Only a little bit more stuff needed

[Gollum]

Ok peeps I am starting a marine tank and wanted some advice.
So far I have the tank and stand which is a corner unit (3foot accross the front, Two foot accross the sides and 2.3 foot high),
I also have my 150 w halide lighting and a seaclone hang on skimmer.



I am going to be setting up a mixed reef tank with both hard and soft corals. So i have the following questions.

If I follow the 1 pound of live rock per gallon do I still need an external filter? if so which one would you recomend and what media should I put in?

How many powerheads and what size should I get?

What clean up crew should I get in numbers and type?

Is there anywhere online where I can buy my cleanup crew cheaper than the shops? Im in essex in the UK

Thanks peeps

My mind has gone blank now in regards to the other q's that I have. Must be the couple of pints I had for lunch

 

[Gollum]

sorry got the height of the tank wrong its almost 3 foot high

 

[Fishy411]

u definately need an external filter. U need to tell us what fish u plan on having if u want to know the answer to the powerhead Q. U need 1 snail or crab per gallon. Liveaquaria has clean up crews.

 

[Ed4567]

Why do you think he definatly needs an external filter Fishy411?
one would be useful if only to run carbon/ phosphate remover however I wouldnt say it was essential.

Powerheads- Are you looking at keeping sps (small polyped stony corals) or just lps (large polyped stony corals) like frogspawn etc? If its predominantly the former then a lot of circulation will be nessassary maybe even making closed loops worthwhile (where water is removed from the tank via a hole and is pumped in somewhere else). If you are just looking at lps and softies (with maybe a couple of sps) then two or three decent powerheads will probably do.

Cleanup crew- a variety of snails, maybe a few smaller hermit crabs as long as you keep them supplied with shells, whatever comes out of you live rock (bristleworms), a couple of shrimp to add interest.

Have you looked at adding a sump? I wish I had when I was starting.
Ed

 

[Gollum]

sorry for the late reply.

ED ideally i would like to have the right balance in order to keep both

I have considered a sump but would not know where to start to be honest and my cabinet is not massive. + how would I get my dank drilled??

 

[Ed4567]

If this is your first tank and you already have it then it might be more hassel than its worth at this point to add a sump, although it is useful.

If this is your first reef tank I would personally start out with softies and lps untill your tank becomes established and stable, and then begin to add sps as these are more demanding. This means you can start with less circulation and increase it as you go along to meet your changing needs, and it also has the benefit that you can become comfortable with your tanks water chemistry before adding sps which in numbers have quite high calcium demand.

If you do go sumpless then it might be worth getting hold of a cannister filter to help circulation and to add carbon to.
Ed

 

[Opcn]

To avoid drilling you can always go with a no drill overflow unit for about $80

 

[Great Lakes]

I use an overflow and with the addition of an aqualifter to it, it runs flawless. I would really recommend a sump to place heaters and your skimmer in if nothing else. Plus the additional volume always helps. It can be as simpl as a rubbermaid tub.

I would use at least two powerheads on a simple wavetimer powerstrip. about 400 gph each.

You will find success mixing softies and LPS, but SPS corals generally don't do well sharing a tank with softies. Soft corals excretions annoy SPS. It can be done, but usually in rather large tanks.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but a 150w halide will be near useless over a three foot deep tank. A 400w is really needed for that deep of a tank.

On your clean up crew. If you can find a good online supplier on your side of the pond, overdo it. The extra cleanup critters will help keep your tank claener while you are starting and then will naturally diminish from predators and conditions in your tank and what you will end up with is the optimal amount for your particular tank.

GL

 

[Gollum]

a couple fo lfs over here said the 150 was probably over kill for my tank??

 

[Ed4567]

Is the tank actually 3 foot high or does this include the stand?
Ed

 

[RamJet]

Is there such a thing as over kill when it comes to lighting? More is better.
I would not get a canister,(it can become a nitrate factory) you wont need it, just through a skimmer on it and let your rocks do the rest. I also put plants in my sump to help with water quality and with exception of sheet rock dust getting it my nano, I do not do water changes. Dont give me any crap about that, I happen to know GreatLakes doesnt change his water ether. If you look really close you can see the $80 over flow in the photo below. Holly smack, 3 feet deep?!

 

[Fishy411]

u need an external filter to remove the junk. You would need a lot more lr than 1 pound per gallon to have no external filter.