150 gal in the works, need help

skeletor121 · 11-20-2003, 05:31 PM

I am new to the reefing community. How new you ask. So new that I haven't had a saltwater setup yet. I have experience with freshwater and want to start in on salt.
I have decided on getting a 150 gallon tank to use as a reef/fish tank because I got a sweet deal on one. Now I need to start outfitting it with equipment.
I'm not 100% sure what it is coming with since I'm not picking it up until Sunday. I know it has a hang on overflow, a wet/dry (I think, maybe just a sump), some type of canister filter, and a NO flourescent. It was previously used as a FW setup.
Since I'm not 100% sure on what I am getting I figured I would start with what I definitely know I need: Lights. I have heard that 5-7 W per gallon of water will be sufficient. Is this correct? I have also been hearing that PC's are not very good for a large tank. Why is that? I had origninally thought of a PC/MH mix for the tank. Do you think that would work as long as I get between 750 and 1050 W????? Please help. I plan on a DIY canopy and figured I should first figure out what lights I want to put in it.
I also want to know if using the canister filter is wise. I haven't seen many people using them and would like some info about them. I know not to use carbon in them. Since there isn't any carbon in them, what do you put in for the media? Thanks.

mwrager · 11-20-2003, 05:47 PM

I use both PC and MH on my 120 gal tank. I have 2-250 watt MH 10k and 4-96 watt PC, 2-10k and 2- actinic. I would get rid of the canister filter also the wet/dry. Thats just my .02

Mark

mwrager · 11-20-2003, 05:50 PM

Is it going to be a reef tank or a FO? If you are going for the reef look you will also need about 100 lbs of LR.

skeletor121 · 11-20-2003, 06:48 PM

I plan on putting in some type of sand bed in. Not really sure how deep yet. Still debating over all the good points that I have read. Thinking maybe 2-4". I am also going to put in a lot of LR. Not sure of just how much, but a bunch. I'm not 100% sure on the corals yet, but would like to make it a setup that could handle them in case I decide to put them in. Right now I am looking at getting all the information I can about the hardware that I want to make it ready for a reef. Like I said before, I'm not gonna start up the tank until next summer due to a move in housing.

fidojoe · 11-20-2003, 06:50 PM

I would start off with as much LR as possible, makes it easy to convert from fowlr to reef. Also, you might consider setting up a fuge, and using a remote DSB, and only using 1-2" in the main tank.

skeletor121 · 11-20-2003, 06:53 PM

I am thinking about starting up a fuge. I have a 30 gallon tank right now that I may be able to convert. Is there a bad side to having a glass fuge??? The 30 is a glass tank and would probably get some acrylic to seperate it into 3 parts: The skimmer area, the fuge area, and the return area. Any thoughts?

tankgirl · 11-20-2003, 07:53 PM

Hi skel,
Hah! A black hole for all your money! Seriously, congrats!!! The fuge needs slow water flow, good to keep in mind.

What kind of corals do you eventually want to keep? It'll make a difference because you'll want more waterflow for acros and sps than you'd want for softies. If you set it up now with the plumbing and equipment you'll want later, it'll save you bucks.

Curtswearing · 11-20-2003, 07:57 PM

I was going to post on this thread but I see you are in good hands. I have some other things to attend to.

Nice to meet you Skeletor121.

wooddood · 11-20-2003, 08:23 PM

i would advise to go with metal halide&vho to suppliment with actinics if you want to keep sps in the future,good water movement is very inportant also.i also have a 120 48inx24in x24in and am currently useing 2 csl 48in 260watts/w/moonlights at 520watts total.im going to be moving this tank to a in wall just after christmas, and will be upgrading to a larger tank asap.so what im saying is research everything first about what size tank you really want in the long run.and what equipment will fill those needs.trust me im selling stuff on ebay now that i should'nd have ever bought.but im sure alot of other people have done the same thing.lol.just trying to save you some money and help you gain knolege along the way.hope this helps ya a little.baby steps/baby steps. dave

mwrager · 11-20-2003, 08:29 PM

I would also add read as much as you can and ask a lot of questions

fidojoe · 11-20-2003, 08:37 PM

My advice, is that if you cannot afford what you want, hold off, live with what you have until you can afford what you really want, and don't buy "the next best thing" ive done it too many times, and I have several things I don't need, underpowered powerheads, a crudy skimmer, etc.

Dennis7 · 11-20-2003, 09:03 PM

Drill the tank for overflows and returns. Do it now before setting it up. You be happier.

jks1 · 11-20-2003, 09:21 PM

as some have said i would get rid of the canister and wet/dry. Also if i had to do mine all over again from scratch i would start with uncured rock and cure it in the tank so i could save a lot of the benificial stuff that usually dies off under unsupervised "curing". just my $.02

Curtswearing · 11-20-2003, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by fidojoe
My advice, is that if you cannot afford what you want, hold off, live with what you have until you can afford what you really want, and don't buy "the next best thing" ive done it too many times, and I have several things I don't need, underpowered powerheads, a crudy skimmer, etc.

