few questions from new guy!!

[shemp22]

I have a 125gal long with no experience in saltwater but have been reading alot and kept african cichlids for years. Now Ive decided to take the plunge and and i have a few questions about the setup of my tank. Anyone that could help me out would be big help! Im still in the planning stage with hopes of having everything ready to go within the next to weeks. First I've decided to go with a trickle filter, I've been looking at the aqua clear pro-series 150 with the built in skimmer. Does anyone know about this filter or have one? Will it be the only filtration I'll need? It says it has a max flow of 600gph. Im gonna start out with a FOWLR tank and probably later on get a few corals And I don't want to have to upgrade anything. the lighting Im looking at is the Satellite PowerCompact. I think I need two 36" right? They have 1 96w sunpaq and 1 lunar light each. Will this be enough lighting for what I want? Almost done .......Also, which would be better reef sand or the sugar sand? How much of the dry base rock should I start with and can I add that as soon as I fill up the tank? Im still undecided on the salt although everyone seems to lean toward Instant ocean. Thanks in advance for any input!

 

[shemp22]

One more thing...all the things I listed are from pet solutions in case you needed to take a peak...

 

[electrikat]

If you don't want to upgrade lighting later here are a few questions. How long is your tank? You will need a total of 3 to 5 wpg or more for corals with 3 being minimum. This means you need 375w to 625w. The ones you are talking about are only 96w apeice and only 36" long. Surely your tank is not 125g at 36" long. You need full coverage of the length and a total wattage as stated above. You will want appx 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of rock per gallon of water(this is the optimum amount for good bio filtration). Yes add it at the start if possible. Instant ocean, coralife, kent and red sea are all good salt, but I use coralife because it is readily available here. The sand is a matter of choice. If you are going to get live rock get it first because it can cycle your tank and save you the trouble of using shrimp or live fish. Here's some food for thought. If you have 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of live rock and an excellent protein skimmer, you do not need the trickle filter or any other kind of filter. The sand, live rock, and the skimmer act as all the filtration you need.

 

[shemp22]

Thanks for the feedback! About the lights I meant two seprate lights at 36" one on each side of the tank this would make the tank 72" sorry for my lame writing So I wouldn't need any sort of mechanical filtration?

 

[electrikat]

Just the skimmer, but you have to have the recommended amount of rock. So you need to be looking for 72" lights in the above mentioned wattages. You will probably have to have more than one to get the wattages up, but you can always start with one and add more when and as you get into the corals.

 

[steve-s]

Before you decide on the lighting, get a better understanding for the types of corals you may wish to keep later on. It's an exspensive undertaking so something you really only want to pay for once. If primarily soft and/or LPS corals for that tank size I would suggest a VHO set up instead of PC's. 4x165w bulbs would give you what you need plus have less bulbs to change = less repetitive costs. If SPS/clams are to your liking, a 3x250w + actinic supplimentation would be a better choice, even 3x400w if it's in the budget.

Cheers
Steve