planning to purchase a 75 gal before i sink my money into this want advice 1st fish store suggests ugf with skimmer and canister other fish store says we have 2 much live rock for ugf .right now have 56 with undergravel,lr, protien skimmer and canister. want to up grade and get proper filtration and lights to have corals and fish. thanks for any help you have.
going to set up 75
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kribbz
Aquarium Advice FINatic
definatly don't go with the ug filter. those are a thing of the past and produce high nitrates. go with a good skimmer, about a 3-6 inch sand bed and alot of live rock. at least a lb per gallon. also alot of circulation. i was told 10x your tank volume gives you the best results. but do alot of research before you buy on anything. i can't tell you how much i've spent on stuff that doesn't work.
loganj
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ditch the UGF. It will cause you trouble down the road. Increase the amount of LR you have. Take the media out of the canister and use it for circulation only. You want to have about 10x tank size flow in the tank. For you...a minimum of 750 gph. Read up on DSB's (deep sand beds)...you'll probably want to go with one in the new tank. It will help keep your nitrates down. The only filtration you will need is a good skimmer and your LR and LS. Even the skimmer is debatable. I use one. Most folks do. Some do not and still have successful tanks.
For lighting, it depends on how much you want to spend. Top of the line would be 2 MH fixtures and 2 48" VHO actinics. Next would probably be 4 48" VHO's with an even mix of white and actinic tubes. I like PC's very much, but on a 4 foot tank, it's just too convenient to use 4 foot VHO bulbs. 4 of them will put you right at 6 watts per gallon, and while the wpg rule is also debatable, that's plenty of light. Above all, be patient and let the new tank mature at it's own speed without the benefit of all the wonder chemicals that claim to cycle the tank overnight. If you will go to the articles link on the home page (left side), you will find some very good info in there. Don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have though.
Logan J
For lighting, it depends on how much you want to spend. Top of the line would be 2 MH fixtures and 2 48" VHO actinics. Next would probably be 4 48" VHO's with an even mix of white and actinic tubes. I like PC's very much, but on a 4 foot tank, it's just too convenient to use 4 foot VHO bulbs. 4 of them will put you right at 6 watts per gallon, and while the wpg rule is also debatable, that's plenty of light. Above all, be patient and let the new tank mature at it's own speed without the benefit of all the wonder chemicals that claim to cycle the tank overnight. If you will go to the articles link on the home page (left side), you will find some very good info in there. Don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have though.
Logan J
thank you much if i use ls and lr will i need a sup? and is ls as risky to add as lr as far as pests are concerned? where is the best place to get ls don't think my local fishstore has that. thanks for your time and input
reefrunner69
Aquarium Advice Addict
No, but you may want one anyway. For the most part the most efficient skimmer models are in sump skimmers, it is also a good place to put other auxillary equipment.
No, LS is not going to harbor to many unwanted critters. LR can come with mantis shrimp and some hitchhiker crabs, but there are ways to prevent them from entering your tank. One of our Advisors posted about a method where you mix about 5 gallons of new SW (mixed at the proper SG, and temp) to rinse the new rock in. The key is rather than RO water or tap water, you use carbonated soda water to mix the salt. The carbonation drives the pests crazy and they adandon their hols in the rock in an effort to be clear of the fizzing. Be prepared though, it gets to the good ones as well as the bad ones. After dunking in the carbonated seawater, rinse in regulae Sw and put it in the tank or curing vessel.
If you can find some fellow reefers in your area that use a Live Sand Bed for filtration...you can seed some dry sand with several cups of their LS and withing a few weeks you will have LS. IMO, that is the "best" place to get LS from. Otherwise, you can check online with www.inlandaquatics.com
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