Newbie here

1911_guy

1911_guy

Member
Let me tell you a little about myself and my plans so you all can better help with your advice.
I once had a 10G and 29G freshwater tank. My wife and I sold it before we moved to Alaska, where we are now. We also had a brazilian rainbow boa and a colombian in one cage and 2 argentine boas in a separate cage. we have experience with freshwater fish and reptiles but not SWA.
We have been wanting to get another setup and are very interested in SWA. I am AF and move about 3-5 years so i can't do anything extreme or I won't be able to take it with me.
All Glass of course is sold everywhere so we are thinking of getting their 90G standard tank with stand and canopy. I've been reading on here about Glasscages but cannot afford to have one shipped (couldn't find the website anyway).
We would like to build a SW Fish and reef style with a little bit of sand. I like the coral and live look.
Here come the questions:
1. Is the 90G okay, durable?
2. What would it take to transplant the lives in the event of my next move?
3. What species should we try to stick with and/or avoid due to moving every 3-5 years?
4. To use MH lighting, what type of mods do i need to do to the canopy? Will i have to buy a custom canopy because of the MH lighting?
5.We really would like to stay in the >$2000 range, can we expect to make this happen with a tank as large as 90G?
6.For an external sump, what size tank to use in conjunction with a 90G?
7.I really like All Glass' 120G that is deeper but is about $200 more for just the tank.
8. What type of monthly expenses should i expect?
Any suggestions and all pictures would be great. I would like to see pics of your setups, not just the inside.
 
1911_guy

1911_guy

Member
One more thing, the glass cannot be drilled, will i need to get one that can be drilled?
For plumbing or am i way ahead of myself?
What size sump, 20G too big or just right?
How do i get the water back and forth from the tank to the sump? Pictures on this PLEASE. thanks
 
jesatfis

jesatfis

Member
why not the aga 125 its better and only around 40 more i have a 90 alone it wieghs 135 lns or so filled is ove 1000
transport is a hard thing to do from hwhat i have heard but if you know what your doing it shouldnt be too hard
id go with hardyer species like no moorish idles or stuff i recomend that you get the book marine fishes by scott w. michael to find out abought fish
transport i read the fish have to be in a large enough container to house them and give some swiming room (like a 10 gal bucket) it has to be covered
thats all i know but every litle bit helps i guess
 
kdfrosty

kdfrosty

Active Member
I can only answer a few of these questions, and there are definitely some people on this forum with different opinions. I can just tell you from experience.
1) The larger the tank, the easier it is to start off with. I would never recommend anything less than a 55g to a beginner. A 90 would be even better.
2)Moving livestock from one location to the next depends on a lot of things. How far will you be moving? Are you willing to sell your fish/inverts/coral, etc. if you are moving far? I see you are from Alaska, so a move in the AF would probably be a long one. Another option is having someone ship all live items via overnight shipping. Is this option available from Alaska? If so, how costly? Moving livestock could be as costly as moving yourself...espcially from Alaska.
3)This really depends on your answer to #2. I would definitely stick with hardier species of livestock if you decide to move them with you.
4) Don't know anything about this....
5)A saltwater tank is an expensive habit/hobby. The reward is SUPER gratifying though. I can tell you that I have recently setup a 50 gallon tank, and have now spent upwards of $1500. Of course there are cheaper ways to go about things, but I'd like to have the best odds at success. I didnt skimp on my equipment, but I also didn't buy top of the line. Note: Start with a DSB, not crushed coral.

