New Setup

[Buzzard]

Hello,

I also posted this to the main board but wanted some local input. Any and all advice is appreciated! Go Patriots!


I’m planning the setup of my first marine aquarium. I have been reading through this and other sites for the better part of the past 5 to 6 weeks and feel that I am almost at the point where I’m ready begin purchasing equipment.

I’m very interested in feedback on the setup outlined below. I am planning to start with Fish & hardy invertebrates and if all goes well, slowly introduce corals/clams after a year or so.


TANK : 120-gallon Oceanic RR, 48x24x24
This is my only purchased so far; it should come in next week


FILTRATION: 150# Live Rock & 5 inch DSB
I plan to cycle the tank with 90# of live rock from an online store; I’m assuming that the rock I receive will require curing and will be sufficient to cycle the tank. Once cycled, I plan add another 60# of selected fully cured rock from a LFS (I want to be able to select the rock for aesthetic reasons).

I live in the Greater Boston/Massachusetts but am unable to find SouthDown Tropical Sand. Does anyone know of a supplier in this area?


RO/DI:
Kent Marine Hi-S 60GPD


SUMP: 25-gallon Acrylic (21.5x16x18) REFUGIUM: 30- gallon Acrylic (24x16x18)
Both DIY, the refugium will be fed by the Y valve from the tank overflow and then overflow into the sump.


SKIMMER: Euro-Reef CS8-2
This selection is based upon the positive reviews on this site. The CS8-2 may be slightly oversized for a 170 gallon (tank/sump/refugium); my hope it that I’ve selected equipment and environment that will be forgiving of novice mistakes. Is it possible to overskim?



PUMP: 2 MAG-Drive 950 return pumps;
I chose 2 return pumps (one to each overflow) for redundancy and increased flow; they are submersible and will be placed in the sump along with the skimmer/heaters. I’m estimating this will turnover the tank 12-14 times per hour. Any thoughts?


LIGHTING: ??
I’m most confused about lighting… Being new to the hobby I’m unsure how I’ll want to stock a year from now; that being said I’d like to build in as much flexibility on the front end. My preference is to purchase a complete hood. CSL sells a MH/PC hood. Does anyone have a perspective on CSL hoods? Can the hood be placed directly on the tank? Other hood recommendations?

I know this is a loaded question but…… if you were purchasing lighting for a 48x24x24 tank with a 5inch DSB what would you choose?

Thank you in advance for your input!

[Vilas]

wow! As compared with the majority of new reefers, you're way ahead of the game! Trust me, I was one of the masses that got into it bit by bit, and didn't realise how much planning was needed. Your plans sound about on track to me.
As far as southdown goes, it's seasonal. We're lucky that in this area, home depot does indeed sell it. It should be around in the spring.
I think the skimmer sounds about right, but perhaps that's my preference. Most skimmer/filter/whatever manufacturers tend to exaggerate the tank size recommended for their equipment.
As far as a hood goes, many people here make them themselves. It's much easier that way, especially with the clearance needed for MH lighting. Too close to the water, and you'll have big heat problems, and many commerical hoods are designed for standard dinky NO strips. I'm not familiar with CSL hoods at all, perhaps they do a really good job.
Welcome to reefing, and to the club! By all means, you should stop into our meeting next weekend at the new england aquarium.
Charlotte

[stevescg]

Ditto Vilas.
2 THINGS YOU SHOULD ABSOLUTELY NOT BE CHEAP ON, LIGHTING AND SKIMMING. The rest falls easily in place!

[Violin]

For filtration, you really DO NOT need so many pound of rocks. As long as you keep 5 inches DSB, you need minimal live rock for filtration, just enough to situate corals. Furthermore, the more rocks you have the less space fish can swim upon.

For Sump, you may consider Rubbermaid. It's cheap and it will
NEVER break. However, you need a space to put the Rubbermaid, because it's chunky.

For skimmer, the bigger the better. I would choose CS830 or larger. It's pricier but you won't regret the purchase.

For pump, I will go with single Iwaki55. It will last as long as you clean it periodically.

For lighting, try duel HQI 250W MH and PC/VHO. HQI has been very successful in Europe for years, and funny enough it's a foster child in this country.

I live next to Harvard, let me know if I can help.

[hartman]

Nice Job so far.

Good luck on Southdown. I have call most of the store and they are out till March. I tried to order a pallet and then sell off the rest. But HD wants and 18 Pallet min, or 18x144 = 2592 50lb bags, I think I have a hard time moving that much.

