Need tons of help!

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Bityrock

Bityrock

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Ok, I'm not new to salt water, BUT, I've only ever had something like a Bio cube. I just bought a 65 that is used and has the glass lids to it and that is all. I'm planning to use it as a reef tank. I need lights and pumps and everything. I know for lights I want to go with the LED's (this way the spousal unit can't scream about the electric bill going up). The tank is not drilled, how ever I'm not opposed to having it drilled and running a sump. I've never done it or had a sump so need I site there as well. Like I said, I need tons of help. What products do y'all suggest and from where, what will it do for my tank, and the general cost of the product. Oh and where do you suggest getting the product from.

Thanks for any all help!

Amanda W.
 
First and foremost..... What Is your budget on this build? Not to scare you away, but things can get expensive real quick in this hobby. On average a good build can run close to a thousand. (sump, lights, plumbing, power heads, ect.)
 
I was expecting about $1,000 to $2,000 once it's all said and done. As I need to get sand and live rock. Plus the inhabitants as well.
 
Nutramar Foods
LEDs are not cheap. You have decide needs and what is really going to be kept in the tank. What type of corals and fish. A good skimmer is a must. Heater, pump(s). If you have a sump (good ideas) then you need a return pump. You want either in tank pump as well or a closed loop unless you are going for a lagoon set up.
 
I would first figure out if you want to do a sump or not. Does seeing equipment in your display tank bother you. (heater's, HOB Filters, wires ect.) Weigh the options. Are you or someone you know mechanically inclined to do all the plumbing, drilling the glass? If not you will have to hire some one to do it. Hence... more cost. IMO a sump is the way to go for a healthy, long lived reef, but there is a lot of planning out and patience going the sump route.
 
Forget about the lighting at this point. Step one. You should be planning out filtration. A reef tank needs about 10 to 15 times an hour water turn over rate. 65gallon x 10 = 650 GPH turn over. You main filtration pump should have a turn over rate of about 5x. 65x5= 325 GPH. You'll make up the rest of the turn over rate using power heads, ect. Step one: start looking at canister filters ( not going sump route) with a turn over rate around 400 GPH. If going with a sump your going to have to double that number to 600 GPH. (you have to take into consideration Plumbing head loss) That means how much vertical length of plumbing the water has to climb from the sump to the display tank. The pump losses pressure (GPH) the higher/ length of plumbing you use. Am I confusing you yet?
 
Deltec
Both myself and husband are very mechanically inclined. I've the added bonus that he's a master electrician. We can do the plumbing and all and I would like to go with a sump. I've never drilled a tank, but we have the things to do it and have a few people locally that would do it for me as well that has done it.

As far as what's going in the tank, I love polys and zoas and mushrooms...the like. Fungias, feather dusters. Not to big on clown fish. I know the husband wants a fire hawk fish. I like PJ's, and blennys, some tanks.
 
Actually I just drilled my first tank yesterday. No kidding. You can get Diamond Coated hole saws at BRS. I also bought the red plastic suction cup drill guide they sell. I was super scared to drill my tank, but It was a piece of cake. Just watch some video's on You-Tube.
 
As for sump pumps, I just posted a thread yesterday on this topic. Look for " Vote: Who makes the better sump pump?" I posted some Charts on pump head loss in there. Check it out. Im going with a Eheim 1260 for my 40 gallon breeder build.
 
A pair of jaebo wp25 powerheads for circulation
Eheim 1260 return pump.
30 gallon sump should be adequate
Skimmer (name brand, look for one with a 100-120 gallon stated operating capacity)
Cheaper options will be bubble magus, eshopps, reef octopus classic. More expensive options would be skimz, vertex, super reef octopus, aquamaxx.
Heaters that will fit in your sump, likely need multiple as the bigger heaters run long, and sump baffles prevent them from fitting, or do like me and just live with it in the display.
Caribsea special grade aragonite sand
Bulk reef supply Pukani rock
Throw in a decent refractometer for good measure and some RODI filter stuff.
Without lights you should easily be in your $1000 budget for the basic starter materials there. If you're willing to flex a bit and go up to the $2000 mark, you can add some decent LEDs (oceanrevive, reef radiance, reef breeders ect), as well as an apex controller to keep things monitored and easy to maintain. With some good DIY effort you could also look into rapidled.com and build your own custom led unit which can rival even the best led units on the market, but for 1/4 the cost. DIY fears prevent more people from going this route. You can easily get the tank drilled. Plumbed, with a controller, skimmer, flow, lights, and rock for around $2000. Livestock I would go slow with anyway and pick up one at a time. Peaceful fish first. Your tank will need to run for at least a few months with just fish in it before corals even begin to look happy.
 
 
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Top Shelf Aquatics
Ok, well a sump is out as the glass is tempered, so no drilling on this tank. Looks like I'm going to be using a canister filter with a hob protein skimmer. Suggestions on sizes for both?
 
AI Hydra

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%

  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%

  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%

  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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