cpu933k January 19, 2015 Share January 19, 2015 Hello everyone. I'm glad I found this local community. It's been a great resource for all my research. I used to have a FW tank as a teenager and am now looking to get into SW. Mainly interested in a FOWLR tank, I'm thinking between 90-125 gallons. I'm still in the early stages of research, so I guess I'll just start with the size of the tank. I'm interested in the following fish in order of preference: Clownfish Blue Tang Yellow Tang Porcupine or Dogface puffer Picasso Triggerfish From what I've seen online, some of these require large tanks (100-180 g), but when I've visited some LFS the tangs I saw seemed really small. Are these really large tanks necessary for these type of fish? Based on the fish I would like, does a 90 g vs 125 g make much of a difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sachabballi reef January 19, 2015 Share January 19, 2015 Welcome aboard! You are going to love the sw hobby and this is an amazing group to learn the ropes from. We have a meeting this Saturday if you are able to attend, with great deals on all sorts of items and a world famous speaker to boot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crob5965 January 19, 2015 Share January 19, 2015 Welcome, I have a 90 gal and it's a nice size tank but IMO I would just get a 75gal as it's the same footprint and you can get away with smaller equipment, that being said bigger is always better so a 6' tank gives you way more fish choices. It's just my opinion so take it for what it's worth, but the best thing about a Fish only setup is that you can get some beautiful non reef safe fish, unfortunately a lot of them require 6' tanks to be happy, just something to consider, especially if your going for Hippo tangs and triggers. to answer your question about tank sizes, I would say that the length x width are more important than the volume of water, a 120 gal deep is still only 4' long where as a 120 long is 6'. agin that's just my opinion, I am by no means an expert. again welcome to WAMAS, this is by far the best Forum to be a member of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keraxis January 20, 2015 Share January 20, 2015 Welcome. I believe the Picasso takes a 180 tank. The Puffer will eat anything that it can get into its mouth.... there are some exceptions but the clowns will have to be bigger to not be a victim with a small puffer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos January 20, 2015 Share January 20, 2015 Welcome! Meeting Sat is at Oakton HS, so really close Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime January 20, 2015 Share January 20, 2015 Welcome! Are you sure you want a FOWLR? I don't know if it will take long to convince you to do a reef instead! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crob5965 January 20, 2015 Share January 20, 2015 Welcome! Are you sure you want a FOWLR? I don't know if it will take long to convince you to do a reef instead! lol, yeah, it all started with a $30 piece of Frogspawn for me and my FOWLR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpu933k January 20, 2015 Author Share January 20, 2015 Yes, not quite ready for corals. Scratching the puffers and trigger off the wish list as those will require a larger tank than I can do. Main decision now is between 6' and 4'. If I decide on 4', I may just go for a 75 as crob suggested. I guess the added 3 inches height for the 90 may not do much for increased fish selection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keraxis January 20, 2015 Share January 20, 2015 If you have questions ask. Better to ask a dumb question then waste money. Your definatly going to end up with a reef.... It starts slow. I bought a mushroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpu933k January 21, 2015 Author Share January 21, 2015 Ok, here's a question on tank placement. I've read about placing the tank perpendicular to floor joists to spread the weight out. I'm thinking of putting my tank against an exterior wall, in my dining room. The dining room is raised about 6 inches off the main level. The joists of the raised dining room run perpendicular to the joists of the main level. I would like to place the tank on the back wall where the framed pictures are hanging, which runs parallel to the joists of the dining room and perpendicular to the joists of the main level. Does that seem ok? Does it even matter if I only have a 75 gallon tank? Here are some pictures to illustrate what I am talking about: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpu933k January 21, 2015 Author Share January 21, 2015 (edited) So I'm probably going with a Marineland 75 gallon reef ready tank with Monterey stand and canopy. I'm thinking about a Trigger Systems Crystal 30 or 36 sump. I don't know the exact dimenions of the interior of the stand, but it will be less than 48". How much room would I need for an ATO and ATO reservoir? How big of a reservoir do I need? Any recommendations for a good, bang-for-the-buck protein skimmer and return pump? Do I need powerheads in the display tank? I don't want to cheap out, but I also don't want to get anything that would be overkill. Edited January 21, 2015 by cpu933k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos January 21, 2015 Share January 21, 2015 Ok, here's a question on tank placement. I've read about placing the tank perpendicular to floor joists to spread the weight out. I'm thinking of putting my tank against an exterior wall, in my dining room. The dining room is raised about 6 inches off the main level. The joists of the raised dining room run perpendicular to the joists of the main level. I would like to place the tank on the back wall where the framed pictures are hanging, which runs parallel to the joists of the dining room and perpendicular to the joists of the main level. Does that seem ok? Does it even matter if I only have a 75 gallon tank? Here are some pictures to illustrate what I am talking about: IF the joists are stacked on top of each other and you are going to put the tank on the wall with the pictures you will probably be OK with a 75g (I am not an engineer). What is the footprint of the tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpu933k January 21, 2015 Author Share January 21, 2015 48x18x21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keraxis January 21, 2015 Share January 21, 2015 (edited) a standard 2 x4 8 feet long hand handle 800 pounds per sq inch with 8 degree of deflection (twist). I joust being bigger ten that should be able to hold more. Figure 75 tank with stand will weight 500 pounds depending on what you use. then 650 pounds of water. 