Setting up 125 Gal Reef

[manodano26]

Hello to all, I am in the process of setting up a 125 gallon reef. Just filled up the tank a week ago and have the salinty at 1.024 and have a rena filstar xp3 hooked up to it with a couple of heaters about 100 pounds of sand that came with the tank when I bought it from the guy and have about 20 pounds of base rock. Is the filter enough for the tank?? How long should I let it cycle for without anything in it for?? I do have the 5 in 1 test strips that I bought at petco

[eggerstout]

plans for a sump? throw some cooked shrimp in there to kickstart the cycle or get a yellowtail damsel, I've always waited probably 3 or 4 weeks before adding anything else. Should put in all the live rock now to avoid mini cycles when adding live rock down the road, or go with all dead rock such as marco rocks and seeding it with a couple of pieces of live rock. Thats what I would do, take care of all the rock you want and move from there.

http://www.marcorocks.com/index.asp?...PROD&ProdID=62

[schneijt]

Welcome to ECRC.

I assume this is your first reef tank? It sounds like you're off to a pretty decent start, but I think you're going to want to beef up your filtration sooner rather than later. The Rena is a canister filter, correct? Hang-on "bio wheel type" filters and canister filters don't work as well on a reef tank as they do on a freshwater tank. The best way to filter a saltwater tank is with a protein skimmer. With the canister filter, you'll have to be constantly changing the filter media to keep your nitrates down. I know you won't want to hear this, but I'd ditch the Rena if I were you. I'm sorry if you spent money on it, as it's just not going to do the filtration you want it to. Detritus will get trapped in the filter media and that will cause lots of headaches with high nitrates for you. Good water circulation and good protein skimming is really all you need for filtration, in addition to regular water changes, of course.

If you haven't done lots of reading and self-educating yet, I think websites such as www.wetwebmedia.com will help you a lot as you get started with your new reef.

Again, welcome to the club!!!
Joe

[manodano26]

I actually plan on getting a couple of protein skimmers here soon if anyone has one that they would be willing to give to me or sell to me cheap that would be great as for I was in accident about a month ago and are waiting to go back to work and for some cash from the insurance company so until then I dont plan on doing much more for now unless some people can help me out. I had the filter on my 55 freshwater tank and picked up a magnum 350 for that tank at a thrift sale really cheap so thats why I switched them until I can afford something different. Should I just take the media out of the canister for now?

[manodano26]

I am not sure if I am gonna do a sump just yet can it go down underneath my tank or what would you recommend doing?? Looking for input

[Reeftanker3295]

You can get your tank drilled and have an overflow box then run PVC from your tank and most people do have their sumps in the stands of their tanks and then you need a return pump of course.

[ReefLuvR]

Or, you don't have to drill it. I have a hang-on overflow box which feeds my under-the-tank sump. There are plenty horror stories out there of people having floods, but if you follow all the safety protocols, you won't have any issues. I've had external overflows for 25 years.

That said, on to filtration. Joe is dead-on with what he told you about your canister filter vs. a skimmer. However, it really makes a difference how you plan to stock the tank. Do you have ideas yet about what kind of livestock you want to keep? Have you found pictures of "the tank" you want? If what you're looking at is a wall of rock covered in corals with lots of fish action, then it's best to start right from the get-go. If what you prefer is a sparse look, with a few fish, then you will be just fine with a canister, for awhile. Eventually, you'll find that you can't keep the nitrates to a safe level and will ditch it.

I'm not sure about the PetCo test strips. They'll probably be fine, again, for awhile. Once you get things going, you'll see that they won't offer you the kind of accuracy you're looking for. For watching your cycle, they'll probably work just fine.

The most, and I stress, THE MOST important thing to remember with saltwater is that you must have patience. Yep, it sucks because you'll get excited and want to throw a good sized bunch of fish in there, but slow and steady wins this race. Instead, hook up with some of us locals to check out our tanks. We ALL love to show them off to excited fellow-reefers. It will give you time to ask questions one-on-one, see lots of different setups, get ideas, and help the patience work. Trust me, been there, done that.

Oh, and Welcome to ECRC!

[D.J.]

welcome aboard.............where are you located at?

trust me the canister is a BAD idea....i ran one on my first actual REEF tank and it was a nightmare.....you can take the media out of the filter and use it for circulation BUT if you pickup tube is to close to the sand then youll be suckin up sand and tearin up the impellor....i had to replace mine every 3 months and my pickup tube was about half way in the tank...they do cause nitrate issues but only if you leave the filter media in them...so i would deff recomend removing any and all media.....

you wont need much for a sump tank.....you can use cheap plastic tubs....thats what jen(reefluvr) is using and they work great....you dont have to have a $200-300 sump tank...wish i didnt waste money on one myself....

i have a hang on overflow like what was mentioned......and have used it on my old 75g system....they work but do need alil more care than a normal drilled RR tank.....to keep them from cloggin or loosin suction.

you can get a quiet one pump from petsmart which will work and cheaper than a mag drive pump...BUT remember you get what you pay for.

i learned that goin cheap isnt the best way to go for this hobby...you pay for it big time in the end.....better to get the best you can afford now and not skimp on things like skimmers...

a good skimmer is a MUST for a reef tank.....and you have to have one rated for you tank/water volume....there are good cheap skimmers out there that will work great with a few mods unless you buy a used one that is ready to go...and some of them dont need mods.....

any of us will help you in any way that we can to hel you get your system up and runnin and keep you from having all the FIRST TIMERS MISTAKES!!! they suck!!! we all know!!!

