What to Buy?

[bwilson]

First let me say that I have read some of the posts in this forum and WOW! You all should pat yourselves on the back as there is great detail and time spent answering questions. Which is why I post.
My wife and I are avid fresh water hobbyist. We have a 40, 20, and 80wide. We love all our fish and also love going to the fish store with our two children (and one and two year old). We love to buy fish! We have a problem we can not buy any more fish as our tanks are full. We have big (3to4in) rainbows and Congo’s in our 80 that we have watched grow over the years. So last week we decided to get a saltwater tank. We proceeded to three different salt stores in our area (Orange County CA) and as expected got two different opinions on what to buy. So I turn to you all.
Goals:
1.I don’t want junk! I have always bought the best I can afford. I don’t want to invest 100s to have to invest 100s more a few months later. (I’m not saying I want a Ferrari but I definitely need a new Honda.)
2.We have decided for our first tank to do a semi-aggressive reef tank. (All of our current tanks have beautiful large live plants)
3.We would like to have somewhere from a 90 to a 120.
4.We would like to have an as low as possible maintenance plan. (We know it will be work however some systems require more than others. Our fresh tanks have there water changed twice a month with no fish loss. We do however buy out water as it is much easier.)
5.Our budget is fairly open but I would like to rest somewhere around $2500.00. Can this be done for that budget?
Other Questions:
1.Why go acrylic over glass? Glass is much cheaper.
2.I was told that overflow is much easier to maintain is this true?
Thanks in advance for your help!
BW

 

[thegrog]

Welcome to the saltwater side of the hobby!!!
OK, with your budget, a FOWLR (fish only with live rock) tank is very doable and probably your best bet for lower maintenance.
One peice of equipment you do not want to skimp out on is a protein skimmer. Go with a really good one and you will be better off in the long run. I recommend any of the AquaC line of skimmers.
Glass vs acrylic. The age-old debate. Here are a few points on each:
-Glass weighs more, a factor in larger tanks
-Acrylic is typically clearer (no green tint)
-Glass will rarely scratch as acrylic is prone to it.....but most scratches in acrylic can be buffed out
-Cost (you know this)
-Acrylic has nearly invisible corners/edges. A neat effect
-Acrylic can be drilled easily for bulkheads
There are more, but these are the main considerations.
Not sure what you mean by overflow being easier to maintain. If you mean an overflow to a sump/fuge, than yes it is. A sump provides more room to place equipment (out of sight as well) so you can have larger, more effective things (like skimmers) working as well as keeping your tank free of equipment clutter. It will add to the cost though, but I still think it can be done on your budget.
90 to 120 is a very good size for what you want. Lots of fish options.
With all these fish tanks, a good RO system may save you money from "buying out" water. 20% changes twice a month is an adequate regime (post cycle of course)
Hope this helps!

 

[celacanthr]

i thought i ust answered this?

 

[bwilson]

Thanks. I will look into the AquaC. What would you suggest for a 120?
Item # Description Tank Size
(gal) Height Price
AC1131 AquaC EV120 without Pump ** 40-150 18" $299.95
AC1133 AquaC EV120 without Pump w/ JG Fitting ** 40-150 18" $304.95
AC120R AquaC EV120 ** w/ Rio+ 2100 40-150 18" $332.95
AC120GR AquaC EV120 w/ JG Fitting ** w/ Rio+ 2100 40-150 18" $337.95
AC120M AquaC EV120 ** w/ Mag-Drive 5 40-150 18" $339.95
AC120GM AquaC EV120 w/ JG Fitting ** w/ Mag-Drive 5 40-150 18" $344.95
AC1151 AquaC EV180 without Pump ** 60-200 20" $339.95
AC1153 AquaC EV180 without Pump w/ JG Fitting ** 60-200 20" $344.95
AC180R AquaC EV180 ** w/ Rio 3100 60-200 20" $384.95
AC180GR AquaC EV180 w/ JG Fitting ** w/ Rio 3100 60-200 20" $389.95
AC180M AquaC EV180 ** w/ Mag-Drive 7 60-200 20" $389.95
AC180GM AquaC EV180 w/ JG Fitting ** w/ Mag-Drive 7 60-200 20" $394.95
AC1171 AquaC EV240 without Pump *** 80-350 26" $399.95
AC240M AquaC EV240 *** w/ Mag-Drive 12 * 80-350 26" $489.95
AC240M18 AquaC EV240 *** w/ Mag-Drive 18 * 80-350 26" $499.95
AC240I AquaC EV240 *** w/ Iwaki MD40RLT * 80-350 26" $654.95
AC1191 AquaC EV400 without Pump *** 100-450 32" $479.95
AC400G AquaC EV400 *** w/ Gen-X / Mak4 100-450 32" $609.95
AC400M18 AquaC EV400 *** w/ Mag-Drive 18 * 100-450 32" $579.95
AC400M24 AquaC EV400 *** w/ Mag-Drive 24 * 100-450 32" $594.95
AC400I55 AquaC EV400 *** w/ Iwaki MD55RLT * 100-450 32" $729.95
AC1231 AquaC EV1000 300-1000 32" $679.95
AC1251 AquaC EV2000 500-2000 42" $799.95
And yes my wife and I discussed buying a RO system after we add another tank as its a major pain to move that much water and the kids every other week.
Thanks,
BW

