Need help

firmechicano83

New Member
Well I'm new to this and I'm trying to buy everything slowly and hopefully by April or june i can have it running. I found someone to do the stand and canopy but If i get lights from Hamilton Technology which ones should i get. Someone said to get one with 3 mh 250w and 4 compact blue actinic 65w . Which ones would u guys get. I don't know anything about lights but i want something for reefs. How many fans should I get, they told me to buy 8 4" fans but it seems alot .
tank size 70x24x32
i have so far
euroreef 280 protein skimmer
300 watt heater
1" sea swirl
2 Rio 2100 pumps
Thyphoon III ro/di
1 Rio 3100 return pump
I'm getting there slowly but surely
 

oceana

Active Member
the lighting you listed would be great. get yourself a 3x250 retro set up and pc or t5 actinic and your good to go.
 

saltn00b

Active Member
wow you have spent a lot of money so far - some of that stuff was not necessary to own to get your tank up and running, but se la vi...
if your tank is 70" and not 72" you are going to run into some problems getting a fit i would think, as that is not a common size. the Rio is a small pump, that many people have had problems with that brand, so i would return that and get something much bigger. do you have a sump? where are you going to put the equipment?
that lighting will be good, and yes you will need the fans. if it comes with individually reflected T-5s instead of PC's get that instead.
 

firmechicano83

New Member
Do you think I should return the RIO and purchase two Rio 2500 instead? I don't have a sump yet but everything is going under the stand hopefully. I only have 73 1/2 in width where it's going which is why I think a 70 would be better then the 72. In terms of lights I don't know much which is why I went to Hamilton but if anyone know something better let me know? Where do all the fans go? One last thing. If I get a canopy will the lights from Hamilton or the t5 go inside? :notsure:
 

saltn00b

Active Member
i think you should return all of your rios. they just arent worth it. for powerheads, go with Maxijets, you can even mod them for super-flow. Or Tunze for serious flow power. you said you wanted a 3100 rio as a return pump, so that means you are going to get a sump to put everything under the stand as you say, so your best bet is to have one with a bulkhead and an In-Line Pump like Sequence Reeflo Dart.
all of the fans go on the canopy facing in. yes lights go inside the canopy.
 

farslayer

Active Member
I have a Seio on my 125 and I like it much better than the maxis; one powerhead is all I use and I get movement all over the tank. My Seio blows from left to right; the far right has movement just as the left. You can't do things like a wavemaker with just the one Seio, so I've thought about putting another one on the far right and alternating between the two.
 
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