daharley February 11, 2011 Share February 11, 2011 I am considering setting up the 220 I got from wally's when they shut down but I have tons of questions lol? How to tell what led's you need? setting up sumps et cetera. The tank is 84x24x24. are a couple of the photon cannons good? probably not because the tank is too long? marine lands reef ready led setups? don't know if 24" is too deep for these? any guidance would be appreciated. The possible plan was to buy 200+ lbs live sand, 120 dry rock use existing 60 lbs live rock and buy 40 lbs live rock from roozens. buy another skimmer and use both. another heater or 2. have one tank for a sump thinking dsb in one and chaeto or something in the other. sorry a little scattered but any suggestions would be a help. fowlr now once settled start trying my hand with corals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraffitiSpotCorals February 11, 2011 Share February 11, 2011 Depending on what you want in your tank you should research more before buying stuff to set it up. Planning a big tank out is much easier than just setting it up and having to change it around when you want something different. I would use one skimmer also. DSB and macros work good for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daharley February 11, 2011 Author Share February 11, 2011 I was thinking generic add on. Right now the fish are most important because they are gonna grow out of my current tank but I want coral grade lighting so I can start trying other things and also clams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daharley February 11, 2011 Author Share February 11, 2011 as far as protein skimmers I was gonna make use of my current one plus a larger one just to try to stay kind of small on a budget. If 2 will not work though I could buy just one big one I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidm February 12, 2011 Share February 12, 2011 there's a lot to think about and plan, I wouldn't suggest putting it together as you go. One skimmer is almost always better than multiple ones, you might want to consider a sump for the skimmer, maybe a Ca reactor, biopellets, heater and such. Good water is also key, a tank that large may go through 3-4 gals a day in evaporation unless you cover it. Lights depend on what you plan to keep - even what type of corals, soft corals and LPS aren't as demanding, but SPS need high light and pristine water conditions. There's lots of options for lighting that you need to weigh, LEDs for cost effectiveness in energy and last a long time, but they're expensive --- MHs produce a lot of light and are cheaper to start with, but also produce a lot of heat - with these you might need a chiller, which is expensive, during the summer. Flow within the tank is also very important, you need to decide if you're going to be putting in closed loop only, in-tank pumps for circulation, or a combo of both...... I've only started with what's off the top of my head. yOu might want to visit some member's tanks to see how they've approached things. don't mean to be in any way pessimistic, putting a tank together should be a lot of fun, but it's a lot of choices and tradeoffs. hope this helps. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveS February 12, 2011 Share February 12, 2011 As davidm said, a large tank is lots of fun but it is a "project" so keep that in mind. If you can't visit member tanks as he suggested, at least take a look at the build threads from various WAMAS members. It will help give you an idea of some of the thinking that others do when they put their systems together. Keep in mind that the people with the detailed build threads are also the more enthusiastic people so their systems may be on the more complicated side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanglandJoshua February 12, 2011 Share February 12, 2011 Depending on what you want in your tank you should research more before buying stuff to set it up. Planning a big tank out is much easier than just setting it up and having to change it around when you want something different. I would use one skimmer also. DSB and macros work good for me. agreed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn February 12, 2011 Share February 12, 2011 The tank is 84x24x24. Awesome tank - but VERY heavy if it's all-glass like me. I had mine set up for freshwater (Frontosa's - African cichlids) until an unfortunate heater accident. Now it's the winter home of our 12" Leopard Tortoise. As others have said, take some time in the planning of equipment and space allocation (under the tank) because big tanks usually need big equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daharley February 12, 2011 Author Share February 12, 2011 Very heavy tank when I got it from the wallys auction it was stuck to the stand so we had five people to get it on and off the truck. Because it was an auction I didn't have the time to get it seperated. I plan on having two sumps underneath. I was thinking a return pump in each since the tank has the 2 built in over flows. Do the in tank circulation pumps have to be connected to the main water piping? I was thinking those would be an easy add as far as after the tank was up and running. I planned on having dsb in one of the sumps as well as in the display tank. I am definately thinking leds. I was looking at two Marineland Reef Capable led lighting system 36" to 48". My problem with this is I think it will be good for clams and lesser light corals but I don't know if it will be good for the higher ones. I could always upgrade lights later but? I looked into photo cannons but I would need 7 of them for this tank and I am not willing or prepared to spend 4000 on lights at this time.I had never thought of calcium reactors but I will look into them as well as single protein skimmer as opposed to multiple. I appreciate all feedback. Good or bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEEPBLUE February 12, 2011 Share February 12, 2011 I had a 240 setup for years, you only need one sump, have your overflows empty into one end of the sump (put your skimmer in there), than have a bubble trap. In the middle have this compartment as big as