fogcutter

I'm definitely going to look at the 57g rimless. I'm considering building a DIY trellis/stand and making a reef wall ...it should compliment that tank really well. So far the pics I've seen look great. Check out this guy's set up....pretty amazing and it's pretty near what I want to accomplish. Thanks for the suggestions! I'm wanting to use a DSB because I think they look great with live rock. I'm going to use some dividers/ stands so that I only have sand where I want it and not have to worry about having spots that don't have good light or critters and can go anaerobic; basically a modified Jaubert. I spent countless hours many moons ago reading up on DSB's with articles from Shimek, Borneman etc. and it looks like not a lot has changed as far as the original theories and practices. I like the idea of the eggcrate between layers though....I might try that if I go 4" or deeper. I had great success with the good ole' Southdown play sand so I'll probably look at getting something similar....just hope I can find it. It was a mixed grain sized so "sort of" oolitic and I was using a 4" bed. I'm planning to use miracle mud in my sump with macro algae scrubbers. That MP40 ES power head looks pretty awesome and with my fairly beefy return flow pump I'm thinking that one MP40 and my return ought to be enough circulation. I'm fairly sold on the LED fixtures but MAN can they be expensive!!! I'm not up to the full DIY yet though so I'll keep searching for a good solution. Those PAR 38 pendants are looking good so far. Thanks again for the ongoing suggestions. Half the fun of doing this time is because I have the luxury of time to figure out exactly what I want to do and can elicit advice from the local experts. When I set up my first tank I was so excited to get into it that I didn't put a whole lot of thought into what I was doing beyond the basics....but I got lucky and was successful anyway. You a diver or a biologist type person? I was a commercial diver in the North Sea in a former life. Not the smartest thing I've ever done but I lived to tell about it and I still love to dive....for fun.

First off, thanks for all the awesome replies! I'm actually getting push-back from my other half so my tank will definitely be 46g or less. As for the tank, well this time it's all about the aesthetics and I really like the look of those rimless tanks. So if I can find one that looks good AND fits my livestock criteria I'll be happy. My plan is to have a small reef with a few fish and a hand full of corals and maybe some inverts. My challenge is trying to scale down from what I was used to. I know it's much harder to maintain a smaller reef because everything can change so quickly but I feel like I'm up to the challenge. And I'm all about the frags and tank raised livestock. Not only do I plan to have a frag farm but I'm thinking about all tank raised fish as well (well .....maybe not all...I'm a real sucker for a pretty wrasse). Obviously I'll have to tailor my lighting when I'm ready to decide on what frags I want but I'm partial to the monti's and that ilk so that will factor in to my lighting decisions. I'm planning to automate most functions but I'm not ready for a full blown controller yet ( although I wish you'd never told me about that APEX darn you!....haha...want!). And I have an old reactor but I'll more than likely just dose. So it sounds like I'll stick to glass for now....but I'm really excited about getting my feet wet (pun intended) again and I'm glad WAMAS is here for all the help. Things I'm still on the fence with: Drilled tank or standard overflow DSB - 3" or 5" Mixed oolitic's or some specialized reef sand bio filtration (which I prefer) or standard (high dollar) skimmer

After 6 long years of longing....I'm finally ready to start up a new tank. I had to leave my beautiful 75 gallon bow-front reef when I moved from Texas many moons ago. My new place isn't as accommodating as my old one so I'm going to go smaller. I was looking at these 46 bow fronts from Sea Clear...all acrylic. I haven't seen many reviews for them yet. Does anyone have experience with these? I've heard in the past that acrylics are too easy to scratch but for a rim-less tank, it looks pretty darn good to me. Also, I've been out of the hobby for a while so I'm looking to see what's new and exciting from when I last had my tank set up. I'm definitely leaning towards LED lighting and I think I'm going to go skimmerless again and using some miracle mud in my fuge'. I'll take any advice I can with what's new and improved as far as power heads, controllers and the like. Thanks in advance, Rob

thong fixture??? dunno what that is..

I wouldn't worry about the playsand. If you do some searching here and other places you will see thousands of diatribes about whether silicate sand is good or bad. Even the experts have debated that but the general consensus from what I've gathered is that it is not a danger and there's been no conclusive evidence to support either argument.

I've been keeping reef tanks on an off since the 90's....and I never once thought of using the power head to help with the siphon....wow. LOL Awesome post!

As others mentioned above, I would go with a Flame Hawk. Not only are they red they're really fun to watch and have personality. Plus, since it does not have a swim bladder it's fairly unique. I used to watch mine for hours as it hopped from rock to rock waiting to pounce. He was one of my favorites but remember....loves to eat the smaller cirtters and its not the safest of reef fish. Doesn't bother the corals though. HTH