Seeking 125 gallon reef advice

[djordje]

To all members,

I'm getting back into the game after a 10 year layoff and need some opinions. I'll be setting up a 125 gallon all-glass aquarium with drilled bottom. 6' x 18" x 24" . Without knowing what sort of corals I will be keeping, I am a aware that some prefer high intensity light and other prefer moderate to low. I chose a lighting setup which I thought would be a good compromise and not limit me in my selections. System is a 6' hood with (3) 150W HQI 15K halide, (3) 55W 10K power compacts, (3) 55W actinic blue power compacts. They will all be timer controlled to simulate nature. I thought 780W would be neither weak, nor too strong. The light will be raised 6" above tank and supposedly runs quite cool. Opinions?


Stand is a custom built oak stand and, the way I have reinforced it, leaves me with an 11.5" width between supports in (3) places. Obviously I am looking for a narrow wet/dry filter with 125 gallon capacity. Since I have (2) tank overflows, I was thinking about a straight sump with a skimmer on one, and a wet/dry on the other. Also, has anyone used the Eheim canister wet/dry filters? Are they worth it because they are quite compact. In addition, I will be curing about 150-200 lbs. of live rock initially. This will pose as the heart of my system.


For circulation, I would like to use (2) powerheads, one at each end of aquarium. Not quite sure what size would be perfect for my tank size. I don't want to blow everything around like a tornado. Just want to give anenomes/corals proper movement. Possibly use a wavemaker to alternate action.

Any help on any of these questions would be appreciated.


Thank you,
Alex

[REEF-DADDY]

Originally Posted by djordje

To all members,

I'm getting back into the game after a 10 year layoff and need some opinions. I'll be setting up a 125 gallon all-glass aquarium with drilled bottom. 6' x 18" x 24" . Without knowing what sort of corals I will be keeping, I am a aware that some prefer high intensity light and other prefer moderate to low. I chose a lighting setup which I thought would be a good compromise and not limit me in my selections. System is a 6' hood with (3) 150W HQI 15K halide, (3) 55W 10K power compacts, (3) 55W actinic blue power compacts. They will all be timer controlled to simulate nature. I thought 780W would be neither weak, nor too strong. The light will be raised 6" above tank and supposedly runs quite cool. Opinions?

I think your right on the money. I upgraded 3x and should of went with halides up front. You can always shorten your photoperiod or raise the lights if needed.

Originally Posted by djordje

Stand is a custom built oak stand and, the way I have reinforced it, leaves me with an 11.5" width between supports in (3) places. Obviously I am looking for a narrow wet/dry filter with 125 gallon capacity. Since I have (2) tank overflows, I was thinking about a straight sump with a skimmer on one, and a wet/dry on the other. Also, has anyone used the Eheim canister wet/dry filters? Are they worth it because they are quite compact. In addition, I will be curing about 150-200 lbs. of live rock initially. This will pose as the heart of my system.

I would look into a good protein skimmer in place of your wet dry. Wet Drys have really fallen out of favor. A good skimmer is a must have imho.

Originally Posted by djordje

For circulation, I would like to use (2) powerheads, one at each end of aquarium. Not quite sure what size would be perfect for my tank size. I don't want to blow everything around like a tornado. Just want to give anenomes/corals proper movement. Possibly use a wavemaker to alternate action.

My 125 had 1800gph return and 2 seios 1100. Flow was decent. I would of prefered 2 seio 2600's. But if you have the cash and want a wavemaker look into Tunze, they are in a different league. You can dial down most powerheads so don't be afraid to be aggressive in your choices here. Again I kept upgrading and upgrading and always wanted more.

Good luck

Any help on any of these questions would be appreciated.


Thank you,
Alex[/quote]

[tdwyatt]

Ditto on canning the wet/dry and the canister filters, they will end up being traps for suspended material that will decompose into its constituents in the filter media. As particulates and complex molecules, these materials are easily removed from the water column via aggressive skimming, but as dissolve nutrients (phosphates, nitrates, short-chain carbon), they are quite difficult at the hobbyist level to remove. The skimmer will be an export method for the particulates along with many of the dissolved organic compounds in the water column. It is to your advantage to remove them as early in the decomposition process as is possible. This will prevent issues with sinking of nutrients in the sandbed, saturation of the rock, and feeding algal blooms on benthic surfaces, etc. by these substances.



HTH

[Geoff]

Welcome to TRT!!!



another 125er.

i plan on putting aproximately 5000gph through my 125 this time. 2 CLS's powered by Velocity one Velocity T3's each using eductors to increase the flow even more. . an Ampmaster 2100, and a Velocity T1 as a return pump.

this tank will be for SPS and clams.

G~

[Viv]

Glad you came back, 10 years is a long time to be away! Happy reefing!

[djordje]

Thanks for the quick feedback and keep it coming. From your answers, it seems as though I may run a small refugium and a sump tank with a skimmer. I didn't realize that the wet dry is taking an obsolete path. I still would like to keep sumps underneath to do my testing, add make-up water, and aerate the water a little. I looked into the tunze streaming heads and they're pricey, but look like a work of art. I'm considering. Does anyone know of a good automated make-up water system. Simplistic is key.

