New tank setup w/ chronological pictures to come

[Willbowen03]

I just bought a new tank last night. It is a used flat back hex with dimensions of 48x16x20. It came with the stand/hood, a Coralife 48" 4x65w PC fixture, CPR protein skimmer (Bak-Pak 2 w/o Media), and a Marineland c360 canister filter. I am thinking about taking pictures along the way as I set this up and maybe get a little input about how people think a new tank should be setup. I am picking the tank and stand up tonight. The LFS owner I bought it from was buffing out the inside of the tank for me. I bought it used, but as a college student, its the best I can do. Well I will post some pictures on this thread as I go along.

P.S. This site is definitely a wealth of information, everyone involved really knows their stuff and it's great to be able to come somewhere when your absolutely lost on something and get help from people who really love what they do.

 

[returnofsid]

Being a hex, I'm assuming your dimensions are LXWXH? If so, these are pretty neat dimensions. With the PC lighting, you'll be a little limited in corals you can keep. Saying that, I have kept a Rose Bubble Tip Anemone under 2X96w PC lighting for almost 3 years now and it's healthy as can be. You should be able to keep just about all Soft Corals, any LPS and some of the lower light demanding SPS, as long as you keep them high in the tank. Low light demanding would be some of the Montipora digitata species, maybe Hydnophora (very aggressive) and maybe Orange M. Capricornis. The bluer Montiporas will be more difficult but the oranges and greens should be fine.

With the canister filter, take out all media and just use it for circulation. Otherwise the media will become a nitrate factory. You could use this for Carbon very effectively though. I'd also look at adding a CPR aqua-fuge that hangs on the back, unless you have plans for a HOB overflow and a sump/fuge under the tank.

Sounds like this is going to be a great set up!! How many gallons is it? Make sure you get quality power heads. The Hydor Koralias are very promising in a tank this size. A couple #3s or #4s would be awesome!!

Talk to Skimmerwhisper about the Protein Skimmer to see if there's any modifications you can do to make it more efficient.

Good luck and get those pics coming!!!

By the way, I see you recently joined. Welcome to Reef Frontiers!!! Great group of people!!!

 

[Willbowen03]

Ya I am really excited. I would like to put a MH retro in the cabinet at some point but I will definitely worry about that farther down the line. The tank I believe is 60 gallons. The guy told me it was 72, but from the dimensions I took I believe its 60. Oh well I still got a great deal on the tank with all the amenities.

I am picking the tank up this afternoon so I will definitely be posting some pictures tonight. I am thinking about setting up an overflow. Last weekend I made an overflow that looks like this. (see pic) I also made a 10 gallon tank and put some baffles in it to make a sump. I am currently using my fluval 205 as the return pump. The sump right now is just being used as a place to run more water through because I didn't have a skimmer for my smaller tank, but I am thinking about putting it underneath the 60 for a sump/little tiny fuge.

 

[Willbowen03]

Well it has been a really busy week at work this week and I finally got a few minutes to get the pictures. The first two pictures are from the store when I picked it up after having it buffed out. The third picture is it all loaded into the back of my car. (Its just a bit full).

The next two pictures are of the tank back in my garage on the stand with the canopy on. These two have just the actinic light turned on.

 

[Willbowen03]

A couple more pictures of the tank in the garage. Three are of the 10k bulbs turned on, and the last two are of the blue led's.

Right now the tank is all together sitting in the garage. I am taking this one slow atm as I want to do it correctly so it will last at least two or three years til I get done with school.

The overflow box in the picture is fitted with a 1.5" bulkhead in the back for a sump underneath the tank. I am going to look at the bottom substrate this weekend. The plan is to put a fit piece of honeycomb fluorescent screen about 3/4" thick in the bottom. Then put a layer of nylon screen. Next put an evenly spaced out 1 inch thick layer of live sand, another layer of nylon, and finally a last layer of sand.

I have also been looking into getting a closed loop system holes cut in the back. I have absolutely no idea what to do with this if anyone has any suggestions they would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: Oh ya sorry for some of the blurry pictures. I am starting to figure out taking pictures of the aquarium stuff.

 

[russellaqua]

Very nice looking tank. You should be able to use a canister filter without problem. They do require a lot of maintenance though, especially if there are any bioballs involved. Always keep the inside of the filter as clean as possible and the nitrates won't be an issue. You can definitely grow just about anything, but stay away from high light SPS. Deep water acros could potentially do well near the top of the tank. I wouldn't recommend any SPS for the first year. Many changes go on in the tank while it ages and SPS don't like this. Some tanks will age instantly (I've had 2 do this), but others take the full year (I've had 4 do this). If you decide to try SPS start with an inexpensive frag and see if your tank will support it. I'd hate to see you spend a bunch on a nice big colony only to find out your tank won't handle it.

 

[Willbowen03]

So does anyone have any suggestions of sites I should check out for closed loop info or anything like that (hole pattern, loc-line, plumbing, etc.)

 

[Krish]

Here's a pretty good site that has some detailed pictures and info on how to set up a closed loop

http://www.melevsreef.com/

 

[Willbowen03]

Well I don't think I have a space to put the pump behind my tank in my apartment so I am going to look at a few powerheads. I am thinking about 4 x Koralia number 3 two towards the middle then one pointing inward from each end. Does anyone have any experience with these pumps? Are number three's going to be to much? Not enough?

 

[Holygral]

I really like them, great flow with low power consumption and stay where you put them. In my 75, I run (2) 3's a nana(save your money on them) plus 2 MJ 1200. My flow seems about right now. I will replace the MJ's with then in the near future.

 

[mmn_usn]

It the tank is acrylic... then you can drill and put in a "normal" overflow.

I have 2 Koralia pumps and they are great. Easy maint. and good flow.

 

[Willbowen03]

The tank is acrylic and I had an overflow box with a 1 1/2" out put in the middle of the tank. So I guess I will look at buying a few less of the powerheads as it seems they do fairly well in moving around the water. For the return pump from the sump does anyone have any favorites in brand or pump?