equipment feedback newby here

[friendlyfire]

I just orderd all my equipment and am looking for feedback. I ordered a 125g from my lfs and the equipment is as follows.

Euro Reef RS -80 protein skimmer
2- 1260 ehiem return pumps

I am Building a refugium sump in a 75g tank.

 

[Skimmy]

WELCOME!!! to RF!!
on the gear, looks great so far!
mabye slightly small on the skimmer, but you'll be fine, just run it wet.
im assuming you must have a dual overflow, hence the 2 eheim pumps.
great pumps to use, keep them clean and they will last for 10+ years.

what are you doing for lights and powerheads?

 

[friendlyfire]

for lights i am starting out with one helios 72" ho i believe 10k. Will be getting a second with actinic when the tank needs it. as for powerheads im not sure yet any suggestions

 

[friendlyfire]

would like to keep cords to a minimum maybe somehow get away with one good powerhead

 

[Skimmy]

well, with 2 1260's @4' of head they are probably doing about 450-500gph a piece,. that puts you at 900-1000gph. i'd say you need at least 1,000 if not 2,000 gph more. you should look at the new hydor korilla (#4) powerheads or the tunze nano stream (6045) powerheads. they are both around 1,000gph, the korilla is about $50, and the nano tunze about $100 but better.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

SEIOs are awesome when you factor power/price

 

[Skimmy]

for lights i am starting out with one helios 72" ho i believe 10k. Will be getting a second with actinic when the tank needs it. as for powerheads im not sure yet any suggestions

are you talking about a t5 fixture or m.h.? and what corals are you trying to keep? it sounds like you might need more light...

 

[Skimmy]

SEIOs are awesome when you factor power/price

they are, i just dont like how big they are, and ugly...lol

 

[friendlyfire]

when you say that i need about 2000 gph that means strictly water movement not skimmage right because the eheims are returning water from my sump. so with those returning water at about 1000 gph then a powerhead at about 100 gph is what i need

Am I even making sense LOL

 

[friendlyfire]

sorry 1000gph powerhead

 

[friendlyfire]

its a T5 HO the lfs recomends them and my friend uses them and loves them keeping everything from soft to hard corals to clams

 

[Skimmy]

yes, one but preferably two 1,000gph powerheads.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

The 1260 ehiem return pumps only pump 650 GPH with zero head pressure. I assume you are pumping it uphill 3-4 feet and there are a couple elbows. This means it is pumping 1/3 to 1/2 the rated maximum. This is sufficient to feed the sump, but Mark is exactly correct, you need some good powerheads to move water in the tank.

 

[Skimmy]

its a T5 HO the lfs recomends them and my friend uses them and loves them keeping everything from soft to hard corals to clams

t5 ho is great, to do some softy corals you would want at least 2 bulbs, preferably 4. if you want to do clams, sps, then 4-8 bulbs would be best.
helios is kinda crappy chinese quality, hopefully you can replace the bulbs with some quality bulbs(ATI, giesemann) when they die.

 

[returnofsid]

If you haven't ordered your lights yet...look at Tek5 T5HO by Sun Supply. Best T5HO lighting you can get. Here's a link to reefgeeks who have great prices on them!! Mine shipped out yesterday.

http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/Sunlight_Supply/Tek_Light_Fixtures/

 

[Krish]

Welcome to RF! Hope you enjoy it here I agree with the others on the equipment you have so far and the advice. Where flow is concerned, a 125gal is a big tank and depending on what corals you plan to keep, an extra 2,000 may not even be enough, but you'll have to setup the tank and see where lacks flow. Here's a thread you can take a look at to give you some idea on the kind of flow people are using in various sized tanks. Granted, every setup is different, but you will atleast get some ideas. IMO, for a 125gal, I'd go with the Tunze turbelle streams over the nano streams if money isn't too much of an object

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18140

 

[Skimmy]

If you haven't ordered your lights yet...look at Tek5 T5HO by Sun Supply. Best T5HO lighting you can get. Here's a link to reefgeeks who have great prices on them!! Mine shipped out yesterday.

http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/Sunlight_Supply/Tek_Light_Fixtures/

for under $250, those are great 4 bulb fixtures. you could of coarse throw down almost $1,000 for some of the high end computer controlled imported fixture that is 1", but these are great for starting out, much better quality than helios. just stick with the ATI and giesemann bulbs if you have a choice.
i like the way the tek fixture looks as well, very sleek.

 

[theJ]

you could of coarse throw down almost $1,000 for some of the high end computer controlled imported fixture that is 1"

Where can i find these please

 

[Skimmy]

here you go...lol:

http://www.xtremelight.de/en/index.html

 

[theJ]

oh wow i am in love