New 105 gallon reef

[nreck13]

I am looking to set up my dad's old 105 gallon tank as a reef tank. The tank is not drilled as it has always been fresh water and I think it will probably stay undrilled.

 

What equipment do I need to set up this tank?

 

How would you plumb the tank?

 

Are a sump and skimmer necessary?

 

What type of lighting would you use? (probably a few sps, but mainly softies)

 

How much liverock would I need?

 

Thanks to all

 

Nathan

[abe]

did you take into account if you ever used medications that have had copper in them? for a saltwater tank that size, i think a sump and skimmer are necessary. lighting depends. i think T5's would be nice.

[nreck13]

did you take into account if you ever used medications that have had copper in them? for a saltwater tank that size, i think a sump and skimmer are necessary. lighting depends. i think T5's would be nice.

 

 

What do you mean by medications that have had copper in them?

 

How big should the sump be?

 

Thanks

 

Nathan

[uglybuckling]

Copper sulfate is a very common medication used in freshwater aquariums.

 

Unfortunately the silicone sealant used in most glass tanks will pick up the copper and never ever let it go.

 

Copper DESTROYS most saltwater invertebrates. There is no faster way to kill them, except maybe putting them in muriatic acid.

 

Hence, if you've ever used a medication with copper in it, in a glass tank with silicone seals, that tank is ruined forever in terms of keeping saltwater inverts.

 

Here are my answers to (some of) your other questions:

 

How would you plumb the tank?

If you're unwilling to drill, get a CPR weir overflow and plumb a decent over-the-back return or two.

 

Are a sump and skimmer necessary? I'd do a sump and a fuge. Skimmer if you want SPS, no skimmer if you're gonna stick with softs.

 

What type of lighting would you use? (probably a few sps, but mainly softies) I can't endorse the use of anything except halides for SPS, especially in a tank this size. I'd use a couple 14,000-20,000K 150 or 250W HQIs. If you were willing to give up the SPS you **might** be able to get away with T5 or *wince* PC, but I'm not familiar with the size of a 105 gallon tank. If it's really deep you might have to go halide even for softies.

 

How much liverock would I need? I usually go for one pound per gallon. This seems to provide a pretty low wall, but once you start adding corals it gets built up sufficiently and looks a lot more normal.

 

--Bucky

[wav3form]

Copper sulfate is a very common medication used in freshwater aquariums.

 

Unfortunately the silicone sealant used in most glass tanks will pick up the copper and never ever let it go.

 

Copper DESTROYS most saltwater invertebrates. There is no faster way to kill them, except maybe putting them in muriatic acid.

 

Hence, if you've ever used a medication with copper in it, in a glass tank with silicone seals, that tank is ruined forever in terms of keeping saltwater inverts.

 

Here are my answers to (some of) your other questions:

 

How would you plumb the tank?

If you're unwilling to drill, get a CPR weir overflow and plumb a decent over-the-back return or two.

 

Are a sump and skimmer necessary? I'd do a sump and a fuge. Skimmer if you want SPS, no skimmer if you're gonna stick with softs.

 

What type of lighting would you use? (probably a few sps, but mainly softies) I can't endorse the use of anything except halides for SPS, especially in a tank this size. I'd use a couple 14,000-20,000K 150 or 250W HQIs. If you were willing to give up the SPS you **might** be able to get away with T5 or *wince* PC, but I'm not familiar with the size of a 105 gallon tank. If it's really deep you might have to go halide even for softies.

 

How much liverock would I need? I usually go for one pound per gallon. This seems to provide a pretty low wall, but once you start adding corals it gets built up sufficiently and looks a lot more normal.

 

--Bucky

 

You can keep SPS with T5HO lighting.

[H20]

Yes, if you want SPS, you will need a skimmer and a sump. Even if it just softies, I still think on a large tank, a sump is nice to have. You would probably want something in the 30g range for a sump. If you want to stay undrilled, I suggest lifereef.com for an overflow box. I will go against what someone above said and say do not get a CPR overflow. They are terrible, and are a flood waiting to happen. Do a google search on them and you will probably see that. Lifereefs are very reliable, and that is what you want if you have an exterior overflow. T5's for lights would be nice, and will support some SPS if you want them down the road.

 

Your equipment needs:

Sump

exterior overflow box

tubing to drain overflow box to sump

skimmer

return pump

tubing for return pump back to tank

some powerheads for flow in the tank, such as Koralias

lighting

heater(s)