NEW REEF TANK!

[oceancube]

ok well im gonna start up a bigger reef tank in the next month, i wanted to get some input from you guys and see what i should get for it supply wise, here's what iv'e been thinking: gonna start off with a 47 bowfront tank, 1 250watt radium halide supplemented with 2 actinic bulbs, as far as filtration, want to get a combo wet/dry/refugium, also wanted to do a closed loop for cirulation or a sqwd whichever is better, in the wetdry i wanted to add liverock instead of bioballs, and add cheato in the refuguim, also want to put skimmer in the wetdry along with heater as well, i will use alot of live rock and gonna have a 3-4inch dsb, let me know what yall think, any help would be appricated, im not sure what light setup im gonna get, just want to get good growth!!!

[alexwolf]

hey rudy, you need to come check out my new setup when you get a chance.

[captexas]

Rudy -
If you are going to have a refugium you might as well skip the 3-4" sandbed in the main tank. It is not really deep enough to be an effective DSB. You can have a deeper sand bed in the fuge and just have a shorter sandbed in the main tank so it will look better. The only problem I see is that if you are planning on putting your filtration/sump/fuge under the tank, you will be very limited to its size and I doubt you will be able to put all that stuff in such a small area. Now if you do it separately outside the stand, then you have more flexiblity. You could probably do your filtration under the tank and have a fuge setup next to or above the main tank if you wanted.

Just some ideas that hopefully help. Always fun trying to figure out what you are going to do with a new setup! :-)

[z28pwr]

Rudy, if you think the XM bulbs were blue the Radiums are even more blue.

I like the blue in the Radiums and the XM's but from what I heard you say you though it was too blue. If that is the case you would be better off with a 10K 250 watt USHIO supplemented by two atinics.

[Instar]

Radiums have a short useable life compared to the newer bulb types. Radiums need changed on 6 month intervals according to the pictures and reports I've seen.

[oceancube]

hey thanks alot guys for the info, well i guess im gonna go with a 250watt xm, with 1 vho daylight, im also gonna just use a sump as a refuguim, sound like a good idea, any ideas on how i can get the best water movement besides dumb powerheads, as im gonna try to make it look nice and simple, but underneath gonna look like crapola, im still going toward the dsb on both tank and sump area, as ive got so many pods and worms along with nassarius snails, they love it!! like i said thanks alot for the reply's and keep idea's comin, as im gonna do it better this time than i did b4!!!!

[Instar]

Remember to include those VHO actinics too, not just daylights. A good rule for most things is 2 actinics to 1 daylight, unless you are only growing algae. There are many shades of florescent zooanthelas and they will really grow with the actinics to color your life forms.
Whats size bulkhead are you using?

[oceancube]

well not sure what size bulkheads im gonna use yet, i would like to get good flow through my bulk to my sump, not sure?? what you recommend, oh also what pump should i use to return water to tank???? as for light im gonna use the following for sure:1 250 xm supplemented with 1 vho daylight, and im gonna use a refuguim for filtration with my built in cpr skimmer!!!

[Instar]

On the 250 xM, what K temp? And what are you aiming to keep in this system? What made you decide to skip the actinics? I've started using the ViaAqua pumps b/c of the return in GPH to watts of power consumption to cost per $$. I got the big ones for $35.00. All of mine, I can not hear running, even the 1400 GPH completely submersable size. They do have to be completely submerged. I'm using one 2 inch bulkhead on a 125 and wish I had 2 of those bulkheads now. I get 1000 gal/hour over the spillway and it keeps the air from gurgling in the standpipe b/c its pretty full. With only 1000 return, I had to add power heads for the SPS and to create the waves.

[kaiser]

Hell dude forget the 47 bow and get a 58 reef ready. More room below for a fuge. With a 36" by 18" footprint not that much larger the the bowfront.

[captexas]

If you want a 58g tank I have one. It is not drilled, but could be doen easily. 58g has a nice footprint to work with.

[kaiser]

Carefull with drilling a 58 oceanic. I have seen 2 or 3 new tanks at the lfs, that had the sticker on the bottom saying "tempered Glass do NOT drill".

