Starting up a 75 Gallon...first timer.

stevedave08

stevedave08

Member
Hi guys, I just got my 75 tank and I want to make it a reef tank. Live rock, live sand, fish, some inverts. I'm going to take it very slow though and make sure everything is done right. So far I've ordered the following: Emperor 400 wet/dry, Via Aqua Multi-skimmer deluxe, hydor koralia 1 (400gph), versa glass top, nova extreme t5ho x2 2x54 watt, and finally a 250 watt visi-therm stealth heater. After reading a couple of threads on here, I'll be purchasing 2 heaters for when
the first one takes a poop on me. I went to my local LFS, where I'll be getting my water from, I asked them to give me a quote for all the stuff I ordered. Their quote was a little under $1000, so I went home and online got all the same equipment for $500. I'm happy about that. Basically I just wanted to say hello to everyone and if you guys have any feedback on the equipment I've ordered, please let me know what you think.
 
sickboy

sickboy

Active Member
Welcome.
As far as the equipment, I would get more powerheads. I have 2 Koralia 2's in a 38 and I don't think it is enough. My buddy has a 75 that will be similar in setup to yours, here is what he has:
2 koralia 3s
2 Emperor 400s
HOB Aqua-C Remora skimmer
Also, if you want it to be a reef tank you will need more light! The T5s are awesome (I use them, 156 watts on 38 gallons), but you will need more than 2 bulbs. I would attempt to get around 300 watts of light on that tank or more.
I'm not trying to discourage you on this, I'm just saying...
Anyway, welcome to the addicting hobby, and yes, purchasing equipment online is almost always cheaper.
 
reefman22

reefman22

Member
What exactly is a "Emperor 400 wet/dry"? I thought the Emperor series was a hang on back series?
Also? a +1 to sickboy about the flow and another +1 to him on the lights. Both of these categories need to be the most out of all saltwater setups for reefs.
Depending on what corals you would like to house, your 2 T5s will probably be able to house all the softies (mushrooms, zoas, and leathers, etc), but for some LPSs (hammer, frogspawn, bubble, etc), you will need either more T5s or an upgraded fixture. If you want to house everything (annemones, clams, SPSs, etc.), it is highly recommended that you upgrade your fixture to metal halide bulbs.
As far as flow goes, you can upgrade the return pump from your sump (assuming you will have one) and split the return into the tank to create more flow there, but if you plan on correctly housing corals or sponges or clams, more flow will be neccessary (strong return pump plus at least 2 powerheads).
However, the good news is that as far as inverts go (with the exception of clams and annenomes), no specific equipment is neccessary. Basically, for a reef you need good lights, decent flow, a sump, and a nice protien skimmer.
Hope this helped
reefman
 
stevedave08

stevedave08

Member
Thanks for the feedback guys. As far as lighting, I am definitely upgrading to MH when I get some extra cash. I am going to have 4 T5 bulbs for now though at 216 watts total. As far as powerheads, I went with just that koralia 1 for now on the recommendation of a friend, but I realized after reading a few threads in here that I would definitley need more than that. I'll probably end up getting either another koralia 1 or just switchng to two koralia 2's. My tank is just sitting empty on it's stand in my living room staring at me until I get all my equipment in on Thursday. The owner of my LFS has premixed water with live plankton at .99 a gallon (he has a 2000 gallon drum in the store) which I'm probably going to use for initial setup. He says if I set everything up correctly I can add life within 48 hours (which I won't do anyway). Are there any cons to using the premixed water to start as opposed to me mixing the water with salt in the tank myself? Is he basically telling me I won't need to cycle? I want to take my time and make sure everything is done right.
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
welcome to the boards and the hobby!
T-5 are excellent, and IMO better than MH for most applications, including your tank.
however, your T-5s will need to be slightly more bulbs and individually reflected (i think yours are), to keep most corals healthy.
remember to read everything and never window shop, always research and know what you want to buy. No impulsiveness!
the search button is your friend.
i would suggest start your tank as FOWLR, and slowly upgrade into a softy reef from there, but not untill at LEAST 6 months.
also, invest in a (at least) 10g quarantine tank. the bigger the better.
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
you WILL need to cycle. get yourself some test kits and test the water yourself, don't rely on anyone else's readings but your own.
i would also ditch the emperor 400 in lieu of a sump / refugium. you can build your own from cheap materials and a small basic tank.
 
stevedave08

stevedave08

Member
Thanks saltnoob...I liked the t-5's because they last longer and I've read that they are still good for reef tanks even though most prefer MH. I'm definitely going to go FOWLR with a cleanng crew to start out and then I'll add to it later on.
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
T-5 are great. i run 14 over my 150, and keep SPS (small polyped stony) corals, the most light-needy.
 
stevedave08

stevedave08

Member
I'm only going to add a koralia 1 to the original setup I mentioned in my original post for now. I was looking at the sumps online and I'll probably upgrade to one withing the next 6 mos. I'm looking at the marineland acrylic model 2 or 3. The model 2 has single intake, 700gph, and is rated for a 75 gal. The model 3 has dual intake, 1400gph, and is rated for a 125 gal. (max I guess). The price difference is about $90 with the model 2 coming in at $309 and the model 3 coming in at $399. Are these decent prices for thes sumps? Which one would you go with for a 75 gal.?
 
lkgrenegade22

lkgrenegade22

Member
Go with a 4 or 6 bulb T5HO light instead of 2. More powerheads like was already mentioned is good too. Get 2 smaller heaters from the start so if one sticks wide open it wont boil your tank so fast. I wouldn't worry about a sump yet.
 
stevedave08

stevedave08

Member
Yea I got 2 2x54watt T5HO's from nova (4 bulbs). The sump I can wait on...the emperor400 has pretty good reviews from what I've read, so I think it'll do fine for now. I'm probably just going to order 2 more smaller heaters then and keep the original one I ordered as a back up. What size/wattage on the two smaller heaters should I get? Enough for both of them to match the 250 watts of the larger one or should I go with more wattage?
 
matt boyer

matt boyer

Member
Originally Posted by SteveDave08
http:///forum/post/2920433
How long have you been running it like that? Is it a full reef?
Its been running now for a year and a half. i've been running the same setup for over 6 years now and my water seems to stay in check . A year and a half ago i moved the tank down stairs thats why i said a year and a half . The tank is a fowlr i also use the extra media trays . i have small rubble rock pieces packed in them . I never had a pump fail and one of the filters ive had since 98 . They might not be the best but they work good and last forever make sure you shop around though some places sell them for 50 bucks and some i have seen for over 100.
 
stevedave08

stevedave08

Member
Originally Posted by matt boyer
http:///forum/post/2921172
Its been running now for a year and a half. i've been running the same setup for over 6 years now and my water seems to stay in check . A year and a half ago i moved the tank down stairs thats why i said a year and a half . The tank is a fowlr i also use the extra media trays . i have small rubble rock pieces packed in them . I never had a pump fail and one of the filters ive had since 98 . They might not be the best but they work good and last forever make sure you shop around though some places sell them for 50 bucks and some i have seen for over 100.
Cool, I got mine for $48 bucks at petsolutions.
 
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