Native tank questions (New York)

[Fat Tony]

as far as the skimmer goes.. a hob just cant proces the same amount of water as a larger in sump skimmer can.. it's all about size...

the baffles should indeed be a bubble trap.. I personally love Eheim reutn pumps, but they are pricey, you could go with a quietone or something along that line to save about 30-40% But, IME the Eheims last forever and will bring good resale valve. I recommend hitting the clasifieds for a good used pump... and as much as I dread the site, ReefCentral has one heck of a classifieds section, and is where i normally go to buy my equipment,

[Reeftanker3295]

Ill need a chiller for this tank right? Since i will be running it at around 65-70 degrees

[Fat Tony]

probably or some really interesting cooling ideas... one of whic means lots of fans and lots of evaporation... the other is digging a fairly deep hole under you house and getting a really long coil of titanium tube and making a geothermal chiller..either way I bet without going that far, you could get the temp into the 74-75 rnge with a few well placed PC fans.. it's all about how many pu,ps will be in the tankand what type of lighting you plan on using...

[Reeftanker3295]

Not going to use any really fancy lighting, probably just 1 or 2 strip lights maybe T5. Dont know if 75 is too hot for these fish because like i said the surface temp in the summer is 72-73 at the highest which means where they are, atleast 5-10 feet down, its probably like 66-68 so probably will need a chiller. How much do you think this will cost?

[Fat Tony]

if youare going to run a chiller then it is going to cost a little bit... I am thinking no less that a grand for the skimmer chiller and sump build... of coarse you could buy used and get it for half or alittle more...my sleep med are kicking in, so I am going to have to bail for the night, maybe pick this up tommorrow

[Reeftanker3295]

Alright, thanks for all the information

[Reeftanker3295]

Im thinking i may hold off on the chiller for a little while and just run clip on fans on top of the tank blowing across the surface, does it cost alot for a glass top for a tank thats like 115 gallons? theres a 115 gallon tank with a stand and glass top for 225, wondering if i should grab it...

[Fat Tony]

I would nix the glass tops for many reasons...if you feel as though you need to cover the tank you want to use a fine plastic mesh

Do a search for mcliffy and see how his tank cover is done.. it's the right way to do it if you have jumpers IMO

[Reeftanker3295]

I think im going to just get a cheaper priced skimmer at first then when i get more money ill get a really nice one. What should my return pump be rated? Could i not drill the tank at all and just have the pvc coming over the back into the tank and then have siphon breaks in it like an inch under the water?

[Reeftanker3295]

Would one or two of these be good lighting? http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS...lestriplight48

[Fat Tony]

Do you plan on keeping any corals?

[Reeftanker3295]

Nope, just native fish, mussels, barnacles, crabs and all that good stuff, maybe in a couple of years or months i might add some eel grass or something for the fish to swim in, thats about it

[Reeftanker3295]

By the way i may get the 48x18x31 tank

[Fat Tony]

I fyou plan on grasses then you want some decent lighting. Other than that, fish could care less..

[aquawolf]

Sounds like you are getting a good plan in place.