6) While I don't have a sump (yet), I have done much research on these. My main goal with a sump is to eliminate filtration, headers, etc. from the back of my tank. I am considered going with a 20g (high) sump. This would proabably be sufficient for you as well, but you may want to go smaller/bigger depending on the amount of room you will have below your tank, in the cabinet.
7) A deeper tank will require a little bit different lighting than a longer tank. Again, I don't know much about lighting, but I use PCs. It sounds like you want a complete reef setup, so I would use metal halides, asa you mentioned earlier. These can get costly, but DONT SKIMP ON LIGHTING.
8)Monthly (monetary) upkeep includes thing such as getting reverse osmosis water, filtration media, lighting bills, food, vitamins/supplements, etc. Some people have reverse osmosis filtration at home....I dont, it's $.58 - Wal Mart. Fish food...depends on what food you feed, how often you feed it, what's eating the food etc. Some people make their own food. Filtration media...not too bad. I spend $10 on cartridges/carbon/etc. every month.
One more thing) If you decide to do a sump, and cant buy a drilled tank or get one drilled, get an overflow.
Here's a recent pic of my tank, which is a little over a month old:
 
1911_guy

1911_guy

Member
placement of a 125G will be more challenging because it's 2 feet longer. i would love to but the house i live in now is about 50 years old and the outlets are just as old. there is only 3 GFCI outlets in the whole house. giving it juice alone is a challenge.
i don't think i'll have a problem selling off the lives, you're right the move would be a great one, as long as someone here could take them and take care of them...i would not want to kill them just to move. guess i'd just have to pay to ship them should that be the case.
when you get time, please post pictures of a wider view of your tank.
can i still use a sump with an overflow, without drilling?
this site sells fish and shows the length of each fish, where can i find the adult length of the fish?
 
kdfrosty

kdfrosty

Active Member

Originally posted by 1911_Guy
when you get time, please post pictures of a wider view of your tank.
I will take more pics when I get home. Check this thread later tonight.
can i still use a sump with an overflow, without drilling?
An overflow will solve the drilling problem for you. It hangs on the back of the tank, and will get water to the sump.
 
jesatfis

jesatfis

Member

Originally posted by KDFrosty
I can only answer a few of these questions, and there are definitely some people on this forum with different opinions. I can just tell you from experience.
1) The larger the tank, the easier it is to start off with. I would never recommend anything less than a 55g to a beginner. A 90 would be even better.
2)Moving livestock from one location to the next depends on a lot of things. How far will you be moving? Are you willing to sell your fish/inverts/coral, etc. if you are moving far? I see you are from Alaska, so a move in the AF would probably be a long one. Another option is having someone ship all live items via overnight shipping. Is this option available from Alaska? If so, how costly? Moving livestock could be as costly as moving yourself...espcially from Alaska.
3)This really depends on your answer to #2. I would definitely stick with hardier species of livestock if you decide to move them with you.
4) Don't know anything about this....
5)A saltwater tank is an expensive habit/hobby. The reward is SUPER gratifying though. I can tell you that I have recently setup a 50 gallon tank, and have now spent upwards of $1500. Of course there are cheaper ways to go about things, but I'd like to have the best odds at success. I didnt skimp on my equipment, but I also didn't buy top of the line. Note: Start with a DSB, not crushed coral.

6) While I don't have a sump (yet), I have done much research on these. My main goal with a sump is to eliminate filtration, headers, etc. from the back of my tank. I am considered going with a 20g (high) sump. This would proabably be sufficient for you as well, but you may want to go smaller/bigger depending on the amount of room you will have below your tank, in the cabinet.
7) A deeper tank will require a little bit different lighting than a longer tank. Again, I don't know much about lighting, but I use PCs. It sounds like you want a complete reef setup, so I would use metal halides, asa you mentioned earlier. These can get costly, but DONT SKIMP ON LIGHTING.
8)Monthly (monetary) upkeep includes thing such as getting reverse osmosis water, filtration media, lighting bills, food, vitamins/supplements, etc. Some people have reverse osmosis filtration at home....I dont, it's $.58 - Wal Mart. Fish food...depends on what food you feed, how often you feed it, what's eating the food etc. Some people make their own food. Filtration media...not too bad. I spend $10 on cartridges/carbon/etc. every month.
One more thing) If you decide to do a sump, and cant buy a drilled tank or get one drilled, get an overflow.
Here's a recent pic of my tank, which is a little over a month old:
thats a 75 or 125
 
