New guy getting started

[PrisonCityReef]

Hey all!

I think I messed up my registration, and while I wait for the webmaster to get back to me, I wanted to post my "Hello" thread.

I'm 26 and from Waupun, WI. I'm into reefs as a result of a good friend of mine who had some tanks before he shipped off to the Marines. I never really had the cash before, but now that I'm graduated and bought a house, I'm starting to piece together my setup!

I've been doing some research for the last month or so, but really got motivated by all the junk weather and cold lately to really start looking hard. I am in NO rush to get this thing running. That's really been the hardest part. A large part of me wants to get it up and running now now now. I hope to start some LR cycling by April, but May is probably more realistic.

Here's my plan:
- 125g reef tank
- 60g sump w/fuge (already have the tank as a present from my buddy, need to modify it)
- No idea what I'm doing for lights yet, maybe some T5s.
- Still working out my livestock lists. I want to see more critters in action before I pick which ones I want.

I was calling around for prices of tanks, and found out that a store in Oconomowoc is liquidating their stock this week. Apparently the guy went bankrupt, and now the previous owner of the store (still owns the building) is just trying to dump all the inventory he can to pay off this other guy's bills. They have a 125g reef-ready setup with a gorgeous oak stand at a great price. I put my name on it and I'll be picking that up late this week. The place was picked pretty clean by the time I got there. A few tanks, but only 1-2 other reef-ready ones. If anyone is looking for a sump, he's selling them off at wholesaler prices or lower. All other stock is 50% off. Send me a PM if you want the number. Oconomowoc was about 1 hour drive South for me, and Waupun is South of most of you folks.

The room I plan to put the tank in doesn't really have enough room for a 24" wide tank, so the 125g will give me lots of water volume without eating the entire room up.

I'd love to tag along for your Feb meeting. I'll be posting to check if there's more room for that.

So that's my basic post. I've posted similar stuff in some other WI group forums under the name "Awol." I plan to get that name on here as well if the webmaster can fix the account I borked up. Working with a bit of a Hangover Handicap today... ;)

[Aquabucket]

Sounds like you are going to have a nice set-up.

Look forward to seeing you around at the club meetings!

[PrisonCityReef]

I'm happy to wear the "New guy with too many questions" nametag for awhile.

[kiowascout]

I think that deal in Oconomowoc is like the fifth time in the past few years I've heard it.

He (the owner) must use it as a gimmick or something to sell tanks.

Anyway, welcome aboard. This club is good for lots of information and some other things as well

[jandlms]

Is there a legal limit on how many times you can advertise you are going out of business and are having a bankruptcy sale????

[kiowascout]

I dont think so... as long as the business comes back with a new name and no one really digs into it....

hmmmm

[FEEDERFISH]

I am from Prison City...!

[bwoody62]

Welcome to the club. Good luck on the new tank setup! Lots of decisions to make. IMO go with 250watt HQI lights , I think you will be happier than with the T5's on a tank thst size.

[PrisonCityReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11813598#post11813598 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kiowascout
I think that deal in Oconomowoc is like the fifth time in the past few years I've heard it.

He (the owner) must use it as a gimmick or something to sell tanks.



Actually I talked to the building owner Jim. He used to run the place for many years and now he just owns the building. He said this is the second time in the last year or two he has had his tenant go bankrupt. Apparently he needs to rent to some people that have better business models. :)

He's not making much if any money on these sales. All equipment is 50% off.

Feederfish - Where in Waupun do you live? I've got a place on Grandview. Think I could come check out your tank sometime?

What's the difference between the HQI lights? What would make them better than the T5?

[FEEDERFISH]

HQI is Double Ended Metal Halide, just do some research on lighting and check out members tanks in person before you choose what Type, Output, and K rating you want, many people have spent $ time and time again doing it wrong the 1st time

[MrSquid]

For lighting, also take into consideration things like canopy/no canopy (retrofit/fixture), ventilation, distance from water for heat dissipation, power limitations, etc.

