NEW TANK.....

[tomato clown]

Hey everyone,
I was succesfull in talking my wife into letting me buy a 120gal. plus stand and canopy
Now here is my question...
I am going to take my sweet a@@ time setting it up as a reef tank, and I need to know anything I can about lighting as well as sumps, etc...
My guess is it will take me at least a year to aquire everything I need to make it perfect (money wise)
I'm not exactly sure of dimentions but it looks like they would be about 4'x2.5x2.5 This is a guess I haven't measured it yet. If you need to know specifics I will post them on Tuesday when I pick it up.
Dan

 

[tomato clown]

ok, now I am really confused here. I just got this home and saw there are 2 partitions in the back corners with 2 holes in the bottom behind these.......what are there for? to run pipes up into the tank?, or for something else?
Dan

 

[nosmada]

they are overflows for a sump

 

[aceiswild7]

heres an idea
get a white garbage pale, a power head and some actinic strips to go over it. fill it with water turnon the pump and put in some salt once you can afford it getyour live rock andlet it sit in that pale with the light and powerhead it will be alright in there until you get your tank setup no matter how long. once the water is in the tank u already have cured live rock with pods and all that good stuff already started.

 

[tacks]

Well, for lighting you'll want at least 3-5 watts per gallon. I have a 125g with about 4 watts per gallon. It's good that you know you want a reef. I suggest getting all the rock and sand set up the way you want before adding fish. I started mine as a FO and I'm converting it into a reef. I wish I would have just started it as a reef. Your rock will also cycle your tank which is nice. Make sure you get a skimmer also. This will keep your water in tip top shape (providing that you use RO water).

 

[tomato clown]

I know what I want, this is true, but I am starting it slow. When I move I want to have everything ready to start the ball rolling.
What's the difference between R/O, distilled, and spring water?.....I have read all the bottles and they have the same stuff written on them, but I see nothing about R/O...?????
Dan

 

[aceiswild7]

ro means reverse osmosis its a type of filtration which removes and metals or impurities from water

 

[saltshaker]

spring water is just what is says, it comes out of the ground somewhere and may have any number of minerals and nutrients in it you may not desire in your reef tank. Distilled water is better but remember there are some contaminants that will evaporate along with the water during the distillation process and end up in the water. Also depending on the distillation facility they may use copper piping and you may have some trace copper in the distilled water. Some distilled water companies do treat their water after distillation with carbon or DI filtration but there is no garantee what you by at the grocery store has been filtered in such a way. Both options are risky and get to be expensive at about $1/gal. One of the first best investments you can make for you system is a reverse osmosis system with a deionization post filter. With this setup you will be able to make your own ultapure water at home much cheaper than buying it.
Just to be honest, I used distilled water for a time when I first got into reef keeping and never had any problems, but I know people who have had disasters from using it. crap shoot at best.
just my 2 cents worth, but remember free advice is worth what you pay for it ,LOL, just kidding.

 

[tomato clown]

well i've been using distilled here @$.67per gal. so its not too bad for the smaller tanks, and works ok. I just cant find any water here with any kind of R/O written on it....just ozonated

 

[just_got_tanked]

I also just setup my tank. I can suggest to use RO water. I bought it for $.39 a gallon thru culligan. Just call up a distributer in your area. Who ever it may be. They can deliver all the water that you need to start your tank and come by monthly so you can do water changes. Then you dont have to a haul the water.

 

[saltshaker]

T.C. If you have used distilled water for some time with no ill effects, I say continue to use it until you can upgrade to RO water. Like I said I also used to use distilled water until I got an RO and recently upgraded to a RO/DI unit. The distilled water was a vast improvement over the tap water in my area, but when I started using RO water I saw a vast difference in my water quality, and a great reduction in routine tank maintainace. I only said what I did about distilled water, because I have read much about possible impurities some distilled water may have in it, and as you well know some impurities can be deadly over time. You are right that water cost in a small tank is not much. 3 years ago I went from a 20 gal system to a 90 gal system (similar to the jump you are making gal wise), and the increase in water use will be more than proportional. Water cost for me got real expensive real quick. If you shop around you can get good deals on very good quality ro/di units. I just upgraded to an ro unit that has di. I got it brand new off ---- for $150, and it is a 4 stage 75 gal/day RO unit with a DI post filter. I know you have alot of stuff to get for your new tank, but from my experience of going larger the two things I wished I had obtained first are an RO unit for make up water and a larger skimmer(I ended up getting a redsea berlin with a magdrive 7 pump after struggling with a seaclone, which did fine on the 20 gal tank), both of which I got about a year after setting up my 90. If I would have had these 2 items from the start on my 90gal tank they would have saved me alot of work and headache.
[ November 25, 2001: Message edited by: saltshaker ]

