idea's for new tank

[NYreefNoob]

ok i am looking to buy a 65g or a 50g high tank and have a few questions before doing so. these are the items i have for the set-up now, a reef devil deluxe skimmer a current 130w compact, a rio 2100 for the return pump. a over flow need to find out rating's { house can you help or know } a 20g high for my sump and a coralife compact for sump or thought of using it in canopy if so i have a flouresent light for sump, plan to make stand 3' high. i know i should probably go with a bigger sump but i wont be putting anything but crushed aragonite and some live rock and algea in ref. this tank will be a softies only, zoo's polyps, mushroom and a few anenome's purple, and pink tip sabe and a green bubble tip. very few fish. please remember this is a tight budget set-up. before recommending $500 items as stupid as it sounds i plan to only have a grand in whole set-up, i love the 3 tanks i have seen in person here, daceman, house and brightliner, i dont plan on any sps or hard's at all.. oh i have 2 zoomed's rotating powerheads,{supposely junk} but they work great if you keep them clean keeps a good mixed water current. so any opinions or suggestions will be appriciated.{once all items are purchased anyone located around peekskill will to help with set-up and moving of items from 29 to new tank will be appriciated as well. hopefully within- the next month all with be ready to set-up. still have to build stand. ty rick and i know the pic is terrible. if person water is really clear, just havent figured camera out yet

 

[TimberTDI]

I would go with a 65, but not the standard 36xwhatever. They make a 65 that is 48"L x 18"hx 18"w. Now when you compare to a standard 65 it's 6" shorter. That's 6" less that your lighting needs to penetrate.

This has always been one of my favorite tank setups. Take a look at what was accomplished using 260w of PC. This tank is all softies.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-08/totm/index.php

Just something to keep in mind while coming up with an overall design,

Steven

 

[nanoreefer22]

If you're set on keeping power compacts, that Purple tip sebae is out of the question. They're one of the much harder to keep anemones. Keeping power compacts, if you must, go with maybe 3 x 96watt bulbs over the tank and you should be good for soft corals.

Also I would go with the 50g breeder if you want to keep your budget lower. The bigger than tank, most likely the more money you're going to have to invest. Building the stand alone is probably going to run you $150, I built one the same size and I didn't use any special woods:teeth:.

Good Luck .

-Kris

 

[loismustdie]

get better lights or forget anemones. As Steve said, get a tank with a bigger foot print, not height.
I would also go ahead and use that Rio as a paper weight and get an Ehiem.
You're setting your budget too low. You can get a lot of great deals on the FS/FT forum as well as e-bay. But cheap isn't always good.
I hate seeing guys upgrading on a "Tight Budget". If the budget is tight, don't upgrade until you can spend what's necessary. You can probably spend less money making your current tank better, rather than short-changing a larger tank.

 

[nanoreefer22]

I hate seeing guys upgrading on a "Tight Budget". If the budget is tight, don't upgrade until you can spend what's necessary. You can probably spend less money making your current tank better, rather than short-changing a larger tank.

More than true. I've been there, cutting corners like crazy just to save one dollar just to have that dollar I saved now turn into dollarS I had to spend later, fixing what could have been done from the start.

I didn't even think about it until Chris(loismustdie) pointed it out. Stick to the 29g and just make it the best tank you can have.

 

[NYreefNoob]

ideas

well i have been contiplating just staying with the 29 but hate to build a stand twice so i thought of building the stand for a 65g and just run with the stuff i have, yes i know cheap cost more later, not saying i am cheap and wont buy the proper thing's thats why i am asking for input, but i dont plan to have a 10 grand tank either.

 

[nanoreefer22]

Trying to run a 65g on 29g equipment is just asking for problems. Before buying the tank, why not buy all the proper equipment for the 65g slowly. Then you buy the tank last and make your upgrade, so you know you're ready for it.

Instead of buying the tank first and then getting the things you need to make it work. Have everything from the start, makes life a ton easier.

 

[loismustdie]

Trying to run a 65g on 29g equipment is just asking for problems

Couldn't have said that better. There is also your current equipment list. I'm not saying you need Deltec and Bubble King equipment, but:
PC
Rio
Power Sweeps
ETSS Skimmer
is all low end stuff. If you do searches on any one of these products on this site, you'll find more bad feed back than good.
You don't have to spend $10,000. No one is calling you cheap either. We are giving you the advice you asked for. Given the fact that you said you're operating on a budget and looking at your current equipment list, my advice is you make improvements on the tank you've got rather than go to a bigger tank.
What made you decide on a 65 anyway?

 

[TimberTDI]

You don't have to spend $10,000.

Sorry Chris but I was LMAO when I read this.

 

[Blue02celi]

patience is hard, I know. I've been looking at setting up a FOWLR for months and now finally getting most of the cash I need, but looking at all the equipment I want, Im still gonna have to wait about another month before I can get everything I want. I can get cheaper stuff and get it set up now, but I'd rather not have to any upgrades for a while, especially with just the start up cost. I know Im gonna spend a bunch now since I dont have ANYTHING so I might as well spend it now rather than get what I can and then upgrade as I go. Like loismustdie said, I've gone back about 10 pages on the FS/FT threads, lots of them have never been closed, they still might have their equipment they never sold

 

[loismustdie]

but i dont plan to have a 10 grand tank either.

You don't have to spend $10,000.

I only said it that way because he did. It wasn't meant to be an exact figure. I'm not in denial of what my tank costs. Even after my latest "investment", I'm still under 10 large.
Automation has a price.

 

[TimberTDI]

Chris,
No matter what your tank cost, it is definitely one to envy.

