Completely new to this: have aquarium..need equipment help! (LONG post..)

S

Seraphic

Reefing newb
After getting pulled back into reality by my friend who got into setting up saltwater aquariums two years ago, I picked up a 125 gallon tank and a stand. I sent him off an email looking for info on what gear I would need to get a similar setup going. Im going to post his responses with his reasoning behind why hes suggesting certain items. Can anyone please give input on if this sounds good and/or if I should be going with something else??

Before I list that, here is the crux: Like a kid in a candystore, I've been racing through sites and books looking at fish/inverts and made myself a list of all the sealife out there I would most like to have. Clearly, its not going to happen based on the types of fish and compatibility, but its a start I guess. I mention this because it seems the two big setups are either Reef or Coral? My friend has been trying to disuade me of going coral since he said its going to be extra work for someone just getting into this hobby.

At any rate, here are his suggestions from his email to me:

"First off, don't buy cheap equipment. Especially when it comes to the pumps & powerheads. I probably have 30 pieces of equipment in my basement that either don't work or never worked properly."

Powerhead (probably 2) I use 2 Koralia 3 pumps in my tank. They are reasonably priced have worked well for me. You might want to get one with a variable speed if you want to use a wavemaker. (He suggested: Koralia Evolution 750 - 750 gph - 4.5W | Power Heads | Water Pumps & Power Heads | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com)

Filter I would go with a wet/dry (trickle filter) filter or maybe just set up a second smaller aquarium next to or underneath the existing aquarium as a refugium. You will also need to buy a pump that returns the water to the aquarium. (What type of pump that returns water is he talking about???)

Lights This really depends on what you put in the tank. Fish do not need high light levels but many SPS (small-polyp stony) & LPS (large-polyp stony) do. Clams also require high light levels to survive. From your list below you would probably be ok with a high-output T5 system. (He suggested: Nova Extreme Pro T5 High Output Lighting Fixture - 6 x 54W - 48 in. | T5 Lighting | Lighting Systems | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com)

Protein Skimmer Don't buy a hang-on the back type skimmer. I would grab an in sump or standalone skimmer. Expect to spend from $200 to $300.

Salt You will need to buy synthetic sea salt. Usually sold in around 5 gallon buckets.

Reverse Osmosis Unit Don't use tap water on your tank. (So what am I using??)

Heaters Get two instead of one. (He suggested: Aqueon Pro Heater 200 - 200W - 13 5/8 in. | Aquarium Heaters | Fish Tank Heaters | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com)

Chiller If you do not have central air in your house you probably want to invest in a chiller to keep the temperature from going above 82 degrees. Chillers are not cheap. (I do have Central Air..)

Test Kit You need to test for Nitrite, Nitrate, PH, Ammonia, KH (carbonate hardness) & Calcium. I use these:

KH Carbonate Hardness Test Kit | KH Test Kits & Refills | Test Kits & Refills | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com
Saltwater Calcium Test Kit | Calcium Test Kits & Refills | Test Kits & Refills | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com
Saltwater Master Liquid Test Kit | Master Test Kits | Test Kits & Refills | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com

Live Rock & Live Sand I would put at least 80lbs of live rock in the tank and around 1-2 inches (3-4 if you have Jawfish) live sand on the bottom. Live rock will run you at least $3 a pound."

OK! So there are the items listed. Anything else he didn't mention? Any suggestions on brands/products? Now maybe it would help to understand what I want to put in the tank? As I said, I went nuts and looked around for awhile at a host of fishes/inverts I'd love to put in here. Obviously I cant get all the gang I want in the same place.

I will say this with everything: The fish that I am absolutely wanting to get:

Lionfish (Seeing as this guy can be problematic, I thought a dwarf version may be a better choice), Green Mandarin Dragonet (Seems like I'd need to have the tank going for a considerable time before one can even be added?), and a wartskin anglerfish.

Now those 3 types are the main ones. Thats in addition to wanting a black longspine urchin, purple lobster, Purple Linckia Starfish, fire shrimp, pink and black sea cucumber, Long Tentacle Anemone – Purple (he suggested holding off on this since its a bit more difficult to maintain), Bumble Bee Snail (Again, he said no as it can eat benefitial creatures in the sandbed), and a host of other fish: clowns, tangs, etc that I wont go into detail with here.

So that all being said, any input on the equipment? I'll do a thread later regarding fish and inverts..Thanks in advance for any/all help for the new guy!


 
Definitely set up a second tank under your display tank to use a sump, you'll be much happier not having everything hanging off your tank.
 
