New Tank- Need equipment advise

[matfalk]

Hello all, I'm new around here, and in need of some advise. I'm not completely new to fish keeping, I've kept freshwater for years and had a 30 gal reef tank about 10 years ago. I've been planning on starting a new reef tank when we move into our new house (end of the month) and picked up a steal on craigslist. I got a 150 gallon tank, stand, canopy, and a couple power filters for $100. I'm not planning on using the filters, but need to know where to start as far as building a sump/refugium. I have no idea how big of a sump tank I will need, how powerful a return pump, power heads ect. I'm also confused about the protein skimmer capacity. I plan to run it in the sump, but do I buy one based on sump size or tank size? Same thing with heater? Just so much more intense than when I ran my 30 gal with a powerfilter and small skimmer. Thanks for the advice and I'm looking forward to gaining and giving knowledge in the future.

[carey]

Welcome to the forum!

Nice pull on the tank setup, thats a great deal!

The skimmer Iwould aim for 2x the tank size so one that is rated for 300g or so.

Are you going to go full reef with corals and such or just fish only?

[matfalk]

My plan is to go with coral, but really depends on availability in my area. There aren't many reef stores here in central Indiana, so I'm guessing most of my purchases will be online.

[carey]

Ok thats a start. If you want corals then the lighting will be a major part of that setup. I would consider LED panels. I just got my 2nd panel yesterday and they run about $140 or so each, which is cheaper in the end than going with halides or T5's. The 150g is a 5 foot tank correct?

You didnt get any lights in your craigslist bargain did you?

[matfalk]

No lights with it. The gentleman had retrofit florescents into his canopy, but not at all what I wanted. I was considering power compact for my lights. Haven't been able to find too much about LED. No, it's 48 long x 24 deep x 31 tall. I've wondered about the depth for corals. I really don't want to run halides and have to worry about water temp raising too much that I'd need a chiller. I might just have to limit myself to corals that need less light.

[carey]

Well, then two of the chinese led panels woudl do the trick then. SOmething like this:

Colorful Dimmable 120W LED Aquarium USA Warranty 13 Year eBay Seller | eBay

As far as the sump and plumbing, many people make their own sumps using tanks like a 55g one. You would have enough room for a large skimmer, refugium and anything else you would like to put in there. A 40 breeder may work as well and its a bit smaller than the 55g.

I use a 1600gph return pump on my 6 foot 125g and I didnt make my sump for that one, lol, just bought a premade one. For flow I use 2 koralia powerheads at 1400gph each. I keep a 300 watt heater in the sump, not sure if it gets that cold where you are, I am in florida so I didnt need a massive heater. You would keep all your equipment in the sump which is awesome, keeps it hidden away and gives you a nice clean look in your tank.

is the tank drilled or does it have a hang on back overflow?

[matfalk]

LED looks pretty good. I'll probably end up building my sump. The tank is not drilled and doesn't have an over flow, so that's something else I'll need to get. Thanks for all the advise. I'm going to start putting together a shopping list so I can get everything organized.