So long story short I had an opportunity I couldnt miss, and I got a 125. It was free, and although the setup leaves a lot to be desired, its a starting point and as great grandpa Alfonse always used to say "Anything thats free is usually worth standin in line for."
THE GOAL IS TO TRANSFER MY EXISTING 75G MIXED REEF INTO THIS 125G!
So here goes. Im posting this thread in here, and not on the reef side of things because this side gets more flow, and Im hoping to have as many people as possible chime in on this. Basically Im going to lay out my grand plans, and you are going to take your knowledge, advice, and whatever else to pick it apart. Im a college kid, so things have to be kinda on the cheap side, but you will notice I am doing what I can to keep things classy. So here goes.
THE TANK NOW:
- 125g
- LR Pounds??? Decent amount. Trying to get rid of a lot of this because of all the soft corals that in my experience spread like the plague and ruin everything.
- Aragonite. About 40#. The guy I got it from had a DSB and it was pretty nasty after not being maintained for seven years. I washed 40# just to cover the bottom. I plan on moving my substrate from my 75g mixed reef when I make the final switch.
- Some fish, coral banded shrimp, and a couple show-piece softies. Other than that, nothing to write home about.
The tank is currently running with 2x bacpak CPR's and 1x 150w MH just to keep the corals and the rock alive. I also have a couple heaters and some crappy maxi-jets that came with the setup to keep everything live.
WHAT I WANT:
- AquaC Remora protein skimmer 75g variety. I already have one of these running on my 75g, and instead of losing it when I upgrade and just buying a skimmer rated for a 150g I might as well combine the two of these for equal, if not better results. I would add the skimmer from my tank when I completely switched over.
- Side note: considering buying the overflows for these. Let me know if you have any experience. This will be all I run for filtration, till I add the second one, and then until my tank is densely stocked with fish (which I plan on in this reef) I will not have any additional filtration.
- For main filtration when the time comes, I am looking at a fluval fx5. I was going to buy an eheim, but the power behind the fluval, and the cheap price tag made me change my mind. If you can talk me back into buying an eheim, go for it.
- Flow: planning on using koralias. The 75g has 3x koralia 4's in it. I am thinking that I am going to get a couple koralia magnums to put at either end and then use the fours on the back of the tank to avoid dead spots. Any advice on which magnum koralia would be the best size for a 125g? I like a lot of flow, but dont want to over do it. As of right now I am about to order the 8's.
- I will heat the tank with a submersible ebo-jager heater. The biggest one they make.
- Lighting...this is where things get hairy. This is the standard 125g L...meaning its six feet long, 18 inches wide, and 21 inches tall. I think.
(Know the length for sure) Most of these tanks come with 2 dividing bars over the top, however mine only has one. What I normally would have done was bought 3x 250w MH to light the tank, but now thats impossible. So heres what I am considering instead.
- One, buy 2x 250w MH and put them higher up above the tank and hope I dont blind my whole family, and that (more importantly) I dont kill (and maintain) my acros and other fancy SPS's.
- Two, buy 2x 400w MH and have slightly more light...hope for the same things as above.
- OR three. Buy a kit from www.reefledlights.com and build probably two different fixtures that would be equivalent to 400w MH. This is probably the most expensive, but the savings are HUGE even with MH, and there are a TON of other benefits that come along with it. I am currently building an LED system for my planted tank and if it turns out to be what I want it will greatly enhance my chances of the above.
- Last but not least, the tank itself. Everything is already set up, but the tank and the stand are that ugly "wood-grain" finish that looks like treated pine. Would it be possible if one was careful enough to paint the rim of the tank and the stand while the system was running?
Thats all for now, I will get up some pictures of the system as it stands as soon as I can. When I start to buy stuff, and there are changes...more pictures. Eventually it will look like my 75...which I will also have to post some pictures of! "MA...CAMERA!"
THE GOAL IS TO TRANSFER MY EXISTING 75G MIXED REEF INTO THIS 125G!
So here goes. Im posting this thread in here, and not on the reef side of things because this side gets more flow, and Im hoping to have as many people as possible chime in on this. Basically Im going to lay out my grand plans, and you are going to take your knowledge, advice, and whatever else to pick it apart. Im a college kid, so things have to be kinda on the cheap side, but you will notice I am doing what I can to keep things classy. So here goes.
THE TANK NOW:
- 125g
- LR Pounds??? Decent amount. Trying to get rid of a lot of this because of all the soft corals that in my experience spread like the plague and ruin everything.
- Aragonite. About 40#. The guy I got it from had a DSB and it was pretty nasty after not being maintained for seven years. I washed 40# just to cover the bottom. I plan on moving my substrate from my 75g mixed reef when I make the final switch.
- Some fish, coral banded shrimp, and a couple show-piece softies. Other than that, nothing to write home about.
The tank is currently running with 2x bacpak CPR's and 1x 150w MH just to keep the corals and the rock alive. I also have a couple heaters and some crappy maxi-jets that came with the setup to keep everything live.
WHAT I WANT:
- AquaC Remora protein skimmer 75g variety. I already have one of these running on my 75g, and instead of losing it when I upgrade and just buying a skimmer rated for a 150g I might as well combine the two of these for equal, if not better results. I would add the skimmer from my tank when I completely switched over.
- Side note: considering buying the overflows for these. Let me know if you have any experience. This will be all I run for filtration, till I add the second one, and then until my tank is densely stocked with fish (which I plan on in this reef) I will not have any additional filtration.
- For main filtration when the time comes, I am looking at a fluval fx5. I was going to buy an eheim, but the power behind the fluval, and the cheap price tag made me change my mind. If you can talk me back into buying an eheim, go for it.
- Flow: planning on using koralias. The 75g has 3x koralia 4's in it. I am thinking that I am going to get a couple koralia magnums to put at either end and then use the fours on the back of the tank to avoid dead spots. Any advice on which magnum koralia would be the best size for a 125g? I like a lot of flow, but dont want to over do it. As of right now I am about to order the 8's.
- I will heat the tank with a submersible ebo-jager heater. The biggest one they make.
- Lighting...this is where things get hairy. This is the standard 125g L...meaning its six feet long, 18 inches wide, and 21 inches tall. I think.
(Know the length for sure) Most of these tanks come with 2 dividing bars over the top, however mine only has one. What I normally would have done was bought 3x 250w MH to light the tank, but now thats impossible. So heres what I am considering instead.
- One, buy 2x 250w MH and put them higher up above the tank and hope I dont blind my whole family, and that (more importantly) I dont kill (and maintain) my acros and other fancy SPS's.
- Two, buy 2x 400w MH and have slightly more light...hope for the same things as above.
- OR three. Buy a kit from www.reefledlights.com and build probably two different fixtures that would be equivalent to 400w MH. This is probably the most expensive, but the savings are HUGE even with MH, and there are a TON of other benefits that come along with it. I am currently building an LED system for my planted tank and if it turns out to be what I want it will greatly enhance my chances of the above.
- Last but not least, the tank itself. Everything is already set up, but the tank and the stand are that ugly "wood-grain" finish that looks like treated pine. Would it be possible if one was careful enough to paint the rim of the tank and the stand while the system was running?
Thats all for now, I will get up some pictures of the system as it stands as soon as I can. When I start to buy stuff, and there are changes...more pictures. Eventually it will look like my 75...which I will also have to post some pictures of! "MA...CAMERA!"