 

[NYreefNoob]

ideas

so a reef devil etts deluxe isnt a good skimmer ? for 80g of water ? and if my thread was read correct i was asking for opinions on what to get, just not the best equipment availible. i am not looking to set up a show aquarium but something for me to enjoy. with this being said i am looking at a aga 65 with a mh and t5 set-up. was more curious to what pump i should use for my return, stated i have a rio 2100 if it would work or should i buy another, was asking if a 20g high will work for my sump on a 65g. i was curious to the lighting because i have the current compact 130w and was thinking of building it into the canopy. guess this thread was more to see what are affordable return pumps and if my ref will be big enough, and i know you get what you pay for in life a penyy saved cost a dollar later, i know this but was looking for info on reliable stuff thats not going to cost a arm and a leg. i know this is ass backwards but ya know. { unless someone wants to help donate to my build :smile: or has some items f\s. and i am not rushing into this situation. just doing the planning as of now, nothing set in gold yet

 

[TimberTDI]

You could go with a Mag Drive 7 or 9.5 for return pump.

 

[loismustdie]

Just trying to help you avoid unnecessary mistakes. I would have a killer 29g and forget the upgrade, but if you must do it: As I said in my first post, lose the Rio and get yourself an Ehiem. Hell, I'd even let you get away with a mag drive over a Rio.
Lose the ETSS skimmer. You can get an ASM skimmer with the gate valve and possibly even the recirc mod. I personally hated my ETSS. I modified it and turned it into the waste collection cup for my new skimmer just to find a use for it. I could not sell it in good faith. I can name at least 3 others who felt the same about theirs. If you must keep the ETSS, I'd suggest the beckett mod... which might mean you would need a better pump.
Get rid of the powersweeps and look into Seio and MJ mods. If you want to spend money on flow, closed loop, Tunze or Vortec.
Any size sump will work. The important thing about a sump is that it can hold all overflow water during a power outage. I would be more likely to use the 29 gallon, forget the fuge and build a nice chamber for the skimmer and some baffles.
If you buy a tank, get it reef ready. Do not use overflow kits if you don't have to. Get the tank drilled. It's worth it.
You would be very happy with T-5. If you DIY and retro, I personally like the Icecap Dynamic Ballast with Icecap reflectors. You may be able to set up something cheaper with a 150 or 175W MH retro kit.
With exception of the Ehiem pump, nothing mentioned here would be considered high price, high end stuff. In your case, I would even go for a smaller and cheaper model Eheim with lower flow. You can make up the flow in the tank with better powerheads. This is just a debatable list that I feel is good equipment that has a good track record of being worth the cost and may help you from going too far over your budget. Also, search out equipment reviews here before you buy. If you can't find a review, post a thread asking for user experience and feed back. There is very little you can buy that hasn't been used by at least 20 members of the site. I can already tell you that you would not have bought the equipment you currently have if you would have asked first.

 

[NYreefNoob]

idea

well everything but the etts came in a package deal. 60lbs or lr the lighting a hob crp ref and a skimmer for $200 so i started off with a head start. really havent invested in anything else so far except for the zoo's polyps and live stock. only real reason debating switching to a larger setup is cause of front space rock is to close to front. most of my piece's of rock are large. and i heard from a few people with the etts that they love them. everyone has a different opinion. i could show you a picture of my old as heck skimmer with a 20yr old design to it that pull's cup of nice dark gunk a week. and if i just posted a pic people would tell me to throw it in the trash, till they seen what it does. so if it does this decent then cant wait to see what new one does. and for the price i got it for i think i did pretty good. and i do appriciate all input. i was told the rio's are junk and had planned to get rid of it. would i really need a mh for softs though ? ty rick

 

[loismustdie]

You don't need MH for softies. You mentioned anemones. They need MH long term. I'm sure your response to that will be that you have an anemone now under PC's. I threw the MH option out there since it may be cheaper to retro a MH kit than T-5. It may also be cheaper to run as far as watts go, obviously depending on bulbs and wattage. You asked for options, I'm giving options.
It's obvious to me though that I'm wasting my time. You're not looking for advice. You're just looking for some one to say "Sounds great! Go with it!" You're really not going to get that around here. Seems more like you are looking to verify a bad decision (or impulse buy) rather than searching for advice.
So far I have not seen 1 post telling you to go forward, but it looks like all systems are go and you're going to do it anyway.

 

[NYreefNoob]

idea

not all all, i havent bought anything but my skimmer, and i really am not in any hurry, i have a tank running now, just planning my future buys wisely,{ but if i go with the 65 or 50g thats as big and last tank i will do, just looking for options, i have seen 3 people's tanks from this site in person. love them and awesome tanks, but i cant fathem spending that much on a tank. and if i had made my mind up i wouldnt be here asking thoughts and opinions, id just go buy it or what i thought it was. and i have found mh kit's for less than some compacts. i learnt on my fw tank, was told to do this and that and this wouldn't work or this would and a decent amount of money later i ended up with what i had planned to do. and though my tank looks messy cause dam africans tear it up, but i have some awesome looking fish that i havent seen the color's as bright anywhere around. i know fw is no comparison to sw.

 

[loismustdie]

My bad... I didn't mean to come off like an a-hole. I'm sorry.
The 3 tanks you've seen were probably larger tanks. $$$ spent and size of tank kind of coincide with each other. We all want to be the big dog on the block with the 400 gallon tank, but we really should try harder to let our pockets decide how big our tank should be. I've seen a lot of members with big tanks that really aren't that nice. They could have spent the same money on a smaller system and it would have been twice as nice.
If you can't imagine spending big money on a tank, then you just have to go smaller. I would stick with the 29. FYI, if you take big rock and hit it with a hammer, they become smaller rocks. Get it drilled. Add on your 20 gallon sump, put the skimmer in there and make some improvements.