What do I need...........

[Losoccer14]

Please Help.

I currently have a glass 65 gallon aquarium (48"l x 24"h x 12-1/2"d). I have nothing else yet with the exception of the stand and canopy.

What I would like to do is have a set up with live sand 3in or so, live rock around 100lbs, a few inverts, a small amount of soft coral, and a few fish. The excat combinations I am not sure yet as I am new to this. Looking for some opinions on good combinations.

More important, what type of filtration. I want something moderate in price, but something that is going to work. I really do not want to do a sump. I have heard good things about the Bak Pak with skimmer (I would do 2 of them). My lps says that I should go with the Aquafuge hang-on refugium with skimmer. I would prefer to do something hang on. Any thoughts would be helpfull.

Powerheads? how many?

What type of lighting will work well. Will a PC unit 4 bulb by 65w work ok with 10k, and actnic bulbs? I know this is the lower price end of things, but if it will work for what I want to acomplish then it will work for me.

And if you have anything for sale that you think I need, or know of anything that is for sale that is suggested for me include that info too please


These are my main concerns for now....I am sure you guys will help find some more concerns for me.

 

[Meche]

HI and welcome to RF.

The excat combinations I am not sure yet as I am new to this. Looking for some opinions on good combinations.

Thats for you to figure out and part of the fun of the whole hobby.
As far as filtration, I think most people leave it to the LR and a skimmer. Some (and me) also use a filter with carbon (and sometimes a phosphate absorbing resin)

I don't know much about skimmers but the backpack does not ring a bell as one of the good ones. Ask skimmerwisperer, the dude has about 300 skimmers :lol:

 

[Krish]

Welcome to RF! I hope you enjoy it here

What I would like to do is have a set up with live sand 3in or so, live rock around 100lbs, a few inverts, a small amount of soft coral, and a few fish. The excat combinations I am not sure yet as I am new to this. Looking for some opinions on good combinations

Well, like meche stated, that will be totally up to you. I think your idea on the 100lbs of rock is a great idea. You will lose some swimming space for your fish, but will have sufficient rock to provide good biological filtration and places to anchor corals etc. So I'd personally put in the rock and see how it goes from there. You will be able to determine then by seeing everything infront of you, how much corals you want/need to add etc.

More important, what type of filtration. I want something moderate in price, but something that is going to work. I really do not want to do a sump. I have heard good things about the Bak Pak with skimmer (I would do 2 of them). My lps says that I should go with the Aquafuge hang-on refugium with skimmer. I would prefer to do something hang on. Any thoughts would be helpfull.

I agree on the live rock for filtration like Meche stated in his post. It is the foundation of all bio-logical filtration and denitrification in your tank. As far as a skimmer goes, I think the Aqua C remora's are one of the most popular and efficient hang on skimmers out there right now. I couldn't say about the bak pack eventhough I have heard them mentioned a few times. Other than that, carbon (like meche said) is good to run to absorb urine etc in the water and provide good water clarity and then possibly something like a phosban reactor (which can be hung on the tank as well) to absorb excess phosphates in the water. In any event, good "husbandry" which includes weekly water changes of about 10-15% should keep water pretty much optimum given everything is done in moderation (feeding etc) Hang on refuguiums are good as well as you can pop a macro algae in there to bind up the excess nutrients (phosphates and/or nitrates) as well as a place to house a skimmer. They have hang on ones that provide you with the lighting and the skimmer. The only downfall is it takes up a bit of space along the back of the tank

Powerheads? how many?

I am a bit extreme here so I honestly couldn't say an exact figure. I've got about 4,000gph in a 38gal cube which probably isn't necessary (LOL). The main thing is to catch all deadspots. You want to keep detritus in suspension to be used up by the corals or removed by mechanical filtration or skimming. Any detritus settling on any rocks can cause nuicance algae to grow to you will need to play around with it a bit to see what all you'd need. Just a ball park figure, I'd say possibly (2) Seio's would be a good starter (820gph ones on either end of the tank) and work from there. Just tossing out some ideas...

What type of lighting will work well. Will a PC unit 4 bulb by 65w work ok with 10k, and actnic bulbs? I know this is the lower price end of things, but if it will work for what I want to acomplish then it will work for me.

