Need advice on equipment coming with 72 gallon tank

[texasdivegal]

Help!
I am looking at buying a 72 gallon bow front tank with stand and hood.
Could someone please tell me what they think of the package deal I am getting with the tank. I will start with FO and move to a reef set up later.

Via Aqua 3300 Pump with tubing
Via Aqua Titanimum Heater 200W
Pro Clear 200 wet/dry with overflow
Marine Lab
Instant Ocean Hydrometer
thermometer
Aragalive Sand 60 lbs
salt mix for 75 gallons
$150 of LR when ready for it

All for $1500 Is this good? Bad? or Ugly I know I need a skimmer, looking at Via Aqua. Just tell me what you guys think! :?

 

[luntiz]

150$ of LR isn't really much...for my 70lbs of LR I had to pay well over 300 dollars. It's suggested to have 1.5-2lbs of LR per gallon of water, so I would probably add another 300$ to your LR piggy bank.

I would suggest more sand too, but then again it all depends on what you are going for, SSB or a DSB. 60lbs of sand isn't much either, it sounds like a lot on paper but when you poor it into the tank, you'll realize that you'll need more!

As for the Via Aqua Skimmer, my cousin has one and it works great but it is very very loud. 100$ for a pretty good skimmer ain't too bad. They also have a skimmer w/ a 5Watt UV Sterlizer combination that isn't too bad but I'm not sure if 5Watts is suffient for a 72Gallon Tank.

 

[texasdivegal]

LR, should I get it all at one time or add gradally?

How much sand is good for a 75 gallon? 100? I want about a 2 inch bottom.

Thanks

 

[reefrunner69]

LR, should I get it all at one time or add gradally?

It can be done either way, but if you have the money to get it all at once, that is the way I prefer to do it.

How much sand is good for a 75 gallon? 100? I want about a 2 inch bottom.

At the top of the page is a link to calculators (also a link to them in my signature), there is a sandbed calculator that will give you a rough estimate.

 

[lando]

Sounds like agood deal to me. Is the tank reef ready or standard? That makes a difference in price. Also, the AquaClear 200 may be a bit big for a 72. I think you could get by with the 150. See what fits in your stand better. the sump needs to fit in te stand but you also need room to work. I agree with everyone else on the Live Rock, more would be better. I would take the $150 from this purchase and apply it an big order, 70 plus pounds, from LiveRocks.com. Even with shipping you pay 4-5 bucks per pound. It is great rock. Is this an exsisting tank, or are you buying everything new from a store?

 

[texasdivegal]

Tank reef ready?? Not sure what that means.

It is not an existing tank. We are buying everything new from the LFS. This LFS has a couple great reef tanks set up and tons of LR already cured.

Another question...drilling? Stupid question...why and how do you keep the water in the tank. Sorry for the dumb question but need to know. 8O

 

[lando]

there are no stupid questions...just stupid answers. A "reef-ready" tank is a tank with a built in overflow box and two holes drilled into the bottom, ussually in a corner near the back. A hose goes from one hole into a filtration device, usually a sump, water gets pumped from the tank, filtered, and is pumped up a hose that is connected to the other hole...this goes back into your aquarium. It is a very simple set-up as heaters, skimmers and the such can be added to your sump instead of your tank. This just cleans up the appearence of your show tank. You do not need a "reef-ready" tank to operate a sump filtration system or to have a reef tank. you can use a regular aquarium and plumb the sump up the back and over the top of the aquarium or use hang-on-the-back filters and skimmers. if you are buying Live Rock from your LFS, see how much the charge per pound. Chances are you can still do better buying it on-line to save money.