Just got a 150 R/R Tank. Looking for set-up tips PLZ!!

aprilmike2

aprilmike2

Member
Alrighty, I just got a 150 Gallon glass R/R tank. I had to pick this up, too good of a deal to pass up. It came with a wet/dry ..Protien Skimmer..UV Light...Pump.. This tank im going to take my sweet time setting up so I make NO mistakes. Im looking to do a reef tank with some fish, mostly bottom dwellers, ie. horseshoe crabs maybe even a sting ray if possible.
Im looking for some tips and hints on first time set up. Im still kind of new to this but ive been reading my bootay off in these message boards and I THINK I have somewhat of a grasp on this, but I do have some doughts. So PLEASE feel free to post things that I should get and might need.
I want to get an R/O system, lights, heater, pumps for great flow in tank, etc.
Also I need to know what exactly a UV steralizer does, and If I should incorporate it with this tank. If you think I should post some pics of the equiptment let me know and ill do that ASAP.
Thanks and looking forward to some feedback!!! ***)
 
fedukeford

fedukeford

Active Member
what kind of skimmer and wut kind of wet/dry?? the UV sterilizer takes particle from the water and kind of just zaps them i think, but if yor doing a reef i woulldnt use the UV , b/c it also kills good bacteria, ive never seen a ray in a reef tank so im thinking it cant be done, b/c they need lots of space to swim on the bottome, and you need lots of LR in a reef so the ray wouldnt have much room to swim
 
saltfan

saltfan

Active Member
They are Trate Traps. If you are going Reef, you don't need it because you are going to be putting in 300lbs of LR. Ditch the bio balls. Keep the sump, that you can use for your equipment, heater, skimmer, and or a fuge. But in a 150g you are not going to be keeping a few or even a couple of horseshoe crabs, not at full size of 20".
 
farslayer

farslayer

Active Member
A refugium is a separate tank which is used to culture pods (which would be readily eaten in the main tank) or to reduce nitrates by growing macroalgaes or even mangroves. In my opinion, use the wet/dry as a sump. Put the protein skimmer in there along with the UV sterilizer and your heater.
BTW, a UV sterilizer uses UV light at aroud 2,300 angstroms to damage DNA to the point that reproduction is impossible. This effectively kills parasites, bacteria and free-floating algae. I have them in all of my tanks and even in my air system for my house.
So what lighting are you going to use?
 
aprilmike2

aprilmike2

Member
Im going to use MH,,, im thinking the Coralife Pro with the 3 250watts MH and the atinics and moons, if theres something else you suggest please let me know and ill check on them. Thanks
 
farslayer

farslayer

Active Member
I just bought an Aqua Medics for my 125G (72") with four 250W HQI MH and four 39W T5 Ocean Blues. I kind've dig them.
 
farslayer

farslayer

Active Member
Mine was $1249, but no moonlights. You can add some to the bottom for less than $30 if you buy them from CoraLife or somebody like that. Basically these stick-on LEDs that can be chained together. I'm getting about eight of them, blue at that!
 
aprilmike2

aprilmike2

Member
Thats going to look nice, is there a reason that you went with the brand you did? another words did you hear something about the coralife 72"'s??
 
farslayer

farslayer

Active Member
The Aqua Medic light had four MH which is why I chose them. They were also the only ones I could find at the time with HQI bulbs at 250W. I'm going to have some nice pieces of rock buried in my sand bed and place clams on them. I want my clams to thrive so I'm going all out for their lighting. My corals are only LPS and softies as I don't like the SPS corals at all (I think they're ugly). I also wanted something better than PC for supplementary actinic, so these offered the T5s. It was a win/win for me. I'll be starting a thread in the reef section to journal my building of my tank.
 
aprilmike2

aprilmike2

Member
Cool, ill look for that thread!! Im doing tons of reading on this stuff DONT want to mess anything up!!! Because once this thing is set up I know how hard itll be to change some stuff!!! Thanks
 
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