Not to mention WHAT you plan to keep in the tank. People seem to put more emphasis on the how than the why. A softie tank will have different light needs than an a tank with SPS's.

[PrisonCityReef]

I'm still trying to figure out the difference between a softie, SPS, or LPS, etc. I'm getting there.

However, I'd like the tank to be able to house anything. I've read that by adjusting the height of the coral's placement in the tank you can artificially help it get the light it needs as long as you're not using a ghetto $40 light setup.

I have a couple corals in mind, but mainly I figure that if I tag along on the Dr F&S trip then I can get a better idea for what's out there. That and stopping in at some LFS and checking out their stock.

For lighting Ideas, I've been reading 125g build threads (like yours MrSquid.) However, I saw the $3,000 72" LED setup and wow... Some day that would be awesome. I see why everyone says this obsession is so dang expensive!

[MSU Fan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11817659#post11817659 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PrisonCityReef
I see why everyone says this obsession is so dang expensive!

You have no idea! Sounds like you got a good start. For the depth of your tank, I would go with 250MH's as well, but I would go with single-ended (mogul) since you will have a larger selection of cheaper bulbs. Definitely go check out tanks to see what you like as far as the look. I would supplement with T5's, either 2 or 3 of them, to really make the colors pop.

[prugs]

A couple months ago, I was down at The Coral Corner in Racine when they brought in a 215gal Oceanic tank with the starfire glass front. It was around $700. Seems the distibutor was selling their tanks at 1/2 price, & the CC was passing the savings along. Just goes to show you there are deals to be had, if the store is willing to pass them along.

I bought my 210gal from AW 2.5 years ago, because they had the best price at the time.

[PrisonCityReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11817867#post11817867 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MSU Fan
To really make the colors pop.

Popping is good!

[PrisonCityReef]

Another random question:

Since the pet store has everything 50% off, what are some chemicals that you guys use? Calcium supplements or anything? I guess I'd rather pick it up at half price if there's a good chance I'll use it anyway.

Thanks!

[Limpit]

Only additives I use are D.I.Y. calcium, alk, magnesium and pickling lime for kalk addition. They are all WAY cheaper than any LFS 50% off sale. I would be surprised that A.W. will really have anything useful as far as additives go anyway. Any time I was in there I was not impressed except for the prices on tanks.

[PrisonCityReef]

Limpit, you're from Slinger, right?

Used to head out to the speedway all the time with my dad when I was a kid. We'd bet $.25 on each race and each pick a car. Good times.

[Limpit]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11821150#post11821150 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PrisonCityReef
Limpit, you're from Slinger, right?

Used to head out to the speedway all the time with my dad when I was a kid. We'd bet $.25 on each race and each pick a car. Good times.

Yep, that would be correct.
BTW, there has been talk of shutting down the track due to the noise and traffic in the area. The ski hill across the street closed down and they sold off all the equipment, don't know what they will do with the land there though. Maybe build houses California hillside style. :rollface:

[PrisonCityReef]

Ack! No way. That would be a shame. If someone doesn't like the noise, maybe buying a house next to a race track would be a bad choice?

People these days, sheesh...

Limpit, I just realized you've been playing with tanks since I was 1 year old. Crazy...

[Limpit]

Ya, I'm just old school...or maybe just old!

[customcolor]

if you want to see another 125 build you could always check out mine Custom Colors 125 build (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1144204) . granted i didnt use 250 watt halides like msu said you should use(used 175watt for $ savings on electric) still looks good and i will be hosting the May meeting summer kick off pot luck so you could even see it in person cuz my cammera doesnt do the color justice.
<BR><BR><BR>
by the way welcome abord to the club!!!!!!!!!!

