New Tank help!!

[saltier]

Hello all, I am starting a new tank set up. I just purchased a 90 gal Oceanic, tank, stand and canopy for $475. It only came with the overflow and its attachments. Here is what I want to do..

I want to set up a total Hawaiian reef...fish, coral, inverts...my own little slice of Hawaii.

I know I will need a sump but have no idea where to get one and the help in setting it up without getting knocked naked over the price. I am guessing I will need a skimmer also??? I know I will need power heads and a heater and a good T5 bulb to assist with the growth of my coral and Coraline algae. Am I missing anything? Please chime in with good knowledge and instructions so I can make this a beautiful entertainment project for my family. Thanks to all that offer help and assistance.

P.S.
I heard there is a spot on here where people sale things like the stuff I need....Where is that located? And does it have credible items?

[hobogato]

there are for sale forums that are usable after you as a member have met some criteria. they are:

1. charter member dues paid ($25)

or

2. web member with minimum post number and time of membership - i will have to look in the bylaws for the exact numbers as they were changed recently.

also, many of our sponsors carry sumps and wet dry setups, you may check with them.

lastly, you could make your own from acrylic or a glass tank with baffles, melevsreef.com has some good how to pages

[Kristy]

Hi saltier -

Haven't seen you around here in a while! Ace is correct about the criteria for posting in the For Sale threads or starting your own FS thread. However, one can READ the FS threads at any level of membership and then send a pm to the seller if you are interested in something.

Clear as mud?

[corruption]

One thing to add here -- don't sell yourself short... do your research and truly understand what you're going for, so you don't have buyers remorse after putting the setup together... I'm sure we've all experienced it at one time or another -- I know I sure have. T5's are great lights -- Odyssea makes some acceptable fixtures for cheap, but its also quite easy to build your own and attach to your canopy.

The best advice you could possibly get at this point is to take it slow, do lots of reading and research, and you'll enjoy the end result a lot more. Welcome to the hobby! :)

-Corruption

[saltier]

Awesome, I was just on the for sale section and was not allowed to even reply to the people that posted, so I guess its because im not a paying member, but thanks for all your help though!!!!

[saltier]

Yeah thats because I have been back to school getting my edjamakation LOL

[corruption]

Click on the persons name that made the post, and select "Send a Private Message" -- this will allow you to communicate directly to the person. The problem is, you don't have the post count to be active in the For Sale forums yet (and/or haven't paid membership dues), but you can still Private Message the people all day long :)

-Corruption

[saltier]

Thanks Corrup, I have been here a little while just been of the scene because of school. I learned to set up my 29 gal salt and you guys gave me excellent info. You are right, I am reading and reading and researching and knowing that there are experienced aquariumist here to assist me makes this hobby the best! Thanks for your input.

[Big_Pun]

if your on a budget best bet is to build a sump find a good aquarium(craigslist) that fits under your stand and add baffles just keep in mind what your goin to put in your sump. as always take your time and research what you want to do, know what lighting you want and just get that from start.

[ErikH]

Welcome to MAAST Saltier.

Ace (hobogato) builds sumps and all things acrylic. You have to ask him though. :)

I have a 75g, which is a 90 short :)

For a 90 these are the items that I would buy, without breaking the bank. Somethings you CANNOT skimp on, especially if you want to be successful. You must buy right the first time. Sometimes the LFS may or may not have the "best bang for the buck" so always do your research before making any large purchases.

Lighting:
I would go with either T5 or MH. Since you mention T5, I would buy a 6-8 bulb 54w T5 Retrofit Kit with icecap ballasts and individual reflectors. The individual reflectors will give you enough PAR (err... light...) to grow any corals you want. The more bulbs, the better. I say that because T5s can tend to show "color bands" where you can see distinct color changes from each individual bulb. The more you have, the more they blend. The key things here are icecap and Single Lamp Reflectors. www.hellolights.com www.reefgeek.com

Protein Skimmer
Get a Reef Octopus, one for a 90 will run maybe 150, you can buy these locally at this price.

RO/DI
You need one. Flat out. www.buckeyefieldsupply.com or air water and ice, can't remember their URL.

Sump.
You can do alot with a sump or fuge. I have a 29g that my overflow just drains into. It has about a 6-7" sandbed for dentrification, around 100 pounds of rock (wet), and the remainder of the space if filled with macro algae. I do not have any baffles, I just buried the return in a bunch of rubble that was big enough not to get sucked into the pump, then covered that with rubble. This way I do not need to clean a prefilter every other day. My sump is setup for denitrification since I am growing "sticks" (Small Polyp Stony) corals.

