Need advice on Equipment

[3nascar8]

Hello all,

I looking for the best equipment for the buck, have a 375gallon and was looking to set it up as a fish/reef once i get all the stuff i need for this project.

i have 2 dolphins amp 3000, I can use but after looking at the threadds on here i can buy 2 or 3 other pumps if need to.

as far as the skimmer/skimmers is it best to use one or more?
as far as height under the tank I have about 38-40 inches under the stand before it hit the plywood ( stand made out of 2x2 square tubing )

This tank was a fresh water tank so can I use the filter i have or is it better to use a refugium or use both,
what i have is a 200 gallon drum about 4-5 foot high and 24-34" inches around with a 14" round shelve place in the middle to hold my bio-media which happens to be bio balls, but i can also get diffrent bio media if needed there is also a sock/bag filter before water get to the bio-media

More about the tank its 96"x30"x30" pay $77.00 because it was cracked at the seam, and has been fixed for a year now, all that happen was the seam let lose, I has 4-1" return ling (bulkheads) cut in the backside near the top, if i need to cut more in where should i cut them and what size, aslo have 2-2" bulkheadds left side of tank looking into the the tank, which is near the bottom which i ran 2" pvc in the tank and than place a 4"x2" reducer on the top which is about 1" from the top of the tank, the right side was cut 6" from the top of the tank which took one 2" 90* elbow and than a 4"x2" reducer on the top of it and it about 1" from the top of the tank also,

as far as lighting I was told that I could use 4@400w/20000k,

I would like to Thank you very much for you help/input
This would be the first saltwater tank I have done personally, I have read all the post on here for newbies/ and setup some friends and learn alot but you cant learn everything that this great hobby has to offer

if you need more information on the tank I would be glad to shoot you the information,

Pumps, lighting,skimmers,sump tank/refugium/fluidbed

Again Thanks very much for your input and Help

:confused: :( :confused:

[Julio]

as far as the skimmer you are better off just having one as having more than one can sometimes force them to work against each other. I would stick with the ampmaster pumps instead of buying new ones since these pumps work great and move a lot of water.

[MAS]

as far as the skimmer you are better off just having one as having more than one can sometimes force them to work against each other This statement makes no sense and is absolutely untrue. We run multiple skimmers in parallel for redundancy. Never any issues.

[gwrulzmylife]

I'd opt for no skimmer and go with an ATS.

[reeftechie]

I too use 2 Skimmers on the same system. Have never had a problem with them fighting each other.

[mhurley]

A lot depends on your goals for this tank. I have this exact same dimension tank and here's what I use today (very dominated by SPS).

4x400 watt XM20K bulbs run by PFO HQI ballasts. I'm seriously considering changing to a 10K bulb to increase growth of my SPS. IceCap just recently released their new electronic 400 watt ballasts and if I had money to burn, I'd probably pick them up.

I use 2 Ampmaster 3000s, one on a closed loop, one for the return from the sump. I also use 2 Tunze Steams (6100's) for in tank circulation. These things are friggin awesome and if I could go back in time, I'd skip that closed loop and add a third Stream. Far more efficient on electricity and more more water than an Ampmaster and have a better flow pattern.

If you are running a reef tank (or planning on it), I would recommend against the bioballs/wet-dry system, they don't help in the nitrate situation and they've fallen out of favor in the last few years as we've opted for more natural filtration methods. All you really need is live sand and a good amount of LR for filtration. I'd used that tank as a refugium.

Skimmer wise, I've used ETS, MyReef and now just got a Geo skimmer custom made. I like big oversized skimmers, but you are limited on space under that tank. I really now like the Geo I have, but it's over 5' tall. MyReef is also great too. You'll hear great things from other people about EuroReefs. But IMO, dollars to donuts, best bang for the buck is either a MyReef or Geo.

Any chance you can plumb everything down to a basement? You're going to need a lot of gear and under cabinet for a tank this size is tough.

If this is your first SW tank, I'd suggest some serious planning and budgeting. As you've probably read, it's roughly $30-$40 per gallon to get it up and running. And I can tell you from setting up that tank, that's pretty much dead on.

You didn't talk about calcium reactors or anything and again, depending on what you plan on keeping, you're going to need one.

Heat: Have you thought about the heat this will all generate? Do you have a hood for this tank? Can you vent that heat out somewhere?

Don't forget the humidity factor this will add to your home. I evaporate 4 1/2 gallons of water per day.

Ok...that's enough for now..

[reeftechie]

Originally posted by gwrulzmylife
I'd opt for no skimmer and go with an ATS.

$800 and nobody makes them anymore then he is very limited.

I have one and hate it, I have had one for a long time, ever since I setup my tank, very unhappy with it, VERY! Stick with the skimmer.

RT