possible, have your refug, I had mangrooves, cheato, and a couple small pieces of live rock. Than have it drain into a return area over a buffle with teeth like your over flows. This is where you have your return pumps, If you have 2 overflows, than most likely you need 2 return pumps, like mag 12's or even 18's. Just make sure you use shut off valves right below your overflows and also right after your return pumps for easy adjustments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daharley February 12, 2011 Author Share February 12, 2011 How big was your sump and how difficult was it to add the baffles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEEPBLUE February 13, 2011 Share February 13, 2011 My sump was a 90 gallon tank I bought from Glasscages, I just got plexy glass from Lowes and cut it to what I needed. I was very easy. Once you figure out how high you want the water level, you just cut 3 pieces that height. (3 for bubble trap ) I used acouple of extra 1" X 1" pieces to make little blocks for the center wall in bubble trap to make it about 1 to 1 1/2" off the bottom. So the water follows over the first, under the second and over the third. Than a cut a piece about 4 inches taller than the others and cut teeth all across the top for the water to flow through, just like you overflows for the wall to the return section. Its real easy and also it your sump so using a little extra silcone or making a little mess is no big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanglandJoshua February 13, 2011 Share February 13, 2011 (edited) My sump was a 90 gallon tank I bought from Glasscages, I just got plexy glass from Lowes and cut it to what I needed. I was very easy. Once you figure out how high you want the water level, you just cut 3 pieces that height. (3 for bubble trap ) I used acouple of extra 1" X 1" pieces to make little blocks for the center wall in bubble trap to make it about 1 to 1 1/2" off the bottom. So the water follows over the first, under the second and over the third. Than a cut a piece about 4 inches taller than the others and cut teeth all across the top for the water to flow through, just like you overflows for the wall to the return section. Its real easy and also it your sump so using a little extra silcone or making a little mess is no big deal. agreed, that is what I am doing on part of the sump system I will be puting in my new stand. Sadly not a 90 gallon though... Edited February 13, 2011 by LanglandJoshua Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daharley February 13, 2011 Author Share February 13, 2011 is another dsb in the sump worth it considering I was planning for one in the display? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins February 13, 2011 Share February 13, 2011 Very heavy tank when I got it from the wallys auction it was stuck to the stand so we had five people to get it on and off the truck. Because it was an auction I didn't have the time to get it seperated. I plan on having two sumps underneath. I was thinking a return pump in each since the tank has the 2 built in over flows. Do the in tank circulation pumps have to be connected to the main water piping? I was thinking those would be an easy add as far as after the tank was up and running. I planned on having dsb in one of the sumps as well as in the display tank. I am definately thinking leds. I was looking at two Marineland Reef Capable led lighting system 36" to 48". My problem with this is I think it will be good for clams and lesser light corals but I don't know if it will be good for the higher ones. I could always upgrade lights later but? I looked into photo cannons but I would need 7 of them for this tank and I am not willing or prepared to spend 4000 on lights at this time.I had never thought of calcium reactors but I will look into them as well as single protein skimmer as opposed to multiple. I appreciate all feedback. Good or bad. Multiple pieces of equipment = multiple chances of failure. I try to reduce my chances in those cases, not increase them. I know some people like redundancy. I don't. Too many variables already, I don't need to contribut to it. I do however have backups to most of my life support equipment (replacement return pump, skimmer, heaters, bulbs, etc.) so in the event of failure, my system is off line only as long it it takes me to switch something out in lieu of waiting on something being shipped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daharley February 13, 2011 Author Share February 13, 2011 Has anyone ever had troubles using the rubbermaid bins as sumps/refugiums? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins February 13, 2011 Share February 13, 2011 Has anyone ever had troubles using the rubbermaid bins as sumps/refugiums? Stock tanks like these? If so, they work perfectly anf are used by a great many in the hobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daharley February 13, 2011 Author Share February 13, 2011 Got to be honest I am trying to find the cheapest way to get the biggest sump / refugium possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanglandJoshua February 13, 2011 Share February 13, 2011 (edited) I have seen them used. They seem to work great. Edited February 13, 2011 by LanglandJoshua Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins February 13, 2011 Share February 13, 2011 You can find used 100 gallon stock tanks used for around $60.00. My two are both 100 gallons each and I paid like $125.0 ea at TSC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daharley February 13, 2011 Author Share February 13, 2011 TSC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins February 13, 2011 Share February 13, 2011 Tractor Supply Company Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins February 13, 2011 Share February 13, 2011 They either went down in price or my memor....what was I saying? Any rate here a link: http://www.tractorsupply.com/livestock/livestock-equipment/stock-tanks-accessories/stock-tanks/stock-tank-100-gal-2229901 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.jpg.7bfaca13382600fc0d1da29d2e298192.jpg)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now