For those who haven't been around a while and are thinking this hobby is too expensive. It doesn't have to be. This is excellent advice.

I'm glad I'm not the only one with a useless equipment graveyard!!!

Edit---the two posts following are excellent too. I'm just trying to make a point.

fidojoe · 11-20-2003, 11:28 PM

Yeah, luckily I was told about RAG, otherwise my graveyard would be twice as big as it is now. I'm sure RS will save me money too.

11-20-2003, 05:31 PM	#1 (permalink)
skeletor121 Fire Coral Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 60 View Gallery Karma Komment	150 gal in the works, need help I am new to the reefing community. How new you ask. So new that I haven't had a saltwater setup yet. I have experience with freshwater and want to start in on salt. I have decided on getting a 150 gallon tank to use as a reef/fish tank because I got a sweet deal on one. Now I need to start outfitting it with equipment. I'm not 100% sure what it is coming with since I'm not picking it up until Sunday. I know it has a hang on overflow, a wet/dry (I think, maybe just a sump), some type of canister filter, and a NO flourescent. It was previously used as a FW setup. Since I'm not 100% sure on what I am getting I figured I would start with what I definitely know I need: Lights. I have heard that 5-7 W per gallon of water will be sufficient. Is this correct? I have also been hearing that PC's are not very good for a large tank. Why is that? I had origninally thought of a PC/MH mix for the tank. Do you think that would work as long as I get between 750 and 1050 W????? Please help. I plan on a DIY canopy and figured I should first figure out what lights I want to put in it. I also want to know if using the canister filter is wise. I haven't seen many people using them and would like some info about them. I know not to use carbon in them. Since there isn't any carbon in them, what do you put in for the media? Thanks. __________________ -Scott Don't need no gang to watch my a**, Just loyal friendship and a pint of Bass!. -Dropkick Murphy's

11-20-2003, 06:48 PM	#4 (permalink)
skeletor121 Fire Coral Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 60 View Gallery Karma Komment	I plan on putting in some type of sand bed in. Not really sure how deep yet. Still debating over all the good points that I have read. Thinking maybe 2-4". I am also going to put in a lot of LR. Not sure of just how much, but a bunch. I'm not 100% sure on the corals yet, but would like to make it a setup that could handle them in case I decide to put them in. Right now I am looking at getting all the information I can about the hardware that I want to make it ready for a reef. Like I said before, I'm not gonna start up the tank until next summer due to a move in housing. __________________ -Scott Don't need no gang to watch my a**, Just loyal friendship and a pint of Bass!. -Dropkick Murphy's

11-20-2003, 06:50 PM	#5 (permalink)
fidojoe Fish Addict Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Gilbert, AZ Posts: 1,581 View Gallery Karma Komment	I would start off with as much LR as possible, makes it easy to convert from fowlr to reef. Also, you might consider setting up a fuge, and using a remote DSB, and only using 1-2" in the main tank. __________________ *Member "Crabs Are Evil" Society* My Tank: 90g AGA, 18g tall sump, CSS 220 w/ meshmod impeller, 4x54w Tek T5 retro w/ IC reflectors, Kalk reactor w/ aquamedic niveaumat system, a few SPS, LPS, zoos, and a few softies, 2 Ocellaris Clowns (hosted by both a RBTA and GBTA), Yellow Watchman, Potter's angel, Yellow Tang, Foxface, Midas Blenny, Purple Pseudo, huge brittle star, 2 tigertail cukes, fire shrimp, snails, and unfortunately two emerald crabs (the bubble algae got out of control).

11-20-2003, 06:53 PM	#6 (permalink)
skeletor121 Fire Coral Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 60 View Gallery Karma Komment	I am thinking about starting up a fuge. I have a 30 gallon tank right now that I may be able to convert. Is there a bad side to having a glass fuge??? The 30 is a glass tank and would probably get some acrylic to seperate it into 3 parts: The skimmer area, the fuge area, and the return area. Any thoughts? __________________ -Scott Don't need no gang to watch my a**, Just loyal friendship and a pint of Bass!. -Dropkick Murphy's

11-20-2003, 08:23 PM	#9 (permalink)
wooddood the wood dude Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: CARMEL. INDIANA Posts: 3,450 View Gallery Karma Komment	i would advise to go with metal halide&vho to suppliment with actinics if you want to keep sps in the future,good water movement is very inportant also.i also have a 120 48inx24in x24in and am currently useing 2 csl 48in 260watts/w/moonlights at 520watts total.im going to be moving this tank to a in wall just after christmas, and will be upgrading to a larger tank asap.so what im saying is research everything first about what size tank you really want in the long run.and what equipment will fill those needs.trust me im selling stuff on ebay now that i should'nd have ever bought.but im sure alot of other people have done the same thing.lol.just trying to save you some money and help you gain knolege along the way.hope this helps ya a little.baby steps/baby steps. dave __________________ 120 gal/in wall tank/starboard substraight/2 250 watt 10k xm metal halides/ 4 55watt 03 actinics/150lbs lr/scwd on return/scwd on a closed loop/aquaclear aquatics 200 pro wetdry w/skimmer. ask all the questions you have if we cant answer it we'll make up some thing. remember patience is the key to a kick ass reef. dave.

