new and a 160g tank sitting empty

[cenedra]

ok welp i hit the jackpot the other night

a 160g DAS system with a H99 filter system with built in skimmer, and a ice cap 660 vho light system total 440 watts for $200!!!

decided its time to have a salt tank! for yrs i have wondered at them, stared at them at the lfs and i have finally said IM gonna do this!

unforuntley the tank is not drilled, and has euro braceing around the top
looks like a custom made overflow box (ouch) im too chicken to drill the tank!!
planning on a 29g fuge for the tank, ( i know this is small but it will be in another room behind the tank (time to drill hole in wall for plumbing....

ive been doing tons of reading and getting more and more confused.....
soo many new things to learn. lighting, coral placement ect
fw was soo much easier LOL, just dont put this fish with that fish and watch water and do water changes, bamb baby fishes well atleast in my case....

im eventually wanting to have the tank as i think what they called mixed reef

fish,liverock and corals all in the same tank

but what ive been reading the lights will be bare min for a tank this size 63x22x26"
everything ive read says atleast 6-8 watts per gallon which if im reading correctly im going to need a whopping 960 watts of light???????????????
holy cow, now is this right????


looks like im going to need a ro system also since dang local water companys says water has .9 copper in it! ergg
for can someone recommend one???

im wanting to start off slowly and just keep soft and lps corals at first and then maybe a few yrs down the road try sps corals....


so otherwise anyone wanna be my mentor????????????

[Reefneck]

Sounds like a decent start. A 29G sump should be just fine.

As for RO/DI systems....You definately want one. Make sure it is RO & DI (RO/DI). You can find some really good deals on the big auction site on them. Most are good quality. I have a spectrapure. It's excellent, Just a little pricey.

VHO's can be a great source of light for a reef. Perhaps you can add some more bulbs to what you have and be able to keep the VHO's. If not, Look into Metal Halides for sure for a tank that deep.

[Fishnewb1]

Sounds like an awsome set up!

[Giddy012]

Where the heck did you come accross a setup like that for that price:0?

[Fishnewb1]

Originally Posted by cenedra

im eventually wanting to have the tank as i think what they called mixed reef

fish,liverock and corals all in the same tank

oh yea and a mixed reef is a reeftank with different types of corals such as SPS, LPS, and softies.
Other types of tanks can be SPS reef which only has SPS corals with the other fish and live rock also...

[TheOldSalt]

If you look in tose little want-ad type weekly papers, you'll very often find some really great deals. Even now, for example, there is a guy about 60 miles from me with a whole bunch of 250 gal tanks for $150 each!!! He went out of the wholesale fish biz a few years ago and finally decided to get rid of all his stuff. MAN, it burns me up that I have no way to pick up something that size. Anyway, yeah, these things happen, and all you have to do is wait. If you live in hurricane alley like me, it's pretty much a given that amazing deals will come along every year.

[Giddy012]

So jealous

[cenedra]

yep deals come around ya just have to be patient and wait for them
this is my second jackpot deal on tanks in the last 2 yrs


ok the vho system is maxed out at 440 watts to add anymore light i would have to add another ballast to the system

im guesing mh is the way to go,
but what the heck do i need for mh for a tank this size?

[leveldrummer]

Originally Posted by cenedra

im guesing mh is the way to go,
but what the heck do i need for mh for a tank this size?

if you wanna go with mh's, one bulbs will light a 2' square, so since your tank is just over 5 feet, its kinda akward. but you should be able to put 2 400watt, or 250 watt bulbs, if you do 250's you can keep anything, but since your tank is deep, the higher light corals and clams will need to placed a little higher in the tank, if you do 400w, you can put anything anywhere, but you might run into heat issues. but 2 bulbs centered on each side, should light your tank great. if you keep your vho's the 250w bulbs would be just fine. get a good dual 250w ballast, and put it in.

[leveldrummer]

whoops forgot to ask, do you have or can you build a canopy??

[cenedra]

welp thats the one thing that suxs about this tank

not sure if ya have ever seen a das system or not, but the older ones have a wood trim around the top and then lift off sections to get to tank access

for in all honestly it doesnt have a canopy

im not sure how the person had the lights setup before for the tank, possible he just had the bulbs sitting on the tank support ouch!!! no way am i doing that.....

why i was thinking hanging mhs would be best....

im probably gonna go ahead and use the vho light temp until i can save up the money for mh lights.....
figure ill build a hanging box that can be lowered and raised off of the top of the tank with the vho system..
tank is gonna provide some challenge to get setup but but heck wouldnt be any fun if it wasnt a challenge

[leveldrummer]

Originally Posted by cenedra

tank is gonna provide some challenge to get setup but but heck wouldnt be any fun if it wasnt a challenge

the challenge and the learning are all the fun!! my neighbor paid our lfs to come in and set up an all custom 92gallon cube. spared no expense, did take care of it, and it crashed, he didnt want to learn, didnt want to upgrade his equipment, it became a hassle, and now its for sale, dont go that route, play with your tank, learn how it works, and it just makes it that much better when its successful.

[cenedra]

welp plans have changed again
decided that setting up a 165g tank with new lights is just outta my budget right now

for instead i am going to be transfering everything outta the 75g planted tank to the 165g tank and useing the 75g tank as SW
75g tank already has vho lighting system on it 440watts, and the filter/skimmer out of the 165g tank will fit in the 75g tank


what i need help with now is designing a fuge for the 75g tank

i have a standard 20g tank here that i am going to be useing
but im unsure where the baffles should go?
i dont need room for the skimmer in the fuge since it will be in tank...

can anyone help with the placement of the baffles?

and recommend what hob overflow and return pump that ill need?

[leveldrummer]

if your not putting your equipment in the sump, there really is no need for one. you can do everything hang on, there isnt a problem with it. just kinda a pain, can the skimmer run in sump? if so, its well worth the hassle then.

[TheOldSalt]

What kind of fuge do you want? A simple refuge fuge, or an algal chamber fuge with miracle mud? No baffle needed for the former, really, depending on pump style, but definitely needed for the latter.

On one end of the tank, erect a baffle going from the bottom to 1.5 inches or so from the top. This is where your maximum water level will be. In the chamber so created goes your water pump. This arrangement keeps the sand out of your pump completely, but doesn't get rid of all the bubbles IF the water level in the pump chamber is too low and the spillway makes too much splashing. It is only bubble-free if the water level is high enough,so keep it high.

The entry baffle isn't really needed unless you want to run a prefilter chamber. That baffle runs from the top to 1.5 inches from the bottom, which forces the water flow across the bottom of the tank. Another little strip about 3 inches high runs along the bottom about two inches past this one, in order to contain the substrate and keep the inflow gap unblocked.

These chambers should both be as small as practical, of course, to maximize actual useful 'fuge area.
A 20 long works fine, and a 30 long even better if your lights are good.

Don't make the common mistake of covering the fuge to cut down on creep and evaporation. That also cuts way down on critical gas exchange in what is otherwise one of the best places for it.

[cenedra]

thank you tos

think i got the placement down now
right now a simple refuge fuge maybe later ill change it up

welp the plan is starting to take shape finally
resealing the 165g tank this friday and doing the fuge, then testing all next week (outside of course) ordering ro/di system
it its holds, move into house next friday and transfer 75g contents to the 165g
order overflow and return pump, sand and live rock to be delivered on friday

start setting up tank

let cycle for 2 months atleast then the real fun starts hehehe