If you aren't going to keep sps's or clams then IMO you should be fine. I've heard of people keeping all sorts of things under pc's and they do great, it's just SPS's and clams need a bit more intense lighting so I'd say you'll be fine. That works out to about 4 watts per gal or so and any corals that need a bit more intense light, you can just put closer to the surface of the tank.

Hope that helps some...Just a few of my thoughts. Good luck and I wish you the best

 

[Krish]

And if you have anything for sale that you think I need, or know of anything that is for sale that is suggested for me include that info too please

I missed this one You can check this forum here for items members are selling

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=10

 

[bradreef]

I think krish was thinking the same thing as me with the two seio's. I would do a aquac remora over two bakpaks. It will be better and hang on.

so lets break it down.
flow- two seio's to start with
lighting- 4-65 watt pc's
filtration- aquac remora
I would also say those hang on refugiums can help with nutrients if you have a few fish.

 

[MarineTeng]

you might try t-5's rather than pc, they aren't that much more and a lot more people seem satisfied with them,
here's a t-5 fixture that's $240 (from an RC sponser), 48" 4x65w pc fixtures run for about $200 i think retail that is
http://www.aquariumextreme.com/mm5/...de=AE&Product_Code=T5SS48-4&Category_Code=TU8

 

[Meche]

I got my T-5s from petwarehouse and they were only $200.

4x48" with led nightlights. Everything has its own plug, not sure if that is a standard thing or not.

 

[MarineTeng]

i think the tek has more out put cause it has individual reflectors for each one, though either i think are better the PC's

 

[Losoccer14]

Well I did some "shopping this weekend" Purchased a CSS skimmer, and also a PC light set, with new bulbs......I know the T-5's would have been a better choice but a good PC fixture came around for a fair price, and since I am not going to have a huge reef set-up especially to start out I figured these would do the trick untill I either (1) need to buy new bulbs and decided to just upgrade the entire fixture or (2) decide that I want a bigger tank and need a new fixture anyway. Also have the sand taken care of.

The only thing that I am still in need of are some good powerheads, but I would think I could get my hands on some of those too if I looked around a bit harder.

 

[Meche]

(1) need to buy new bulbs and decided to just upgrade the entire fixture or (2) decide that I want a bigger tank and need a new fixture anyway.

If your handy at all, you should be able to keem em' for use in a homemade hood. who knows maybe even use them as accents to a MH setup.

 

[MarineTeng]

www.aquariumextreme.com has great prices on sieos, that's where i got mine

 

[Losoccer14]

Getting there

Ok one more down......

(2) seio 820's purchased


This brings me to one more question (for now).......Filter with Carbon, I know the purpose of having a filter that uses carbon, however could use some advice on a specific model. Something that would work well for the size of my tank (65g) and something that is going to be cost effective. Or is this more of an option than a requirement?

Thanks for your help so far......

 

[MarineTeng]

i run no carbon, takes some other nutrients out of the water and other stuff too, personal preference though, it is by no means required i would say

 

[returnofsid]

Your live rock will offer the best filtration, imo. With 100 lbs. you'll have great filtration once it's cycled. Throw a Remora HOB Skimmer on there and PC lighting and you're set to go!! Might also look at adapting an AquaClear 500 HOB power filter into a mini-refugium. It's really easy to do. Here's a link to help you out. I modified mine according to the link and then added simple lighting. I went to WalMart and bought a clamp on desk lamp and replaced the bulb with one of those screwy compact flourescent bulbs that are used to replace regular household bulbs for better effeciency. Works awesome!! Throw some Chaeto in there and you're set.

 

[barrierreefcf]

Like returnofsid mentioned you may look into a refugium of some sort. Whether you retrofit an Aquaclear or buy a CPR hang-on refugium is up to you. There are many benefits to a refugium and having some macroalgae in it gives you a little more room for mistakes as far as balancing your nutrient inputs and exports. The macro will help use up the excess nutrients (N and PO) as it grows. You can also put carbon in a mesh bag in the fuge should you decide to use it. Personally, I change my carbon every 4 weeks but you will find varying preferences on carbon use. It all comes down to an individuals system dynamics and husbandry.