jesatfis

jesatfis

Member

Originally posted by 1911_Guy
placement of a 125G will be more challenging because it's 2 feet longer. i would love to but the house i live in now is about 50 years old and the outlets are just as old. there is only 3 GFCI outlets in the whole house. giving it juice alone is a challenge.
i don't think i'll have a problem selling off the lives, you're right the move would be a great one, as long as someone here could take them and take care of them...i would not want to kill them just to move. guess i'd just have to pay to ship them should that be the case.
when you get time, please post pictures of a wider view of your tank.
can i still use a sump with an overflow, without drilling?
this site sells fish and shows the length of each fish, where can i find the adult length of the fish?
this site also sells a book called marine fishes and that is the book to tell you all you need to knoiw abought finall legnth's
 
buzzword

buzzword

Member
make sure the tank you buy has built in overflows, that way no drilling needed. I have a Allglass 120 with two overflows, Sequence dart pump to 30g sump/refugium. Gives me about 2400gphr. HTH.
 
1911_guy

1911_guy

Member
buzzword, i think ALA mass produces their tanks so yours should be the same that i'm looking at right? i haven't found a site yet that shows the actual tank so i'm not sure if there is an overflow.
the overflow is still inside the main tank, right? i've got alot to learn. if i have time i'm going to go book shopping tomorrow.
 
kdfrosty

kdfrosty

Active Member
Darn....sorry I didnt get to post pics for you last night. I got my new (junk) lighting in last night, and was cutting egg crate for a few hours. I just spaced it, but I will post some pics around 4:00 EST
 
kdfrosty

kdfrosty

Active Member
Ok, sorry for the delay 1911. This LINK will take you to the 8 photos that I took. They include some with a wide shot of my whole tank, a left side, right side, and a center pic. Also included are pic of my cabinet with doors closed, open, and the inside.
After looking at the picture of my whole tank, you can see why I need a sump...those filters, heaters, etc are just an eyesore. I plan on using a sump within the next month.
The pictures of the inside of the cabinet should give you a pretty good idea. I have measured in there, and a 20g high will fit nicely, and so will a 10 gallon. I hope these pics help, and are what you're looking for.
 
1911_guy

1911_guy

Member
frosty,
what is that canister with hoses that is in the bottom of your cabinet?
what is the 2 different colors of sand for?
have you thought about painting the back side of your tank or putting a posterboard back there?
it looks nice, that's a 50G, right? after i wake up a little bit more i'm going to take my wife and find some SWA books. thanks for sharing the pictures.
where can you find "tall" tanks at, for sumps?
i found someone here in alaska that may be able to sell a 90G tall with stand and hood but i'm not sure what the dimensions are.
 
kdfrosty

kdfrosty

Active Member
The canister in the cabinet is a Magnum 350 canister filter. Canister filters are getting a little bit older now, and most people find alternate means of filtration. I used this because I had it from a previouos setup. IMO, you can avoid using mechanical filtration (EXCEPT a protein skimmer) if you have enough live rock in your tank. I am in the middle of slowly adding more LR every week so I can get rid of this canister filter eventually.
I don't have two different colors of sand. One picture you saw is with my blue lights (actinics) on, and the other is with the day lights (10000K) on. I just got my new light (which is junk, btw), and wanted to see what pics with different lights would look like.
I have thought about painting the back side of my tank, but I have decided against it. Right now I have a black background back there, and that's why you can see the stuff hanging on the external back side of my tank, only stuff internally.
You can find tall tanks at local pet stores pretty easily. It's just a different size tank...nothing special to em.
If you're going to buy a 90g tall tank, keep in mind that it would require a bit more lighting than a normal 90g tank because it is deeper. Among other things, make sure you find out what type of lighting he has on this tank, how long the bulbs have been in use, etc.
 
bmw545

bmw545

New Member
I recently set up my 90 AGA with a custom cabinet and canapy. With 100 lbs of cured LR and all stuff(sump, heater, powerheads, skimer......), I'm up to about 4K. The cured LR is about 1100 of it though.
 
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