starting over again

[kmyers18]

Well guys/gals as i said when i introduced myself i am in the process of converting my 125gal fowlr to a reef. Now this maybe a lengthy post but i will start by giving you a brief run down of my current equipment and if you guys don't mind i would like your input on what i need what to keep and what to get rid of. I have a wet/dry filter for a 200gal a mag 9.5 a UV sterilizer that is to small and has a 2.5 year old bulb. About 140 watts of power compact lighting 50/50. Also about 60-75lbs of live rock and about 1-1.5 inches of live sand. Well i say live but i have used copper in the tank before so...not sure how live anything is. And that is another issue i need to overcome. Also here is a pic of how i would like to do my plumbing tell me if you think it will work.



Now the MAG will be plumbed to the returns and not in the picture but i will have ball valve shut offs on every piece of plumbing.
Also don't worry about cost or difficulty because i can overcome both. Just let me know what you would do if you had a 125gal and were starting over fresh! Thanks!!!

[Bifferwine]

I wouldn't use those rocks or substrate in a reef tank, copper can continue to leach out over time... I'd add some more live rock (at least 1 to 2 lbs per gallon) and I'd also upgrade your lights so that you have at least 5 watts per gallon, even more if you want to keep SPS or anemones.

[yote]

You might want to put enough water in there so you can test to make sure theres no copper in the silicon too.I dont know that it woould stay in the seams,it wouldnt hurt to make sure.
Dont see any reason your plumbing wouldnt work.

[kmyers18]

Well the tank is up and running right now so there is a copper test out there?

[Bifferwine]

There are a lot of copper tests, the best brand I think is Salifert.

[kmyers18]

Is there anything you can run in the tank to remove the copper

[RigoSharon]

i use to work in a pet shop and we used chemi-pure and activated charcoal to remove cooper..also a partial water change about 50%..but beware if the rocks has been exposed to it cause could contain particals of cooper..if you are runing the tank with fish only no prob..but corals and othe invertebrates are very sensitive to cooper ..so be carefull...good luck.

[Adrastos]

Don't forget to upgrade your lighting - for a health reef you will want atleast 600 watts of lights...