try not to take anything that we say in a bad way...we've all done bad things and have had bad things happen...that how we learn at this hobby and the more we share with newbs the better their first reef experience will be.....so if one of us says something that you dont agree with or find offensive dont take it the wrong way...

them dip strips arent good.....not accurate and will not tell you whats wrong....they are good for an IDEA on readings but not to pin point the readings.....petco has a REEF MASTER test kit for like 40-50 bucks....best BANG for your buck....and itll last you for a good while unless you test 4 times a day!!

damsels are OK for starting the cycle on a tank to help introduce bacteria and incourage it to grow.....BUT alot of them arent very reef friendly or fish friendly and can be aggresive and a PAIN IN THE REAR to catch and remove if you have alot of rock work....the dead shrimp thing seems to work but i never used it.....i used rock to cycle my first tank and then jumped everytank after that off of the older one to kick things off....
its best to fill it with rock now then gradually fill it.....everytime you do youll have mini cycles...which are bad...but get very aggrivating.....

for a 125g tank you need at least 100lbs of rock minimum.....1-2lbs per gallon is rule of thumb....im running 150lbs in my 90g system and some members here have up to 300lbs of rock....then there is your sand...what kind do you have? how much? how deep of a sand bed? was it live when you got it? or dry?

some members might be willing to SEED your tank off of theirs with a lil of their sand which also helps.....i would be willing to do that if your interested.......

sorry for the novel but i could go on and on and on......new tanks get me EXCITED!!!! LOL

[manodano26]

Originally Posted by D.J.

welcome aboard.............where are you located at?

trust me the canister is a BAD idea....i ran one on my first actual REEF tank and it was a nightmare.....you can take the media out of the filter and use it for circulation BUT if you pickup tube is to close to the sand then youll be suckin up sand and tearin up the impellor....i had to replace mine every 3 months and my pickup tube was about half way in the tank...they do cause nitrate issues but only if you leave the filter media in them...so i would deff recomend removing any and all media.....

you wont need much for a sump tank.....you can use cheap plastic tubs....thats what jen(reefluvr) is using and they work great....you dont have to have a $200-300 sump tank...wish i didnt waste money on one myself....

i have a hang on overflow like what was mentioned......and have used it on my old 75g system....they work but do need alil more care than a normal drilled RR tank.....to keep them from cloggin or loosin suction.

you can get a quiet one pump from petsmart which will work and cheaper than a mag drive pump...BUT remember you get what you pay for.

i learned that goin cheap isnt the best way to go for this hobby...you pay for it big time in the end.....better to get the best you can afford now and not skimp on things like skimmers...

a good skimmer is a MUST for a reef tank.....and you have to have one rated for you tank/water volume....there are good cheap skimmers out there that will work great with a few mods unless you buy a used one that is ready to go...and some of them dont need mods.....

any of us will help you in any way that we can to hel you get your system up and runnin and keep you from having all the FIRST TIMERS MISTAKES!!! they suck!!! we all know!!!

try not to take anything that we say in a bad way...we've all done bad things and have had bad things happen...that how we learn at this hobby and the more we share with newbs the better their first reef experience will be.....so if one of us says something that you dont agree with or find offensive dont take it the wrong way...

them dip strips arent good.....not accurate and will not tell you whats wrong....they are good for an IDEA on readings but not to pin point the readings.....petco has a REEF MASTER test kit for like 40-50 bucks....best BANG for your buck....and itll last you for a good while unless you test 4 times a day!!

damsels are OK for starting the cycle on a tank to help introduce bacteria and incourage it to grow.....BUT alot of them arent very reef friendly or fish friendly and can be aggresive and a PAIN IN THE REAR to catch and remove if you have alot of rock work....the dead shrimp thing seems to work but i never used it.....i used rock to cycle my first tank and then jumped everytank after that off of the older one to kick things off....
its best to fill it with rock now then gradually fill it.....everytime you do youll have mini cycles...which are bad...but get very aggrivating.....

for a 125g tank you need at least 100lbs of rock minimum.....1-2lbs per gallon is rule of thumb....im running 150lbs in my 90g system and some members here have up to 300lbs of rock....then there is your sand...what kind do you have? how much? how deep of a sand bed? was it live when you got it? or dry?

some members might be willing to SEED your tank off of theirs with a lil of their sand which also helps.....i would be willing to do that if your interested.......

sorry for the novel but i could go on and on and on......new tanks get me EXCITED!!!! LOL

I am in eau claire and would most be interested in getting some sand from you. I dont have alot of money right now and honestly are not in a huge hurry to get it setup over night. I am not sure how to get your number or anyhting just yet on this site but a friend of mine told me about the site and I am glad that he did!!!

[D.J.]

when ever you want just shoot me a message on here and we can set something up.....we can get something setup around my screwed up work schedule....

ya you dont want to rush a reef for sure....or any setup...thats when you start askin for trouble..........

[manodano26]

Originally Posted by D.J.

when ever you want just shoot me a message on here and we can set something up.....we can get something setup around my screwed up work schedule....

ya you dont want to rush a reef for sure....or any setup...thats when you start askin for trouble..........

When is a good time for you?? I am available pretty much anytime. Thanks again Dan

[D.J.]

iget off at 430 tomorrow but close for the next few weeks.....but im off this comin tuesday

[diggler]

To bad you filled the tank already because I could of drilled it for you.

[D.J.]

i gota 125g that needs to be drilled!!!!!!! LOL just dont know where to get the overflows from

[manodano26]

Originally Posted by diggler

To bad you filled the tank already because I could of drilled it for you.

What would you charge to drill it?? I could always get a bunch of buckets and empty it out. I know it would be a pain but its something I could do.