Shopping list?

[micaheli]

I'm ready to purchase the first load of stuff for my 55gal aquarium. I have around 300 bucks I can allocate for equipment. I figure this can get me everything I need except lighting. Lighting will have to wait as I am saving up for Halides (rather than upgrading later).

Can people help me out with stuff to buy? How much GPH I'll need, what size pumps.. etc. I was thinking a Mag 2400 for circulation with a sump. Also need a pump for the skimmer.

Here are things I plan on DIY'ing:
Overflow (Acrylic)
Sump (Old 10gal tank)
Light Hood (just NO right now)
Skimmer (DIY Remora - Acrylic)

I am getting Southdown sand for the base - how thick should it be?

Because I don't have tons of money for liverock initially, can I buy a couple pounds to seed the livesand and rely on bio-balls temporarily? Bio-balls are MUCH cheaper than liverock - and from what I have read, as long as you don't allow physical waste to enter the bio balls, it doesn't become a nitrate factory.

Anyways, ANY help is appreciated. Also, if you have any of these items that you aren't using or would be willing to part with for cheap, let me know. I would love to save some money.

--Micah

 

[cj10488]

Typical rule of Thump you want 10xs your tank for flow.. FWIW I have 2 Rio 800's at 295gph ea and a ViaAqua at 200gph as well as a Rio 2100 with head loss at about 400gph.. It is quite a bit of movement.. I plan to slowly change everything over to Mag7 or 9.5 and MaxiJet 1200's What I would do Is order like 2 or 3 MaxiJet 1200's and maybe a Mag 7 or 9.5 for your return pump... A Rio 800 or a MaxiJet 1200 should work quite nice for a DIY skimmer.. I have the True Remora and operate it with a Rio 800.. You are going to want heaters as well.. I would go with 2x 250w Eba Jagar or a 2x200w Won Pro Heat heaters You are going to want 2 heaters in case one fails.. Unlikly with either of those 2 heaters.. As for lights I would recomend that you atlease change the NO bulbs over 50/50 bulbs.. A good place to get your Equiptment would be Captivereefs.com Darin is an awesome guy And I highly Recommend It.. If you caontact him at sales@captivereefs.com he could probably give you a price quote for all the stuff.. Plus being a member here you get an Extra 6% off all your purchases.. I have done alot of business with him and The UPS guy takes about 5 business days to get here from the shipping location.. It will be probably the cheapest that you can Find..

btw here is a breakdown

2 or 3 MaxiJet 1200's
mag 7 or 9.5 for return
Either a rio800 or MaxiJet1200 for skimmer
2x250w Ebo Jagar heaters or 2x 200w Won Pro Heat Heaters..
and 50/50 Bulbs for your NO lights..
Ohh yeah cant forget Salt and A Thermometer.. If you Need a Hydrometer I can hook ya up with mine for like $2.00 for a Deep Six

For salt I would either Use IO or Coralife.. Kent is pretty dominate around here but Petsmart carries both IO and Coralife for around 40.00 ea for a 200gal bucket..

HTH<
James

 

[WarOrks15]

I was just wondering those "Deep six hydrometeor" do you have to do any math with them. like i had heard you have to take the temp and put it to a chart or some thing and find out if you add like .0025 or some thing like that. Should i be doing this?

 

[cj10488]

I was just wondering those "Deep six hydrometeor" do you have to do any math with them.

FWIW I never did... When i got my Refractometer It wasnt too far off.. It was off but not by much.. I do know some people that do the math and probably have a bit more of an accurate reading but probably not by much.. I mean when I was using my deep six It was saying 1.024 and when I got my refractometer it read 1.026.. I wanted my levels to be at 35ppt which in turn comes out to about 1.026 lol So I was quite happy.. I would say if you are using one just go for around 1.023-1.024 and you should be safe without going to high or going too low..

HTH<
James

 

[WarOrks15]

ya that is what i was thinking because the one i bought it did not have a chart or any thing about doing math on the back of the package. so i have not been but i was just wonder so i do not make the levels too high and kill every thing in the tank

 

[tbagg2001]

i agree with cj about the maxi-jets. i just got three 1200s new off of ebay for a little over 60$ they're around 35-40$ each at my LFS

 

[micaheli]

Good News

I'm going to have a larger budget now.. around 830 bucks. So, halides may not be so out of the question.

Also: I don't want powerheads.. which is why I want the Mag2400. I was going to plumb it so there are multiple returns at different ares of the tank. Shouldn't be hard. And I MAY get another pump, but I don't want anything in my tank. Defeats the whole purpose of a sump.

So, want to change the shopping list?

--Micah

 

[cj10488]

I don't want powerheads.. which is why I want the Mag2400

IMO dont find this very wise at all.. You wont be able to get the best of flow going this route.. Also with MH lights I have been thinking about selling my dual 250 ballast as I am wanting to get IceCap 250s instead.. When you are ready to purchase MH lights let me know I can probably give you a pretty good deal on a Nice Probe Start Ballast setup.. I still think that you should have the Powerheads in the tank.. Within a few months of being in there they are going to be completely covered in Coraline and blend in with the tank.. That is JMHO..

Also Get either Salifert Or Seachem test kits.. those are the only 2 brands that I would ever trust..

HTH<
James