more questions on setup

[susan]

First, thanks for your patience and comments to all my annoying questions so far. I appreciate it!
I think I know what I want now. Can someone double check this let me know what they think?
I have a 55 gal tank that I'm going to start this hobby with. It'll be used for fish and live rock only. In 6 mos or so, when I've got the basics down pat, I want to upgrage to a 100-125 gal reef tank that can handle most corals, etc. (no clams)
I'm going to get everything for a 125 gal tank just so I don't have to get everything again when I upgrade. My 1st q is will this be overkill for my 55 gal?
Emerical wet/dry filt with bio balls rated for a 150 gal tank
(regular) Berlin protien skimmer (rated for up to a 250 gal tank.
2 pulsating power heads (what size good for 125 gal)
4 in live DSB (in both tanks) (I'm placing LS over Southdown playground sand)
I'll get live rock slowly and as I can afford it.
Lights- I'm keeping 1 regular flourescent for my 55gal and will be getting 1 actinic 15,000 Kelvin bulb, but at what wattage?
Lights- 100-125 gal. still deciding-
Q- do I need anything else? I've been hearing that having 2 holes drilled in the big tank with the filtration setup hooked up below is better for circulation of everything. Is this better than going with the wet/dry filter or should you have the holes drilled and hook up the wet/dry to that? (I don't know a thing about the hole concept...)
Thanks- Susan

 

[lordofthereef]

one quick question for ya. why get the old berlin skimmer??????? <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" /> if you look at *************, you can pick up the turbo for 200 bucks!! only 25 dollars more then the old model! i just got two turbos, i think you'll be happier with them.

 

[underthesea]

i agree spend the extra few dollars and get the belin Turbo it is much better then the classic model

 

[bigeyedfish]

Get the corner overflows, its more asthetically pleasing, but of course its more $$. On the big tank i believe they will be of much better help. I have one corner overflow on my 55 gal and it works great. You seem to have everything you need to get started. I would recommmend haveing a sump instead of the wet/dry system. Just get a 10-30 gal tank and place it below your main tank. the water will drain down from the overflows. You can house your pumps, skimmer, refugium (if you choose) down here as well. I have a wet/dry and wished i had spent my money elsewhere. wish i had found this site before i bought my setup.

 

[susan]

AHHHHHHHHH!
OK, I know nothing of sumps and refugiums and what they do. Why sump over wet/dry and is the sump just that, just a container the excess water goes into? Don't you need the holes in the tank for the sump? What are corner overflows?
Are there web sites that explain what these are and how they work in detail?
Also, I spoke to someone at the lfs and they said that the 150gal filter would be way to much for my 55gal (using the 55 gal while waiting to upgrade)
Can I just use my whisper III power filter I'm using for my FW tank now? It's rated for a 20-60 gal tank. You know, just while I just have live sand, a few pc of LR and 3-4 small fish? If not, do you think the bif filter will hurt things in the smaller tank? I don't want everything getting sucked up.

 

[lordofthereef]

no need too worry about a big filter on a smaller tank! i have two filters on my 29gallon reef, one is rated for 80 gallons, the other is rated for 40 gallons. i topped that with my 16 gallon reef. it has a filter rated for a 100 gallon tank!! i think that it is ok to have larger filters on saltwater since it is dencer then freshwater. know what i mean? plus, it dosen't hurt to have the extra water movment. that means less powerheads taking up space in your tank.

 

[bigeyedfish]

SOrry if i was too vague earlier. The corner overflows are a small blocked off section of the tank that the water spills into and drains down to the sump below. there's also a pipe in there to return the water from below (you need a pump of course). yes you do need two holes drilled in that area for the overflow. when you buy the big tank you can have it come predrilled and the overflows installed. I like the sump setup better, the wet/dry is kind of old technology. if you have plenty of live rock and sand you wont need to bio balls. the sump jsut circulates the water and stores all your other equipment. Skimmer, heaters stuff like that. Check out some of the otehr threads in here about sumps and refugiums, they are very helpful. Also look up DIY sumps for diagrams. If i could give you a picture it would be really helpful.

 

[susan]

Oh thank you...
That was much better! Light shines on marble surface...
Q though- won't having holes in a glass tank fracture with all the pressure? I would be very nervous about that. I hear lots of people say it's great though! what supports the glass from cracking and breaking around the hole? Is it reinforced?
The corner overflows. Is this a pc of glass or plastic set diagonally in the back corner of each side of the tank where the water can overflow to?
So it's dry? The water's sucked out with a tube and pumped back into the tank with a tube?
Plase elaborate. Thanks!
I saw a diagram of a sump somewhere before and it looked complicated. (I'm a blond- so don't your breath that I may eventually understand it) Anyhow, does anyone know of a site where do it yourself sump diagrams are? How dificult are they and what size container hould you have for a 100 gal tank? Does the sump have to be glass if it holds the heater or can it be as simple as a rubbermaid container?
Thanks for your reply!