Beginner help

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Frickmiester

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Mar 28, 2013
Messages
136
Location
Oklahoma
So I recently bought a new 90 gallon that was pre drilled and I got a sump for it however I can find nothing usefull on line on how to set up the tank to to sump I still need to get a pump what would you recommend I get and how do I connect every thing I cannot find the pamphlet that and with everything I got what kind of skimmer should I get what are the best lights I need to get I want to turn it into a reef set up with some reef friendly fish anything and everything you can tell me will help thanks a lot in advance
 
A mag 9.5, Quiet one 4000, Eheim 1262....any one of those should work for you.
As for the skimmer....how much space do you have in that little sump for a skimmer? Measure the skimmer area.
 
I don't even know which compartment it is supposed to go in I know the largest compartment is for the cheato plankton or refugium
 
I like the Ehiem 1262. I had a Little Giant that was LOUD! The 1262 is very quiet and should be plenty of return flow.
 
The area with the hose in it currently is your return area. The water level will fluctuate in this area so that's not good for a skimmer. Like you said, the refugium area is the largest area, and you have that skinny area opposite for I don't know what. I'm assuming the smallest area is where you would have the tank draining into it, then it flows over both the skinny area and the refugium area to the return area.....sound right?
IMO/IME, a protein skimmer is much more important than a refugium, so I would make finding room for that my first priority. Could you use the long, skinny area for the refugium and use the largest area for the skimmer? Measure both of those.
 
The skinny one behind the refugium actually has a really short small divider in it I though that that's where the skimmer would go if it would fit
 
I don't even know how big the simmer is I have small knowledge on how a skimmer works but that's about it
 
Well, we are talking about over 100 gallons of water including the sump. I would want a skimmer rated for 150-200 gallons. Bubble Magus makes some efficient, space saving skimmers.

As for the sump you have, I usually buy my skimmer, then build a sump to fit it, not the other way around. I need you to measure those compartments.
Check out this one-
Bubble Magus BM 180A Protein Skimmer Brand New | eBay
 
As for lights you should try going with metal halides , kessil or t5, those are the best !! T5 give great growth and very popular , metal halides will give a shimmery effect to your tank and look really nice , they grow corals faster than any other lights, only thing is they get a little warm , and as for kessil , they give amazing color to your tank and grows most coral very well , I personally have 2 kessil and a metal halide over an 80 gallon
 
What about the led light fixtures I know there a little more pricey but some of them have it so they can be programmed for sunrise to sunset effect and a 29 day lunar cycle idk if its really important for the lunar cycle but would those in the long run be more effective by not getting to hot and using as much electricity or would the corals not respond as well with those
 
And about the lights what I was reading online is that the deeper your tank the more wats it should have or something like there was an equation for x amount of gallon tank you need y amount of light output
 
There is no equation for watts V.S. gallons of water. LEDs are good providing you have the right ones. The sunrise/sunset thing is not necessary at all, so unless you want to spend over a thousand dollars for just lighting, I would skip that.
 
Like mrX said sunrise and sunset isn't necessary. I would recommend led lighting though and it doesn't have to cost a fortune. There are plenty of cheap LED fixtures on the market that work great. Taotronics is one brand that lots use with great results. If you want more features there is pharos LEDs also. They have everythig short of lightning storms and cost me less than my 48" t5ho fixture. Led provides ample light, actually can be to much so being dimmable is a must. They provide the shimmer effect like metal halides without the added heat plus they are much more energy efficient which helps on the power bill.
 
Ok I really like the thought of LEDS. even if there a couple dollars more I think in the long run it will have less impact on my electricity bill and bulb replacement. Is there a certain output I will need for corals ?
 
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