new reef tank setup!

kyle

kyle

Reefing newb
ok so i am buying a 100gallon tank with a stand in about a week. these are my plans.
the tank dementions are: length is 5ft 1 inches
width is 20 inches
height is 21 icnhes

lighting: i am going to use MH lighting. i cant deside which would be better 1 500w MH or 2x 250w i am aimming around 5 wpg.

my sump: i still am doing a lot of research on my sump i am planning to buy CPR CS102 Overflow Box. is the a certain diamitor tubing ur sapose to use and which is better tubing or pvc? i and buyiing a 55 gallon tank for a sump. i the sump i was planning to put a DSB so cheato and live rock if i need to?( i see a lot of live rock in sumps)and i want to have an extra spot in the sump for random things


in the tank: i am putting 120 pounds of rock in( if it fits) i was going to put a fine layer of sand on the bottom i dont like the look of a glass bottom.

i am am planning on housing LPS/SPS. what are good starter coarls?
im not to sure on what kind a fish im going to put in there i all reatty have 4 ( i know i can put more in, in time)i have a maroon clown a fire gobly an algae blenny and my fav a blue eyed anthais.

oh and i almost for got about skimmers and power heads lol i was going to buy a coral life super skimmer 120 and put on my 65 that i have now. and for power heads i think i want like 3 korails 3 or is that to much?
 
IMO I would go with either T5s or 3x150w MH

No clue for overflow boxes

You will be able to get at least 120 lbs of rock in more if desired

3 korilias should be great maybe even four no such thing as too much flow!
 
MH bulbs cover a 2x2 foot area each. five foot is a goofy size hard to find a fixture for. if you are hoping to keep SPS you will need more light anyways. You could always go the 3x250 route for the most light or go with a T5 set up with individual reflectors probably 6-7 bulbs. They dont come in five foot lengths so you could always stagger them everyother one to the outside edge. would give you same coverage through the middle of the tank and little better on the ends. Just a difficult sized tank IMO
 
hmmmm very interesting i did not know MH cover 2x2 feet. so im assuming i cant use 1 big one like a 500w bulb lol
 
Is it me, or is it just ironic that Ryan "livingreefs worst speller" is the first (and only so far) to answer Kyle!

Kyle, your posts continue to captivate me......keep 'em coming!
I love it!
 
Just a thought, the whole watts per gallon is just a rule of thumb, really is what should be looked at is what your wanting to keep in the tank and how tall your tank is. A taller tank may require more watts per gallon to penetrate more water where as a shorter tank will not take as much light. I think 3x250 watt MH's would be enough, the 2 end bulbs would be 10,000k supplemented with a 20,000k in the middle and actinic T5's in the front or back.
 
Ryan is dead on, for a 5 foot tank, you can't just have one MH bulb in the middle. A foot and a half on each end of the tank would be dark.

I would go with three bulbs spaced out evenly. In my 7-foot long tank I have 4x250 watt.

The problem is, MH fixtures are usually made in either 4 foot or 6 foot lengths, so in your case, I'd get one that is 4 feet long and just keep lower light corals on the ends of the tank (my fixture is 6 feet long, so I do the same thing).
 
I used to use a CPR overflow box on my old 55. It plumbs right into PVC. There is a certain diameter PVC that fits it, but it depends on the size of the overflow box. Check out www.marinedepot.com, their description will usually say what fits it.

Your best bet for the sump is to silicone in some plexiglass dividers, that way you can have a section for the equipment and a section for live rock and chaeto, and they can be kept separate.

120 lbs of rock will fit, in fact that's on the low end. I prefer 2 lbs per gallon to maximize biofiltration, and if it were my tank, I'd at least 200 lbs of live rock.

I would go with 4 Koralia 3's instead of 3. It's a long tank, so you will need more powerheads to achieve ample water movement.
 
Yeah, since my tank is 7 feet long and my lights are 6 feet long, I have about a foot of dark area on both ends. I keep mushrooms, zoanthids and some softies on the sides of the tank, and my LPS and SPS are in the middle where they get more light.
 
when you doing the plumming for the sump, do you have to glue the pvc or can i get pipe that snugs tight togther. and if i have to glue it what kind of glue do i use?
 
You should either A glue it with PVC cement you will need the PVC primer first, or B get the threaded pipe which is not cost effective at all. When you do you plumbing plan it all out on paper first. Do a little reading into reef plumbing first so that you are familiar with unions, ball valves, true union ball valves so on and so forth. Just google Aquarium Plumbing. Make your system as modular as possible without over doing the fittings as they will cause friction which will in turn slow your flow rates down. By modular I mean be able to take apart for service. Be able to isolate every pump without having to drain water from the tank. Remove the plumbing to fix breaks or move the system. Hope that helps some.
 
i think i might go with the threaded PVC. it seems like it can be easier in the long run. is it water tight or will i have toget some of that white tape stuff?
 

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