Setup questions

[Aggrofish]

Hello people. I recently purchased a used 135 gallon acrylic tank and wanted to get some advice on the best setup given what I have. Ideally, I'd like to minimize my costs. That's one of the reasons for using what I have.

I want to stay away from corals initially until I get the proper lighting, so for the time being fish only w/ live rock.

Okay, so the tank came with a bio-fil wet/dry sump setup with bioballs (which I've been reading are not very favored) and based on the dimensions it's for a 125 gallon tank. If I plan on having a DSB and live rock, what other filtration would I need...protein skimmer?

I also have 2 API 1500 (jebo per goole result) powerheads, a coral life turbo sea 1100 gph pump, and this jebo uv-h13.

I know I need a heater, lighting, and possibly a protein skimmer?

Am I missing anything?

Also, gathering from the maze of hoses the return lines from the sump attach to the outlets at the back of the tank. Now is there something that attaches to those bulkheads on the inside of the tank?

One more thing before you guys stop reading...Is there any use is paying a premium for pure white aragonite sand if it's going to turn green and other colors down the road? If I were to add enough live rock will the sand stay white.

Sorry for so many questions but the last time I had a 125 gallon setup it was in the dark ages of undergravel filters, crushed coral and mechanical filtration.

THANKS

 

[Bifferwine]

Hi and welcome! I would not use the bioballs. If there is a special compartment in the sump for them, you can replace the bioballs with live rock rubble. Some LFS will even give you the rubble for free since they usually can't sell it (this will only work if your sump is set up in a way that you can keep the live rock rubble submerged).

Another option is using an empty tank instead of the wet-dry setup it came with. If you can find a used tank for cheap, that will fit underneath your stand, you can use that as your sump/refugium instead.

You definitely need a protein skimmer. The most affordable brand out there right now is Octopus. They are very good quality skimmers and a fraction of the price of comparable brands.

As for lights, you should look into either T5s or metal halides, mostly depending on the depth of your tank and your budget. T5s are cheaper, but don't penetrate as deep as metal halide. If you don't plan on keeping very light intensive corals or anemones, this won't be a problem anyways.

You should get at least two heaters. That way if one breaks, there's still a good one running. Accidents involving stuck or broken heaters are all too common, unfortunately.

And you should also probably get a few more powerheads. Two won't be enough for a tank that size.

 

[yote]

Welcome to the site.
Biffs got you pretty well covered.
Stay with the aragonite sand.It dont have to be the white stuff though.You'll need some critters to keep the sand stired,so it'll stay mostly white.
And there should be a nozzle on the return bulkheads to spread the flow out some.

 

[Aggrofish]

Bifferwine,

This is the exact wet/dry setup I have: http://www.myfishtank.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=197

Would you recommend putting rock where the bio balls are now?

I dont know how most canopys are designed but minebasically has two lids each about 37" so in searching for lighting I was looking at multiple 36" units so the canopy wouldnt have to me modified. I was considering the 4x96 setup from here:

http://www.ahsupply.com/96watt.htm

Thoughts? Also, thanks for the heads up on the skimmers?

Yote...or is it vote? Good thinking on the two heaters.