New tank

[Lloydxmas]

Originally Posted by carey

I picked up a 180g last night but who knows how long til its actually up and running. lol Just the saltwater way hehe

Ha yes I saw that. I am actually following it!

[carey]

well thank you very much! I appreciate it.

[Lloydxmas]

Your quite welcome. I will post pictures soon. When sump is done.

[Lloydxmas]

Well still waiting on my glass for the sump. While I'm waiting I want to start thinking about plumbing. Should i go pic or flex pipe?

[carey]

I had the same dilemma....I just did the plumbing on the 180g this afternoon and I went with clear tubing. It was immensely easier to put together and can be taken apart if I need to. You can also use PVC and have union fittings so that you can take off parts of the plumbing but to be honest I just wanted something simple and beat. I've also heard that the PVC can rattle so I decided to skip that.

I'm gonna post pictures of what I plumbed today on my thread if youre interested to see how it came out.

[Lloydxmas]

Finally got the baffles for the sump. Now I need someone to recommend what silicone to get so I can get it done. Carey thanks for following along and helping me figure things out! Also I should be getting profit sharing at work soon so I can but more fun stuff!

[Jschier]

If you do a forum or google search you will get several answers, I just put my sump together and researched this. To make it easy, go buy marine grade/aquarium safe silicon at your LFS. The recommendations for others I found actually are not aquarium safe (additives have changed)....it was worth the extra few dollars knowing it was one less way to kill my livestock.

[carey]

I agree, for the extra couple of bucks for the silcone its worth the extra money in my opinion. Better safe than sorry.....

[Lloydxmas]

I will have to check the Petcos or the Petsmart around me. If they don't have it I will have to wait until the weekend to go to the saltwater store.

[Lloydxmas]

I am also looking into power heads. My question is is it OK if they are not on a controller and are just on full tilt or can you still tone them down without a reef keeper?

[Jschier]

A few are adjustable but generally they are only "controllable" through a controller. Is a controller necessary? Not really as you can get some nice wave/turbulence action from careful placement and just turning them off when feeding. But, a controller is nice for adjustments, feeding time and nocturnal motion. I like the hydor powerheads and smart wave for features and price. Also the jebao powerheads are controllable and affordable.

[Lloydxmas]

I was looking at the Hydor, as well as the vortechs. But I didn't know if it was bad to just have the power head full blast with corals in the tank.

[Jschier]

Yes, usually corals don't like being blasted with current. I try to think of how the ocean works and try to simulate that as best I can. Rarely does water just move in one direction.

[Lloydxmas]

Originally Posted by Jschier

Yes, usually corals don't like being blasted with current. I try to think of how the ocean works and try to simulate that as best I can. Rarely does water just move in one direction.

How do you do that thought with Hydor and no reef keeper? Do you just aim them towards the glass and let the flow bounce around?

[huma-huma]

youll see the smartwave controller for the hydors here.
Pet Supplies, Dog Supplies, Cat Supplies, Pet Meds & Pet Products - Search Results for Hydor Koralia
the problem that I uncovered when I was researching new powerheads was 1) the hydor wavemaker doesn't actually give you control of intensity (10-100%) it simply alternates between several connected powerheads to give wave motion. and 2) ive heard from numerous sources that running a powerhead on a wavemaker decreases its lifespan. id look into either Tunze, Jebao, or Vortech powerheads. all 3 offer truly controllable models that are built and designed for variable pulse use. id consider the Jebaos to be the most economical, the Tunzes in the middle, and the Vortechs high-end.

[huma-huma]

sorry, heres the link for the Jebao. it gives you the look of the Tunzes and controllability of the Vortechs...for a 1/4 the price. I know both Carey and I have one and I know im buying another soon, absolutely love it. also its not that corals hate current, they just don't do as well with fixed current. it needs to be randomized

[Lloydxmas]

Originally Posted by huma-huma

sorry, heres the link for the Jebao. it gives you the look of the Tunzes and controllability of the Vortechs...for a 1/4 the price. I know both Carey and I have one and I know im buying another soon, absolutely love it. also its not that corals hate current, they just don't do as well with fixed current. it needs to be randomized

Wow they are nice power heads. Which one should I get for a 75gal tank? I want to go reef eventually.

[Lloydxmas]

Also I was looking into the reef octopus diablo dc 3500. Or should I get the 5500? Any opinions!?

[Lloydxmas]

Just looking into skimmers and I don't know whether I should get one rated for a 200 or 150. 75 gal tank with 40gal sump.

[carey]

I think the 150g skimmer will be fine, does it fir in your sump is the question..... lol