I'll type like this so you can see my responses better!

Seraphic said:
At any rate, here are his suggestions from his email to me:

"First off, don't buy cheap equipment. Especially when it comes to the pumps & powerheads. I probably have 30 pieces of equipment in my basement that either don't work or never worked properly."

This is true. Buy the correct piece of equipment the first time around. Or else you'll end up buying the same thing half a dozen times, and spending twice as much money than if you had just bought good stuff from the beginning.

Powerhead (probably 2) I use 2 Koralia 3 pumps in my tank. They are reasonably priced have worked well for me. You might want to get one with a variable speed if you want to use a wavemaker. (He suggested: Koralia Evolution 750 - 750 gph - 4.5W | Power Heads | Water Pumps & Power Heads | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com)

Koralias are good. MaxiJets are also good, and cheaper (if Koralias are out of your budge).


Filter I would go with a wet/dry (trickle filter) filter or maybe just set up a second smaller aquarium next to or underneath the existing aquarium as a refugium. You will also need to buy a pump that returns the water to the aquarium. (What type of pump that returns water is he talking about???)

I would not go with a wet/dry filter. They tend to lead to high nitrates unless meticulously maintained. If your tank is drilled, use a sump/refugium system with a protein skimmer. If it's not drilled, you can either use an overflow box for a sump/fuge/protein skimmer system, or use hang on back equipment if you don't use an overflow box.

Lights This really depends on what you put in the tank. Fish do not need high light levels but many SPS (small-polyp stony) & LPS (large-polyp stony) do. Clams also require high light levels to survive. From your list below you would probably be ok with a high-output T5 system. (He suggested: Nova Extreme Pro T5 High Output Lighting Fixture - 6 x 54W - 48 in. | T5 Lighting | Lighting Systems | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com)



Yes. You will need specialized lights to keep corals. The lights he recommended won't be strong enough for a 125, though. You are better off going with a metal halide system for a tank that size.

Protein Skimmer Don't buy a hang-on the back type skimmer. I would grab an in sump or standalone skimmer. Expect to spend from $200 to $300.



If you don't have a sump, then you have to use a hang-on-back skimmer. There are some okay ones out there, but the in sump ones do perform better.

Salt You will need to buy synthetic sea salt. Usually sold in around 5 gallon buckets.

Reverse Osmosis Unit Don't use tap water on your tank. (So what am I using??)



Right on both accounts. Make your own saltwater. Do not use water straight out of the tap. Buy an RODI unit to purify your water. You can get RODI units for around $150. Or you can buy RODI water at any grocery store or Walmart.

Heaters Get two instead of one. (He suggested: Aqueon Pro Heater 200 - 200W - 13 5/8 in. | Aquarium Heaters | Fish Tank Heaters | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com)

Yep again.


Chiller If you do not have central air in your house you probably want to invest in a chiller to keep the temperature from going above 82 degrees. Chillers are not cheap. (I do have Central Air..)

Very few people have or need chillers. There are several other ways to get your tank's temps down that you should try before you resort to a chiller. Chillers have their pluses and minuses. They put out a lot of heat, so you have to have a way to vent them to the outside. If you don't, then you are just heating up the air around the tank, making the chiller work harder, making the air in the room hotter -- it can be counter productive. Set up your tank and let it run for a while, I'm sure you'll find you don't need one. Especially if you have central AC. I live in Arizona where it's a million degrees, and I do not have central AC. I also do not use a chiller.


Test Kit You need to test for Nitrite, Nitrate, PH, Ammonia, KH (carbonate hardness) & Calcium. I use these:

KH Carbonate Hardness Test Kit | KH Test Kits & Refills | Test Kits & Refills | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com
Saltwater Calcium Test Kit | Calcium Test Kits & Refills | Test Kits & Refills | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com
Saltwater Master Liquid Test Kit | Master Test Kits | Test Kits & Refills | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com

Calcium is only needed if you are keeping corals. Don't forget to buy a refractometer (not a hydrometer) to test your salinity.

Live Rock & Live Sand I would put at least 80lbs of live rock in the tank and around 1-2 inches (3-4 if you have Jawfish) live sand on the bottom. Live rock will run you at least $3 a pound."


You should aim for 1 to 2 lbs of rock per gallons in your tank. So 125 to 250 lbs. It doesn't have to be live though. You can buy base (dry) rock, saving yourself money. Then buy a little bit of live rock to "seed' the rest of the rock with.
Click to expand...
 