75 pounds of rock. 100 pounds of sand. 1325 pounds spead out over 48X18X21. I think you will be ok. Are you putting a sump under the tank or below on another floor Edited January 21, 2015 by Keraxis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpu933k January 21, 2015 Author Share January 21, 2015 Sump under the tank in the stand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crob5965 January 22, 2015 Share January 22, 2015 good call on the 75Gal, are you building a custom stand? if so you still have a couple of days (Jan 24) to pick up a 40B from petco with the $PG sale, that's pretty much the best sump layout you can get for the money, however they dont really fit that well in the pre fab stands as they are the same width as the 75/90Gals. I have a 29 Gal sump on my 90 gal and I wish I would have built my own stand to get a 40B under there instead, I would say a 5 gal ATO will need to be filled up about once a week so if you can fit a 10 Gal reservoir, that's your best bet, I bought the Tsunami ATO with the Toms aqua lifter and it works great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpu933k January 22, 2015 Author Share January 22, 2015 DIY for the stand is not an option for me. It will sit in the dining room, so needs to be furniture grade. I liked the look of the Marineland Monterey stand and it seems to be sufficiently high ~34 in. I'm hoping I can get a Trigger Systems Crystal 36 sump in through the front doors. Yeah, DIY sump is also out for me. I may go to petco to pick up a QT tank, though. Would a 20 gallon be sufficient? Here are the other pieces of equipment I leaning towards. Let me know your thoughts: RLSS R6-I sump RLSS Waveline DC6000 return pump AVAST ATO Deluxe Digital I/O Neptune Apex Gold Controller (not sure if I REALLY need it but it so appeals to the techgeek in me) BRS 4 Stage Value Water Saver RO/DI Still don't know about powerheads and lighting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keraxis January 22, 2015 Share January 22, 2015 I built my own stand and it sits in my living room. People always ask where I bought it... You just have to wrap it and then pick a nice stain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpu933k January 22, 2015 Author Share January 22, 2015 Yeah, well, let's just say that my DIY craftmanship is not the greatest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keraxis January 23, 2015 Share January 23, 2015 fair enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crob5965 January 24, 2015 Share January 24, 2015 Yeah, well, let's just say that my DIY craftmanship is not the greatest. you might be able to get one on here 48 x 18 is probably the most common footprint for most of us (at least that's how we start), or maybe someone can build a furniture grade stand for you, it may end up being the same or even cheaper, and that way you can build the stand to fit your equipment/sump instead of buying what equipment will fit under your stand. Just my 2c, although I love DIY and carpentry so of course it's easy for me to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueTricia January 24, 2015 Share January 24, 2015 (edited) DIY for the stand is not an option for me. It will sit in the dining room, so needs to be furniture grade. I liked the look of the Marineland Monterey stand and it seems to be sufficiently high ~34 in. I'm hoping I can get a Trigger Systems Crystal 36 sump in through the front doors. Yeah, DIY sump is also out for me. I may go to petco to pick up a QT tank, though. Would a 20 gallon be sufficient? Here are the other pieces of equipment I leaning towards. Let me know your thoughts: RLSS R6-I sump RLSS Waveline DC6000 return pump AVAST ATO Deluxe Digital I/O Neptune Apex Gold Controller (not sure if I REALLY need it but it so appeals to the techgeek in me) BRS 4 Stage Value Water Saver RO/DI Still don't know about powerheads and lighting. I love my apex! Edited January 24, 2015 by truetricia2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpu933k January 24, 2015 Author Share January 24, 2015 (edited) Well, I did it. I put my order in with Quantum Reefs. Here is what I ordered: Marineland 75 gallon reef-ready Marineland Monterey stand and canopy Trigger Systems Ruby 30 sump RLSS R6i skimmer RLSS Waveline DC6000 pump Jebao RW-8 powerheads Current USA Orbit Marine LED Neptune Apex Gold Avast ATO Deluxe I/O Also I ordered the 4-stage RO/DI Water Saver from BRS. Can't wait to get this and start building it! Edited January 24, 2015 by cpu933k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keraxis January 25, 2015 Share January 25, 2015 Well, I did it. I put my order in with Quantum Reefs. Here is what I ordered: Marineland 75 gallon reef-ready Marineland Monterey stand and canopy Trigger Systems Ruby 30 sump RLSS R6i skimmer RLSS Waveline DC6000 pump Jebao RW-8 powerheads Current USA Orbit Marine LED Neptune Apex Gold Avast ATO Deluxe I/O Also I ordered the 4-stage RO/DI Water Saver from BRS. Can't wait to get this and start building it! Not a bad start. You might want to consider that 5th stage though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaReefer January 28, 2015 Share January 28, 2015 Well, I did it. I put my order in with Quantum Reefs. Here is what I ordered: Marineland 75 gallon reef-ready Marineland Monterey stand and canopy Trigger Systems Ruby 30 sump RLSS R6i skimmer RLSS Waveline DC6000 pump Jebao RW-8 powerheads Current USA Orbit Marine LED Neptune Apex Gold Avast ATO Deluxe I/O Also I ordered the 4-stage RO/DI Water Saver from BRS. Can't wait to get this and start building it! Looks like a good start! Welcome aboard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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