58-gallon Tank - Your thoughts?

[Charley]

Hi gang,

Here is a tank I am thinking about getting for myself in the next few weeks. I would appreciate any thoughts on it.

Oceanic 58-gallon in Cherry Oak
Oceanic Cherry Oak Stand and Canopy
Red Sea Prism Pro Deluxe Skimmer
EcoSystem 40 Refugium
2 x 96w 10K Power Compacts
2 x 96w Ultra Actinic Power Compacts
4 x Maxi-Jet MP-400 Power heads

I did not want to go reef ready, as I wanted to have an EcoSystem 40. Is there a reason to go another route (I am new at refugiums). I will have to modify the canopy, as it cannot hinge when the two HOBs are on there. I do not mind simply removing the screw and letting the lid float.

Thanks!
Charley

[Jimnorris]

Charley,
It is hard to really vision what the system will look like! It sounds like it will be an awesome system. I could be more helpful if you set it up in my house. Therefore I can see it first hand everyday and send you great pictures on how it is doing.
Of course I will pay for the electric bill!
:lol:
Jim
P.S. Do you still have the scott's wrasse?

[fx300]

Good one Jim.

Fabian

[matt]

Charley;

What animals are you planning on keeping in this tank? The reason I ask is it sounds like a really low-flow system for a reef. (Unless the MP 400 is much bigger than the MJ 400) I had a 45 breeder (same footprint) and used an iwaki 20rxt return plus 4 maxijets (2 1200, 2 600) for flow. I had a little trouble keeping sand in the bottom for awhile! But I kept adding powerheads to get the amount of flow needed to keep the corals happy and the algae at bay.

If you're not keeping corals that need a lot of flow, it sounds terrific! If you want more flow w/o adding a return, you could easily install a closed loop. As long as we're spending you're money, why not throw in a couple of sea swirls... :>

Matt

[witecap4u]

Charley,

First off, what are you planning on keeping in it. You'll be limited on fish due to size, and corals due to lighting IMHO(but you already know that... ;) ) I'd drop the 96W PC's and go with a 250 HQI with maybe one PC or something, unless you are not planning on keeping many SPS's

One other thing I noticed is that its only a 3ft tank, so are you going to have enough room on the back to hang the skimmer and ECO system(I dont know how big this is)?

[Jimnorris]

Seriously with the setup as mention I would put afew rose anemones in the tank with matching clowns. And of course aquascape with premium liverock. Charley I would use that (Tonga?) flat peice you showed me as the center piece. Maybe a green bta too?
Small flow and medium lighting IMO this wold be ideal!
Jim

[prof]

I just wired up my lights for my new hood on my 58. 2 250w Ushio 10Ks and 2 96w 03 actinic. I am still seeing spots. I will have it on the tank tonight. 692watts! It should be nice...

Dave

[MikeP]

Charley - sounds good , the ecosystem plus the skimmer will give you a little more insurance in exporting organics. I have heard good things about the new prizms but I still reccomend the Aqua C skimmers for a hang on over most others.

Also if you want to to get a cheap Ecosystem 40 (has miracle mud, light etc)I am thinking of selling mine on my 46 - am going to just put a overflow and a small sump on it and use my old urchin skimmer.

[TexasState]

Hi Charley,
I'm thinking of using the Eco 40 on a 20G, or 29G. But I think that the Ecosystem is too small for your tank. You're better off turning a 20 gallons long, or 29 gallons tank into a refugium and get a reef ready tank. I had several of these Eco 40 hang on b4. If your tank is too big, the overflow won't be able to skim all of your surface, leaving surface grime on your tank. The rio pump sometime rattle against the acrylic box, giving you a headache if you sit there looking at your tank for too long. Worse of all, there's not much room in the Eco 40 for the caulerpa to grow. You'll have to keep up with topping your water off with the Eco 40 too. Too high of a water level, and the pre-skimmer box does not work very well. Too low, and it goes dry. Here's some picture of your Eco 40 in the past: http://www.swt.edu/~xp42012/2002/

[Charley]

Thanks to every one for the responses, and Jim, thanks for the kind offer. Hehe

I have made a few changes, so here is the new layout:

62g tub (same footprint as a 58, but 24” tall).
1 – 400w MH pendant
4 – MP 900s instead of 400s

Thanks for all the thoughts gang. I will increase the water flow, as I would like to keep a few hard corals eventually (I will start out with Toadstools as though are my favorite corals). Those and some yellow polyps and stars to start.

The Eco will be used for it’s refugium aspect more than it’s filtering. With the Prism Pro being rated to 300g, it will more than skim a 62g.

Charley

[matt]

Not to be snooty about skimmers, but in all honesty I'm really suspect about the prism pro handling a 300 gallon system with any effectiveness. My guess is that manufacturers just pull a number out the air when rating their skimmers. For example, i'm using an Aqua C EV 120, a highly thought of skimmer, until my DIY skimmer is done. I'm certain that the EV is a more powerful skimmer than the prism pro, and I think it's rated for something like 150 gallons (maybe less)

Aqua C is reputed to be "conservative" when rating their skimmers. however, I find the EV 120 to be barely adequate for my 100 gallon set up, and on my 45 breeder, the urchin skimmer I had (rated to 75 gallons) was practically useless once the system got pretty heavily stocked.

Now, that doesn't mean that the skimmer won't pull lots of stuff from your tank, but IMO, a skimmer is REALLY doing its job only when it keeps the tank at DOM levels consistent with natural reef water, which ain't much.

Sorry for the skimmer rant; I guess I've been putting alot of time into my new skimmer, and I hope it's worth it! I'm sure the prism pro will do a good job....

Matt

[Charley]

No problem on the rant dude, that is what a forum is all about, sharing thoughts and ideas. If you come to the meeting, please ask Trung about this skimmer. He knows much more about it than I do. I have seen it work wonders on a 70 with much coral death (sadly, corals at the store that came in bad). I am running on a 62 ( a 24” 58g tank), so between it, and the EcoSystem 40, should have lots of room for play.

Hope to see you there,

Charley