[MrSquid]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11822224#post11822224 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by customcolor
if you want to see another 125 build you could always check out mine Custom Colors 125 build (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1144204) . granted i didnt use 250 watt halides like msu said you should use(used 175watt for $ savings on electric) still looks good and i will be hosting the May meeting summer kick off pot luck so you could even see it in person cuz my cammera doesnt do the color justice.
<BR><BR><BR>

I considered going with 175's for the same reason. But then I figured...the ceiling light in our bedroom that my wife just had to have is over 1000w (yes...we literally have a miniature sun in our bedroom), so the extra 225w didn't seem so painful. (until my arm bumps the reflector! OUCH! :eek2: )

[PrisonCityReef]

Already checked it out Custom, it's a nice tank. :-) I just searched through the forum for 125 and build.

Does a 175W setup limit the types of SPS you can have?

Funny story - My dad jokingly offered a pump he intended for a waterfall / pond he wanted to do at first, but then decided not to deal with it. He got it as an impulse buy for $80 at Menards when they were closing out their outdoor department. I asked him how many GPH it was and he said 'way more than you'll need.' It was a 2400gph Mag-Drive! So I may have found a cheap pump. I'll take a look at it later this week and see. He doesn't believe me that I need that much flow. I think 2400 is a bit much for 10x turnover on a 125, but I haven't measured my return pipe's vertical distance yet. Do most pumps allow you to adjust the flow? I can always just tone it down a bit...

-Ryan

[Fishcrazy06]

Where is your filtration going to be? Basement or on the same floor as your tank? IF on the same floor I would say that would be enough pump and not too much. If coming from the basement up to the first floor I don't know. There is a headloss calculator that you could enter everything in and it will tell you what you end up with. Hope this helps answer some questions!

Eric

[customcolor]

i have a monti about 4" from the top of my tank doing great eventhough it was a brown and now is still green. i got it from siropa and he uses 175s but im having trouble with other sps and he is not. dont know y but i have manly lps and some softys and polyps. the hardest one i have to what i have heard is a gonipora (flower pot) but that one is doing great!
i like lps better but thats my thought. i love the waving of the coral showing the water movement.
thoughts on the return: the overflows i think can handle 1200gph each i think or 800 i cant remember. you can run the mag drive for the filtration only if your sump can handle it and watch your heat. a big pump like that under water will generate lots of heat. i had a 1000gph under water in the old 75 i had and boy my tank was up to 85 in no time! 10x turn over is on the low side like for softies and lps but on the high side though the sump. some people do up to 40x turnover in there tanks(not all though sump, closed loop or power heads would be needed) i have right now about 14x total system turn over and will be adding more water to the system and a bigger pump so then my total system turnover will be like 16x

[kiowascout]

Mag drive pumps arent good for high head applications. they lose their gph rather quickly over the vertical.

I would recommend a pressure rated pump for something like a basement to main floor application.

[siropa]

I've had really good luck using 175w MH and haven't noticed an issue with not being able to keep anything. I've got pretty decent color and nothing has gone from color to brown. i've actually gotten a couple to slowly move the other way.

but I do use XM 10ks which i've read have the highest par of the 175 bulbs. not sure if that is 100% accurate, but they do seem to do a nice job.

if I was buying from scratch right now i'd go with 250w though. almost no difference in price for the equip and you get more bulb choices. and the diff in electrical cost is about $27/year/bulb. at least where I live. I recently got a 250w MH with an XM 10k bulb in a lumenbright reflector for my QT tank. that is one bright SOB. I can't wait til I have the funds to put 4 of those over my 275.

[PrisonCityReef]

Wow.

Just wanted to say thanks for all the replies! This community is fantastic!

How much does a 125g tank weigh? Not sure if my GF is up to the task of helping me move it or not.

[labrec06]

im sure if you post you might get some responses with people who will help ;)

[Bri Guy]

Water is around 8lbs/g +rock and glass, so you could easily take 125 x10, 1,250 lbs is a good estimate.

edit: im not sure what the tank weighs empty?

[MrSquid]

AGA has a chart in their brochure saying the empty/full (water only) weights of tanks by size. I don't remember exactly but I want to say that a 125 empty is about 150#.

