New aquarium in the works, can I get some opinions?

[o0synge0o]

Hey guys(and girls), found the forum about a week ago, done tons of reading just across various topics on here since then, all sorts of interesting things gleaned from these pages, as well as having been able to see all sorts of interesting pics of home set-ups that some of you operate.

I'm not new to the SW world, as a number of years ago my family owned and maintained 11 aquariums: 8 SW FO(1 was a 55gal containing a solitary Octupus of unknown species 8in. span after 2yrs, simple setup w/CC substrate) the largest being 180gal-the rest were 55's and 75's, 3 FW(1 was a 20gal feeder). This was all a good 11yrs ago, and everything has since been broken down and sold. I am planning on picking up a few books this weekend to read through as refresher material, to re-acquaint me w/things before I start buying my equipment.

I recently got the hankering to set up another aquarium and am limited to less than 50gal as of right now. Had been looking at a 44gal corner tank(can get it for $120) and figured on around 77lbs of LR, and 70lbs or so of LS. Let it cycle properly, and then introduce a variety of crabs and snails for algae control, followed(a few weeks later) by a Yellow Stripe Maroon Clown(tank raised/aquacultered of course) and Bubble Tip Anemone, and then a bit later, maybe a Serpent Star or two and/or a cucumber and then possibly progress to Coral at some point after that? (I'm happy w/just the Clown Fish being the only fish in the tank, though a friend that raises Jelly-Fish suggested possibly adding a Hippo/Blue Tang as well)

I had planned on running either a Red Sea Berlin Classic HOT(or maybe a RSB Turbo Classic HOT), or an AquaC Remora HOT. Don't have the room for a sump. And haven't looked at power heads as of yet, maybe some of you could make some suggestions as far as power heads/water movement are concerned.

I realize for the Anemone I'll need way more lighting than the puny stock hood offers, and was looking to make my own hood using this in conjunction w/a 250w bulb and IceCap ballast and building a fan into one end cap, using black Lexan to finish off the rest of the hood... But do I need to provision for a couple of Actinic 03's in addition to the MH? We used flourescent with our old setups, and they were all FO, so it sufficed, first time I've worked w/MH so I don't know what I need to meet the lighting needs as far as solely MH, or something else in addition to.

More questions/curiousities to follow as I'd love to hear everyones opinion on some of my other thoughts as well, but I think I'll leave it at this for now. Thanks for any replies, I appreciate your time.

 

[kribbz]

as far as powerheads i think you will find the main consenses around any forum would be maxijet. they are built well and relativly cheap compared to others.

as far as the anemone goes i would wait a while. just my opinions but i would wait about 6 months to a year before adding it to let the tank mature.

the MH is a personal preference of your own to add actinic or not. i think you will find if you buy a 10000K bulb you won't really need actinic unless you want a dusk till dawn affect. it all depends on your own thoughts.

 

[loganj]

I agree with kribbz. A couple of things to add though. On the lighting, if you decide to add some actinic, PC's would be just what you need on that type tank. Blueline has a MH bulb they call a 10,000k+ that is supposed to give you the white look of the 10,000k bulb with extra blue spectrum added. I haven't used or seen one, but it might be something to look into.
Maroon clowns can be aggressive...especially with an anemone present. Once the maroon gets established in the anemone, you may not have the option of adding any new fish.
The Berlin skimmer compares more closely to the Remora Pro. I can tell you from personal experience that the Berlin is an excellent piece of equipment. From the reviews I have read here, I believe the Remora Pro is just as good if not better.

 

[o0synge0o]

Thanks you two, did more thinking and talking to a friend of a friend at one of the LFS's, and he will get me a 100gal cube, w/a nice stand and a hood w/plenty of room, for $250 out the door. May go w/this instead, and had been seriously thinking about going ahead and doing a sump as well, no point in skimping any.

On second thought, through the same guy, I can most likey go something like a 60gal(including hood, and stand) for under $200.... decisions, decisions

As is stated often around here, while the LFS may be good or great in some areas, they arent always(if ever) the best source for all your needs. They were trying to tell me that I wouldnt need a sump, and to use Under-Gravel Filters, and he was trying to shy me away from MH, telling me that there was no way I'd need a 250w MH for my original 44gal setup, let alone the 100gal. If I were doing things his way, he'd have me out the door with a PC setup made up by him using around 100w total w/2-20,000k and 2-Actinic's. While I'm not adverse to the use of flourescent, I've seen a friend's reef tank(50gal) running 1 MH, and 2 Actinics, and things were going great! There were a few things that he bought from this same LFS that he actually got at a discount because they didnt look so well, and after being placed into the tank w/the MH and strictly watched water conditions, they made a full turn-around and ended up doing quite well. Hmmm...

 

[BillyZ]

Welcome to Aquarium Advice!

100gal cube, w/a nice stand and a hood w/plenty of room, for $250 out the door. <<<snip>>>
On second thought, through the same guy, I can most likey go something like a 60gal(including hood, and stand) for under $200.... decisions, decisions

why get half the tank when you're only saving $50? JMO

in your first post you mentioned getting 70 pounds of LR and 70 pounds of LS. What many do, to save that all important money, is use "dead sand" (the stuff from home depot) to build the bulk of the DSB then place just a few pounds of LS on top of that. I would go with probably 30-40 pounds. They do the same for LR, buying base rock and adding LR on top. All the critters in the LS and LR will propogate to the base rock/sand during your tank's initial cycle and turn them into LR and LS quickly. doing this will save you a good chunk of cash.... which can then be spent on MH and PC actinics

 

[o0synge0o]

Thanks for the welcome, all sorts of interesting reading material in the various categories.

why get half the tank when you're only saving $50? JMO

In the end, its all going to depend on where I move(as I have to move out soon) Its very possible that I may have to move onto a 2nd story, and depending on tank/stand dimensions, that will limit my size selection. 300lbs/sq foot is the min. standard allowance that 2nd stories are required to maintain around here, so I would be pushing a little close to minimum structural allowances for my personal comfort. Also depends on the structuring of the floor below, if I can position the tank so that a 1st floor wall runs directly underneath it, then that gives me a little more to play with.

Then again, there is always the possibility that somone skimped and it didnt get caught during building inspection..... Too many variables, either way, if I have to go w/a 60gal the key word there was less than $200.


If I were to do a Sump, and a Refugium, what goes in the refugium? Algae I realize, but never had anything to do w/a refugium, so I wouldnt know where to start when it comes to properly setting up one.

 

[kevqtmn]

Have you considered going with a T5HO fixture. Perhaps a 4 Lamp T5HO fixture will suit you well? If I were you, I would at least look into it. We just designed and built a custom 6 lamp T5HO fixture with built in LED Moonlights. I think it turned out well. If you are interested, let me know. I can try to answer any questions you may have. I think the person we sold it to will have their tank up and running by the end of the week (around July 20th). Hopefully she will put some pictures of her tank and how it looks under the fixture we built her.