Needed stuff for a 90 gal reef tank

[compinnov]

Hello, Everyone
I'm new to the boards and I've just started a Nano 12gal reef tank. It's going pretty good. I have a 90 gal tank set up for fresh water and have malawi in it as of right now. It has 2 emporer 400 bio filters on it. I'm wanting to convert it over to a salt water reef. What do you all recommend for equipment??? Brand ofSkimmers,filtration etc. I'm new to this so if you could give me a list of items I need, it would sure help. I know about the live rock and coral sand, its just the equipment I havent got down.
Thanks for all your time.
John

 

[fishman77]

well if i were you id go with a sump/fuge and a euro reef skimmer if its in your budget but another brand of skimmers is good to(look on this board to see what other skimmers are good)you will need at least 90 lbs of rock but i would go with more.you will need a pump for water return and i dont know if your is drilled or not but if it isnt then you would need an hang on overflow box unless when you drain the water out the youll drill it.also you will need powerheads for water movement and keep areas from being stagnant.if you are planning on keeping a reef you need pc,vho,or MH depending on what your keeping.also how will you cycle the new tank?if i were you id throw in a few cocktail shrimp and uncured live rock(if your LFS only sells cured rock at the time ask when there next shipment will be in or you could order rock offline and it will have some die off.oh yea get a very good test kit.1 more thing....ive heard of live sand and southdown but never coral sand:notsure: :notsure: if your talking about crused coral then do not get it:nope:

 

[compinnov]

Thanks for the info, The tank doesnt have a bottom plug in it. Sorry i was thinking of live sand. What do you think of a prizm. Where would the best place online be to find this stuff??Resonably priced ofcourse. What would you think of cycling the tank with. By hand ????IE syphon and bucket hand mix???
John

 

[fishman77]

Originally posted by compinnav
What would you think of cycling the tank with. By hand ????IE syphon and bucket hand mix???
:
??????
explain more of what you said.
i really would not go for the prizm skimmer.

 

[compinnov]

Sorry, Ive been doing 25% water changes in my tanks. This set up for the 90 gal is my 1st big reef tank. I'm just trying to get togeather what I need to convert this from fresh water to salt water. By the means of equipment. I'm looking to buy all this in about a month. I'm not familure with protien skimmers and filter set ups. etc. Fresh water is so much simpler.
Sorry for my ingnoance.

 

[thedude]

Welcome!
"Cycling" refers to starting a tank out with the initial mix of salt water, rock, and sand. People used to put their fish in with this stuff but the ammonia (and other chemicals) spike to usually lethal levels after you start to feed them. Because of this you dont add the fish until after it's "cycled" (3 wks or so), and you can start this by adding a raw shrimp or "feeding" your "imaginary fish". This is overly-simplified and might make no sense at all...so do a search if so...007 wrote a great tutorial.
It is usually suggested that you add about 1 lb of Live Rock per gallon in your tank...so about 90 in your case. This will do all the bio. filtration you need. With the size of your tank most people will probably suggest the addition of a skimmer as well. They make "hang on the back" skimmers (AquaC Remora, BakPak, etc.) and In-Sump (EuroReef,etc.) skimmers...your choice. If you have an undergravel filter get rid of it.
Sumps are good for various reasons...more water (consistency), easier water changes, hides equipment, etc.
On lights...if you want a reef (anemones, SPS, etc.) it is advisable to have 5-10 watts per gallon.
Live Rock is pretty much a must, live sand is awesome but from what ive read a DSB (deep sand bed) can be bad (this is somewhat controversial)..so IMO it should be about 1" deep.
Lastly, be careful about overstocking (putting too many fish) in your tank, or adding too many at one time...let one or two little guys get started and add from there, with the more agressive ones last IMO
Sorry for my rambling, im new too..and i know it would have helped me to have someone explain all this when i didnt know much about salt water.