Setting up my first salt water tank

[vinnymang]

Hey guys! I posted a thread a couple months ago about getting into the hobby. I finally took initiative and bought a tank! I bought a Reef ready, dual overflow 125 gallon Aqueon glass tank. Dimensions are 72"x18"x24". Putting it in my basement thats just about finished with renovation, in the same room my home theater system is in. I bought the tank brand new tank with an aquarium stand, that was showcased on the floor in Pets Warehouse on Glencove Road in CarlPlace, NY. When I got home, I put the tank on the stand and the stand seemed a bit wobbly. So I spoke with the manager and they're gonna swap the stands tomorrow with a new one. I also bought an Aqueon Model 4 ProFlex Modular Sump and and two megaflow overflow accessory kits. So far that's all I bought and hopefully by tomorrow I have that all connected. I'd like to thank CristianD, a buddy of mine who's a member of the forum, for taking the time to help me out with this project. After this weekend, I'll probably pick up a return pump and protein skimmer. CristainD recommended I'd get a reef octopus water blaster 5000 return pump and a SWC Xtreme 180 Cone protein skimmer. Hopefully, all this will be connected soon and ready to fill up with RO/DI water so I can make sure everything is fine with the tank, and then start planning how my aquascape is going to look. I will be using live sand and I'm pretty sure I'm going to use a combination of Dry and live rock, with dry rock on the bottom and stacking live rock on top. Later on, I also plan on hooking up 10 gallon tank next to the sump for auto top-off, will most likely be hooking up LED's once I get the money for them. I hear that Acan, Aqua illumination and Ecotech are the brands to look at. And as soon as my buddy Cristian D showed me on his iPhone, I told myself I have to set up a digital aquatics reef keeper lite plus controller w/ digital float switch kit and mount. I will likely go with ecotech power heads. I'd really like to hear your guys input as well on tips, tricks and advice on anything really. I will be logging everything on the forum. What I learned from my first thread post was that I should and will be very, Very patient with the entire process.
Until my next post, -Vinny

 

[marklugo23]

nice set up cant wait to see more pics

 

[Coralreefer1]

Sweet set up! Best of luck to you in your endeavors as you delve into the awesome undersea world replicated in the saltwater aquarium hobby! What better way of showing something for your hard earned dollars. Much enjoyment, education and excitement await you.
Just remember that it is going to take time, $$, some failures and frustration and dedication to reap the many rewards attributed to and associated with the set up and maintainence of a marine aquarium. Take the time to do it right...Don't cut corners, go slow and don't get frustrated as nothing really comes easy in life!
Patience is a virtue...
Happy Reefing!

 

[JBL]

I can tell you from experience, the SWC Xtreme 180 Cone protein skimmer is the best and nicely priced! I literally threw out my 450 buck red sea c-skim, and put the SWC 180 in and has been fantastic! And I am runnin it on my 155, and my 40 frag tank as well. (frag tank plumbed into same sump/fuge)
I also am switching over to LED's and buying them from Aquarium Village. They have their own brand now and a few friends have them and are fantastic and a great price! You should check them out.

 

[CristianD]

Thanks for the shout out Vinny. I feel like all the disagreement on equipment will be directed at me lol. Good luck with the build and welcome to the worst addiction of your life :biggrin:

 

[vinnymang]

Thanks for the shout out Vinny. I feel like all the disagreement on equipment will be directed at me lol. Good luck with the build and welcome to the worst addiction of your life :biggrin:

Haha. I can only imagine people will have good things to say about your advice. JBL gave a thumbs up the with the protein skimmer. And thanks dude! Excited for tomorrow :biggrin:

 

[vinnymang]

I can tell you from experience, the SWC Xtreme 180 Cone protein skimmer is the best and nicely priced! I literally threw out my 450 buck red sea c-skim, and put the SWC 180 in and has been fantastic! And I am runnin it on my 155, and my 40 frag tank as well. (frag tank plumbed into same sump/fuge)
I also am switching over to LED's and buying them from Aquarium Village. They have their own brand now and a few friends have them and are fantastic and a great price! You should check them out.

