Lots of equipment choices....

[Mr Smiley]

I have a 150 gallon tank, and stand that i just bought this weekend. It measures 48"wideX24"deepX30"tall. Not my fist choice as id rather have a long tank, but for a fist Saltwater tank i think this will be great! I do not have anything else. Just a tank and stand.

I need to get a hood, lights and other equipment. This is where i am confused.

I have done enough reading that i know i need special lights, Protein skimmer, Refuge (still fuzzy on this), heater, and power heads??

Ive also seen references to CO2? Do i need to supply CO2 to the aquarium?

I know that we would like to have Fish from the film Finding Nemo, corals, anemones.

It will be sometime before i can set the tank up because i still need to get all the equipment. I have read that you should get equipment that is overrated for what you have in the event that you may want to set up a larger tank. Is double what i have too much? I also know that i want to get good equipment that will last. I want to go into the hobby the right way. So i have plenty of time to keep reading up on how to do things right.

Any help unconfusing me would be great:D

 

[reeffreak]

Is this a reef ready tank?
I ask because it will determine if you need to drill or use overflow box.A sump with refugium under the stand is what I would do.You can put your protein skimmer,heaters and other equipment.No,you won't need CO2 in a reef system.

Here is the basic equipment list.......

Lighting-
Your three main options is Metal Halides,T5-HO and LED lighting.Your tank is pretty deep so I'm leaning with MH over T5.LED is an option but are very expensive.

Sump/Refugium-
The cheapest is build your own out of a fish tank or you can buy one.Depending on what kind of tank you have.You will either need to drill or use an overflow box to bring water to the sump

Protein skimmer-
There are many good/great and crappy skimmers on the market.The most popular are the Octopus skimmers.Reliable,prices are reasonable and work really good.Getting one rated double is not to much.

Pumps-
You will need a return pump rated to match how fast water drains to the sump.For flow the Koralia evo work well or something else.Four K-evo 1400 should give you plenty of flow.

Basic stuff like multiple heaters,master test kits,plumbing supplies etc.I would work on main equipment like lights or skimmer.Research exactly what you want and willing to spend then move on to the next equipment.

Good luck and congratulations on your new tank.

 

[BL1]

special lights, protein skimmers, and refugiums are not necessary but, at a certain point they can be needed/helpful. When you start keeping corals, you'll need fairly strong lights since your tank is so tall. But, you can buy a cheap strip light to start your tank up and just keep fish in it, until your ready to buy the expensive light and keep corals.
The protein skimmer again not necessary but, when you start adding a lot of fish/corals it will help to pull crap out of your water, and keep your water quality better.
Refugium, again not necessary, but it will add extra water volume (the more water volume you have in your system the more stable your water parameters will be). Also, it will give you a place to put your equipment like heaters, protien skimmers, etc. Finally, another part of the refugium keeps micro algae and a live food source for your fish ( a very beneficial thing to have for finicky fish).
Heaters and powerheads will be necessary.
You should look into a starting your tank as a FOWLR, and save your money and you can slowly add the things you need to keep corals. As far as anemones go, you will need extremely strong lighting and wait approx. 6-12 months for your tank parameters to stabilize enough to successfully keep an anemone.

 

[Mr Smiley]

I have about a year before i can set up the tank. Im in an apartment and out landlord is the wifes godsisters, and he dosnt want the weight on the floors. :grumble: I dont like that the tank is so deep but for the price i couldnt pass it up. I have seen that IceCap makes 250/400w mh lamp pendents for around $150 plus the balast.
.
I had planned to do alot of looking and reserch and build a sump.

My tank is NOT reef ready, and i can not drill holes in it because its tempered glass.

I have seen the Hydor controllers and pumps, as well as many others are they any good?

 

[yote]

The Hydor Koralias are great little powerheads.They'll provide you with a wide,strong but gentle flow.And keep in mind,you dont have too much flow until your sand is in suspension.