For lighting I would start with a min of VHO. IceCap 660 ballast with 4x46' 110watt bulbs. 2 Superday and 2 03 bulbs. This will get the tank going and most soft corals. Then later if you want MH you switch to tall 03 bulbs and buy 2 250-400W MH bulbs. MH buld do a 24'x24 area which is perfect for your tank. You could even go with 2 VHO setups if you wanted

min
VHO 440w totals on an IceCap 660

med
VHO 880W totals on 2 IceCap 660

Best
VHO 440W 03 as supplement
2 250W 6500 MH or 2 400W MH

If you started with med and moved to best you could put 1 Icecap on the sump and make it a refugium.

Hartman

[Simas]

Please see my earlier post under "For Sale". I have (2) lighting units complete that can sit on or hang above your tank. Both 48"....one is MH/PC other is PC only.

Please advise.

ves

[ScavDog]

I think you are off to a running start. I must agree with steve and urge you to spend money on Skimmer and lighting.

I would go with an Aqualine Bushke Aquaspacelight. They are cool looking HQI fixtures, but again they are a bit more pricey.

Good Luck

[Buzzard]

Thanks everyone for the input/advice.

ScavDog, thanks for the tip on the AB Aquaspacelights; they look like nice units. Do you have the 150 HQI or 250 HQI? Price is comparable for both but the 250 looks like it's a ton of light. Is 250W HQI overkill for 24" high with 5" DSB?

Violin, it's good to know that someone is near by. I'm sure I'll be in touch once I assemble everything and begin to run into roadblocks. What type of setup do you have?


Simas, thanks for the list. Is your system still operational and do you have live rock for sale? If I decide to go with the CSL I'll send you a email.


I also have another question:
Can I begin to cycle my tank with LR and 1 inch of argonite (sugar sized) and then add southdown to complete the DSB once it's available in March? I believe they are the same product, however the argonite from the LFS costs $25 for 30# while Home Depot SD costs $4 for 50#.

[Violin]

AB 250 watt HQI looks incredibly bright. A friend of mine switched from mogul based 400 watt 10,000K bulbs to 250 watt HQI, guess what, some corals started bleaching so he had to elevate the lightings by quite a few inches. Months later, his corals look much much better than ever before. What have we learned from this?

The followings are my setup...

Oceanic 200 with 100g rubbermaid sump
Powered by HSA1000 skimmer, Korallin 1502 reactor, a chiller.
Illuminated by IceCap 175watt MH and VHO.
Circulated by dual Iwaki55+Ocean current.
Structured by ~120 to 150 lb LR(started with 250 lb years ago
then removed quite a few over the years) and SB between 1" and 4" unevenly distributed.
Inhabited by Acroporas, Plerogyras, Fox corals, Heliopora,
a yellow leather, an angel, 3 butterflies, 2 tangs, a cleaner wrasse, 2 manderine gobies, 2 cleaner shrimps, a Sea cuke, a white sand starfish(bad idea, but my wife never allows me to remove it) 5 sea urchins, 100+ Nassarius snails, 40+ other snails, and 20+ hermits.

AGA 75 with 20g rubbermaid sump
Powered by HSA250.
Illuminated by PC
Structured by ~40 lb LR and SB between 1" and 3" unevenly distributed.
Inhabited by Pom Pom Xenia, Neptheas, a huge Sarcophyton, a small Sarcophyton(with zero growth for 4+yrs) an elegance coral,
a Pocillopora, an angel, a wrasse, a cuke, and a serpant star.

I'll build a 20g refugium for my 200g in the spring, so I'll need some southdown sand, too. After my 175watt MH bulbs age, I'll upgrade the lightings to 250 watt HQI.

Good luck with your process

[Vilas]

As far as adding sand later on goes - well, it's what I'm in the process of right now, so it certainly can be done! Just make sure you start with the right grain size, the smallest you can find. I couldn't get southdown until way after my tank was set up, so I was in the same boat. The trick is to add no more than about a quarter to a half inch at a time, to give the critters in the sandbed time to migrate upwards. I've been adding a quarter inch every 3-4 days. The good news is that it clears up MUCH quicker in an established tank. The bad news is that means 6-8 hours of having a solid white tank for every quarter inch added. Apparently, it does not hurt anything, there are storms on the reef in the wild all the time, but it's still not a lot of fun!
When adding sand, by the way, the two tricks people like to use are to either pour the sand in a PVC pipe, and get it directly to the bottom that way - less clouds - or put it in a ziplock bag, and pour it out on the bottom.
Argh, I still have about an inch to go. Sorry, fish...

[Simas]

Buzzard:

My 180 & 55 are still running because I have live rock & deep sand bed. Lots of critters: copepods, snails, tiny starfish, worms, couple of pep shrimp, red legs & blue legs.

Selling LR @ $2.00/lb. Sand=same. About 120 lbs. left.