My first SW tank. a 120g project.

[mattyice]

lol yeah well 1000 is a little outrageous i guess lol

 

hmm you could look into mystery wrasses, they are a little more rare and around 180 for a good specimen on liveaquaria's divers den, same goes for male oblique lined dottyback's they are a little more rare, BRIGHT and vibrant red color and about 150...there are alot of fish around that price that arent too common in that section and if you were going to buy a rare fish and werent too trusting in your LFS then liveaquaria's diver's den section is the place to buy them from

 

 

i wouldnt say i had a mistake from the beginning but i rushed into setting it up, when i setup the tank and had corals with no lights to support them, the way i had my protein skimmer hooked up it didnt work properly, i bought a baby sohal tang that grew 3" in 3 months and terrorized the tank, one of my LFS wholesalers sent 8 male ignitus anthias instead of 1 male and 7 females like i heard the LFS owner order for me, i didnt have enough rock to make the tank look the way i wanted, i ruched the plumbing and had a small leak in one of the returns that i havent be able to use since day 1 because of it, i went with slip type bulkheads instead of double threaded like i should of waited for, i had an ich breakout the second day the tank was up and lost my pair of clownfish, a spotted hawkfish, and a flame angel we had for 6 years...all in all thats why i took a step back...am taking a deep breath, and starting over new, improved, and bigger, with no cut backs on equipment, this tank is going to cost about 4x or 5x more just in equipment cost then what my last tank was, i am getting a good deal on the tank, am building my own stand and canopy, and will be getting the equipment at wholesale prices

[farewelltofriday_mailbox]

sounds incredible.. what's the size of the tank you have now?

[mattyice]

i had a 125 setup but now i tore everything down and the rock, coral, and two tangs i have left are in a 100G rubbermaid poly stock tank waiting for either a 210 or 265 to be setup...i have been planning the tank and everything i need for the past 2 weeks and im still not even close to finding out the way i want to do it

[farewelltofriday_mailbox]

yea lots of time, money, and thought into this... probably the hardest i have worked for the NO results i have gotten yet lol. but soon, soon i should see something happen.

[farewelltofriday_mailbox]

....b-u-m-p.....

[farewelltofriday_mailbox]

i am looking at ordering two 48" 260w Odyssea fixtures. will this be okay?

also i am getting a 1400 gph overflow box to go down to my 55g sump will this be adequate?

[eddie29]

the 1400 box should be enough, my overflows are both 600 each x 2. You could do better with the lighting, I would really lurk around to you find a good deal. I'm hanging with my 36" single T5 fixture till I can find that one good deal

[farewelltofriday_mailbox]

what would you suggest for lighting. im on an extreme budget haha

[eddie29]

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/m..._Code=Clearance

 

get two of those, 80 dollars

 

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/m...ry_Code=Sockets

 

two of these, 90

 

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/m...ry_Code=mh-175w

 

two of these, 130

 

you could find some cheaper reflectors and bulbs but your total is around 300 but you would be able to keep anything

[mattyice]

yeah i already tried to sell him my 3x175W retro for that much, with it being winter now you wouldnt need the sand so i could sell it for 330 shipped

 

i can even throw in a aqualight power center/timer for only 10 more, i paid over 40 locally

[farewelltofriday_mailbox]

i just ordered two 250w MH set ups with 2x 14K hamilton bulbs and two 15" parabolic reflectors.

[dasstheboss]

I saw your tank designs but i would suggest a few more inches of depth on the stand..around 20-22" just beacuse it can get a bit nasty with wires and maybe pipes if you are drilling the back or CLing. This way, you don't have a clutter on the sides fo your tank and it would look fine viewed from the side. All you probably need is like 2-3" and fit one of these...they can save you expensive extension cords and will make your tank easily accessible from the sides for feeding etc.

 

Just be sure to also cover the sides after the wiring or it will look even worse...lol

 

If this seems like too much or is confusing tell me...or just ignore it lol JMO

[farewelltofriday_mailbox]

umm i am a little confused. feel free to elaborate i like the technology that thing had in it. looks fun lol. i like switches. but anyway the stand is built so that is too late for that. anyway i will try some expirements in hiding the wires and plumbing. im not drilling my tank at all. it is tempered completely since it is a very old O'dell tank. i am using a 1400 gph overflow box and the returns will come up over the back of the tank. i wouldnt mind painting the pipes so they are less noticeable. what color and brand should i use do you think? anyway im about ready to set this up. i just need to find some good deals on sand and LR and we will be in business. also for a tank this size it was suggested i buy a 60gpd RO machine. will this be good instead of buying RO water? anyway ill be back to check the response tomm. at like 2:30.

[mattyice]

all that switch bored does is allow you to turn off power to a specific product rather then having to guess or just turn everything off

 

as for painting the pipes i would use Krylon Fusion paint in black, once it cures it is completely reef safe and actually adheres to the plastic on a molecular level from what i hear

 

i would say an RO unit is the way to go, i have my own and its so much better in the long run, im actually going to add another system to make sure i have enough, also i would go with a 100 GPD for your size tank...what if you have to do an emergency water change, it would take forever to get the water ready

[farewelltofriday_mailbox]

yea like two days lol.

yea i know what that thing does because i have one hooked up to my computer (im interested in music production so i have a lot of equipment)

i just didnt get what he was saying about the stand.

but i would only be able to plug everything BUT the lights in

unless there is room for timers on that

[mattyice]

he just meant you could mount it on the back of the stand and the neatly run the wires to it, it was just alot longer that way you dont have wires running crazily through the stand and if you can get access it makes it easy to work with stuff

[farewelltofriday_mailbox]

alright well i might invest in that sometime i suppose. we will see how everything goes.

 

should i be looking at 2 koralia 4s for this tank?

[mattyice]

with how long it is and if you want to do SPS you are going to need to use the large tunze pumps, koralia's just dont have the velocity to get the water flow that sps need in a tank that long

[eddie29]

on my 120 I'll done 2 x 6045, they just got here about an hour ago, and then a Vortech pump. THe tunze are in the corners and then I'll have the vortech on the side

[farewelltofriday_mailbox]

what is the cost i am looking at for those?

[eddie29]

the 6045 are about 90 each. The vortech pump will scare you lots! but I like the fact that it comes with a battery backup and can push up to a controllable 3000 gph

[farewelltofriday_mailbox]

WONT do the vortech and SPS is not priorety at all right now anyway. im a first time reefer so i imagine mostly softies and zoas and stuff like that

[eddie29]

yeah the vortech won't be for a while but I like my 6045, they blend right in and with the small pump i'm running in my sump they complement it pretty well I think

[farewelltofriday_mailbox]

what would you suggest to move water from my 55g sump up to my display?

[eddie29]

well since your using a glass sump and I personally try to avoid drilling tanks if at all possible I'd suggest an internal pump. i LOVE my Eheim pump, 1262, its super quiet. I really thought my Panworld PX50X pump was super quiet but this thing is amazing. It pushes out 900 at 0 feet, not a lot especially when I have dual overflows but at the time I was uisng a 40 breeder for a sump and like I said i try to avoid drilling and all because I wanted the max amount of space in my sump. If you want internal then i suggest Eheim, if external works for you i HIGHLY suggest Panworld.