new tank

[Nubytuesday]

90 gal 18by48 all-glass 18by48
800gph at 3ft pump T3 sealife
140lbs figi rock will order to cycle
HO lights after rock cures
berlin skimmer
20 gal tank for sump maybe 30
2 150w heaters
would like more flow but LFS thought overflow would only take 700gph it has a allglassoverflow kit wfloat valve and filter. prbably didnt need that
This is my first tank opinions please

[Mrs Smith]

Aarg! Someone in Kansas City who needed a 90 - and I didn't get to you first! (I live in Lenexa, and have a spare 90 taking up space in my living room.) Anyway...

Welcome to The Reef Tank!

Couple of questions: is the tank Reef-Ready? (As in: built-in overflows?) If not, why not get the tank drilled? That will eliminate the need for an external overflow.

Have you thought about sand/substrate?

Lighting is IMO the most confusing part of putting together a reef - by HO, do you mean VHO?

Danielle

[Nubytuesday]

Yes, the new tank is reef ready.
Yes, VHO or I could use IMO.

[ShirleyM]

WELCOME!!

I'm glad to see you joined!

Here's a link to reef terminology which you may find helpful...
http://saltyzoo.com/aqua_abbreviations.html
and here's a calculating page for you:
http://saltyzoo.com/SaltyCalcs.html

If you have room for a larger sump, then go with the larger sump. I wish ours were larger.

Also, auto-water topoff and RO or RO/DI unit to make your water (RO/DI is better). I use Instant Ocean (IO) salt b/c it works fine and it's less expensive.
I haven't needed a heater in our tanks...they stay between 78-80 yr round.

Ask away...you'll find excellent help here!

Shirley

[Nubytuesday]

My tank
90 gal all -glass reef ready
Twin flow oveflow kit with float valve & pre filter
hope that doesnt restrict the flow I am looking for now that im informed cant return that
T1 sealife water pump540 gph at 3ft
returning for a T3 800 Gph
would dp more but Lfs thought 700 was the most overflow would handle hope hes wrong
Returning wet dry thinking of a 20 gal tank or larger for sump will try for a 30 room permitting
2 150w heaters Think I need more IE larger sump ?
berlin classis may return for turbo model
kent maxima RODI think I just need an RO ? i have city water
will buy 150lbs fiji rock to cycle
will buy HO lighting or hopefully hallide if it will fit under canopy
sorry for all the info but your opinion wold really be apreciated.
Reefsalt will but IO next time

[Mrs Smith]

Get another opinion on the pump. We have a huge return pump, and it's throttled back, but I'm no pump expert.

In Kansas City, you will probably need heaters. We use them. Ebo are the best; we run Won-Pros, but some people are having problems with them I hear.

RO will be fine, unless Independence water is horrible. We do use a DI column when it's charged. (Mostly though, just RO is fine.)

For lighting, don't buy through an LFS - check out hellolights.com for much, much better buys. We really got ripped on the first setup we bought. Also, check around - people sell light sets occasionally.

VHO bulbs will allow you to keep most things; if you think you'll be heading towards clams/SPS, just start with the MH. If you need ideas of what different bulbs look like, start asking around. Jeff at Fish World in Blue Springs runs the 20K radiums, to give you an idea.

As for rock, again, order it from somewhere. If you have time, you can cure it yourself, or buy the pre-cured. Even with shipping, it will run you a lot less than what you'll find in town. (Unless we do a group order or something, which might happen.)

Oh, and read, read, read. Books are a definite must. There's a list of recommendations on the main page here.

Good luck,
Danielle

[Nubytuesday]

Thanks for the tip on the lights my credit card has almost melted
already.
I have a canopy 7in inheight hope MH will fit.
I will be ordering 150lbs of fiji next week IF things work out OK
I bought a $10 rubermaid container today its semi clear
and holds 29gal very hard for me to do after returning a $200
wet/dry. not high tech but I guess it will do I hope as good as a tank?

[ShirleyM]

Are you talking about using the Rubbermaid as a sump? Yes, that should work fine.

You'll need to cure your rock somewhat even if you order cured rock, b/c there will be some die-off during the shipping.

WAIT on your fish, etc.

Patience is the key here, and reading GOOD books is another key. The cheap lfs books [usually] don't offer the help you'll need.


Shirley

[Nubytuesday]

Thts for sure I alredy bought 2.
The LFS had told me I could cure the rock in the tank since it was a new tank the amount iI would like to order would probably get the tank scratched but I wanted to use the rock to start my system and i thought if i ad it all at once i would save extra nitrate spikes every time I added new rock. NO?
love those guys

[ShirleyM]

Yes, I'd cure the rock in the tank. That's what we did with both our tanks. As for scratching, we have glass, not acrylic...and we didn't let the rocks hit the glass anyhow.


Shirley

[Nubytuesday]

So you think one could move 140Lbs around in a90 OK
oh I forgot about the sump can i leave the skimmer out to start with while i cure the rock

[ShirleyM]

Our skimmer worked overtime to help cure the LR.

90 gal, I'm thinking about 130 lbs rock...1.5 x the gallons for the rock. But 140 should work. We just piled ours in there, no aquascaping, then after it was cured, we vacuumed the sand pretty well, used powerheads to blow the rock of real well, did major water change, and aquascaped after everything was done cycling and water was clear.

[Nubytuesday]

Thanks for the info...does anybody know what the max. gallons per hour my overflow would handle?