Thanks for the reassurance on the skimmer. Not gonna lie, I'm very intimidated by the prices of the LED's. I was in Aquarium Village today and they did mention their brand to me and will definitely consider them when the time comes after cycling since they are a little more affordable.

 

[CristianD]

Check out this thread. These LEDs seem pretty cool.
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/equipment/126649-anyone-have-any-info-these.html

 

[MikeC]

Good luck Man it looks like your off to a good start.
One peice of advice and one I wish I would have known about is the "Market Place" forum is your friend you can find some great deals so make sure you check it out to save you some bucks

Also look into the Neptune Apex Controler

P.s. look into the Herbie over flow method if you have not plumed your sump yet.


Best of luck.

 

[fishman1069]

Welcome to the addiction! Good luck with the tank. Make sure to post any questions you have. There are a ton of great and knowledgeable people on this site and we are more then willing to help.

 

[vinnymang]

Good luck Man it looks like your off to a good start.
One peice of advice and one I wish I would have known about is the "Market Place" forum is your friend you can find some great deals so make sure you check it out to save you some bucks

Also look into the Neptune Apex Controler

P.s. look into the Herbie over flow method if you have not plumed your sump yet.


Best of luck.

I just bought the neptune controller today, as well as the skimmer, return pump and RO/DI unit. Did some damage on my credit card haha. I bought a ton of pvc, elbows, adapters and ball valves for the plumbing but have no idea what to do and where to start. Herbie method is appealing since I hear it's really silent. Do you know of any good site I could find a step by step how to set up the herbie method? I'm open for all ideas when it comes to plumbing.

 

[vinnymang]

Welcome to the addiction! Good luck with the tank. Make sure to post any questions you have. There are a ton of great and knowledgeable people on this site and we are more then willing to help.

Plumbings a priority right now, and if you know any sites/threads with good plumbing advice please let me know. I do have one question regarding live/dry rock. I want to eliminate as much chance of getting hitchhikers, so I was thinking of doing live sand and majority dry rock, maybe one or two pieces of live rock. Do you think this is a good idea and won't take too much longer for the tank to cycle?

 

[fishman1069]

Try Googling Bernie style overflow or you can try a coast to coast overflow. Both methods are silent. Your going to have to drill the tank for either method. As far as the rock, most people nowadays are doing exactly what you described. The cycle is going to take some time either way, so you might as well use dry rock and stay away from hitchhikers. If you need help drilling the tank lmk. I have the drill bits already. Good luck with it. Sometimes the set up is the funnest part

 

[MikeC]

Your tank is reef ready correct? If so you do not need to drill it. (yes drilling my new tank scared me to).
You would use one of each down spouts for the drain to the sump and the other two for the emergency drain to the sump. (the emergency down spouts are higher)
Your return would come from your sump pump split to a Y and over the top of the tank in the back.

 

[fishman1069]

My bad, I didn't realize it was a reef ready tank. There is definitely no need for drilling.

 

[vinnymang]

My bad, I didn't realize it was a reef ready tank. There is definitely no need for drilling.

Yea dude. Felt that was the way to go. Idk why but I'm having a hard Time understanding the Herbie method

 

[MikeC]

Yea dude. Felt that was the way to go. Idk why but I'm having a hard Time understanding the Herbie method

Thats because your probably a visual person like me lol
Feel free to PM me if you want to stop over and see mine. I'm in Deer Park I know it's not around the corner but your welcome if you want.

 

[ecvernon]

I'm not sure if you thought about it but when it comes to plumbing you may want to consider building/ installing a manifold on the return end. It's very useful so that you do not have to run separate pumps for reactors.

 

[vinnymang]

I'm not sure if you thought about it but when it comes to plumbing you may want to consider building/ installing a manifold on the return end. It's very useful so that you do not have to run separate pumps for reactors.

Definitely going to do this! Thanks for the heads up

 

[vinnymang]

Thats because your probably a visual person like me lol
Feel free to PM me if you want to stop over and see mine. I'm in Deer Park I know it's not around the corner but your welcome if you want.

Def will! I'll PM you next week to plan a good day