FW Advisor Needs SW Advice

[Bearfan]

The bug hit again. No, not a 5th FW tank, my 1st SW.

Here's my shopping list - debate away:

- 75 Gal reef ready tank/stand
- Wet/Dry Trickle Filter (Bio Balls Removed) with skimmer and heater
- 2 Maxijet 1200
- 80# Florida Live rock from http://www.liverocks.com
- DSB with Southdown and 40# of Live from above source (most likely - waiting on an email to see what's in their live sand)
- Custom Sealife PC with Moon-Lite 4x65

I am still open for suggestion, so suggest away.

I think this hobby is a sickness :lol

 

[Dewey]

set up

Sounds like a good set up to me. Good luck Dewey

 

[Biggen]

Welcome Aboard!!!

I, too, converted to SW a few months ago and am loving every second of it. The colors are extraordinary!! It's like going from a black and white t.v. to a big screen HDTV.

I do have a couple of things for ya...

Wet/Dry Trickle Filter (Bio Balls Removed) with skimmer and heater

Is this going to simply be a sump if you are removing the balls? I would think that you would be better off buying a cheap Rubbermaid container and use that as a sump if this is so. I got a 15 gallon from Wal-mart for around $3. They have them as large as 75 gallons as well. Just don't want to see you purchase a wet/dry if you are not going to use it as a wet dry.

80# Florida Live rock from http://www.liverocks.com
- DSB with Southdown and 40# of Live from above source (most likely - waiting on an email to see what's in their live sand)

80# is a good amount of rock for that tank. It gets you over the 1lb per gallon mark which is great.

Getting the right amount of sand was my biggest problem. I had to make two trips to the LFS. I have a 40 gallon tall and had to use about 70# of Aragamax to get the DSB depth of 4-5". The southdown is so cheap anyway that you should buy at least two 50# bags. When you lay the southdown in, build it up to around 4-6" and then lay the LS directly on top.

FYI, you could also seed the sand yourself by purchasing a detritivore kit from www.inlandaquatics.com or www.ipsf.com . It will take a little longer to seed but it may save you some money.

Custom Sealife PC with Moon-Lite 4x65

Do you know what, if any, corals you are going to keep? I would think that with that lighting you could keep just about all of the LPS corals as well as the softies and polyps. SPS would be out of the question though.

I purchased a 250w Metal Halide for my tank so that I wouldn't have to worry about if "x" animal would have enough light. I can keep just about darn near anything with that fixture. I think the lighting is really the most defining piece of equipment you will have for your tank. It sets a precedent on what you can keep.

 

[NaH2O]

Hey Bearfan, sounds good to me. My only suggestion would be to have a mixture of LR types to get the benefit of variety as far as infauna goes. Also, you can get some base rock to put in your bioball chamber just as extra filtration. There are also various infauna/detrivore packages you can order online to seed your sand with (if you can't get your hands on a scoop from a friends tank). Here is a link to one I have bookmarked for my use: >>>Inland Aquatics Detrivore Page<<<

I haven't checked out the sponsors on this site, yet, to see if they offer any types of detrivore packages.

[EDIT: Biggen beat me to the link ]

 

[fishfreek]

What is your return pump? Thats just as big a decision sometimes as the rest. This is what will be driving the sump and creating the bulk of your water current.

 

[Bearfan]

Don't know yet FF, haven't exactly decided on the wet/dry trickle filter yet. That is my unknown at the time.

I am learning more about sumps, but don't have any experiences and have the typical concerns about filtration, overflow, and the like.

 

[fishfreek]

Well thruth is a wet/dry with no bioballs is a sump.

Just shooting from the hip I would suggest a mag9 or mag12 for your return pump.

The DSB and the live rock plus a decent skimmer will be all the filtration you need. THe tank is reefready so its already got intenral overflow(s) and might have internal returns already plumbed.



Your biggest decision and probly the most costly will be lighting based upon what you want in the tank. No one wants to buy lighting more than once so its key to not undersize or oversize your lighitng for what your goals are.

 

[Bearfan]

I'm mainly shooting for a FOWLR type setup, with some inverts and some hardier corals.

The fixture I am looking at is the new moon-lite fixture
http://www.customsealife.com/f_powercompact-moon-lite.htm

It is 4x65 PC light with the moon-lite fixtures.

As far as overflow, the tank has two drilled holes and a three level slotted overflow. If has an overflow stack and a return stack.

 

[PrettyFishies]

You also need a pump for the skimmer. A mag5 would probably be fine. As for the main return pump, I use a Quiet One ... my preference over the Mag series.

As for the LR... I would aim for 1.5# per gallon to be safe... I have never had any problems because of biofiltration in my 7 month old tank. Also, when I added my LR it was the first thing added to the bare bottom and then I layerd the sand around it. If you put the sand in first and then add the rock over it, you create dead zones which will cause problems in the future.

For lighting ... i got mine at www.hellolights.com Just a suggestion...

You'll also need rubber gloves, tongs to move things around, and depending on the type of fish ...things like veggie clibs, and turkey baster...

For the plimbing you'll need silicone tape, PVC cement and primer, tubing.... I would reccomend just buying the AllGlass overflow kit as it has all you need in one convenient package...

I have a full list of supplies on my site...check it out... And Good Luck!

 

[Bearfan]

Well, I've been converted after a day of reading.

I'm now going to build a sump. I like the idea of the increased water capacity, and a wet/dry isn't necessary. I figure I'd see what kind of deal I can get on different size tanks and that will determine how big of a sump. I figure a minimum of a 30 gallon.

What kind of skimmer does everyone endorse?

 

[NaH2O]

I did a lot of reading on various skimmers, and IMO found Euro-Reef to be among the best. I debated between the AquaC EV 240 and Euro-Reef CS8-3 for my tank, and finally decided to go with Euro-reef. I don't think you can go wrong with either, but I'm sure others can share their opinions on various skimmers they have owned. I'm including a link to a comparison test, as well as AquaC and Euro-reef websites:

>>>Protein Skimmer Comparison Test<<<

>>>AquaC<<<

>>>Euro-Reef<<<