Heater
Buy one that is enclosed. Ask anyone here how much fun it is to have a heater burst. It simply is not fun. :)

Return Pump
NEVER OVERSIZE YOUR PUMP. The size of your return pump must be smaller than what your overflow can drain. ACCOUNT FOR A SLOW DRAIN. I think 1 1/2" drains run at 1200 gph, I have a Danner Mag 7 return pump (internal) with about 4' of head loss, so it probably pumps at a few hundred or so gph. If you get one that is fast, you will quickly overflow your tank, especially if a rogue snail makes it into your overflow and clogs things a bit.

Powerheads.
Koralia makes a fantastic product and you can find used ones all over the place. I would recommend placing your powerheads so your water flows in a circle, around your rocks. Keeping excess foods in suspension to be either eaten or filtered out is what you want. Food will quickly decay causing excessive buildup of nutrients and other nasties that will eventually drive you either crazy or right back to the for sale forum to sell your stuff.

Clean Up Crew.
Always have alot. I buy crabs and snails just about every other time I visit the LFS. This is a huge detriment to your tank as they eat food that needs to be eaten. They are scavengers, just what a good reef needs.

Livestock.
Check out www.liveaquaria.com
You can check fish by their biotope. Very cool.

Patience.
This is the key here. Let your system mature before you add anything. There is much more going on than you will ever see with the naked eye. Just let it sit there for a few months, let the microscopic organisms thrive in there, as to not be instantly disposed of when you start adding fish. The longer you wait, the better.

[ErikH]

Oh, and with the powerheads, I would recommend at least 3200 GPH of flow in your tank for proper detritus suspension.

[hobogato]

......Ace (hobogato) builds sumps and all things acrylic. You have to ask him though. ....

sorry, not anymore. wouldnt want any conflict of interest should i get elected to the BOD or President :wink_smile:

[Bill S]

Great advice, Erik.

If size isn't all that important, you should be able to pick up a used sump by watching for a few days. If it is important, as Erik said, get Ace (aka Hobogato) to throw one together for you.

Others really like the Koralias, I'm fond of my Seios - which are cheaper, but the entire unit has to stay in the tank.

As Erik says, don't overdrive your overflows. Make SURE you have enough drain capacity that if a snail or something else gets caught in one of your drains, your other drain(s) can handle the flow. You can also minimize your sump return section so that it can't overflow your tank.

[corruption]

Return Pump
NEVER OVERSIZE YOUR PUMP. The size of your return pump must be smaller than what your overflow can drain. ACCOUNT FOR A SLOW DRAIN. I think 1 1/2" drains run at 1200 gph, I have a Danner Mag 7 return pump (internal) with about 4' of head loss, so it probably pumps at a few hundred or so gph. If you get one that is fast, you will quickly overflow your tank, especially if a rogue snail makes it into your overflow and clogs things a bit.

Clean Up Crew.
Always have alot. I buy crabs and snails just about every other time I visit the LFS. This is a huge detriment to your tank as they eat food that needs to be eaten. They are scavengers, just what a good reef needs.


Just to add here -- when configuring flow out of your tank, for exactly the reasons Erik stated here, its best to double up on outputs. If you think a single 1.5" is enough, put 2 of em. The chances of a clog are very real, and the end result is rarely pretty. The tank will only drain out as fast as you put it back in, once equilibrium is found -- the overflow portion of the process is caused by the return pump pushing water back to the display.

As well, for the clean up crew -- I personally tend to avoid hermits, in my experiences, they tend to be bigger bullies than their worth, though admittedly not as bad as true crabs are (fish killers! :) )... I tend to go with caution on crabs, and prefer a large variety and collection of snails.

-Corruption

[saltier]

ScorpiNo.....THIS is what I mean!!!!! This is clear knowledge and guidance!!!! YOU ROCK!!! And I love your photo bucket slide show also! You have some very beautiful babies.

[saltier]

Thanks Corrup, I will add that to my bank of knowledge too and hope that I don't make too many mistakes. This tank is a gift for my wife and she will love it as she does the other 3 we have.

[saltier]

sorry, not anymore. wouldnt want any conflict of interest should i get elected to the BOD or President :wink_smile:
Dude....well that was a knee to the nads!!! LOL