cpr aquatic lt3 and back pak

[shred5]

I am thinking of buy a cpr aquatic lt3 tank.http://www.cprusa.com/products/mrtlt3.html
Any one have one and could tell me how they are. I live in an apartment and like the fact everyting is internal. I have had some bad spills with my 75 gallon reef. Any way My main concern is the proien skimmer. It has a modified Cyclone II Biofilter. is this a good skimmer I have always like venturi skimmers they seem to produce a finner bubble. My other option is a small glass aquarium with a hang on the back read sea belin skimmer. What do you think would be better? Is there room on the lts to add a skimmer on the back if the one that comes with it is not enough?

[clownfish]

I think it would be a lot better to buy a 20 or 29 and put an AquaC Remora on the back. You could either use a small fluidized bed or a biowheel or just buy a lot of LR. The LT3 doesn't give you many options on what equipment to use, the choices are made for you. I would put 2 55w PC over it or use 4 28w PC. You can buy a LOA circular 30w bulb with ballast for 15 little bucks, remove the bulb, and put a 28w smartlight on there. You could use a glass top with the PCs on it. I would put these fish in there:
coral beauty
percula clown
sixline wrasse
sifter goby
if you get a 29, u could get one more fish

This is just what I would do with a 20 or 29. I'm 16 and a month away from buying a big old 70. I know that if I got a 55, I would put too many fish in it.

[FishDaddy]

Shred,
I haven't used any of the self-contained tanks and don't plan to. While they have appeal because they are manufactured with the philosophy that you just "plug them in and add fish and corals", they are relatively expensive and are difficult to modify and upgrade to the individual's requirements.
With that said, many of our members have set up very good smaller reefs, from 29's to 40+ that work very well. You can peruse the Member's Tanks section of TRT to see what others have done and what equipment they use.
HTH
Dick

[shred5]

Thanks for the replies. I have decided to go with a 40 breeder. A aquac remora. What do you think I know this tank dont need it but should I go for the remora pro. Is there really a huge difference between the two? I also want to go with pc's. I would like to go with 4 96w pc's but man they are expensive. I want to grow sps in this tank. I think I should be alble to grow most sps with that lighting cause the tank is shallow. I dont want metal halide cause of the heat in such a small tank. I want to avoid a chiller. I notice some of the pc's come with acrylic shields are these neccessary? If I could do a retro it would be cheaper but they dont have the sheild.
Thanks
Dave

[Alice]

Hey Dave;

Regardless of your lighting choice, make sure you mount a fan or two in the hood. It's easy to do and you can put them on timers to coincide with the lights to keep the heat down. The little 3" fans from Radio Shack are a snap to wire up and are nice and quiet.

~Alice

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Reefkeeping is my life; I can't afford a hobby too!

What are the dimensions on a 40g breeder. If youre looking at 4x96w PC and are looking at SPS why not just do a 250w metal halide and a couple normal output actinics. I know people do it with PC and VHO but why not get the best light from the start. All lighting systems create waste heat and watt for watt its gonna be about the same amount, the only difference is with PC and VHO the heat radiates off a longer surface rather than a small area like with MH. A well designed canopy with fans or even a hanging pendant fixture will make the heat issue easier to manage. If MH is absolutely out of the question compare the prices between 4x96w PC and 4x90w(3')VHO powered by an Icecap electronic ballast. It will also drive PC bulbs if you wire the PC end cap and as a plus if you lose a VHO bulb you can sub in a no output tube(cheap) Then there is replacement costs for bulbs. I got a year nd a half out of the cheap CL O3 actinic, replacing the tubes with URI VHO was under $30 each, as I recall 96w PC ar around $60 each. Something to think about. Btw Iwasaki 250w MH is well under $100 and may be good for over a year esp if driven be an electronic ballast like a blue line or Icecap

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I thought I was me, but I was wrong

[clownfish]

The Remora Pro (what I will use because I'll have a 70) has considerably more ooomph than the Remora. I think the Remora would be great on a 40, but not enough for a 70.

So we will wanna hear how the Remora Pro works out

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I thought I was me, but I was wrong

[shred5]

Ok the tank is only 16" deep its 3 ft long and 18" wide. Would I need two 175 or 0ne?
I dont think I need 250's because it only 16 inches deep and will be less with the sand.
What kind of system would you use as in brand? Also what temp lamp 10,000 k? were is a good place to buy a mh system.
Thanks
Dave.