 

[tomato clown]

OK then I'm sold next item on my list will be the RO/DI unit. I'm not sure what the name of the one I saw was at my lfs, but I do know it cost arround $250 and pushed something like what you have 75gal/day, but before I buy i'll shop arround. everyone else seems to find good deals somewhere. As for my skimmer, right now I'm not using one on my 25 (it wont fit)but I bought one rated for a 90gal., so i am going to buy 1 more for a 90gal. and run them both....good idea?..bad idea?

 

[saltshaker]

T.C. you are gonna tired of my humble opinions real soon, LMAO!!! As far as a skimmer it is much better to have one over sized than under sized. For a 125 gal tank I would get one rated for at least 200 gal. As far as brand, I am very happy with my redsea berlin, but I do know there alot of better ones on the market today. Some others here on the board will be able to better give you advice on what is the best for the money now. I have my skimmer in my sump and like it there since it is out of sight. Also it performs better there since your overflows will take the nutrient rich surface water from you tank and send it to your sump. If you skimmer is in the sump it will have the best chance to get the most organics out of the water before being converted nutrients you dont want in the system. I saw above your tanks has overflows and you were not sure what they were. Do you understand the principle of how they work and how to set up an under tank sump?

 

[tomato clown]

to be honest.....I haven't the slightest clue. When I bought the tank I didn't notice the holes and stuff, because i wanted a different tank and my wife incisted on this one...soooo....
Anyway I figured the way I should go about the deal is buy the main part of the hobby "The Tank" first then go from there asking all the questions i can along the way. Room won't be an issue because when I move I'll have enough for an army in the house.
last thing I plan on buying is the ls and lr this way I don't have to play games. In the mean time i have been looking for books on setting these up, but they all seem old and somewhat outdated (in the library) so i'll buy a few. Next month or 2 i'll have the Ro/DI unit and the lfs has a berlin unit rated 300gal. for just under $200...it's mine(on layaway)
any opinions are welcomed, I am mesmorized by the info and willing to take it all
thanks
Dan

 

[saltshaker]

Dan,
The best way to really understand how an overflow and sump work it to see one in action, so go to you lfs and tell them you are not sure how the over flows in the tank you just bought work and ask them to show you a sump in aciton. to be sure they have a tank set up this way they can show you. IF it were my 125 i would look for a good deal on a 55gal tank for the sump. Walmart has good deals alot of times if your walmart carries much fish stuff. Oh yeah my suggestion for a pump for the berlin is a magdrive 7. You may think it is a little pricy but it will get peak performance out of your skimmer. also there are a couple of redsea berlins on ---- right now going at good prices.
[ November 25, 2001: Message edited by: saltshaker ]

 

[saltshaker]

To the sharks. I really like the board and I am new here. I hope I didnt cross any line with my last post. I just read all the fall out over yostrata (sp?). I thought it was ok to talk about where to get things swf.com didn't sell especially since i have seen much discussion about southdown sand, and some sharks even joined in some of the discussions. In these posts it is freely said that the best place to find it is homedepot. Anyway give me some feedback about this and I hope I wont get eaten by a mako or great white today

 

[tomato clown]

saltshaker,
Links to other sales sites are not allowed, and I respect those rules of the BB, and haven't gone against them. The mod's do go through all these and they will let you know if you have gone against the regulations. If there is something you need or see and want to share it is best to e-mail it. As for myself I'm about 25 minutes from Miami, so swf.com is always top of my list
Dan
I also like the info you have been helping me with I appreciate it greatly, and hopefully someday i can repay the favor somehow, as well as to everyone else.