11-20-2003, 05:47 PM	#2 (permalink)
mwrager Elegance coral Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Gilbert AZ Posts: 1,068 View Gallery Karma Komment	I use both PC and MH on my 120 gal tank. I have 2-250 watt MH 10k and 4-96 watt PC, 2-10k and 2- actinic. I would get rid of the canister filter also the wet/dry. Thats just my .02 Mark

11-20-2003, 05:50 PM	#3 (permalink)
mwrager Elegance coral Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Gilbert AZ Posts: 1,068 View Gallery Karma Komment	Is it going to be a reef tank or a FO? If you are going for the reef look you will also need about 100 lbs of LR.

11-20-2003, 07:53 PM	#7 (permalink)
tankgirl Reef Lobster Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: So. Ca Posts: 1,476 View Gallery Karma Komment	Hi skel, Hah! A black hole for all your money! Seriously, congrats!!! The fuge needs slow water flow, good to keep in mind. What kind of corals do you eventually want to keep? It'll make a difference because you'll want more waterflow for acros and sps than you'd want for softies. If you set it up now with the plumbing and equipment you'll want later, it'll save you bucks.

11-20-2003, 07:57 PM	#8 (permalink)
Curtswearing Golden Moray Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 2,596 View Gallery Karma Komment	I was going to post on this thread but I see you are in good hands. I have some other things to attend to. Nice to meet you Skeletor121.

11-20-2003, 08:29 PM	#10 (permalink)
mwrager Elegance coral Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Gilbert AZ Posts: 1,068 View Gallery Karma Komment	I would also add read as much as you can and ask a lot of questions

11-20-2003, 08:37 PM	#11 (permalink)
fidojoe Fish Addict Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Gilbert, AZ Posts: 1,581 View Gallery Karma Komment	My advice, is that if you cannot afford what you want, hold off, live with what you have until you can afford what you really want, and don't buy "the next best thing" ive done it too many times, and I have several things I don't need, underpowered powerheads, a crudy skimmer, etc. __________________ *Member "Crabs Are Evil" Society* My Tank: 90g AGA, 18g tall sump, CSS 220 w/ meshmod impeller, 4x54w Tek T5 retro w/ IC reflectors, Kalk reactor w/ aquamedic niveaumat system, a few SPS, LPS, zoos, and a few softies, 2 Ocellaris Clowns (hosted by both a RBTA and GBTA), Yellow Watchman, Potter's angel, Yellow Tang, Foxface, Midas Blenny, Purple Pseudo, huge brittle star, 2 tigertail cukes, fire shrimp, snails, and unfortunately two emerald crabs (the bubble algae got out of control).

11-20-2003, 09:03 PM	#12 (permalink)
Dennis7 Ricordea Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 190 View Gallery Karma Komment	Drill the tank for overflows and returns. Do it now before setting it up. You be happier.

11-20-2003, 09:21 PM	#13 (permalink)
jks1 Achilles Tang Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Jacksonville, Fl Posts: 876 View Gallery Karma Komment	as some have said i would get rid of the canister and wet/dry. Also if i had to do mine all over again from scratch i would start with uncured rock and cure it in the tank so i could save a lot of the benificial stuff that usually dies off under unsupervised "curing". just my $.02 __________________ John Tank: 29g glass Pumps: Mag5.0 return - (3) rio 100 PHs Lighting: (1) 150w XM 10K/(2) 30W actinics Equipment: Aqua C Urchin skimmer- CPR Fuge, Titanium Heater -Red Sea wavemaster Pro Tank: 210g 1/2" Acrylic, dual overflows, 75g glass sump w/ 20g fuge. Pumps: Mag24 return - (2) MAG24s running 2 closed loop systems. Lighting: (3) 400w XM 10K/(2) Custom Sealife 96w PC - 25w dimmable incandescent Moonlight Equipment: Aqua C EV180 skimmer - CR500 calc reactor - Titanium Heater - AquaLogic single Stage Temp Controller - Aquanetics 1/5Hp Chiller - Neptune sys aquacontroller

11-20-2003, 11:28 PM	#15 (permalink)
fidojoe Fish Addict Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Gilbert, AZ Posts: 1,581 View Gallery Karma Komment	Yeah, luckily I was told about RAG, otherwise my graveyard would be twice as big as it is now. I'm sure RS will save me money too. __________________ *Member "Crabs Are Evil" Society* My Tank: 90g AGA, 18g tall sump, CSS 220 w/ meshmod impeller, 4x54w Tek T5 retro w/ IC reflectors, Kalk reactor w/ aquamedic niveaumat system, a few SPS, LPS, zoos, and a few softies, 2 Ocellaris Clowns (hosted by both a RBTA and GBTA), Yellow Watchman, Potter's angel, Yellow Tang, Foxface, Midas Blenny, Purple Pseudo, huge brittle star, 2 tigertail cukes, fire shrimp, snails, and unfortunately two emerald crabs (the bubble algae got out of control).

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