I went and did it today.......

[never4saken]

Bought a 100 gallon tank, with all the trimmings. It comes with a stand, 100 gl tank, sump system, along with pre made tank holes. It also comes with a skimmer, and water pump. Also a heater. I spent $1470.00. I took alot of the advice from this forum and the "Reef.org articles". It said start with a bigger tank, because if you get one small, you will just want to upgrade. It also said, that you pay for what you get. So I went top of the line on I believe all that I got.

I am very excited to get started with my new Salt Water tank. I am going to start out with just a fish tank, till I can afford some of the Coral lighting. You will see me post quite a bit on here to get some of everyone's good ideas. Thank you all for the help so far. Till the next post!

 

[never4saken]

It also came with an overflow.....which I have herd is very important!

 

[SpecialK]

Congrats on your new tank!!! Post Pic's and keep us updated.

Kaye

 

[Brad Moehl]

Howdy

Good for you. Did kind of the same thing, just a little smaller then that but I just did my aswell. Hope the luck of the Irish smile on you and yours. I'm proud that someone else took the bull by the horns and took care of themselves.

Wish you success

Via Con Dios
Brad

 

[Mikef1]

Welcome to Reefs.org
What type of tank did you get? Did that package include lighting?

 

[never4saken]

Yes Mike,
It included the florescent tube lights. I couldn't tell you off the top of my head what he called them. He did tell me that they are not the proper lights for coral reefs though. When I start getting ready for that stage which I am planning on in about 6 months, he said the cost for a good lighting system would run me about $400. Does that sound about right?

 

[never4saken]

Opps forgot to mention it is a glass tank.

 

[rich2103]

For an excellent Lighting System for size of your tank $400 sounds about right. They must be metal halide. I have had my tank for a couple of months and the corals I have thrive on the power compact lighting that I use. Power Compacts work just as well and are a little cheaper

 

[Meloco14]

As you spend more time in this hobby you will learn more than you can ever expect. Just the area of lighting is full of choices. In your planning for better lighting, you will want to plan what types of corals and other photosynthetic organisms you will want to keep. This will dictate what lighting to get. For example, if you only want soft corals and LPS corals, you will probably want PC's, which will run around $200-300. If you want to keep SPS and clams, you will need MH, which will be $400+. But don't worry, just from spending time on forums like these you will learn more than you ever expected...good luck and have fun!

 

[Anonymous]

I thought you could keep some clams with PCs!!! Whats the deal there? MH or PC?

 

[Dubge]

Also keep an eye out on the for sale section here and on RC and you might be able to pick up a good light set for short money. I got my 2x250 MHs for 125 w/o reflectors or bulbs

Ray

 

[fredso2003]

:lol: Welcome to reefs.org.Good luck and just read,read,read and ask those questions,I have learned so much in the last 10 months on this site it is truly a wonderful source of information.

PS-Plan on getting a second job to support your new reef habit!! :lol:

 

[saltnmyeye]

welcome to reefs.org and good luck with your new system. the information is here for the asking. definitely post pics. :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

DewrGleison ... you can kinda keep clams with PC but in such a large tank with such depth probably wouldnt last long...if you wanna keep clams that will grow probably really slow under PC, i wouldnt do it in anything bigger than a 20H..i bought a MH horizontal pendant 175W with 10000K ushio bulb upgrade shipped for $265...

 

[Len]

Might as well give you the fancy greetings

 

[Anonymous]

For an excellent Lighting System for size of your tank $400 sounds about right. They must be metal halide. I have had my tank for a couple of months and the corals I have thrive on the power compact lighting that I use. Power Compacts work just as well and are a little cheaper

Whoa, hold on there pally. I appreciate the entusiasm but thats not entirely true. PC lights are good, dont get me wrong, but the light wavelengths won't penetrate the water as deeply as some MH especially with a tank that size. I have only heard they can effectively penetrate water depths of about a foot and a half (approx) which also answers the question about the clams doing well on pc lighting.

I thought you could keep some clams with PCs!!! Whats the deal there? MH or PC?

If you have a shallow enough tank and place them high enough up so they can recieve the proper lighting params they need to survive.

Hope this helps and good luck with your new tank. I wish I would have read this forum before I started my set up.

 

[J.Howard]

Never4saken.... do you see what you've started?? It doesn't take much to get people into a heavy discussion about lighting no matter how many times it comes up. :lol: Anyway, congrats, take your time, and try to shop around. Especially on line. Prices are very competitive compared with most LFS. I agree w/ Meloco14, plan first buy second, kinda like measure twice, cut once. Good luck and, read, read, read.

 

[Jolieve]

Welcome to the hobby Never4saken.

Clams will be happier under Halides. If you decide you want clams and sps, you'll be looking at halide lighting for your reef. If not, you can still have a gorgeous tank under pc's that doesn't include some of the higher light inverts.

Good luck and welcome to the addiction!
J.

 

[Anonymous]

Me and you have something in common supa

I wish I would have read this forum before I started my set up.

 

[never4saken]

I see what I have started! (lighting debate) wooohoooo.

Ok on to the next phase, got the underside plumbing done, with only 4 trips to Lowes, and 3 to the LFS. :lol: Now I am debating wether or not to get check valve!

I thank you all so much for the help you have given so far....AND THANKS FOR THE WARM WELCOME LEN!

I found my new love, and it is for SLAT WATER!