equipment for 120 gallon tank

[statman]

I need help planning out my product purchases for my upcoming tank. The tank is either a 120 or 125 gallon tank, I cant remember which. The dimensions are 60L x 18W x 26H. I also plan on putting a 20 gallon refugium underneath, that is as big as my stand will allow.

I plan on having fish, live rock, and whatever corals my lighting will support. Since i have 60 inchs to cover, im looking at two 30in lights, and they seem to be a rarity as im having a hard time finding them. Ive been looking at t5's in that range but as i said they seem to be hard to find.

Also I have zero knowledge at all on skimmers, can somone point me in the right direction here? I plan on hiding it in the refugium so it needs to be able to fit nicely in a 20 gallon. And speaking of refugium, with my tank specs can somone tell me what sort of gear I need to run this? Mainly the pump an all that jazz, also any recomendations on where to get an overflow box from?

Im going to run koralia's for the flow, but not really sure how many I should use. Also any idea how many bags of sand I will need to purchase? Anything else im missing other than heaters, sand, salt, and water?

Thanks in advacne ;p

 

[Lorna]

Well you haven't mentioned live rock and a tank that size will need at least 120lbs but really should have more in the line of 180lbs you will also need to decide if you are planning on a deep sand bed or just a covering of sand for asthetics. This site has a sand bed calculator to assist you and given your dimensions a 4" sand bed of aragonite sand needs about 200lbs of sand.

Reef Central Online Community

there is really good set up information here:

Reef Set-up

 

[statman]

any recommendations on skimmers, or return pumps?

 

[statman]

Would this fixture provide sufficient light for my tank? Would i be able to keep most varieties of corals?

Reef Aquarium Lighting: Outer Orbit HQI/Compact Fluorescent/Lunar Fixture

 

[spllouder]

i would get a pentair quite one 4000 HH . its rated at almost 1000 gph and has a very high head rating .

 

[Lorna]

hmmmm that return pump may be a little on the light side. I would look at a minimum of a twin overflow and return of 1200 gph.....

A 20g sump isn't going to give you very much room to put in a skimmer that will handle a 125g aquarium....but if that is all you have to work with you may need to forgo the refugium part of the sump and get a skimmer higher rated.......Why can't you fit a bigger sump under a tank that size. I have a 20g under my 75 which is only 48 in. long. You should be able to fit a 30L in there and should even be able to house a 55g sump.....you may need to place it before you set up the tank......but I would go as large as you can, don't skrimp on the sump or the skimmer on that size tank.

As to the light....I run that light on my 75g and it is barely sufficient. I would go a step up and get the 2x250w mh with t5's;

Champion Lighting & Supply :: Lighting :: Metal Halide :: Metal Halide Fixtures :: Outer Orbit HQI Hoods :: Outer Orbit HQI 250w w/ T5 :: 60" Outer Orbit 2x250 w/ T5 Lamps

This light you mentioned is a behemoths that weighs a ton. It takes two to move it on and off the tank and if I had my druthers I would choose a different fixture next time. The 130W pcs are terrible and don't last 6 months and are almost impossible to find except from the dealer where they are about $50 each therefore you are spending $200 a year on replacement bulbs for just the pcs......not a very efficient light for the price. The 250w with t5's is better but again big and cumbersome and a lot more expensive.

I would seriouisly consider building my own light with a retrofit kit......cheaper and I could put what I want in it. A 60" tank should have a minimum of 2 x 250w mh and t5's to support a varied assortment of corals.

 

[statman]

the stand is sectioned off in 3 parts, two small chambers on either side of the tank. I currently have Rena canister filters in either one and that is about all they can hold. Then it has a middle section which is 29L x 10 1/2w x 26 1/2H.

 

[Lorna]

mmmm I would seriously consider re-working the stand and maybe build a new one. You won't be needing the canister filter and it is room that could be used by the sump. A tank that size really should have an adequate sump as it will aid in your filtration by housing a efficient skimmer and hopefully room for a decent sized refugium to house macro algae and excess live rock etc.......

 

[statman]

i will not be building a stand, i dont posses the tools or knowledge for this. and as for reconfiguring the stand, id be scared that removing the cabinet walls will redcuce its weight capacity

 

[TRe]

if space is an issue than i suggest going with a tunze skimmer... i just got mine last month and love it on the light it would be way cheaper to go with a retrofit 2x250w mh which would allow you to keep almost anything and wont really break the bank if ya kno what i mean

 

[statman]

i have decided to search for a new stand that will allow me to to hold a larger sump, im guessing a 55 gallon. the return pumps mentioned above, 12000gph will still work correct? i can now however house an in sump skimmer, with that in mind...suggestions? also i plan on pm'ing you with some lighting questions tre. thanks again for the wonderful responses everyone.

 

[Lotus]

A different stand sounds like a good solution.

A 55g tank probably won't work, unless it's a really tall stand. You need to be able to get equipment in and out of the sump, so there needs to be some room above your sump.

Wait on the skimmer until you have your stand. A lot of stands are fairly short, and if you get a skimmer and it's too tall to fit in your stand, you'll probably be a little unhappy, to say the least.

We have a similar tank, and have a 48" fixture suspended above it. We currently have VHO lighting (had a fixture laying around). The light spread seems to be OK, although each end is a little lower light, obviously. It hasn't really restricted us on corals, as we just put the ones that don't like so much light on the ends. It's a good idea to plan your lighting around the corals you really want to keep. If you want SPS, you'll need metal halide or a really good T5 HO with individual reflectors. LPS and softies can work under less T5. A lot of people say that T5 is way better than PC. A lot of it will depend on how much you have to spend

 

[statman]

ok, i'll hold off until i get a stand picked out. as far as money, i dont want to spend tooo much, but i dont want to cut corners and be unhappy in the end.

 

[statman]

is it better to run one large sump or two smaller ones? like should i do a 50ish gallon one, or two 30 gallon ones?

 

[Lorna]

get a large one with a sectioned of part for a refugium which is a place to grow macro algae and pods.