I finally can buy stuff!!! HELP!!!

E

eddiekern

Reefing newb
Okay, so I've run into some money recently, and am ready to start making purchases.

Here we go...

SetupDiagram01.jpg


I forgot the draw the drain line for the refugium going into the sump where the pump is located.

Purchased:
37 Gallon Tall Display Tank (24" wide x 24" high x 15" deep)
TONS of DIY Live Rock (I'll put as much as is practical)
Limestone based sand (aprox. 3-4" bed)
Salinity refractometer & Digital pH meter

Planned:
20G Refugium
10G Sump
Reef Octupus NW-150
250W 15000K HQI + 2 x 65W actinic PC (380 watts total)
Mag Drive 9.5
Finnex 300W heater w/ HC-810 controller
2 x K2(ish) 800GPH powerheads
Kent Salt

If you think you already have some good advise, please shoot it my way ... but if you want to know more about my plans, read on....


Question 1: Is there an inexpensive controller that I can use to control the heater, and the cooling fan? What are my options here? I was thinking of getting the heater and controller above, but then I would need another controller to turn the fan on and off. I don;t need it to monitor pH since I already have a pH monitor. Any suggestions here?


Question 2: The display tank have a curved glass front. What magnetic cleaner would be best? I found this one, but I think it might be a little small


For the display tank I'm going to make my own overflow, and drill my own holes for the drain lines.


All the return lines will have ball valves, that that I can control the folw to all the outlets (esp limit flow to the refugium.)


I understand that odyssea has a bad reputation, but I've emailed three people who have purchased this exact light, and they all said the ballasts run fairly cool, If not I can always invest in a better ballast later.


I know the NW-150 is overkill, but I'm going to do some mods so I can adjust how many bubbles are being produced. The reason for the larger skimmer is that I hope to upgrade to a larger tank when I know I'm staying put in one place.


I'm curing my own DIY live rock right now, so that is taken care of.


For the refugium I'm going to watch my local classifieds for a 20 gallon tank w/ a hood. I'll put a pair of daylight "energy saving" bulbs in there for about 40 watts worth of light. I'm also going to load it with a 4" sand bed, and TONS of DIY rock (rubble and chunks).


Planned livestock:
Rose Anemone
Pair Maroon Clowns
Flame Angel
Mandarin Goby
Lawnmower Blenny
Flame Hawk
Xenia
Polyps
Frogspawn

In Refugium:
Caulerpa


Knowing all this what modifications would you make to the plans I currently have? (please focus on the setup instead of the livestock for now, I'll be needing advise on the critters a few months down the line once my setup is ready for the first of the fish)
 
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Mag cleaner. They work well.

Mag-Float 130A Magnet Cleaner (Acrylic) - Medium (130 Gal)


I was going to purchase those lights but didn't because of the Power Compacts. I think you would be better off in the long run with T5s and MH. Look at Current Outer Orbit MH with T5s. I think after buying two light systems in under a year, you should be very picky about your lighting. Don't skimp on the skimmer or the lighting. JMO.

Don't know about controllers, but others do.

Your newer drawing looks much better! You've been a busy boy. You're gonna end up with a great set-up. Can't wait to see you ROCK!

Good luck.
 
Here's one of the issues I'm having with lighting on this one. My tank is only 13" deep on the sides, so mounting a light that is 15" deep will give me lots of light outside the tank. I have not been able to find a light that is narrow enough, not even the light I was considering above. I really don't want to ... but I might have to just go for a metal halide with no t5's or PCs at all. Let me know if there is a fixture out there that is 24" x 13", with a 250W HQI. I really don't want to miss out on actinics if I don't have to.
 
by far the greatest aquarium sketchup ever. <--pronounced period

On a different note, a mag 9.5 sounds like it would be enough.... but remember you have to figure in that you're splitting the feed in half between the two tanks (dt and ref), losing gph due to head height, and elbows. You might consider a mag 12, just my two cents though.
 
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eddiekern said:
Here's one of the issues I'm having with lighting on this one. My tank is only 13" deep on the sides, so mounting a light that is 15" deep will give me lots of light outside the tank. I have not been able to find a light that is narrow enough, not even the light I was considering above. I really don't want to ... but I might have to just go for a metal halide with no t5's or PCs at all. Let me know if there is a fixture out there that is 24" x 13", with a 250W HQI. I really don't want to miss out on actinics if I don't have to.
Click to expand...

you'll have to do a retrofit if you're wanting to squeeze all that over the tank.

You can do a 250W HQI (phoenix bulb IMO) with the follow reflector
250W HQI (Double Ended) MH Reflector - 6125035

Then for your T5's do 24" giesemann bulbs, on the follow relfectors
24" Single Lamp Parabolic T5 Reflector - 64016

For a ballast on that pick up a FULHAM WORKHORSE 3 HIGH OUTPUT T5 BALLAST for like 25

That light setup would be SWEET and do exactly what you want, with some room to spare!
 
goin' for the triple post.... since I just read the name odyssea....

