im just going to hang them above the tank

 

[PotRoast]

I'm not sorry about his choice of lamps. (He can do whatever he wants)

I was sorry I was spewing off about only having one lamp when he clearly stated he was getting more than one lamp. My error, and I was/am sorry.

 

[cowdust9]

so does 10k look bad?

 

[johnike]

I tried the hamilton 10K, and it was very yellowish. Went back to the 14's. John

 

[cowdust9]

yeah i do 20's now has anyone tryed to have a mix of them like if im doing 3 could i have like two 20's and one 10 or something like that?

 

[tibbs2]

Well, you could always add in extra stuff, like a phosban reactor or an algae scrubber, but those I believe are purely optional.


I don't think T5s are so bad. Check out this TOTM with all T5 lighting:

 

[slovan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13545524#post13545524 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cowdust9
yeah i do 20's now has anyone tryed to have a mix of them like if im doing 3 could i have like two 20's and one 10 or something like that?

Your tank will look really weird with a 20K and 10K next to each other. Excuse the mess but you can see the difference between a 20K bulb on the left and a 14K bulb on the right. There's a drastic difference and I'm not sure you would want that in your tank.

 

[slovan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13582919#post13582919 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tibbs2
I don't think T5s are so bad. Check out this TOTM with all T5 lighting:

T5's aren't that bad but there's a lot more than lighting to achieve those colors. Good husbandry and stable parameters can go a long ways. Not to mention all the additives he uses.

"The corals are fed once or twice a week at night, dispensing well-mixed lobster eggs with vitamins and omega-3 acids, interchangeably with Prodibio’s Reefbooster superior coral food. Daily dosing of amino acids and coralvitalizer (Korallenzucht) keeps the SPS color stable and pleasant to the eye. From time to time I use the dosing pumps to supply Grotech ABC Elements set. Recently I’ve been experimenting, and getting good results, with Zeospur2 (Korallenzucht) and iodine supplements, including those made by myself in my drugstore.

It’s worth mentioning that I use a Prodibio bacteria+bacteria food set. Regular dosing of these supplements significantly raises the filtering ability of the whole system. The bacteria diminish (or consume) nitrate and phosphate in a natural way, much like Zeovit does."

 

[tibbs2]

I'd agree with you. I think most of those bottled additives are snake oil. It's all about good lighting and good water quality.