Alrighty I finally got it! its reef ready predrilled was up for 4 months steal at $275! Now my questions are of what do you recommend for equipment that would be good to buy without spending a arm n leg. Below is the things I am looking for


1.Good But quite pumps for flow and overflows as this will be a inwall setup

2.A good Skimmer

3.I am looking at 2x250 MH lights would you recommend 3?

4.I am also thinking about adding a UV light what do you think?

5.I am going have a sump ofcourse I am going to try and shoot for around 50 Gallons

And any other input is welcome and ofcourse any tips or tricks would be great also!

1- ocean runner and vortec
2- msx skimmers offer alot of bang for the buck
3- 2 lights is for for 4'. 3 if its 6'
4-never ran one
5- im running about 60g sump on my 240g. so u should be fine as lomg as u can fit all ur equipment in it.

Ok So 3x250 MH Would you go bigger on the sump? I thought about maybe going to lowes or home depot and buying some acrylic and building one wasnt sure if it would be cheaper I would like to DIY as much as I can as I really like this part of it

i think it would be cheaper to just buy a tank and turn it into a sump. as for how big to go its up to u. i wanted a 20g refug and needed room for my skimmer and baffles so i ended up with 60g. i agree putting it all togather is almost more fun then when its done.

Well I do want a fuge/sump so I might go bigger will just depend on what I can find on craigslist or Local I will end up buying a few pieces at a time so that will help in getting good stuff I Might even luck out and get some off some of the saltwater four classifieds like Nano-reef as well

i bought most of my stuff used. if u know what ur looking for and keep a eye on the classifieds u can score some killer deals.

Powerheads: Koralias are pretty good for the money. Vortechs are probably the best if you can afford them.
Overflows: check out glass-holes.com, they have excellent stuff.

I just ordered a Reef Octopus Extreme 200, I'll let you know what I think once I get it up and running. The world of skimmers is huge, just do your research.

Does your tank have 1 center brace or 2? I wouldn't recommend putting a metal halide over a center brace, so that will dictate your light choice. I only have 1 center brace so I'm going with 2 halides and t5ho supplementation.

Not really worth the hassle unless you're trying to kill a nasty parasite. The side effect is you kill beneficial bacteria too.

55 gallons are cheap and common on craigslist. That's what I would use. I personally have a 30 long sump and a 20h fuge. I like them separate.

Good luck!

My Tank Has 1 brace thats what I was wondering about the 3 I didnt wanna put it over that brace as it would prolly melt it lol The Overflows sorry I wasnt clear are already built in as it is reefready I have one In each corner its the kind with the tall black guards in each corner

We're in the same lighting dilemma boat. Like I said, I'm going (2) MH + T5ho. If money were no object I'd just do (4) 150s!

Gotcha, Reef ready is nice! So what is your question about overflows then? How should you do the plumbing inside of them? I would do something similar to this:

but DIY, don't pay for that overpriced overflow kit. That's what I did for my 54 corner RR.

Yeah the guy that had it before gave me all of his pipes for the overflow and its pretty much like pictured how much would it cost extra to add T5ho lights?

Thank you for your suggestions Nemo! One other question Since i have 2 overflows Do I need a pump for each one or can I just use one for both?

one pump is fine. both my overflows go from 1 1/2" at the bulkhead and connect into a 2" pipe that leads to the sump. when i set up my overflows they were noisy so i set one side lower then the other and it really quieted it down.

Would it be better to use 2 pumps for each overflow tho? I dont want to ofcourse have to much flow going through my fuge cause I know you need enough time for the fuge to do its job so wasnt sure

Hey John, Congrats on the tank!

I have a 125 and it is 6' with 2 braces which would require 3 mh bulbs not 2. The UV from mh bulbs will dry out the braces and crack them resulting in tank failure, IF you place mh directly over the braces.

Here is a picture of my Sump / Fuge:


I took an old 75 gal tank, cut glass dividers and made my sump.
The biggest sump you have room for is the one you want. If your like me, you will always want more room! My fuge section is 20 gal. which is more than the old standard of 10% of the display recommendation.
I plumbed mine so that I could control the flow into my fuge via valve.
I run a Mag18 return pump due to tank is about 12 feet away in other room.
I run two 9wt UV steralizers. Not necessary if not adding new stuff to tank often.
I also run GFO and Carbon reactors.
I run two Corallife 125 skimmers (cheap but are doing a great job)

Good luck and if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Steve

Hi steve thanks for the info! my tank is 6 feet long as well it might have 2 braces I've only seen it once in the dark since I have gotten it lol long story but anyway say its just a once brace how could I do 3 MHs?

Then one side will just be brighter than the other!

lol I know How can I use 3 without it affecting the brace in anyway?

That's what I mean, your only choice is having one side brighter than the other!

I guess you could fashion up some sort of reflector or heat shield to block the brace from the light, but you'll just have a nasty shadow. You're going to have to stick to even #s or have uneven light. How much light do you want? Two 150s will cover it, it'll just be darker in the corners, two 250s would be better, two 400s would kick ass, or you could do four 150s. It's personal preference and really depends on what livestock you're trying to keep.

I'm going with two 150s and two rows of t5ho on my single-braced 125.

Well I would really just like to light it so I could pretty much keep anything I wanted it being darker on the sides or in spots wouldnt look right ::scratches head::

Thats the cleanest sump ive ever seen.....

deezamm....

lol we should all be so lucky

u can always cut the braces out and replace them with clear plastic. u would cut out the braces leaving about a 1" left and use plastic screws to attach the new brace to the stubs u left.

Would this be safe to do tho?

Alright So after rechecking The Only Brace on this tank is One In the middle so could you some how eurobrace it so you wouldnt have that support brace but still be braced?

What I am thinking is something like this? Would this be a good way of bracing a 125?

What's the depth of the tank?

I vote 2 150w MH with LED spotlights on the SPS & clams...

If the tank is over 20" deep than 250w MH.

LxWxH = 72 x 18 x 21 inches

what model oceanrunner pump would you buy? the 3500 or 6500?