IM GETTING A 120!! FINALLY.....questions though.

[blazehok68]

finally, my buddy is taking his 120gal cichlid tank down and GIVING it to me! so im quite excited to say the least. its not reef ready, so im gonna have my lfs drill it. but i dont have any experience with this type of stuff. so im asking for suggestions of how i should have it drilled. all suggestions are welcome. im not gonna set up a closed loop system, just b/c of money issues. but i would like to be able to convert to closed loop if need be in the future.
also, i was wondering about lighting. i was thinking about doing dual 400watts mh pendants with no actinics. is this enough?? should i scrap the pendants and do a whole fixture with actinics and moonlights? i want to do 400w mh regardless. i want to be able to keep ANYTHING I WANT TO!
what type of skimmer should i use? right now on my 55 i have a seaclone 100. since i changed the air valve on it, it has become a whole new skimmer, actually working the way its supposed to. on the 55 its great, but i think for a 120 it would be a little innsufficient.
now for the fish. would i be able to keep 3-4 anthias in this size tank? also what type of big fish could i put in there? its only48"x24"x24". can i get a tang? tanks not long enough is it? i want a big impressive fish. it will make me feel good about myself.
lots of help would be great.

joe

 

[blazehok68]

bump

 

[blazehok68]

help

:notsure: :help:

 

[jumpfrog]

Wow! A bunch of questions. Let me try to help a little.
Drilling isn't the only option. A hang on overflow will work just as well and will probably be cheaper in the long run but that's just an option. Are you planning on have a sump system? Or were you just drilling to have a closed loop system for water movement. Two different things with two different purposes.
As for lighting. I think 400w MH is a bit much for a 24 inch tank but others may disagree. I would opt for 250w. That would still allow you to do most anything. Don't forget, lighting is just aspect of keeping anything you want. There's also issues to water quality that must be maintained. Your options as to having actinics or not is yours. Most studies seem to indicate that actinics help for corals as the light tends to punch better. The MHs could compensate for that though. Then it becomes asthetics, what you prefer to see.
Anthias are tough fish to keep. Certainly not for new systems. Must be feed often and need some room to move as well. If you want a large fish that makes you feel good you'll want one that doesn't swim much. Something like a lion or grouper. Of course then you are limited as to what you can add to the tank.
It's great that you're asking questions before doing. You may want to do a little more research and find a good balance between your desires and what is actually practicle.
Keep on asking and I hope I helped some.
Cheers

 

[blazehok68]

drilling---- i am going to have a sump under the tank as well as a 15-20 gal fuge. i figured to drill the tank to make it easier in the long run for when i can do the closed loop system. i actually dont know how to set up a closed loop, so i will just set it up later on.
lighting-- actually in my searches i have found dual 400w mh fixture with 2-110w vho actinics for about 400 bucks, so i am gonna stick with that. do you really think 250's would be alright?
fish-- yeah, after reading your reply, i remembered that anthias would need to be fed like 3 times a day. so i am ruling them out. a lion or a grouper is kinda out of the question, i want to have a full blown reef, and i dont want to have problems with them eating my inverts or smaller fish. maybe ill just try a school of chromis. and maybe ill trade in my pair of percs and get a pair of maroons, they get pretty big. i know they are mean, but whattya gonna do. ill get a lta to keep them happy.
what about a skimmer? any suggestions on a good one?

 

[jumpfrog]

The 400's could work but I would be a little concerned about intensite and heat in that shallow of a tank. Most seem to think 250s are good for that depth, but I'm not an expert on that.
I use the Kent Nautilus for my 125 and I've been very happy with it. Not teribly pricey and combined with a Mag 7 has done me very well.

 

[blazehok68]

maybe you are right about the heat. so dual 250s with 2-110 vho's. 720 watts should be good. what if i were to switch to 4-250mhs with no vho's? you think the intensity and the heat would be so bad? i really want to get a clam, and some sps. all these soft corals are starting to get boring.