step by step from fresh to a reef
- Thread starter Gouramiman
- Start date
Comments. 400 watts ius a bright light, the only reason I can think for going for that is that you want to grow bright SPS corals. If not, frankly you're wasting electricity. If you do go for the 400, try to get an electronic ballast else your ballast will chew a few hundred watts on top of that. If you're tank is more than 3 feet long try 2 times 250 instead.
2. Your sump sounds ok, but more light.
3. Stronger return pump, put it on a manifold 'spray bar'. Assuming you're going SPS try to get a pump rated at least 1000 per hour. I have 10 times an hour, and am now definitely looking to upgrade.
4. That skimmer seems to be consistently rated as bad. It simply isn't that good at producing foam, never mind noise/reliability. Do more internet searches before you buy stuff.
5. You're already looking at calcium dosing. If you a 400 halide, you'll likely want an autotopoff, so maybe you can does kalk with that.
2. Your sump sounds ok, but more light.
3. Stronger return pump, put it on a manifold 'spray bar'. Assuming you're going SPS try to get a pump rated at least 1000 per hour. I have 10 times an hour, and am now definitely looking to upgrade.
4. That skimmer seems to be consistently rated as bad. It simply isn't that good at producing foam, never mind noise/reliability. Do more internet searches before you buy stuff.
5. You're already looking at calcium dosing. If you a 400 halide, you'll likely want an autotopoff, so maybe you can does kalk with that.
yea i already ordered lighting, skimmer and return pump. i am also going to be putting pumps in the main tank soo i dont think that flow will be an issue with another pump of 480 gph. i really should have bought a different skimmer 
. but im stuck with it for now. i found a site shows modifications for the seaclone skimmer (http://reefcentral.com/diy/seaclone_modifications.htm)soo ill try that before i go buy another skimmer. as for the calcium reactor im just going to forget it and go with a kalk doser(too much $ for a reactor) and yes i am going to do sps in the tank. i am also buying a ro/di and a top of controller (http://www.spectrapure.com/St_alc_p3.htm) systems for the auto top off, but havent ordered them yet.
. but im stuck with it for now. i found a site shows modifications for the seaclone skimmer (http://reefcentral.com/diy/seaclone_modifications.htm)soo ill try that before i go buy another skimmer. as for the calcium reactor im just going to forget it and go with a kalk doser(too much $ for a reactor) and yes i am going to do sps in the tank. i am also buying a ro/di and a top of controller (http://www.spectrapure.com/St_alc_p3.htm) systems for the auto top off, but havent ordered them yet.sump layout
ok i got the skimmer and return pump in last night. today i put them in the sump and drew lines on it with a sharpie to see where i was going to put the walls. tomorow my dad is going to get the plexiglass from a plastics store near us and get silicone to glue them in.
here are some pics
ok i got the skimmer and return pump in last night. today i put them in the sump and drew lines on it with a sharpie to see where i was going to put the walls. tomorow my dad is going to get the plexiglass from a plastics store near us and get silicone to glue them in.
here are some pics
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i think it is going to be a while before the tank is all set up because my parents wan to paint the room that it is in soo that i dont have to take it down to paint. it should be up in about a month. i think i am going to put one of my circulaotion pumps on a spray bar across the back to get good water flow behing the lr. is there any special way this should be done or is just pvc ok?
i found a grea idea on this one web site (www.thesea.org) the guy took some 3" pvc and put shells in it with screen on each side for pods to go into and reproduce before they just get gobbled up by fish. i know this is exactly what a refugium does but tehn the pump just ruins them all. the tube wil also be buried under all the rock and will not be seen. GREAT right?
well change of plans it ends up that the lights went on back order!!! soo i cancelled my order and am going to go with a 250 watt electronic ballast with a 250 watt HQI bulb i am kinda releived because i have heard soo many bad things about the magnetic ballast (http://www.hellolights.com/aroelba2meha.html) i think this will be better, cooler, quieter, better, cheaper, better and i have heard bulbs last longer. still going with a 20,000 k bulb. only disadvantage is that i heard the ballast will need replacing. true? another quiestion , it says that the bulbs need to be burned behind a glass sheild. is the glass top on my tank ok for this?
what do you think
what do you think
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well problem solved!! while snoopin around in my garage i found what looked like an HQI fixture!!!! well it turns out that it was a halogeon but i can use the casing it was in for the metal halide. it has glass on it and every thing!! YAY!!!!! i alreeady gutted it and mounted it in my canopy (i couldnt help myself)
this is what it lookes like
this is what it lookes like
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