Equipment???

[weiman1983]

I just got my 120 gallon aquarium. I'm planning on doing a reef tank with an external sump. Since my local dealer is currently renovating his store it is very difficult to get equipment here within a reasonable time. Does anybody have any recommendations on what equipment to get? (ie. sump pump, lighting, heaters, protein skimmers...) How about online suppliers? I imagine if I can shop around online I might get better pricing.

 

[Jason M]

Always check the price on amazon. I like global filters ($100 cheaper on amazon then anywhere else) and reef octopus protein skimmers. Get a 30 gallon tank or so for the sump and put acralic from home drop as ur sump wall dividers.

 

[Jason M]

Aqeon heater is what u have and ehiem pumps are good for the returns

 

[weiman1983]

Thanks for the help. I just found out the sump I ordered is another 4 weeks away so it doesn't look like I'll be getting started anytime soon. Maybe in the meantime I can shop around for my equipment online.

 

[wapparia]

Check eBay aswel. Gumtree can also sometimes be good but hard to ever find anything. I bought my sump material from ebay because couldnt find it anywhere in lfs

 

[weiman1983]

Will do. Another question, for a 120 gallon tank, what size pump, and skimmer should I look for? I've read that your water should cycle every hour. Is that right? There will be about 4' of head and probably 1 elbow.

 

[Jason M]

U know what I am not really sure. As long as the flow into the aquarium matched the flow going out u should be alright. I don't have a sump setup but hopefully someone like Mr x will answer ur question. I am thinking u should move more than what's in ur tank an hour.

 

[carey]

The return pump should be rated for more than your overflow, I put a ball valve in mine so I could fine tune the flow back to the tank. For example, my return is rated for 1200gph and my return pump is set at 1500gph. This is in a 125g tank btw.

As far as a skimmer I would get one rated for up to double your tank size, better to have more skimming than not enough. Plus the manufacturers always over rate their skimmers so thats an easy guideline to be on the safe side.

 

[Jason M]

Yeah that sounds right and the ball valve is a good idea.

 

[mr_X]

Is this tank reef ready? A quiet one 4000 would be a good pump for that size tank. The volume exchanged needs to be enough to feed the components you have in the sump- a skimmer with a 500gph pump needs at least 500 gph fed to it to be efficient.
what are the dimensions of your sump?

 

[weiman1983]

Thanks. That info helps. The tank will be reef ready soon.
The sump is about 40" long, 20" wide and 18" high. About 60 gallons.

 

[mr_X]

do you know what "reef ready" means? i'm asking if its a drilled tank or you'll be using a HOb overflow. This is important because if it's a HOB unit, it relies on siphon instead of gravity and will need to be synchronized to a pump.
you have a wide variety of skimmers to choose from. reef octopus are good skimmers, and i'm pleasantly surprised with bubble magus skimmers too.

 

[weiman1983]

Yes my tank is reef ready. It is pre-drilled and has an internal overflow.