[oceancube]

darn now im scared, well im in a sticky situation now!!

[z28pwr]

I've heard good and bad stuff about those via aqua pumps and some rumors that they were made by TAAM who makes RIO pumps.

I recommend you save your money and get the biggest tank possible since you will surely want to upgrade if you don't get something big enough. Just look how long ago your purchased that 30 gallon tank ;).

You can find some good deals on here or www.reefcentral.com or in the newspaper .

[kaiser]

You can always drill thru the back. I think thats what Joshua did with his 75.

[oceancube]

yall think ill get away with just 1 250 xm bulb with a vho daylight in the 58gal. , i think drilling it would be ok, capt ill still be there saturday!!!

[z28pwr]

Rudy, if that tank is a 58 G Natures View Oceanic I would put an external overflow or drill it on the side instead of drilling it on the bottom. Like Kaiser said the 58 G has tempered glass and could shatter if drilled.

This is straight from OCEANIC.

Thank you for your e-mail and interest in Oceanic products. We do use tempered glass for the bottoms of some of our aquariums. All our bowfront, corner, and Lizard Lounge tanks, the 45 Chameleon Habitat, and the Nature’s View (55, 58, 75, and 85) have tempered bottoms. When you purchase our aquariums, if they have a tempered bottom, they will be marked with a sticker. Please keep in mind that if anyone other than Oceanic drills our aquariums, the warranties will be voided.
Sincerely,
SARAH rANSTROM
Customer Service Representative
Oceanic Systems Inc.

[oceancube]

hummmmm :? ok im still gonna drill, what yall think about the lighting? and thanks for the info z28, by the way how are my clowns, i mean your clowns doing so far??

[z28pwr]

You welcome Rudy.

My Clowns are doing great. They are always out and about and run to the front of the tank when they see me. They even gave some more courage to my Coral Beauty which never used to come out. Unfotunately the blenny that was in that tank decided to take a trip up the Emperor 400 and let's just say he didn't make it :( .


I think you're lighting will be fine. You can get a WorkHorse ballast for $35 to fire your VHO bulbs.

I wouldn't drill a tempered glass tank from the bottom but hey some people do and they get away with it. Good luck.

If you need some sand let me know. I think I have a bag or two left that I could sell.

Regarding drain size I would do a 1" bulkhead for drain and a 3/4" for return which would end up being a 1 3/4" hole and a 1 1/2" hole.

That should be enough drain for a MAG 12 or more.

[oceancube]

man yall really help out alot, thank yall very much!!! keep the idea's comin as i want to make my tank really nice, im gonna slow down and think it over on how im gonna do it, like i said thanks all and keep um comin!!!!

[Instar]

FYI - Rios got a bad rap from people putting them on wave makers. I have an old one that I took off a wave maker and now use on a timer. It works great! Wavemakers get maxijet 1200's for quiet, long term operation. Drill the BACK of the Oceanic tempered tanks. I have my bulhead/overflow out the back and its super. Also much less noisy gurgle to deal with. didn't use any fancy thing to make it silent - didn't need to. Get the bigger tank.

[Instar]

How do you deal with the restriction of a 1" bulkhead? Not much water runs through that for return. Sounds like a nano size to me, but then I keep SPS.

[z28pwr]

I run a 1" inside diameter bulkhead for a MAG 12 and have absolutely no problems with it keeping up. He could get a 1.5" but that is a 2 3/8 hole size and since Aquatrend only has a 2.5" drill bit that's the size of hole he would get which is fairly big size hole. I don't see him needing a 1.5" bulkhead unless he plans on moving over 1200 GPH which is already over 20 times the volume of the tank, but the side bulkhead may put some restriction in the equation since you have to make a 90 degree turn back to the sump if it's underneath the cabinet. On my tank the bulkhead is in the bottom and has a hose going into the sump therefore there isn't any 90 or 45 degree bends anywhere.

[Instar]

A Mag 12 lifts 1100 GPH to 4 foot head according to the lit. I have 1000 gallons going over thru a 2inch (1 and 3/4 inside) and would really worry if it was smaller than that, but it is out the back. So, there you have it for details on out the back and thru the bottom.