Welcome!

rothfussa · 01-08-2003, 12:13 AM

hey i'm new to this forum, well new to this hobby. I'm looking to get around a 75gal tank (reef ready as seems to be the suggested) and then lighting (4x110w vho on 2 seperate ballasts) from lampsnow.com (as suggested by dennis w.). i have to purchase live sand, live rock, a good cleaning crew and then all the filters and nick-nacks associated with a tank. so i was wondering if anyone knew a good place to purchase this (as in a place that doesn't rip you off

i live in buffalo, ny so anything near there, canada is cool too, or anything online that you've found reputable. oh more thing to mention, this will primarily be a fish tank 10 fish or so (not too large at all) in the begginning primarily due to lack of funds after getting the setup, but will gradually turn it into a reef tank. so any suggestions on a setup ie: filtration methods would be appreciated too. total budget is around 2k (without fish)

thanks for you help for a newbie

aaron

Junkzoo · 01-08-2003, 01:10 AM

Well Aaron, let me be the first to welcome you to TRT, i think/hope you will like it.

as far as places to get fish, , can't help you on the the local end of it, but i can say . in my opinion,,,,Premium Aquatics(Indiana),
Marine Center(kinda pricey, but great stuff)i'm sure others will chime in on their fav places, do a search on the names i gave you , and be certain you will do OK on them,,,,check this board out, and look around, i'm sure you will find many more places to get fish from(online) any questions , ask us, we probably will steer you right in choices,,

don't forget, ask all the question you need,,,, we are here to help!

rothfussa · 01-08-2003, 01:38 AM

thanks i need all the input i can get... i'm like a sponge... no pun intended

Jimbo · 01-08-2003, 03:53 AM

Welcome!

Filtration- Just a suggestion

1. About 75-150bs for a tank that size. But you can get away with less. @ $5 a pound = $500, you can get it cheaper probally around $350 for 100lbs

2. Get 2 250 watt metal halide lamps in lew of the flourescents, you will be able to keep just about anything you want. You can get the duel pfo ballast for $160 from PremiumAquatics
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merch...ode=PFOballast
Mounting hardware, reflectors ect... $100

3. Bulbs from hello lights and you can get reflectors and mounting kits also. Premium Aquatics also sells the ballast as a complete kit also. Look around for pics of different bulbs. 6500k pretty yellow but they put out alot of lite. 10,000k crisp white 20,000k Whitish blue to very blue depending on the manufactuer. If you have the money you might want to go with an electronic ballast, instead of a tar ballast (PFO). Depending on your configuration here you maybe able to add a couple of actinics and still stay in budget. 2 bulbs about $175-$200, add actinics for another $100-150

4. Good protien skimmer. (ask around here) about $200

5. Refugium could be just a rubbermaid container, I use one for my sump and one for my refugium. A refugium is a place to grow algea and copods (little bugs) that feed the tank. The algea filters your water. On the cheap $30

6. 4-8 inches of fine aragonite sand. You should be able to get southdown play sand (white) at home depot where you live, only a couple bucks a bag, don't skimp on this. Life forms will live in the sand and it also provides some other types of filtration. About $50

7. Several pumps intank circulation, circulation through the refugium/sump and back to the tank. To much to say here about circulation, ask and search the archives. Rule of thumb is 10x your tanks size in water movement. Look into a closed loop for intake water circulation. $200 for pumps

Yes all the above things are related to filtration, even the lights. You should be able to put this together for less than $2000 and also get a clean up crew($100-200) when your tanks cycles. Of course it all depends what you are spending for the tank / stand / hood.

I wonder what I missed

Anyway this all adds upto about $1500

Hope this helps

~Jimbo

rothfussa · 01-10-2003, 02:53 PM

Minnreefer · 01-10-2003, 03:32 PM

To be honest, when Brooke started this board and wanted sponsors, we chose ones that we have dealt with and are great to work with. I would HIGHLY recomend www.myreefcreations.com for skimmers, and www.premiumaquatics.com for most everything else. I would recomend www.ipsf.com for the sand bed critters when you get it going and www. www.purearagonite.com for the sand. THe lights that you have chosen sound good but that is another BIG discussion.

HTH

Jon

rothfussa · 01-10-2003, 05:58 PM

thanks for your imput john, i'm just a little scared buying things online, i know you can save serious money, but i like to see what i'm getting

so that's why i ask ... and again thanks for your imput.

Minnreefer · 01-10-2003, 06:25 PM

I totally understand about wanting to see what you are getting.

THe best is if you can find some people close to you and find out if there are any LFS (local fish store) that they trust. I would also ask about just about everything that you have questions about here. The only problem is many people have different ideas.

HTH

Jon

rothfussa · 01-10-2003, 06:36 PM

quick question minnreefer, i have a 75 gallon setup with the lights listed above (4 VHO lighs 110w) and will be primarily a fish tank from the get go, and eventually a reef tank.. (when money permits). i will get roughly 100-150lb of LR and a good bed of live sand. the question from all this is, i am trying to stay away from a trickle filter, and just use a protien skimmer. is there any harm in getting the M2, which is made for larger tanks over the m1? or will it even take advantage of the M2? ( http://www.myreefcreations.com/skimmers.html )

thanks, aaron

Minnreefer · 01-10-2003, 06:46 PM

I would highly recomend getting the bigger skimmer unless it is a lot more expensive. To save money you can get by without the fancy waste collector

and just use a bucket. If you take your time and be paitient you will be successful and want to get a bigger tank soon.

Good luck

Jimbo · 01-10-2003, 07:51 PM

With just a skimmer you will need some live rock from the get go. It will act as wetdry with denitrification capabilities. If you can get sand from Home Depot there, it is pretty cheap, might as well add it too.

Bacteria that break down ammonia->nitrite->nitrate live inside the LiveRock. There is also denitrifing bacteria nitrate->nitrogen gas that bubbles off. A wet dry does not have that last part and it is important. Skimmer will remove organic waste like excess food and animal waste to remove some of the possible nitrates before they occur. A skimmer also airates the water.

Hope this helps

~Jimbo

getting started

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