Planing To Start Marine Tank Setup

[MaNkiND]

Quick Question:
Since i am planning to get corals, i will be planning on MH lights. Where could i get them at if i live in the US?
And should i get the corals after i get some fish or before i get the fish? Or does it not matter?

 

[crazyelece]

fish before corals. the fish are less sensative to changes so you want to add them and then let the tank settle for awhile.

 

[MaNkiND]

fish before corals. the fish are less sensative to changes so you want to add them and then let the tank settle for awhile.

Got it
And like i mentioned before does any1 know a place i can get MH lights for cheap on the web?

 

[bunjiweb]

www.google.com.

 

[MaNkiND]

LoL, i forgot ... "google has all your answer"
Ya google does give some sites. But im not sure if i can trust those sites. I am looking for proffesional sites, like liveaquaria.
I found this page on Doctors Foster and Smith:

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/NavR...=1&N=2004&Nty=1

There are so many to choose from. Any1 have any suggestions? And is the price range decent for MH lights?

I also found this for moonlight:

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1

Would this be fine? The price range, and the type?

Also would i need like a light timer? (Like when to turn them on/off) or is it not necesaary?
Thx

 

[Aquascaper]

Timers are a must IMO

 

[MaNkiND]

K, ill try to find a timer.
Well, ill be getting my tank in the next 2 months (at the max) so ill just be reading diaries on the forums and reasearching. If i have any questions ill make sure to ask
Thx for the help every1
Now the hours on sitting on comp and reasearching begins

 

[MaNkiND]

K i have a few questions now:
1.) A new petco just opened near me, and it seems really good. I saw a sump there, with bioballs, sponge, and some other stuff that i apparently cant remeber. I am guessing the sump would be 10-15 gallons. I might be able to fit a skimmer in there, and LR. The skimmer was huge though ... it looked something like this: http/www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?R=1...&familyID=8401&
or
http/www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?R=2...familyID=14827&

The sump i saw looked almost exacly like this except it came with extra stuff:
http/www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?R=8...familyID=14820&
The whole thing with bioballs, sponge, and outlets and some other stuff came to $220.
The skimmer was $200.
Should i buy from them?

2.) How many watts of light do i need if im getting a 72 gallon tank which will have corals, polyps, mushrooms etc. I can always upgrade but ill be better off if i start of with a strong light.
3.) In ranking what light would be considered lower than MH?
4.) Can i get a Eheim ECCO Canister Filters and attach it to a sump? This is the type im planning to buy:
http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...=1&N=2004&Nty=1

That's it for now
Thx for the help again

 

[SkiFletch]

I too am setting up a tank soon like yourself, and from my research I'll try and help ya out

1. I'm not terribly versed on skimmers, but that one looks nice I'd check out ebay before you buy most equipment from stores... you tend to be able to get it cheaper in the US that way.

2. Lots of light. I'd decide on type first if I were you. Either Compact Flourescent (CP) or Metal Halide. Halides are the cadillac of lighting. You get lots of it and real good quality. Downsides to them can be excess heat, they're a little power hungry, and expensive. From what I udnerstand though you cant get better lighting. CP isnt as power hungry, not quite as expensive as halides (but still not cheap), and makes both less heat and less light. Most people regard CP lighting as the moderate quality lighting. You can get away with most corals/inverts with it, but some may require halides.

3. CP

4. You CAN buy canister filters, but most people around here (myself now included) reccomend using LR and in-sump macro algae to filter water. Canisters, biowheels, and other bio filtration common in freshwater setups can be nitrate factories which is toxic to fish. There are but 2 ways to remove nitrates. Grow algae in your sump, or regular and sometimes frequent water changes. Growing algae in the sump imo is safer and more natural over the long run for a mini ecosystem.

 

[MaNkiND]

For question 4 im definately planning to have macro algae. I know people also put some type of plant ... something that starts with m .... like mangrove or something like that.
Ya ill definately be having LR in the display tank and possibilby in the sump. But can i have a canister filter attached the the first chamber of the sump? Like i was thinking this:




to be more clear the inlet (wire that sucks the water) will be placed in the display tank and then the outlet (wire that releases the water) will be placed in the sump (i showed this in pic) This way it will clean the water and when it releases the clean water with nitrates the sump (meaning the "stuff" inside it) will convert the nitrates to nitrgoen (which causes no harm to the tank).
And for those who think that if i have two outlets connected to the first chamber (beginning of the tank) which could cause to much water flow .... you could be right. Therefore i might just have the canister outlet. Will this work?
And btw was my diagram decent or needs improvement?

* Anything i wrote in the paranthesis is basically for someone to correct if im wrong. I dont mean to offend anyone by putting information they already know .... so dont feel offended ... thx

EDIT: for those who dont have the link to the sump diagram here is a link :
http/img517.imageshack.us/img517/4808/pi...pdiagram1iu.png

 

[SkiFletch]

looks good to me. pretty straight forward sump. go for it man

 

[MaNkiND]

I have found more complicated sumps ... still deciding on which one to go for. If i use the outlet from the canister filter tp the sump and not the other one will i still have to drill a hole in the tank? I really dont see why if i do that.
Does it seem like a good idea or should i just stick with the basics?

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, there are many options for your overflow. you can drill a hole, use siphon tubes, or use a double U hang on with a pipe mounted there. There are lots of ways to do it, and in the end you'll probably be battling airlocks and reading a lot on the subject. there was a great article on building sumps and overflows by a guy named Melev that I found in the stickies somehow, lemme go see if I can find it again for ya.

Edit, here it is Melev's Reef

 

[Aquascaper]

I would not recommend using two pumps inline, ie. the canister then the sump return. It is damn hard to get everything working in tandem and unless you get it right you'll either flood the sump or drain it.
Cannister filters are a bit of a no-no anyway as they are 'nitrate' factories and usually do more harm than good if used as they are intended, however they are very good if you're short of space and you gut them and fill it with live rock (basically acts as an enclosed mini-sump). I have done this and it runs alongside my sump as I had lots of extra live rock to use up.
The design you've done of a sump is fine and allows for a lot of different uses and lots of room for equipment, there's a few little details that I would change such as baffle height and number of baffles but apart from that its nearly identical to mine (wonder how that happened )
As for lighting, start with T5's as this will allow you to keep a broad range of corals and is still relatively inexpensive to buy and run

 

[MaNkiND]

K so drop the canister filter. Go with the sump and the LR and algae filtiration. Ill try to get a skimmer in the sump (hopefully) which will count as filtartiaion also. K so i've got my filtiration down.
I'm going to do a little bit reasearch on T5's because i never heard of them. But you always tell me the right thing and i trust you.
Thx for the help
More questions will be coming up