new to the forum got some questions

[sijohnjohn]

Hello everyone,

I recently joined the forum I heard of it through my buddy Rich who you may all know is building a 450g as we speak. I currently own a reef 34g red sea max and love it. But as i was renovating my basement I got the itch to put a bigger tank down there too. I just purchased a 110g high reef ready tank. I am going to set this tank as a fish only set up (until I get another itch lol).

Just curious to what I may need and where to begin. I am setting the tank in wall and going to build a custom stand/canopy. I am going to paint the back wall of the tank powder blue. I purchased an Iwaki 70 pump for my sump. I would like to know what heaters, lighting, and other stuff i may need and may recommended for my set up. Im not sure where to begin, considering my current tank was ready to go out the box, and i'd rather buy right the first time than buy twice after mistakes.

thank you guys in advance for any advice,
John:bablefish

 

[Reeftanker3295]

Sounds awesome! I would go with an octopus SRO skimmer. I heard they are awesome and they have a good price on them too. Get 2 250w heaters, and for lighting, since it is only a FO I would just get 2 48" normal output strip lights. Should give plenty of light for viewing.

 

[JonnyJ]

Hey welcome to the site!

like stated above you can use..

Heaters:
[2] 250watt heaters
Or [1] 300watt and [1] 150watt

or any combo that should get you around 400-500 watts. Most people run 2 incase one of them fails so your tank can maintain temps..

I would go with Jager heaters, they are very reliable and i havent heard any stories about them failing.....a nice RKL [reef keeper lite] controller. A controller is a great investment at around 119dollars to make sure your heaters wont fail and boil your tank. you can also set up fans to go on when it gets to hot and set your light timers. And you can also set up wave motion with the new koralias..

On a fish only tank you can get away with basically any type of light. You can go with power compact strip lights, t5, led anything you want. Would be your preference on what color and how much light you want. Powercompact strip lights are generally very cheap.


For circulation you would also need to pick up some power heads. Depends on your budget but if your looking to save some money i would go for a pair of koralias, maybe the 1050's - placing one on each side. or a vortech Mp40 if you have the cash.

for a skimmer there are many options but your sump will play a major roll in what you can put. theres options for internal and external skimmers...

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

well just to cover bases you should get led lights in case your itch points you into a the direction of corals or any other light loving aquascaping you may want , this gives you the opportunity to upgrade and not have to invest so much cash, and heaters yeah i would go with a set of 250s i use the ebo-jager models and love the accuracy they have. well listen i wish you great luck with your new tank it sounds really sweet and remember you got plenty of people willing to help and in staten island you got a real good group of guys that know the salt .

 

[TRIGGERMAN]

LEDs are waste of money he's doing a fish only tank..110 is also a terrible tank to do corals in because it's 30" deep. I think if he gets the itch he would be better off getting a different tank or just run 400w halides. Until then I'd say stick w/ regular vhos,pc or simple t5s to keep it cheap for now.

 

[StatenAlan]

What's your budget looking like and I'm sure people can assist even further. And do you plan on doing corals one day?
Welcome to mr!

 

[StatenAlan]

I'm from s.i too btw. If you need any help with anything don't hesitate to ask.

 

[Imbarrie]

I would think about what you like to see in other peoples tanks. That is what you will probably get an itch to do in the long run.
Then I would look at that kind of lighting now. It would save you a hassle later. Once you find out you have the perfect environment for coral, it is very difficult to resist adding some.

 

[noobzy]

Welcome!

 

[sijohnjohn]

what exactly is an RKL and do I need it?

 

[sijohnjohn]

Wow, thank you guys for all this info. You guys are really helpfull. Looks like im def gunna go with 2 250 watt Jager heaters after seeing all your advice. im still unsure about lighting, I was leaning twards either the aquaticlife or tek fixtures for 6 t5 bulbs. Im thinking something like that may suit me better considering I may eventually get an itch to maybe make it a coral tank and not just fish only. But not anytime soon

Thx again

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Welcome to MR.