Withers Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 i don't know if this has been said or not... but when www.reefcentral.com comes back online, go to the classifieds, and start looking for a tank. there are ALWAYS nice big tank setups for very cheap if you are starting out. that would come with everything you need, and chances are you could negociate the price down because most people on that forum are just looking for specific equipment, and not a whole setup. chances are that you could find a 90 gallon with all the equipment plus metal halides, plus live rock even, for around $700-800. lol, my 55 gallon has easily cost me over $1k, so consider that a very good deal. Link to comment
SaltCreep Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 You would be very happy with a 20 long. I have a 20 long, a 46 bowfront, and a 125 and the 20 is probably my favorite. It was put together on a super budget and I made most everything myself. Keep in mind the bigger you go, the bigger the water changes, the more chemicals that will need to be dosed, more lighting to cover the larger tank. This is what I was able to put together for my 20. 20 long acrylic tank..................FREE(retail $80) DIY Red Oak Stand & Canopy...$250(I went all out here) 3x65w PC's...............................$120(bought from a fellow NR member) 45 pounds of figi........................$50(local reefer) DIY acrylic sump.........................$50(including bulkheads) Live Arogonite.............................$25 Mag3 return pump......................$54 Cpr in sump skimmer...................$100(from local reefer) Just over $700(if you had to buy the tank) but a very nice setup. I will reiterate networking in your local area to find deals. This 20long was one of three tanks I have gotten for free from local reefers. Link to comment
Shaz Posted September 7, 2004 Author Share Posted September 7, 2004 thanks djaz now that i know there ARE people with VHO and hard corals, I feel a lot better aobut doing it, even if MH's are better. one question though. do you get noticable growth from your corals under the VHO's? Link to comment
djaz0503 Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 Shaz, I get excellent coral growth. I've been recently watching a few of my new SPS frags and have noticed some of them growing more rapidly than I thought they would. Remember maintaining good water quality is as big a factor as lighting. I've experimented with coral placement to see how the corals react to certain depths and have noticed that all my SPS do best at depths between 3-8 inches of water. My lights are about 3 inches above the water so the corals are between 6-11 inches from the actual lights. I want to give you and example of a used set up I bought about 5 months ago. I paid $400 for this set up: AGA 26 gallon bow front AGA stand custom canopy 225 watts VHO lighting (from www.hellolights.com, 3x75 watt retro kit) CPR refugium 2 AquaClear powerheads 50 lbs of Figi live rock about 50lbs of live sand about 12 corals (hammer coral, monti cap, kenya tree, shrooms, false coral, favia, welsophylia, finger leather......) 1 clownfish 1 sixline wrasse a bunch of crabs (hermit and emerald) a bunch of snails (cerith, turbo, bumble bee....) Link to comment
Shaz Posted September 7, 2004 Author Share Posted September 7, 2004 ok cool, thanks again The only thing though is that I thoguh for a beginer a 50-75 gal is better, b/c its easier to maintain water quality, becasue if sometihng bad happens in a bigger tank it won't wack the water readings all off. Link to comment
Withers Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 you're exactly right. and with a larger tank maintenance is a little more lax. you only have to do a water change maybe every 2 weeks, or even once a month Link to comment
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