My father-in-law and I carried ours in. I know my wife wouldn't be able to help lift it, but I know some women who'd have no problems helping lift that weight. So I guess it depends on your g/f. ;)

[PrisonCityReef]

I'm not about to count on her with something that valuable. :P It's ok though, I'm helping my BIL move tonight, so I can probably tap him for Thursday.

[siropa]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11829325#post11829325 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PrisonCityReef
I'm not about to count on her with something that valuable. :P

good call. my wife once was trusted with helping me move a 240g acrylic tank and she dropped it. didn't break or anything, but it almost resulted in a homicide :)

[TropTrea]

I'm using a 3600gph pond pump for my return. It has a lift of 15 feet from my sump to the top of my tank. I added ball valves and adjusted the flow down to about 300 gph without any problems. I am using 1 1/2" pipe from the pump to the main tank, and 2" pipes on my overflow to the sump.

Dennis



<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11823320#post11823320 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PrisonCityReef
Already checked it out Custom, it's a nice tank. :-) I just searched through the forum for 125 and build.

Does a 175W setup limit the types of SPS you can have?

Funny story - My dad jokingly offered a pump he intended for a waterfall / pond he wanted to do at first, but then decided not to deal with it. He got it as an impulse buy for $80 at Menards when they were closing out their outdoor department. I asked him how many GPH it was and he said 'way more than you'll need.' It was a 2400gph Mag-Drive! So I may have found a cheap pump. I'll take a look at it later this week and see. He doesn't believe me that I need that much flow. I think 2400 is a bit much for 10x turnover on a 125, but I haven't measured my return pipe's vertical distance yet. Do most pumps allow you to adjust the flow? I can always just tone it down a bit...

-Ryan

[PrisonCityReef]

My sump is going to be directly under the tank in the stand. I'm building my own stand since the one at the shop was that particle board laminate IKEA garbage.

Yes, I have a grudge against cheap furniture...

So I figure the pump should be enough. See my red house for my initial sump design. I might modify it to have the return pump in the middle, fuge on the left side and the skimmer/heater on the right side.

Still want to see more setups before I start constructing stuff.

[PrisonCityReef]

Oh, and I also scored a couple nice Koralia 3s from MSU Fan so I think I should be good for flow starting out. I may get some smaller ones to get flow going around some hard to reach places if I get some algae started growing, but I think I'll be ok for now.

[MrSquid]

Consider putting another baffle in for microbubbles - if you don't have room for over/under/over/under/over, at least consider doing under/over/under/over. (with that final "over" leading to your pump)

Check out the pics of my sump in my build thread/red house - my sump feeds from the right side. I wish I'd have put in at least one more baffle for microbubbles. Now I have to run with a lower flow to the tank to prevent them. Just thought I'd float that out there as been-there-done-that. ;)

Couple of other things to consider...

Are you using glass or plexi/acrylic to make the interior of your sump? If plexi/acrylic, know that it absorbs water - so cut it about 1/8" short or you'll crack your sump. I'm SO GLAD I read that tasty piece of info before I built my sump!

Silicone doesn't stick to plexi/acrylic - it does, but not as permanently as it does to glass. If you use acrylic and silicone, rough up the areas the silicone will hit, and then don't skimp on the silicone. And then once you're done, be careful of how hard you press on the plexi.

If you're using plexi/acrylic, consider using black at least on the wall of your fuge - that'll keep the fuge light (and the resulting algae) from growing elsewhere in your sump.

In my fuge I've got 2 bulkheads that feed the water into the pump chamber. I wish I'd have gone with bigger bulkheads. (I have 3/4" pipe - if I remember right that's a 1 1/4" bulkhead) I don't run a gusher of water through my fuge, but cheato tends to be messy and I'm always having to clean out my bulkheads to keep the surface skimming nicely - and that's even with having eggcrate surrounding the area by the bulkheads.