New 105G Tank, any last minute advice?

[Brisc0]

Hey everyone, thanks ahead for any suggestions. Im going to give a breakdown of what I have, please nit-pick away as this will be final on the 30th.

105G Oceanic (48X26X18)
-Dropped an undergravel right on glass for basic plenum
-4.5 inch substrate bed (100LBS)
-110 LBS Fiji Select LR (Liveaquaria.com)
-20 Gallon sump
-CSR 800GPH Overflow
-Seaclone 100 Skimmer
-Fluval 404 with Pre-filter, floss, and bio, no carbon
-3 maxi jet 1200 powerheads with Wavemaker pro
-Double Helix 18W UV
-Mag Drive 950 return pump
-240W (2 actinic, 2 10K, 4 moon-lite) PowerCompact fixture

My liverock will be here on the 30th and once it gets here I am locked in. I realatively knew to all this so if anyone has suggetions please feel free to mention anything. Thanks again!

 

[scuba_steve]

hummmm if it was me heheheh i ditch the plenum for sure !! go with the deap sand bed for sure like 200lbs !! that crp over flow will not handle the return from a 9.5 mag drive unless ya reduce the line to 1/2 i believe !! i bought the same thing but tank over filled hehehe what fun that was !!! also for like $ 30 more buy the largest overflow they have and again for like $30 more get a mag drive 12 or so if ya go that route ya can lose a power head or two which will save ya clean headaches or if ya wanted a nudi dont have to worry about power head sucking it in !!! the seaclone will not do anything for you on a 100 gallon tank waste of money !! use only on a 55 gallon or less and even then ya need to add an airstone to the bottom the the skimmer !! ditch the fluval !!! i wouldnt wast the money on a wave maker either waste of money imo and not needed spend that money on bigger main pump you will be happier for sure !! as for your return from a bigger pump like a mag 24 i would slpit it to both back corners with the over flow in the middle !! and mabe keep one maxi jet if that but with a mag 2400 you will have enough water flow and it will look cleaner imo

 

[Brisc0]

Thanks for the info, anyone else please feel free to post, I would like as many opinions as possible. For some supplamental info, I have the 800GPH overflow and the 9.5 mag because the 9.5 is rated for 800GPH at 5 feet which is the head im putting on the pump. Also, I figured this was enough flow as I will only have about 60 true gallons of water so the tank water should be turned around 13 times an hour. I also figured that since I only have around 60 gallons that the seaclone would not be overwhelmed. If you don't mind, please let me know why I should ditch the fluval also, I guess I don't understand why I shouldn't include it. Thanks again for your advice, if you come back through here please drop me some additional information.

 

[scuba_steve]

well imo cpr over rates there boxes cause i thought the same thing and with the 3/4 line from the 9.5 and it being new it will pump more than the box will handle why i went with the 1/2 line !! ya might get lucky due to your 90 is a few inchs taller than my 70 that i put mine on but still to close to say i guess !! dont forget ya need a powerhead (or marine depot sells a pump made for pulling air out of cpr boxes ) to pull the air out of the box !! also i wouldnt add the line from the box to the tip of the ph use the same piece that the seaclone have on the intake of their phs!! i dont think its the right way to do it but thats me !!!

what are you wantin to get out of the fluval??? if no media is in it isnt then just movin water??? and if so for how much did ya pay for it to just move water and take up space?? better to spend on anything else!!

as for the seaclone i have two on them and they suck but an easy fix that ya can do and that im happy with my result from it now!! is to get a 3/16 hard airline tube for undergravel filters and drill a 3/16 hole in the middle of the lid add a small airstone with a pump !! you then can get all the foam you want superwet or super dry just have to play with it !! but can say that it would take up to 2-3 days to fill the cup with the basic skimmer and now it fills the cup everyday !! so if ya have it already then just add the airline and at least its something !!!

 

[Brisc0]

Cool, i already have the seaclone, im going to look into this modification. My final thought on the fluval was that I didn't want to add carbon that would remove benefical suppliements, however I did want a solid form of mechanical and bio filtration. I was planning on stocking its filter baskets with the components necessary to provide that filtration. Yes? No? Im so green with this stuff it hurts, your advice is helpful. Thanks again.

Oh yea, and I read on the the mag instructions that 1 and 1/2 inch pipe is the minimum size pipe to get max flow, I am planning on installing it with 2" pipe to insure the most flow possible, however I have installed ball valves on the line so that I can regulate the flow and get them equalized. Hopefully I won't have a wet floor!

 

[scuba_steve]

well i promise you will be happy with the mod if ya have used this skimmer and sean how bad it works but adding the extra air makes it so you can increase the flow from the maxijet

ok mabe we should step back a sec !!! what are ya wanting to keep in the tank?¿?¿
reef with a few fish or mainly fish?? with the live rock and sand thats will be you bio filtration !!! as for mechanical if its for fish then your ok to use the sponge that the cpr came with !! if for a reef type set up then lose the sponge !!!

and yea if ya using a ball valve on the mag drive then ya cool but imo then are you not losing valuable water flow (yea mabe just a bit but i bet it be like 100-150 gpr follow me ?¿?¿)))?!?!?!? imo i want the most out of eveything i have and why i said to get the bigger box but to late on that !! hehehe if your like me you will add a tank or two then ya can get the bigger one and replace it on a later date ))

also if this your first crp overflow always keep an eye that air not being stuck in the top !! even with a pump pulling it out the air stem will get clogged or slowed down from time to time which a toothpick cleans out well !!!

 

[Brisc0]

Im shooting for a reef tank with as much diversity as possible. I plan on stocking reasonable ammounts of reef compatible fish as well as a nice invert population and a mixture of polyp, and LPS corals. When you say remove the sponge for a reef, do I not want any mechanical on a reef setup? Thanks again.

 

[scuba_steve]

right no mechanical!! and then as for the fluval im guessing ya have it so if anything use it for ya qt tank !!

yea my 90 i have right now xenias/yellow polyps right now and fish have
6 green chromis
3 royal grammas
1 yellow hog candy wrasse
1 yellow striped clown
3 yellow head jaw fish
1 manderin
2 cleaner shrimp
8 pepperment shrimp
1 red lobster (if and when i see/can catch him hes outta there heheheh)
1 bi-colored blenny
1 four spot butterfly
all get along great and looks cool as well

 

[Brisc0]

Thanks again, I actually don't have the flu-val yet, its not shipping until tomorrow. Still have time to cancel it. One last question. Is the LR and 4.5 inch sand bed good enough bio or should I swap the Fluval with a fluidized to boost the bio?

Oh yea, just so for my own understanding can you give me the 20 words or less on why mechanical is bad for reef?

 

[scuba_steve]

i think you ok with the rock ya have but i would get some cheap base rock and set that on the bottom right on the glass then ya sand and the real lr on top of the base !!! if not after a year or so ya know ya will lose half of your sand so ya will have to add more and that way ya dont have to worry about the rock collapsing on ya as the sand dissolves!! and ya dont want ya good lr to be under the sand why most use base rock on the bottom!! and as ya buy corals they normally come with some rock attached so that help fill out ya system !! and ya should add new lr from time to time !! it dont last for ever imo and can use a boost from time to time !!