Need Guidance/Recommendations

Discussion in 'General Reef Topics' started by PawPawBlenny, Jun 21, 2012.

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  1. PawPawBlenny

    PawPawBlenny Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2012
    Messages:
    67
    Location:
    Central Missouri
    I have been bitten and infected by the "Reef Bug". I purchased and set up a 28 gal nano in November and have fell in love with the hobby. I have now bought and plan to set up a 180 gal, 96X18X24, display tank and a 70 gal, 48X18X18, that I plan to use as a sump/refugium. Neither tank is drilled, although I will probably drill the display, or have it drilled at the local glass shop. As far as I and a couple of others can tell the tank does not have tempered glass. The nano is great in that it came with filtering, plumbing, pumps, lighting, etc already installed. Unfortunately, it doesn't teach you how to figure out all of these aspects. I need guidance/recommendations on plumbing, pumps, skimmers, hole location, hole size, flow needed, lighting, the whole lot. I plan to have Zoas, LPS, Clams, and maybe a few SPS. I also forsee a moderately high bio-load because the grandchildren like to see lots of activity. I don't want to buy a bunch of equipment just to find out that its not adequate and have to buy again.

    Please Help.

    All help will be greatly appreciated.
     
    PawPawBlenny, Jun 21, 2012
    PawPawBlenny, Jun 21, 2012
    #1

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  2. rocketmandb

    rocketmandb Ocellaris Clown

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2005
    Messages:
    1,451
    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    Without knowing everything, here are some recommendations that have good price/performance:

    Drilling: I'd do a center overflow with two 1.5" drains and two 1" returns

    Skimmer: I'm a a fan of Reef Octopus. Look at: Super Reef Octopus XP 5000 IN-SUMP Cone Protein Skimmer by CoralVue - AquaCave.com

    Return Pump: Reeflo Dart / Snapper Hybrid Water Pump - AquaCave.com

    Lighting: If you want MH then three or four 250W with electronic ballasts (I Like Galaxy) and Radium 20k bulbs supplemented with some bright LED strips for off peak lighting and color temp. If you want to go with LEDs, I am very happy with my Aqua Illuminations, but you'd need probably 6-8 of them and they are expensive.

    Tank Flow: High end go with Vortechs. Lower end, there are a number of flow pumps available.
     
    rocketmandb, Jun 22, 2012
    rocketmandb, Jun 22, 2012
    #2
  3. vankirk

    vankirk Sea Dragon

    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2009
    Messages:
    537
    vankirk, Jun 22, 2012
    vankirk, Jun 22, 2012
    #3