Over that tank,I'd go with the halides.That way your getting light all the way to the sand and it'll up your options as far as corals go.

 

[reeffreak]

I have about a year before i can set up the tank. Im in an apartment and out landlord is the wifes godsisters, and he dosnt want the weight on the floors. :grumble: I dont like that the tank is so deep but for the price i couldnt pass it up. I have seen that IceCap makes 250/400w mh lamp pendents for around $150 plus the balast. ?

Icecaps are great if you want to do a retrofit.There are fixtures too which I'm sure you know about.
.

I had planned to do alot of looking and reserch and build a sump.

My tank is NOT reef ready, and i can not drill holes in it because its tempered glass. ?

Then you will need an overflow box.Lifereef.com makes very good boxes.Biff likes the CPR overflow boxes w/ aqualifter pump.

I have seen the Hydor controllers and pumps, as well as many others are they any good?

Yep,there are the best price wise for circulation pumps that have magnet mounts.Tunze and Vortech are really good too but can be pricey.

 

[Bifferwine]

Hello and welcome to the site! Looks like everyone has got you pretty well covered so far.

I'll add one thing -- don't plan on being able to keep the gang from Finding Nemo in your tank. That was a movie, and it wasn't accurate. Most of those animals do not live long in captivity or are incompatible (i.e. will eat each other). Try researching the animals you want to add beforehand. Just because they are happy living together in a cartoon does not mean they will be in real life. ;)

 

[SeaBee]

Ah Biff, you don't like finding Nemo either??? This guy is new, dont burst his bubble on the first date...... LOL, j/k

 

[Bifferwine]

Sorry to crush your idea for a dream tank :(

 

[Jmck]

yea, I slowly found out those fish dont go together :( but Im getting close to the crew they had in the tank on that movie :P

Another thing, Your tank is deep, but go have a look in the Tank showcase area. D2mini has an amazing 130g tank which is a cube so is very deep as well but looks amazing, it just shows the kind of things you can do with that kind of tank!

 

[Mr Smiley]

Hello and welcome to the site! Looks like everyone has got you pretty well covered so far.

I'll add one thing -- don't plan on being able to keep the gang from Finding Nemo in your tank. That was a movie, and it wasn't accurate. Most of those animals do not live long in captivity or are incompatible (i.e. will eat each other). Try researching the animals you want to add beforehand. Just because they are happy living together in a cartoon does not mean they will be in real life. ;)

Oh I have Lots of fish research to do. I just know thats what my wife is looking forward too.

What is the difference between a Sump and a Refugeum?

 

[BL1]

A sump is used to house all of your equipment outside of your display tank and add extra water volume. A refugium is the same thing but, it adds some more sand and LR for filtration as well as micro algae if wanted.

 

[Mr Smiley]

A sump is used to house all of your equipment outside of your display tank and add extra water volume. A refugium is the same thing but, it adds some more sand and LR for filtration as well as micro algae if wanted.

So basically a sump just lets you add water as you say and have a skimmer? and you need to have a separate filter system. Where a refugium will allow for a Skimmer as well as natural filtering with the sand, mud, LR and algae?

I would assume that a refugium is a better choice for a larger tank? or would a combination of lets say a refugium and a canister filter, skimmer be better?

 

[BL1]

You can also put your heaters, UV sterilizers and anything else you have in there, to keep it out of the DT. The LR and skimmer if you have one would be your filtering, no need for a separate system.
A refugium isn't necessarily a better choice, it all depends on what's better for you. You can use a canister filter but, it's not totally necessary with a SW tank. The LR and sand provide all the filtering you'll need.

 

[Solarfall]

Put it this way....
A refugium is like another form of filtration.
A sump is is a place to house equipment and add water volume.
But the two words are very much interchangable.