 

[bwilson]

Originally Posted by CELACANTHr
i thought i ust answered this?
Yes you did as stated on the new hobby board I have posted the same thread on the DIY as well.
Sorry for the confusion.
BW

 

[fishy7]

ilson, hello and welcome.

To start off, I am a newbe to saltwater and have done mountains of research on different types of tanks/equipment/fish and so on. This message board is a great tool and found excellent advice at every turn. Read as many threads as you can, they will answer all sorts of questions that you never knew you had. :joy:
My budget is close to yours and want to share some of the suggestions and coaching that I received a long the way. Might be helpful, might not, but any who.
I went with a glass tank since the acrylic is prone to scatches and I did not want to deal with that issue down the road, although they are cool looking on the edges. I was debating on the size of tank and mfg. I chose the size based on the sale, my house and what I wanted to keep. It's a lot of water, but will offer a lot of room to grow and have fun with this hobby.
A FOWLR tank is a great suggestion for maint.
I paid $2800 for this set up.
Oceanic 215 (Oceanic offers great tanks with excellent warranty)
glass lids
heater
sump/bio media
4 96 wats pc's (Coralife)
200 lbs of LS
150lbs of LR
MAG 1200 pump
Protein skimmer (Coralife super skimmer 220)
timer
surge protector
saltwater mix/water
plumbing
install
42" stand
Not bad for good equipment from the research I have done. Now the items that are extra: Live stock, RO system, canopy. I am in for another $1k before all said and done. My systems is being delivered in Nov.
Hope this helps....
Good luck and welcome.....

 

[thegrog]

Originally Posted by bwilson
Thanks. I will look into the AquaC. What would you suggest for a 120?
Item # Description Tank Size
(gal) Height Price
AC120M AquaC EV120 ** w/ Mag-Drive 5 40-150 18" $339.95
AC180M AquaC EV180 ** w/ Mag-Drive 7 60-200 20" $389.95
And yes my wife and I discussed buying a RO system after we add another tank as its a major pain to move that much water and the kids every other week.
Thanks,
BW
Either of the above would work. Would depend on what tank you got. If you got the 90, go with the EV120. If you go bigger, get the EV180.
I guess if you REALLY wanted overkill, the EV2000 would work!!! You need a 2000-2500 GPH pump for that though so for your 90 gallon tank, that alone would be 22-28x turnover rate (or once every 2-3 seconds)!!!!

 

[golfish]

BW,
shoot me an E-mail...I'll get you going in the right direction.
BTW, I'm from So Cal
SF49ER1959@aol.com

 

[jasenhicks]

For an RO/DI unit i would suggest a Typhoon or the Compact ReefKeeper at airwaterice.com. I just got a Typhon 3 with the add on TDS meter inline and its reducing TDS from 160max to 0! Its great.

 

[bwilson]

Thank you all for your help. It just so happens that my wife has an old friend that is a hobbyist as well. She and her husband are getting out so on Saturday I will be making the two hour drive to pick up everything she has which is 4tanks and numerous items. Once I get back and sift through the stuff I will probably post pictures and try to determine what is useable.
Wish me luck!
BW