For the most part he gave sound advice.

I would do a sump/refugium instead of a wet/dry.WD are pretty outdated,the bioballs can lead to high nitrates and phophates if not cleaned often.Live rock will do the same thing as bioballs except better.Check out the Octopus line of skimmers and shrimps aren't a good idea with lionfish and anglers.
 
x19 said:
Definitely set up a second tank under your display tank to use a sump, you'll be much happier not having everything hanging off your tank.
Click to expand...

I guess being a newb and still trying to figure all this out, I am at a loss about this. What would the second tank be doing and be for? How big of a tank?
 
I guess my other question is then: Corals. Do I want or need them? Are they personal prefrence for the aquarium look, or are they actually needed for specific fish?
 
Corals arent a must have for the tank.However,90% of the folks that get into this hobby will eventually swing toward adding corals.
 
Biff seems to have you covered for the most part. I'll just add a few things she missed, there are two types of systems but, they are FOWLR (fish only with live rock) or reef systems(tanks with corals). A few of the fish and inverts that are on your must have list are generally not compatible in a reef system. And the lion fish will most likely eat any fish that it can fit in it's mouth (possibly the mandarin since they stay so small).
Coral systems aren't necessarily a lot harder to maintain than a FOWLR tank especially if you most mostly soft corals and maybe some LPS. But, the wonderful thing about it is that you can keep just fish to start and add the corals later on down the road when you feel more comfortable with your system.
The anemone, if you want one, should defjnitely wait about a year till you add because it will do better in a more mature system. Also, they are more difficult to keep than corals.
 
Just do a lot of reading on here you will slowly, more thoroughly, answer all the questions you seek :)
There is an Archives section on the forums that thoroughly covers all the main topics revolving around this hobby.

As you get more questions feel free to ask! You definitely took the right step posting here first!
The process takes time, you will have plenty of time to learn more before you even get to the point of adding inhabitants to your tank. Just keep in mind your long term goals when buying the equipment for the tank so you don't have to re-buy anything later on.
And a little advise, setting up for a reef tank is probably best b/c like yote said most people tend to go that way and really get into the corals over fish. (but having a reef with corals limits you to fish that wont harm the corals,aka "reef safe".)

Welcome! :D
 
Thought i might add to this, a sump is simple.

It is a tank, normally about 20 gallons that sits IN the stand below the tank. Water from the main tank flows down into the first section, often, this section will contain the tank heaters and the skimmer. It then floats through baffles to slow the flow and remove microbubbles into the refugum. A refugum is a section that contains a deep sand bed, some small live rock and macro algae. This section helps filter nitrates and phosphates out of the water. Next it flows through more baffles into a third section where a pump then pumps the water back up into the Display tank (DT)

Hope that helps a bit.

I would say, forget the angler fish and lionfish, they are very difficult fish to keep and will restrict you a lot. Go to Aquarium Fish: Tropical Freshwater Fish and Saltwater Fish for Home Aquariums and look at all the fish. Try to make a list that are 'reef safe' as they will be more likely to get along together and will definitely get along with corals

for lighting, we lookg at about 4 watts per gallon of water in the tank, T5 can be calculated a bit differently, but biff is right, look at a metal halide system as that will fit your tank better.
Anemones also need really high lighting conditions so if you want these and most corals you will need a really strong lighting system.
 
yote said:
Corals arent a must have for the tank.However,90% of the folks that get into this hobby will eventually swing toward adding corals.
Click to expand...

I have had fish only for 4 years,i'm just now getting a few hardy easy corals...mushrooms ,rics and a hammer coral
 
Hahaha nemo, but thats because you wanted an angel fish :P and wont remove the bastard XD i would kill him if he ate my corals! *shakes fist*
 
Bite your tongue ,Josh:grumble:
Its a love -hate relationship..:Cheers: plus there are a few here who now want those beautiful center piece angels,but can't,because they have all those corals cluttering up their tanks:lol:
 
The pros all have you covered, but I have one sugguestion.

Along the lines of 'Nothing good ever happens in a reef tank quickly" my suggestion is to go out and purchase a copy of the Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert Fenner. Read it through, and spend time reading on here before buying any other gear for your setup
 
Northstar24 said:
The pros all have you covered, but I have one sugguestion.

Along the lines of 'Nothing good ever happens in a reef tank quickly" my suggestion is to go out and purchase a copy of the Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert Fenner. Read it through, and spend time reading on here before buying any other gear for your setup
Click to expand...

Fantastic book
 

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