It's my firm belief in this hobby that when you buy equipment, you get exactly what you pay for.

The brand Odyssea has gone through many different brand names, and belief me they have EARNED their terrible reputation. Mr. Lee, the owner, changes the name of the company whenever there is need to dodge a lawsuit after ripping someone off for a container of light fixtures (heard the story long ago, a bit foggy now).

That's not the stuff that really makes me hate them, it starts with their customer service. An example --- Current USA fixtures aren't top of the line (just a fact, sorry guys) but when someone buys a fixture from them and it comes in not working (frequently) or things get smashed up, they replace it for you, free of charge, they stand behind their stuff. Odyssea says all the bulbs and everything are "free" so when they break in shipping (which happens all the time) they don't have to warranty since they were a gift. And if you manage to get them to RMA something, it takes a couple months and they make you jump through a million hoops (personal story).

Bottom line though is their bulbs, ballasts, and reflectors are all cheap and not worth anything. You'll spend way more in the long run replacing crappy bulbs and dead ballasts. And think of all the sleep you'll lose just knowing that Odyssea metal halide fixtures have a nasty reputation for shorting out and catching houses on fire. (just ask Tracy Morgan why he doesn't have a tank anymore)

Don't break the bank, but buy quality the first time around, and save yourself the hassle.
 
I can't help you but you helped me! I was looking for exactly what you are doing. I now understand how I want my set up. Now I have to decide wether to set up the 75 gal or the 40 high! if you don't mind me asking what do you think your set up will cost?

Thanks
 
Nathans got most everything covered.
After looking over your plans,I too would go with either a mag 12,might even jump on up to the mag 18.
He's also 100% dead on with the lights.Stay away from those Odyssea lights.Its not worth it to risk your home and family to light up a reef tank.
A pendent style halide would look good,as would a retro-fit halide ot T-5s.If your set on HQIs,you might look at the Phoneix 14,000K bulbs.Which is what I'm burning.Without the actinics on,it give a nice crisp white with a slight blue tint to the water and really brings out he colors of the corals.
And use cheato in the refugium instead of the caulerpa.Reason being,Caulerpa can and will go "asexual"where it'll release billions of spores along with its stored up nutrients and will really mess up your water quality.Not a good thing.
 
Okay, so ditch the odyssea light, that seems to be unanimous.

I also went ahead and put a mag 18 in my cart at "drs F&S". Will that be excessive if I'm going for a low-flow refugium (100-150GPH)? I'll have the ball valves on all of the return lines, will too much backpressure do any harm to the pump?

Now for the retrofit lighting, I've never seen anyone do retrofit lights w/out a canopy, how should I do retrofits w/out a canopy, while still making my tank look presentable?

Also, are there any controllers for under $100 that can control a heater and a "chiller". Or a pair of pecent temp controllers that can do a heater or a "chiller"?
 
BTW RFD definately do the 75, I kinda wish I hadn't gotten the 37 tall, it's proven to be a huge pain. But on the flip side, when its all done it is easier to see into a tall tank. Its your call, but I think bigger is better (if you can afford it). This is a pretty conservative estimate for the price. I have a big table I made to plan my expenses and the order I need to buy stuff, here is the part of the table your going to be interested in:

SetupCost01.jpg


You would have to add the cost of the 37G tank and the cabinet stand, which was about $150. Then after that is done comes the livestock expenses.

I'm paying $0.07 per kilowatt/hr (for now ...), I calculated the electrical expenses and it was about $25 per month.

Let me know if you have any more questions.
 
Eddie thanks, Figure I need an additional $600 to go for the 75 but it might be worth it. I will do this slowly and accumulate the equipment hopefully by the end of the summer. I might actually go LED with the lights? Excellent information and good luck

Rich
 
I try to stay organized. I know that if I don't do things right the first time, I'll end up buying the right stuff eventually.

If no one things that a mag drive 18 is overkill for a 37G diplay, a 20G refugium, and a 10 gal sump, then I'm going to order it tonight. If you have anyt houghts please shout them out.
 
hmmm.... where are you getting a nw-150 for $150? I got a very unfriendly e-mail from the president of the company when mine was $160 :P
 
I'm going to hold off on lighting until I do more research.

But I am ready to buy the pump. Mag drive 18?

I'm also still looking for a decent heater chiller controller. Any help on this would be apreciated very much. I value the opinions I get here.

Thanks again everyone.
 
site isn't much to look at yet, I've been working hard on the new version of site.... I didn't realize how much work it really was :P
 

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