alison
Member
Hi,
I'm ready to start a reef again and it's been a few years since I've had one and I need a LOT of help.
Questions:
Tank:
Don't have a lot of wall space so need to keep that 48" length but height and
width do not matter. How big can I go with that? I was thinking 90 gal., but I want lots of fish too. Also is black back or blue better? Also what about overflows built in?
Lights:
Want to keep hard corals and want to go VERY gung ho and do it right despite the cost. What should I shoot for? I always had PC's and that of course wasn't even enought to keep soft corals very well. So I know NOTHING about halides but they are definately the way to go.
Heat:
What is a great chiller for the Halides? I live in Washington but no AC so temps in the house can get into the high 80's. Also Fans- I heard computer fans but I don't want a wiring mess either.
Filtration:
I know this sounds bad but I was poor a few years ago so hang on the back whisper 500's was what I had. I want to go gung ho and get a great sump with skimmer. Remora's I heard were great. What do you recommend and size?
Overall:
I want to go gung ho again like I was and fragging to friends/stores and have fun and I want a very clean professional install look. I don't want a cheap wire mess like my last reef.
There are several good deals on craigs list so I could get the tank/stand/hood there and then buy retail the rest.
Overall I want my tank to almost maintain itself and not overload it with fish like a lot of people do and just have a very balanced system.
I gave my old 55 gal. setup to my mom since she was better able to care for the reef and she maintains it this way. She took it to a whole new level of reef. So luckily I can have her do a waterchange when I'm ready and start up that way and jumpstart the system.
Thanks for any suggestions. By the way I got out of the hobby as I was too busy starting my career and now I'm much more settled and financially much better able maintain a reef ecosystem now.
Thanks,
Ali
I'm ready to start a reef again and it's been a few years since I've had one and I need a LOT of help.
Questions:
Tank:
Don't have a lot of wall space so need to keep that 48" length but height and
width do not matter. How big can I go with that? I was thinking 90 gal., but I want lots of fish too. Also is black back or blue better? Also what about overflows built in?
Lights:
Want to keep hard corals and want to go VERY gung ho and do it right despite the cost. What should I shoot for? I always had PC's and that of course wasn't even enought to keep soft corals very well. So I know NOTHING about halides but they are definately the way to go.
Heat:
What is a great chiller for the Halides? I live in Washington but no AC so temps in the house can get into the high 80's. Also Fans- I heard computer fans but I don't want a wiring mess either.
Filtration:
I know this sounds bad but I was poor a few years ago so hang on the back whisper 500's was what I had. I want to go gung ho and get a great sump with skimmer. Remora's I heard were great. What do you recommend and size?
Overall:
I want to go gung ho again like I was and fragging to friends/stores and have fun and I want a very clean professional install look. I don't want a cheap wire mess like my last reef.
There are several good deals on craigs list so I could get the tank/stand/hood there and then buy retail the rest.
Overall I want my tank to almost maintain itself and not overload it with fish like a lot of people do and just have a very balanced system.
I gave my old 55 gal. setup to my mom since she was better able to care for the reef and she maintains it this way. She took it to a whole new level of reef. So luckily I can have her do a waterchange when I'm ready and start up that way and jumpstart the system.
Thanks for any suggestions. By the way I got out of the hobby as I was too busy starting my career and now I'm much more settled and financially much better able maintain a reef ecosystem now.
Thanks,
Ali
