Upgrading from nano...

[funkmeister_smith]

Hi.

 

I currently have an Aqua One AR620 (20 gallon) with about 14 kg of Live rock & crushed coral substrate. The equipment I have on it is a Via Aqua multi skimmer (hang on back type), 2x18 watt white/blue power compacts, and an extra Seio powerhead in the tank (can't remember the flow rate off the top of my head, but its a reasonable amount). I've had absolutely no problems whatsoever with the setup & never had any casualties with fish or corals or anything, so it has served me well, but I have been given an offer I cannot refuse on a much larger tank!

 

The tank is another Aqua One tank & is similar to the Regency 120 (I don't know the exact model name as its not on the Aqua One website, and I haven't got the tank yet to check ), but its a bit bigger than the Regency tank at 120cm W, 60cm D & 66cm H (also the glass is 1/2 inch thick) and holds about 300 litres.

 

 

The reason I am posting this, is that the tank does not come with any lights (it just has the slidey glass lid, no hood) or pumps/skimmers etc. It does have an overflow at the back left of the tank which goes down a pipe into the bottom of the cabinet & into a load of plastic boxes with filtration media in (I believe its a big wet/dry trickle filter sort of effect), but I am guessing I won't be using this filtration method & would prefer to use it as a sump instead with a skimmer & heater in there, out of view. The trouble is, I am not sure how I would go about doing this? I will obviousley need to get some sort of return pump to get the water back up into the tank, but don't know where to start really as I don't have a sump on my current, smaller tank. I just have visions of my house flooding! Also, I'm going to need some sort of light setup, but figured I may as well go with halides. I want to keep some of the harder corals but would prefer something in the region of 75 to 100 watt (150 watt at the most, but I am rather skint at the moment too so need to go for the least expensive options!).

 

Sorry I have made this into a bit of a long drawn out post, But to summarize, I think I need another powerful powerhead (or 2), a overtank halide light, and a return pump. Does anyone have any recommendations that would fit my descriptions (and fit my tank & wallet!), and could you advise if there is anything else I am going to need? I was hoping I could get away with using my Via Aqua Multi Skimmer on this tank. I realise you are meant to overshoot with skimmers, but it states it will be suitable for aquariums up to 300 litres in size.

 

Sorry for the long post & all the questions, but I just want to make sure I do it right. I'm hoping that having a bigger tank will mean less work, but we'll see!

 

Cheers & all the best!

[Tangman1218]

Hey Funkmeister

 

I read your post and you gave dimensions in cm, of which I cant convert in my head, no matter how smart I think I am.

 

When I can find my darn HP scientific calculator, I can convert it all over and give you better advice. However, I will offer this much now and get back to you later.

 

If it is a smokin deal that you REALLY CANT pass up, get the tank and let your wallet fatten up a little more. I've got some advice on lights and so forth, but I need to do the conversions first.

 

Tang

[funkmeister_smith]

Hi. Thanks for your reply, and happy new year! I feel rough as a badgers at the moment.

 

The measurements in inches are (roughly!) 47" W (just under 4 foot), 24" D (2 foot), and 26" high. Its quite a bit bigger than my AR620 which is about 23" W, 13" D & 18" high. We are having to get rid of one of the settees to accomodate it! (its worth it though! )

 

I am just wanting to keep it low cost to start with, but at the same time want to do it properly to keep the creatures happy. I defo want to go with halides, and am hoping I can successfully use my current HOB skimmer, but my main concern is what to do with the overflow filter bit, as it doesn't come with a return pump to get it back up into the main tank.

 

I'm defo going for it though, I can't resist as it was £900 but the shop is getting rid of it for £200 (it has a tiny quarter-inch chip on the outer glass at the (rear) top right of the tank. They had claimed on insurance for it so are getting a new one anyway & just want to get rid of this one).

 

Thanks in advance.

[Tangman1218]

Hi. Thanks for your reply, and happy new year! I feel rough as a badgers at the moment.

HNY to you as well

 

Based on the dimensions you gave, I'm coming up with 127 gallons. Now, school me a little here as I'm up not to date on the whole Euro thing, but youre saying the place you are getting it from is asking 900 euros originally, but 200 euros now? Is that a good deal over there? I only ask because I do know a euro equals nearly 2 dollars now so that would mean that for that tank, they are asking $350-$400 US dollars vs $1600-$1800 dollars originally. Thats an expensive tank for a comparable 125 gallon!

 

As for lighting, you may want to fatten up that wallet a bit. IMO only, 250 watt

MH are what you are going to need. Were dealing with light penetration at a depth of 24 inches. Anything under 250 watt wont do you any good unless everything is towards the top. In fact, I'd light it up with 2-400 watt MH because you have a desire to keep hard corals (SPS I presume?) Dont presume 2- 400 watt MH will set you back thousands. Only (only?? ) a few hundred.

 

And finally, flow is going to be important, especially with the harder small polyp stony corals. I would look into a good return pump, perhaps a Sequence Dart or Barracuda, a Panworld, or even Iwaki. A couple Tunze NanoStreams in the future to add more "in tank" flow would compliment it nicely.

 

Dont think my ideas are the only sure-fire method. Hopefully some other people will add to this to give you some alternatives on skimming and flow.

 

As far as skimming, I'm not really familiar with the ViaAqua series, so I couldnt honestly tell you if it will do the job. Perhaps later on down the road after youve purchased the lights, if the skimmer isnt cutting it, you can look into a Deltec, AquaC, etc.

 

Good luck Funkmeister and take care of that headache!

 

Tang