Noob to the site, have some questions...

black cobra

black cobra

Member
First I spent a week reading thru posts before I registered and found so much useful info

Ok I am doing a 150 Gallon Reef setup.
This is a list of my parts I was going to get:
Rapid Pro Wet/Dry Filter 700gph
ETSS Reef Devil protein Skimmer
150 lbs. Live Rock
(2) 250w EBO Jager Heaters
Sun Pod HQI Metal Halide Light Fixture
60lbs of Dry Aragonite Sugar Sized Sand
Instant Ocean 160 Gallon Bucket
In-Tank 12" Refugium
Please critique as you see accordingly. Maybe something is better than what I have listed?

What are the alternatives to drilling the tank out for plumbing? Can I use a hang-on type filtration? The reason I ask is I really do not feel comfortable drilling because I dont want to make a mistake or get a crack going....
Also this will be my first Saltwater setup. When adding coral, or clams, etc... do you place it in by hand, fish net?? I assume you don't just drop it in after acclimation but I am really not sure?
And when adding the sea salt, is it best to add it in a cup at a time or just empty a bag at a time out into it or does it matter? A cup at a time seems like it would take a really long time but maybe thats just how you should do it? Not sure....
I appreciate any advice, tips! This is a great site
 
thunder7

thunder7

Member
You can use an over flo box to get water to your sump. I think I would use something a little more coarse than the sugar sand. Welcome to the forum.
 
renogaw

renogaw

Active Member
I would get rid of the wet/dry and just eithermake your own sump or buy one. then you can also get rid of the 12" in tank refugium.
when you add corals/clams you'll going to have to get your arms wet. you can't just plop stuff in cause they need to be placed somewhere, moved around due to flow, etc.
as for making water, you're going to want to premake it before using it. you CANNOT put pure salt into the tank, unless there is nothing in there (such as on initial setup). if you premake the water, you can make sure it's the right salinity before hand as well.
speaking of salinity, you'll want to get a refractometer instead of a hydrometer.
i see no in tank circulation (such as powerheads). you'll need a lot of circulation for a 150, and you're going to want more than 60 lbs of sand. i'd also get two buckets of salt, not just one.
 
black cobra

black cobra

Member
Yes this will be my initial setup so thats why I had asked about doing it that way.
What kind of sump do you recommend and also what alternatives are there to drilling out the tank? Is it something I am just gonna have to get over and do?
Powerheads? You mean like wavemakers?
Sorry these are probably stupid questions. I just want to get everything right before I start this project.
 
shyfish

shyfish

Member
I personally like live sand best. I had the aragonite in my 55g first, and when I upgraded to a 75g later I went for live sand, I liked it much, much better.
I have a 90g and I went for live sand.
 
oceansidefish

oceansidefish

Active Member
Personally I use a combination of dry sand and a bag or two of "live sand" to seed the dry sand. You may want to let the tank run a little longer before stocking but its much cheaper. In my case I did 7 bags of dry and one bag of live supplementes by a couple scoops from my existing tanks sump.
 
oceansidefish

oceansidefish

Active Member
Also you can check to see if there is a LFS around you that will drill the tank for you. Or you can check with your local reef club. Its a much better way to go that a canister filter. You would be much happier. I would sell that tank and get a RR tank personally. You will be wanting one soon enough
 
anjiro

anjiro

Member
Also if you want to do a fuge, without drilling, you can buy hang on the back refugiums or you can make your own. Simply google DIY Aquaclear 70 refugium to find a link to the process. You can mod any of their filters this way. I did it with a 110 model for my 29 gallon fowlr. Oh and dont feel bad about asking questions. Before I worked at a petstore and I have had to learn and re-learn quite a few things. However, being here has greatly enhanced my tanks' beauty and health. This is a great place to get your information. ditto on the sand, if you wanna do a reef you really need about an inch of sand or more if you intend to have things like sand sifting stars, et cetera.
 
pacmanmp

pacmanmp

Member
i would order more the one 160 gallon of sand. I ordered mine and it was only a dallor more to ship the second bucket
 
renogaw

renogaw

Active Member
RR means reef ready, it has builtin overflow/returns. if you haven't bought your tank yet, spend the extra money and get one. MUCH better.
as for a sump, you can buy say a 40 gallon tank, or any tank that will fit UNDER your tank, or in a different room, and install baffles for filtration, equipment, heaters, chaeto, DSB, etc.
 
fishytim

fishytim

Member
seriously, get a tank with built in overflows.....its so much easier and cleaner!! it's a must!
I would suggest looking for used equipment as well MOD EDIT plz dont offer websites other than this one
Originally Posted by renogaw
http:///forum/post/2922818
RR means reef ready, it has builtin overflow/returns. if you haven't bought your tank yet, spend the extra money and get one. MUCH better.
as for a sump, you can buy say a 40 gallon tank, or any tank that will fit UNDER your tank, or in a different room, and install baffles for filtration, equipment, heaters, chaeto, DSB, etc.
 
black cobra

black cobra

Member
Are any of you guys local to Northern VA? Would love to meet up on a weekend or something and go over all this stuff in person because it is overwhelming to say the least

Besides the fact I work full time as a CAD Designer and have some sophisticated software I could bring my laptop and design everything up

I have not yet bought anything as I am planning this all out first. I will be designing my stand and canopy and doing that build myself.
 
renogaw

renogaw

Active Member
oh goodness, if you're doing it all yourself, there's a different build i was just looking at i'll link for you. this sump is quite nice, and shows where to put stuff.
 
black cobra

black cobra

Member
Also if anyone ever needs any 2D or 3D designs I can def. do that for you. All I need is a rough sketch of what your looking for
 
renogaw

renogaw

Active Member
Originally Posted by BLACK COBRA
http:///forum/post/2922721
Powerheads? You mean like wavemakers?

no, power heads such as hydor koralias, maxijets, etc.
they are water movement pumps that go in your tank.
you could INSTEAD pump your tank in what's called a "closed loop" system, which has pumps outside your tank pumping water through pvc, but you'd have to end up drilling the walls of your tank and that can be a bad thing since they are all probably tempered glass now. unless you went acrylic...
 
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