Reefnman

Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have a 75 gal tank I want to make a reef tank with. L/W/H are 48" 18" 14"...I have a Aqua C Remora skimmer, 4 Maxi Jet MP 900 power heads, wave controller, test kits etc. I was getting into this back in the early 2000s but then changed jobs and didn't have the time to continue. I'm looking for lighting suggestions...do I need a sump...how much live sand rock etc... are 4 power heads to many. Looking for your expertise to help me out. I have a few books recommended from this site back then and do know or should I say remember quite a bit. When I signed in this morning it showed my last sign in as Aug. 2003...lol I've noticed from just looking at a few online stores there have been a lot of changes in lighting and such. Thank you for your help.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hey there and welcome back to the hobby!

A sump is preferable for a number of reasons. It gives you a bit more water volume, making the system more stable. It also provides a place to hide away a lot of your equipment, making the tank itself more attractive. However, by the sounds of it, you already have a tank, and an undrilled one at that. You can get the tank drilled, to enable you to fit an overflow, but if that sounds like too much hassle/stress, it is completely possible to have a tank without a sump. The skimmer will need to be a HOB (hang on back), which the Aqua C Remora is, so you're fine there. If you don't want to drill, but want a sump, it's also possible to have an overflow that fits on the side of the tank, working on a siphon basis, but that worries some people (what happens if the siphon fails?).

As for your other questions (lighting, how much live rock, how deep a sand bed etc), it'd be useful to know what you'd like to keep before giving you advice. Do you want a FOWLR (fish only with live rock) tank or a tank with coral? If you want coral, what sort of coral are you most interested in keeping? It'll make the world of difference if you want to keep soft corals or LPS (e.g. Acanthastrea sp., Eupyhllia sp. like Frogspawn coral etc) or the rather more challenging SPS (e.g Acropora sp, Montipora sp). If you eventually want to keep an anemone (for which you should wait at least 6 months after the tank is set up), then that will also have an impact on how powerful the lights should be, even if otherwise all you want to keep are soft corals. If you want a mix of everything (starting with soft and building up eventually to the more difficult SPS), then it's best to plan now with that in mind.

Even if you don't know for sure, give us some initial thoughts and we'll try to guide you to what makes most sense. :)
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
To expand on The Escaped Ape's idea. It's super important to make a stocking list and then plan the tank accordingly. "Must haves" for coral and fish, "might wants" etc. Learn all you can before you begin to build about the requirements of your must haves and make the tank to those specifications or higher. Planning what you want to keep is the best way to ensure what you want will thrive, and buying the right equipment the first time will save money+aggravation in the long run.
 

Reefnman

Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thank you both for responding...I will be starting with soft corals...LPS and maybe after a year or two and if all goes well...then the SPS. I'm leaning to a sump but not sure on which one...what skimmer and all that. I keep reading and everyone has their own opinion on what's best...confusing. I do know that I want to try and keep the clutter look to a minimum. I did purchase lights...Current USA 48" 8X54 watt Nova Extreme...from all I read these seemed like a good buy. Anyways...thanks again.
 

Sponsor Reefs

We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.

Click here to sponsor $10:


Top