My turn to move to the dark side!

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Veil-o's

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 31, 2009
68
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Fresno, CA
Hello all,

Recently I have acquired a lovely 72gal bow front tank for the low cost of free.99 <-- My favorite price. Tank comes with stand and a PoS light that will be ditched. I am looking at starting off nice and easy and will be setting this tank up over the course of a year or so.

I need some help. I'm looking at LPS as well as SPS later on when the tank is fully established. I understand the 1.5 ~ 2lbs/gal rule when it comes to live rock to start off with and I also understand the process of properly cycling your tank.

I have read countless threads on different things ranging from the lighting sticky, all the way to calcium reactors and things like that. The thing is I want to be successful from the beginning and do this right, and over the course of this long set up period get myself the correct check list needed to get this project done so my wife, daughter and myself can enjoy the tank.

So far I have decided in a blue painted background and a simple clean and black paint of the stand.

So far I am in a toss up between drilling and using a CPR CS90 for the overflow. Drilling I would definitely go with a complete kit from http://www.glass-holes.com but like anyone I am completely afraid of ruining this tank. I guess this decision is ultimately up to how comfortable I feel or how many drinks are in me.

I am sold on the Reef Octopus line and currently looking into the http://www.saltysupply.com/Reef-Octopus-NWB-110-Protein-Skimmer-p/oc3524.htm to buy. Any suggestions?

Lighting is one of the most important factors and I am looking for something reliable and practical. I am thinking anywhere from 500W to 600W needed for essential growth. Ebay has a nice lighting setup with dual head halides, LEDS, and T5 HOs. Seller has good rating and it seems like a solid build from the comments. I really don't care to be a brand whore and I know you get what you pay for, so please let me know. Here is the set up http://cgi.ebay.com/Metal-Halide-T5...tem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a09e1ed6.

I would like to do a refuge with perhaps a DIY algae scraper, seems easy enough, but my issue is having to run a billion wires in the back of my tank to accommodate. Which brings me to my next issue of Calcium and Phosphate reactors, should I use them? Or should I get a good clean up crew going?

Basically I am asking for help of a total tank set up. I want to accommodate all future inhabitants of this tank. I want to take it nice and slow (that's what she said) and make sure that everything is done right. I know you guys are extremely knowledgeable and accept any and all criticism as I move forward.


(Yes this thread is pointless without pics so I will be getting them up sometime.)
 
So calcium reactor unnessisary untill you have huge stony corals that grow fast so short term not needed.

Lighting is very important for SPS LPS you want good lights minimum of T5s but MH (and some LED brands) are best. But you can easily get away with T5s if you have enough of them (aka cover the tank with them haha). The fixture you posted should be more then enough for any coral. Though its also important to feed your corals, not just light but food :)

In my opinion the CPR overflow is not enough, but I use my return pumps to create my 10xhr flow rate instead of powerheads (using flexible pipes to direct the return flow where needed). Though powerheads work fine (just are ugly and can eat critters lol). Oh and incase you didn't know you want 10x tank volume moved every hour so thats 720gph more or less, this is for the health of your corals, to keep them clean and to bring them micro nutrients. Some corals require high flow some require low, so your best to place them in the flow accordingly.

Umm cleanup crew IMO is a must, go only with snales though hermits/crabs are basicaly preditors whenever they get the chance. Phosphate reactor is unnessisary with algea scrubber/water changes or a fuge with macro algae in it. Carbon reactors can help and can hinder... if you use it I would say use it once a week for a day just to help remove heavy metals and the like that may end up in the tank.

You will also want around 75-85lb aragonite sand as it is the primary source of biofiltration in a tank (way more surfaces for good bacteria to grow then live rock ever could have).

If I missed any of you questions feel free to point them out lol, and feel free to ask me anything anytime.
 
I can tell you this I have a reef octopus HOB 90 on a tank and it is the best skimmer i've ever owned. Works like a champ and quite. Check into them worth it. Also I live in the dallas area and trigger systems is located near the lfs i work for and he brought in his new stuff that will be coming out in a couple months and they look great and have a very small foot print in case you do a in sump skimmer. If you wait on the skimmer we will get one to use on one of our show tanks and I will let you know how it does...

Lights check into LEDs combined with t5s...
 
Thanks for the information guys. Like I said this will be a slow process and I appreciate the help. Right now I am piecing together a check list and budget so hearing stories about what works and doesn't is a big help.
 
After a full day of research I am confused on something and wanted someone's opinion. When curing LR do you suggest the external or internal method?

With LS how many lbs would it take to make a 4" sand bed?
 
Veil-o's;4348798; said:
After a full day of research I am confused on something and wanted someone's opinion. When curing LR do you suggest the external or internal method?

With LS how many lbs would it take to make a 4" sand bed?
Click to expand...
4 inches is a little deep.

I would do about 1-1.25 lbs of aragonite per gallon, and do around a lb per gallon for LR.

You can cure LR in your tank if you dont already have fish in the tank. Actually, it might help since all the die off would help the "cycling" process. If you have fish in the tank already, you need to use the external method.
 
Veil-o's;4348798; said:
After a full day of research I am confused on something and wanted someone's opinion. When curing LR do you suggest the external or internal method?

With LS how many lbs would it take to make a 4" sand bed?
Click to expand...

4" sand is risky if you dont set a DSB up properly it can cause more problems then it solves I would say short term stick with 2" max.

External is better in some ways as if there are parasites you keep them out of your tank and its easier to inspect the rock for things, but if the tank is empty its not as big a deal assuming that its not huge lol.
 
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