Parts List for 70 Gal Bowfront?

[TriGun5312]

So I just picked up a 70g bowfront with a Coralife PC fixture. I'm in the process of setting it up, but in my rush to move into my apartment, I filled it and stocked the tank with old live rock. This means that I can't put a sump in until I can find the time to drain and remove the tank to get access to the stand. I'm upgrading from a 20g nano reef, so I pretty much need all new filtration. I'm also looking into metal halide, but the coralife will have to last me for now. I was looking specifically at the Odyssey series MH, which I have read mixed reviews about, but is the only fixture in my price range. My question is what is a good skimmer for both HOB and in-sump applications. I have to run HOB for now, but would eventually like a sump. Also, what should I do about flow? Basic powerheads vs. closed loop vs. spray bar? I'm building this tank on a shoestring budget, so any advice on cheap parts or DIY is much appreciated.

[Chiefsurfer]

What are the dimensions, mainly depth, on the tank? That will help with the lights. Honestly, I wouldn't buy Odyssea lights to use as paperweights. I'd either stick with the PC's until you can afford GOOD MH, or try and go with t5, hence the question about the depth of the tank.

For ease of use, and cheap, I would reccomend a Reef Octopus HOB skimmer. They make a good HOB skimmer, and as I brought up before, usually the benefits of sump skimmers is lower prices on higher quality stuff. There is NOTHING that says you cannot HANG a HOB skimmer on the back of your sump, just as if it was a display. SOOOO, I would get a skimmer rated to about double your volume so that you can handle the added volume of the sump, along with a safety-net of over-rating, when you do add the sump. I would also go with Koralia Powerheads, they are a cheap, dependable option for water movement.

If your tank is less than 24" deep, I would reccomend selling the PC right off and getting a t5 fixture. If you sell it new you will get a LOT more from selling it rather than selling it used down the road. A new fixture can go for $200 for PC's, but used I wouldn't pay more than $75, even if it's been up for a week.

If you do decide to go with t5, I suggest aquaticlife when on a budget. They make 2-bulb strip-lights. These go for about $120, and can be "linked" together to form larger fixtures. This means you can buy a single fixture to begin with, which IMO is better than however many PC's you might have already, then if you save up some money, get another, and another to a maximum of 6 bulbs. T5's will do just about any corals up to 24" deep, then you start getting into a depth issue for t5's.

[TriGun5312]

Not sure about the depth, but I will measure it when I get home. The PC fixture came with the tank (classified ad) and I have no idea how long the bulbs have run for, so I don't think they have much resale. Anyway, I need to get my filtration and water movement sorted out before I invest in new lighting.

Thanks for the advice of the Koralia, the propeller pumps look kinda neat. My friend and I modded a maxi jet into a propeller pump in high school, but it was much bulkier and uglier. Propellers just push water though. I was wondering if I needed to draw water from behind the rock work with a pipe and run it into a power head to eliminate dead spots. I have a lot of rock work, which I was going to arrange into two mountains on either corner of the tank. I was just wondering if I needed to focus my pump input behind these mountains or if the increased propeller circulation should keep the water behind the rocks "fresh."

Also, good call on being able to HOB in the sump, but what I was going for was a skimmer that would allow the power head/pump to be moved to the lowest part of the skimmer (so I don't have to worry as much about low water in sump issues) for sump use. Most HOB skimmers I have seen tend to mount the pump high on the U Tube, which means I would have less room to play with sump water levels. I also am not looking for a "Bak-Pak" skimmer. I used to have one and I would constantly have to adjust the collection cup.

Thanks for your help!

[Chiefsurfer]

Well if the HOB has the pump outside the tank, that does not matter. My eshopps has it outside, as the octopus does as well I think. I would have suggested eshopps, because I LOVE MINE, but they don't make anything rated for the 150 gallon size, which is the neighborhood that I would be looking for your set-up. Also, no matter where the pump is, it will be affected by the water height, as your height inside the skimmer is how you base your "skimmate" off, and altering water heights will screw with the height inside the skimmer. You would just have to make the first baffle(usually used for the heater, filter sock, etc. high enough for the hang-on to work(1" seems to make no difference on my eshopps) hanging in that first compartment. Then your other 2 baffles, then the 4th baffle would control the height of water in your fuge if you decide to have one.

[TriGun5312]

I forgot that a lot of those pumps can be run external. I was just planning on plopping the skimmer down in the sump, but I hadn't really though about water height effecting the levels inside the skimmer. Thanks for the tip, I learn something new every time i read here! I looked at the Reef Octopus skimmers and they look great, although there are a lot of different models. What are the differences in short/fat vs. tall/skinny skimmers or is it a personal preference thing? I'm gonna try to keep researching and maybe keep an eye on eBay and see if any good deals pop up. I'm also having a hard time finding one that is Dual Application. Most of their skimmers seem to be sump only or square bak-pak HOBs (hate my old bak-pak).

In the meantime I may try to mod a broken Seaclone I have lying around to accept a 500gph pump I modded a while back for my Bak-pak. The pump has a mesh modded impeller and homemade vinturi, as well as a ball valve for flow control. The seaclone has no powerhead, so its just a body with some irritating twist-lock connectors. My ghetto rigged Back-Pak was damaged in the move to my new apartment, so I am currently without skimmer while the tank cycles. I figure my best bet is to cannibalize the bak-pak and put its guts into the Seaclone to get it working and running that while I cycle my tank. That will leave me a little more time to collect cash and find the perfect skimmer for my set up. It probably wont be efficient, but I guess its better than nothing.

Also, thoughts on UV Sterilizers? Are they worth the money or should I hold off until after most of my tank is complete?