Challenged in Alaska

[matt_in_ak]

Hi, I"m glad to say I"m getting back in to a Reef tank. I kept a 65gal tank in Oregon about 10 years ago, I really loved it

I have ordered a TRUVU 100gal 48x24x20 "Reef ready" from them along with a Platinum 180 Refugium sump with A skimmer chamber. They offered a return pump with it as well. That is the hardware to date.
I"m overwhelmed with the choices on Skimmers and lighting

I know that success is easier with out skimping on either. There was a set up for lighting that was a combination of two 150W MH, two O3 atintic and leds that looked good. and there are several skimmers that look good to. suggestions will be appreciated

.
Searching the WWW I"m finding that the coolest suppliers only ship Fed EX. I live in one of the few places that is not served well by FED EX. Also, I live in " The Smallest town served by regular Jet service" I'm hoping to find a supplier that will ship Via Alaska Airlines or UPS as there services are available to me.
There are two lfs that support Reef in Anchorage and I'm going there next week

I have learned a lot in a short time surfing this Forum and have foud it vary helpfull. Your thought ?
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[jeanheckle]

Coral Life has some nice skimmers, I was told to stay away from prizm. The smaller coral life can be used as a hang on the back or in sump. Email me jeanheckle@aol.com and I may be able to offer some help with shipping.
Dori

 

[natclanwy]

I can highly recomend the AquaC EV series skimmers since that is what I run in my tank. Octopus skimmers also get good reviews.
The lights that you are looking at should be fine and will allow you to keep just about anything you would like.

 

[robertmathern]

+1 on all above. If you need help shipping pm me. We will make it happen

 

[matt_in_ak]

Jean, Nat and Robert thanks for the replies. I'll look into the above mentioned skimmers. I have a lot of work to do building the tank stand, collecting supplies ect. before I run into the how do I get live stuff here but I feel a lot better knowing there are other ppl out there to bounce ideas and questions off of.

 

[drtito]

The lights you mentioned seem like a good deal for your tank. If I knew then what I know now I would have started with M.H. lamps, everything grows better with them.
Get lots of small heaters. Alaska now thats cold.

 

[matt_in_ak]

I was thinking of two 250w heaters, redundancy and yes it does get cold. The tank depth dimension is 20" do you think that 150 HQI MH will penetrate enough for clams and lps and or sps corals? I could not keep them in my old system (florescent only).

 

[natclanwy]

150w MHs should penetrate to the bottom with no problem. Clams and LPS will be fine and most SPS. Some of the more light demanding SPS might need to be kept higher up in the tank.

 

[mr_x]

matt- watch the light fixtures you are considering. make sure they are a good brand name. the knock-off brands use poor bulbs and ballasts. you might end up replacing them immediately, which would make it a quite expensive undertaking from the start.
i purchased a knock-off fixture from sleaze-bay a while back and it was a 250 watt halide. i could barely keep zoos under it, even after i changed out the bulb.
the brand and color temperature of the bulb means alot when thinking of water penetration and overall "punch".

 

[matt_in_ak]

Thanks X, The make, model I have found is Current USA, Outer Orbit model. The details stated good ranges for the T5HO bulbs(atintic), I do not remember details on the supplied HQI MH. There a lot more choices now then when I had my first tank

 

[mr_x]

that's a decent fixture. you might want to upgrade the bulbs later, but they will do for now.

 

[matt_in_ak]

Thanks X, Well the lighting issue out of the way.

Still can't decide on skimmer. Any one heard of a company (products) named lifereeffound them surfing skimmers today. Interesting also about them is they sell black eggcrate

Thanks for all the help. Im going to look over the Anchorage fs this week. It will be fun.

 

[robn70]

I've had one of their overflows on my tank for 2 yrs now and haven't had any issues with it. I haven't heard much on their sumps and skimmers. Just a lot of good things about the overflows.

 

[fatcat]

I here Bubble king is a really good skimmer and the craftsmanship is second to none,might want to check them out..

 

[natclanwy]

Bubble kings get great reviews but you will have to mortage your house to afford them I think they start at about $500 and go up. Haven't heard much about life reef skimmers one thing that experience has taught me though is don't skimp on a skimmer I spent a few hundred dollars on skimmers over the years before I finally bought a good one, would have been cheaper to just buy the good one in the first place. The common brands that get pretty good reviews are:
Octopus
ASM
Euroreef
Bubble King
AquaC
Deltec
Some to steer clear of:
Skilter
Seaclone
Prizm

 

[fatcat]

People on other forums seem to like MRC skimmers too.

 

[mr_x]

and some people on this forum like the MSX line of skimmers as well.

 

[matt_in_ak]

Thank for all of the info ( Head just reeling with visions of great skimmers). I off to where there a two stores in Anchorage tomorrow. I bet if either store has one of the mentioned skimmers just pumping out nasty green/dark gook im going with it

. other wise I'll throw a dart in a board with the names # and look at the closest one

 

[natclanwy]

Hopefully wiki links are okay, check this one out it explains the different ways that air is injected into the water column whether it be with a venturi, spray injection ect...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_skimmer
I'm not a fan of venturi skimmers, I prefer the spray injection skimmers (AquaC) because I don't have to worry about keeping a venturi clean. My venturi skimmers flucuated in performance constantly due to salt or calcium buildup in the venturi intake but others like them very well.

 

[mr_x]

i don't worry about keeping the venturi clean. i've never cleaned the venturi's in any of my skimmers. i've pulled them out of the water to check them and have never found them obstructed. i don't understand how salt or calcium could build up. it's either under water, or sucking air inward. doesn't the air coming in stop it from getting clogged?
does any one else have this problem?