Nice site people. Glad to be here.

[110galreef]

I have a same size tank and small stand area. I am changing my wet dry to a sump made from a 20g HIGH tank 24 x 12 x 16. I will be getting a ASM G4 skimmer. Other than my heaters and return pump that is all that will be in the sump. I will probably find a way to add a little carbon here and there as well. I have a vary mixed reef setup with a little of everything from anemones to zoos, to mushrooms to LPS, and SPS and a clam.

Go with the others advice and a little of mine may help as well.

GOOD LUCK and welcome.

Your lighting looks to be very good choice for what you want.

[Geoff]

sumps are still the way to go. we all like to hide our uglies.

it is just the wet/dry part that has become obsolete now that we know more about what is going on in our systems. LR is for biological filtration, and a good skimmer will handle all of your mechanical filtration. as far as filtration goes this is all you need.

as for what to put on your bottom, that is an another can of worms. i am starting to think that this should be the first question you should ask yourself when setting up a tank. do i go BB, DSB, SSB, or CC. they all have there advantages and disadvantages.

G~

[skeety]

welcome back into the hobby!!!! And also, WELCOME TO TRT!!!


This site is great...everyone here's really nice, and you'll learn a lot.

I agree with all the info so far except on the lights.

Lighting is REALLY expensive...and as someone who's not bought 3 different fixtures, I'd recommend holding off on ANY lights until you know more about what corals you'll want.

You're gonna have to wait a couple months for the tank to cycle anyways...I'd recommend taking that time to learn some things here (about how the hobby has changed), read some books, and do some research. In that time, you should have a better idea about what you want in your tank.

THEN, you should look into getting lighting that's specific to that corals needs. What you're looking to get now, is pretty good...middle of the road, so to speak. But if you decide you want SPS (small polyped stonies) corals, or you really fall in love with Clams....you'll wish you got different lights. Next thing you know, you're shellin' out another couple hundred dollars for a new light fixture (which could have been spent on new corals for the tank).

Those lights would keep SPS's and some clams (at the top of the tank) alive, but they'd never really reach FULL color or get enough light to grow at a decent rate.

So I suggest holding out on the lighting until you know more about exactly what you want. But that's just mY opinion.

Also want to reiterate on the skimmer. Do NOT skimp. With skimmers, you will get EXACTLY what you pay for. So get a good one up front. Some really good skimmers:

ASM's skimmer
Deltect (expensive, but supposedly the best)
MR skimmers (http://myreefcreations.com) GREAT skimmers, GREAT quality, and SUPER GREAT customer service.
Again...welcome back to the addiction, and VERY glad to have you with us!!

[djordje]

I have already purchased lights, after a few months of pondering. As listed in my first thread, 780 watts will hopefully do the trick. Maybe down the line I will need to change the HQI's to 250W, instead of 150W, and the ballasts along with them. I was worried about heat, and the need for a chiller. My basement stays quite cool and I'm trying to take advantage of that. My new light fixture supposedly runs cool, with 1/8" thk. aluminum extrusion body. Great for heat dissipation. Like all of your advice on the skimmers and powerheads. I'll have to invest in a good skimmer for a 125 gallon. Any recommendations??? I'm looking into Tunze for circulation.

Great start with a great forum.

[djordje]

To all members, my light fixture was ordered a few days ago. I can still change to 250W HQI. Would the pros defeat the cons? A well balanced system is what I'm aiming for.

[three90s&125sump]

I wouldnt be worried about the heat, I'm going with dual 400 watt Mh and dual 110 watt VHOs on each of my 90s. You can almost always aclimate lower light animals to higher lighting you can almost never aclimate higher light animals to lower light.

As for the skimmer get the most expensive one you can afford among the ones skeety suggested. I'm partial to the ASMs but that just because I own one.

Like Geoff said as well the substrate will be a huge factor on a number of things reguarding your tank. There are some very good threads here addressing the issue. The top two favorites are bare bottom and deep sand bed. I am as of yet undecided but I am definatly leaning twards the DSB.

As for your flow: more is usually better but only up to a certain point. I will be cycling my water volume over 30 times an hour in my ninties, I have seen with some set ups a cycling of over 70 times per hour. I think if all you have is your return pumps and a couple power heads you will not have enough flow for a reef tank. Flow has actually been reguarded as a part of your filtration in recent years.

Your main focus for a successful tank are as follows in no perticular order because they are all of equal value (unless your a professional)... Huge skimmer, lots of live rock, lots of flow and lots of light. There are some variables to consider with these but I'm not going to go into it because it is some times contradictory to everything we all just said and can become quite confusing to say the least.

[wtrguy]

I have only been at this for 4 mnths, but have two very good mentors. Your lights sound fine / power heads i have the same tank, use two maxie jet 9,000,s / i have a wet dry sump and removing all the bio balls slowly, will gust use the sump and foam. You will need a protien skimmer there are some good ones out there ( my choice was a Berlin ) not happy with it,it's a pain in the but real touchy. And had bad luck with my first choice in power heads (rio's) think that is how you spell it, got a shock from one and out they came. They are big and also give off heat. Good luck
wtrguy