The refugium serves two purposes 1. Reduce nitrates and phosphates by filling it with macro algae that will outcompete nussiance algaes for nutrients and generally make for a healthier tank, and 2. Create a place for copepods and other micro life to safely breed and eat (macroalgae that is).
In a system without a fuge the "pod" population is always under attack by fish and inverts, sometimes wiping out the population, even. With a fuge, the return pump will slowly pump up a few pods at a time while the majority of the population stays in your fuge, so you always have them.
Pods are important not only because they are the only thing certain animals eat, the most popular example being the famous Mandarin Dragonette.

Now, a sump is much less confusing than people realize at first. Adding a sump is like say.... building a shed, sorta.... It's a place to store unsightly equipment such as protein skimmers, heaters, cooling fans, extra live rock etc... It also adds more water volume, thus giving you a more stable system. More water always = better. Usually a sump would have three compartments. The first is a place for the water to drop down from your display tank via an overflow box in your case. It's also a great place to pack live rock or better yet, rubble rock (small chunks of rock that would normally look terrible in your main tank) for extra biological filtration. The second compartment usually houses your protein skimmer because well.... they're ugly. In-sump skimmers also have a better reputation for performance than hang-ons. This is also a good place to house your heater or heaters. The third compartment is where you would put your return pump, which is how the water gets back into the display tank. Return pumps should always be rated for less flow than your overflow. This way you won't have an overflow in the display because the sump can only pump as much water as your gravity fed overflow allows it to. On the same subject; your sump has to be large enough that it can handle all the water that will drain down in the event of a power outage or if your return pump goes bad.

A sump can also house a refugium in one of its compartments. The best thing to do would actually be get a really long tank for a sump so that you can have a fourth compartment for a refugium. Some people also have seperate refugium tanks above the main tank or even next to the conventional sump, and there are also hang-on fuges that sit on the back of the tank.

So basically, you don't need to choose one or the other. And you don't really "need" to have either, but both serve very important purposes.

 

[Mr Smiley]

So in a refugeium can you have the critters that you dont want in the DT?

 

[BL1]

Yep, that's where I throw all of mine :)

 

[Mr Smiley]

Like the crabs and shrimps you may get hitchhiking on LR? Will the eggs make there way up into the DT?

Now for the Big question...... MH or LED? I like the idea of MH because its relatively cheap for the start up but the cost of running them and cooling you room back down dont appeal to me, but the fact that i do want coral.

I Like the idea of LED's. But will they have enough light power to make it to the bottom of a 30" tank? I like that they have little heat draw even less power then a flouresent bulb, and the fact that you can do just about anything you want with them.

I think i will end up building my own refugium. Ive looked thm up and 300-500 for a box that has nothng in it is not what i like to see.... But im sure i can make one alot cheaper.

Is there a true need for UV lighting?

 

[Bifferwine]

If money is an option (and it usually is for people), go with MH. You probably won't need to run a chiller. Most people don't. A cheap clip-on fan from Walmart (runs about $10) blowing across the surface of your sump or display tank can drop the temperature by up to 10 degrees.

LEDs can definitely light deeper tanks, but they cost more upfront. If you can afford them, LEDs are the lighting of the future in this hobby. They just aren't affordable to most people at the moment. Most of us see that changing in the next 5 years or so.

Hitchhikers won't be able to migrate back up to the display via their eggs. It's very rare for these animals to breed in our tanks anyways.

It is so easy to build your own fuge. All you need is an empty tank or an empty plastic tub from the hardware store. There is no need to spend hundreds of dollars on a pre-built fuge!

UV sterilizers (is that what you mean by UV lighting?) are not necessary, but can be helpful in certain situations. If you have a lot of fish that are prone to disease, or if you have a lot of algae in your water column, for example. But most people don't use them.

 

[Mr Smiley]

UV Sterilizers is what i meant. Ive looked at them and they are also expensive. So i would look at them anymore till i start having issues with fish or algae.

I have some time to start saving for lights. I think I like the idea of LED's more and more. Maybe in a year when im ready to buy newer lights they will be more available and at a reasonable price :D.

What would be a decent size refugium?