So... New tank...

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Will be slow going. Need to decide fowlr or reef still and a lot I need to het before I mess with it all.
 
Yea they only asked 100 to move it. So I'm all ok with that so I don't break it in the move. Lol
 
The fun part is going to be figuring out how everything work. So many wires. Going to be fun.
 
So the new tank will be here tomorrow. Question. Right now it has 3 150w MH. And 4 90w something can't remember what he said the were. But each one looks like 2 bulbs if that helps. Was wondering how much of a dent this will make in my electric bill. Yea funny I think about that now. And if it would be worth me waiting a little longer on setting it up to upgrade to LEDs.

When I looked up the LEDs they all seem to be 150w and I would need 3 of them I figured plus some t5 as well. So wouldn't that all just be the same watts. Again. Just reading up on stuff have no real clue about the math of it all. And will want some SPS coral as well.

And how much live rock and sand should I plan on doing. Hear a lot of people saying thick Sand beds r great. How this is great and how thick is to much.

Was thinking of doing 4 good power heads will that be enough of a flow or do I need more. And what r sone good ones.

Hmmm. What else can I add to my 20 question list. Lol sorry bout all the questions.
 
Add up the total watts and look at your last electric bill. It should show what you pay per kilowatt hour. LEDs are about 3:1 in electric efficiency compared to MH. Not sure the ratio to florescent technology. MH grows SPS very well, but as I have posted, it has some serious drawbacks as well. Many people have tremendous luck with T5 and MH mixed. At the end of the day, if you have enough of the right kind of LEDs, you can grow most everything and not run a chiller. They will reduce your power bill by a considerable amount. But there are a lot of lousy LED fixtures out there, so do your research, or start with what you have and see how it works for you.
 
We are talking about a 210g right?

I would think for the sort term the 150 mh will do ok but you will want to explore better lighting options. The 150mh will only penetrate the water so much. 250's would have been better. lol

But if you wanted t5's i would suggest at least a 12 bulb system to give you better coverage adn withindividual reflectors to get the most out of the lights.

As far as LED's, can't be much help there. people have ALOT of opinions and I havent sorted them all out yet.

For sand I used 250lbs of pool filter sand that cost about $4 for 50lbs and that gave my 125g a 5-6 inch sandbed. For you I would go to at least 300lbs of sand.
For rock I would want about 1.5 to 2.0 lbs per gallon, so youre looking at minimum 250 lbs of rock. I'd buy 250 lbs of base rock for about 2.5 a lb and then add about 50 klbs of live rock or maybe a bit less.

Hope that answered some of your questions.
 
Yes it is for the 210. Yea was kinda let down when he said only 150. The tank is 24in deep and I figured with the lighting I have if I keep the SPS around 12in or less deep should still be good. And was figuring about 300lb of and and 300-350 of rock. So looks like I was on track with that. So yea it answered a lot. Still have a million stuff running in my head. Trying to get it all straight before I ask to much and get overloaded with answers. Lol.
 
Did like the 60'' sol super blue 5x model. But for 2765.00 kinda set me back a bit. Being how much sand and rock will be

And with getting base rock with some lr. Will that cause problems in the setting up and not be as good if I did all live? Kinda curios how that part of it works pros and cons.
 
The base rock will be seeded by the live rock and become live after a few weeks. After a month or so you wont be able to tell the difference. I have about 100lbs of base rock in my tank now and cant tell what is what anymore. LOL

You could also cycle your tank with all base rock if you wanted, would just need an ammonia source like a dead shrimp or pure ammonia.
 
She's right, I have done that with several display reefs. You just need to tack on a few extra weeks for the biology to take hold. That is what the guys that culture the rock do anyway.
 
Ok. So if I got 250 base and only 50 live then it would only take a few weeks. Some were I was told it takes like a yr to become live. (prob Lfs trying to sell me live) were can I get just base rock at?
 
That rock looks nice. Just what I wanted. Now when it comes to stacking. I have Hurd about 3 ways people do it.

1. Just plain old stack.

2. Drilling holes and using PVC pipe to make the structure in the shapes u want.

3. Building a structure and using zip ties to attatch rocks. I went to the Dallas aquarium the other day and saw a lot of there stuff set up like this. And gave me some very cool ideas for mine.

Not sure what the good and bad to each is. The stacking scares me on this size ad cost of tank. That if i mess it up and it all falls down then breaks something. The zip tie one as well with the zip ties maybe breaking over time.

Ty for the link. Will be saving it so when I start this build I can get good rock. Love the big holes all through it.
 
I stacked ,my rock very very carefully. Its best to put in first then add the sand so no sand diggers can dislodge your masterpiece. LOL

I wasnt up for drilling holes and zip ties, too much effort and I'm alwasy changing my rock around so I like that I can change it up when I want.
 
carey said:
I stacked ,my rock very very carefully. Its best to put in first then add the sand so no sand diggers can dislodge your masterpiece. LOL

I wasnt up for drilling holes and zip ties, too much effort and I'm alwasy changing my rock around so I like that I can change it up when I want.
Click to expand...

Same with me, started with the big rocks on the bottom in direct contact. Built up from there. I didn't want zip ties showing. To make big rock overhangs, you can use marine cement, or the pin method. I was too lazy to do that and my first guess for the coral placement always ended up getting changed.
 
Omg. What did I get myself into....
 

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Looks like fun to me...get your credit card ready. That picture represents about 1/2 the total costs associated with stocking a reef. At least you can do it slowly. Congrats!
 
Yea. And at least it has the sump. Skimmer. Lights. And looks like 3 power heads. Will be posting more pics when I get everything out.
 
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