New Tank (for a friend)

[mattmku]

I got my girlfriend's little brother hooked on reef keeping and I'm helping him set up his tank when i go home for Thanksgiving Break. On the way home we're buying the supplies he needs, but after 6 months of taking care of my tank, i'm still a little confused when it comes to filtration. I've read multiple times that only LR and a protein skimmer is best, and others recommend refugium also...what do you recommend to get him started?

[fishfreek]

For simplicity I would do LR and SKimmer. If your system included plans for a sump then you could include a refugium aswell but if your plans did not include a sump then the refugium would be additional complexity to the setup for the newly initated.

[Iccemaan]

Sorry to hi jack this thread but a guy at a LFS here said a sump is a must for a tank, and I was saying I only wanted a 75 gallon FOWLR but eventually adding one or two easy corals. Is he right?

[fishfreek]

No a sump is not a MUST as he puts it. Many sucessful tanks have gone 'sumpless' for the lack of a better phrase.

[WhiteCloud]

Hijack #2.....

I too would be interested to see what the more experienced say. I am setting up a 40 Breeder Tank in the very near future w/ 1.5-2lbs/gallon Live Rock and a CPR R2 Bak Pak for Protein Skimmer and Deep Sand Bed...and NO SUMP OR REFUGIUM planned. I will be having 3 powerheads for water circulation (3 x 240g/hr = 720g/hr = Water Turnover of 18 times per hour (plus what comes from the Skimmer)).

I was under the impression 1.5-2 lbs/gallon Live Rock and water turnover of 10-15 times/hr is was is needed for FOWLR or Reef Tank setup.

Thanks,

WC

[fishfreek]

Having 60-80lbs of live rock and a deep sand bed and a skimmer will be the bases of a great system. In many eyes 18X turnover is quite a bit of flow but if you aquascape well and position the power heads well you wont end up with a tank thats pulverized by the currents.

Indeed you want good random currents in your tanks to simulate the reef as best you can. To do this you could have your three PH's on a cycle where two of the three are always on. This woudl provide a good randomizer to the currents. You can then purchase and place your corals per their light and flow requirements.