supersporters 80 gallon build

[supersporter69]

ok scratched the 55 gallon and just purchased an 80 gallon with stand.. the dimensions are 48" x 18" x 21". Bought it off craigslist from someone who lost there job only used it for a month and guaranteed no medications were ever used.. they also gave me 6 box's of aquarium parts.. so far I have found the following

- Coralife 12" CP
- Coralife dual 54w cp 30"
- Eheim 2213 canister filter
- Marineland Magnum 350 filter.

have not gotten into the other box's yet.. here is my question I am wanting to do a reef tank.. what would u guys suggest for lighting and filter. will this light work? AquaticLife T5 HO 4-Lamp Light Fixtures w/ Lunar LEDs

And will any of these filters work or what should i do?

THANK YOU GUYS IN ADVANCE!! im excited about this one.. I GOT A STEAL ON THIS STUFF!

[supersporter69]

went and took some pictures of some of the stuff the rest of the box,s are in my girls car and she wont be home for a little while

[supersporter69]

is this a better light? Current USA Nova Extreme T5HO

[julesjt]

is this a better light? Current USA Nova Extreme T5HO

I would say it is a better light....

How you going to handle filtration? Are you going to try and get flow to a sump?

[julesjt]

Ok it looks like you are going to go sumpless....

I think it would help for people who are the experts to know how you plan on setting up the filtration, skimmer, and etc.

What are your plans?

[supersporter69]

Im not sure what I want to do for filtration. I was looking at the ramora skimmer but do I need any other filtration with that?

[supersporter69]

also with this size tank what heater or heaters should i be using??

[MyNameIsJoe]

The T5HO 8 bulb is way better. I would go with the 8 bulb T5HO fixture. it should fit nicely on your tank. The 4-bulb fixture will limit what you can keep in the tank, and how well it will grow.

For filtration: Get 1-2 lbs of live rock per gallon of water. Also get a skimmer rated to your size tank (may be wise to get one rated a little higher than your tank size). I would also put in a live sand bed (2-3"). These components will serve as your filtration.

*Stay away from bio-balls and bio-wheels.
*You will also want adequate water circulation. (10-20 X total gallons= gph needed)

Heater: Any fully-submersible(sp?) heater will work for your tank. The lights and heat from the house will also help keep your tank within the proper temp range.

*** Be sure to cycle your tank fully before adding any live stock. It is always best to get all of your liverock at the beginning of the cycle period.

Hoped this info helped some.. I'm sure others will chime in.

Also, spend countless hours reading through the posts on this site. Very Very helpful to read others' threads..

Keep us updated, we love pictures. *Hint *Hint

Good Luck.

[Parrothead]

for lighting you can do very well with the nova 4 bulb(see Cdearings 80 gallon in the Northwest Montana Reef Club forum here at reeflands) you could also go with the 6 bulb nova extreme pro, a very, very good skimmer is the aquaC remora PRO with the mag 3, it's rated for tanks up to 125 gallons, you will want to get some additional power heads for flow, look at the hydor k-3's, also research the cpr overflow boxes so you can get a sump set up.

Get started with sand(plan old aragonite), and get your live rock, add the sand and rock, skimmer and the powerheads, let the tank cycle.

[supersporter69]

okay i think im getting the 4 bulb light.. just because the price difference and the 8 bulb would take up pretty much the top of the tank... Ramora aquaC it is!!! now should i just sell all the filters that i have obtained with this set up and just try and do a sump or what are your suggestions i want this thing right before i even move it into the house and start!.. I have 44 lbs of fiji live rock already in my 29G.. so im prob going to need a little more? and i dont need a specific wattage for a heater?

[supersporter69]

Okay just ordered my light48 inch Current USA SunDial T5 HO 4x54W w/ Timers & LED.
I am also going to use the Marineland Magnum 350 canister filter for mechanical cleaning. I plan on purchasing the Remora Pro protein skimmer and a K3 power head. Im going to add the K2 i already have. what do you guys think of this setup?

[MyNameIsJoe]

You will probably need some more live rock. 80 gallon tank---> ~80 lbs live rock.

Lights and skimmer sound good.

You may need to add another powerhead later on, but the k3 and k2 should get you started.

For heater: 80gal X 5= 400watts. That size heater should be adequate for you setup. The main thing is to avoid fluctuation in temperature, so getting a digital thermometer for $12 will be a good investment.

I would get rid of those other filters. Your skimmer and live rock should do the trick once the tank is cycled. Plus, if you can make a buck or two on those filters, that would help support the money-pit you are now building.

Are you gonna do a live sand bed for substrate?

CHEERS!

[supersporter69]

I was just going to use the Magnum 350 to keep the ammonia level in check after talking with Parrothead. I planned on purchasing some more LR just forgot to put that on the last thread. And yes a sand band figured on 4 30lb bags of aragonite.

[Parrothead]

Hey SS,

Again, the magnum 350 being used for carbon, does not and will not keep your amm. in check, I don't mind being quoted but keep it right, I said that you can use the magnum 350 for carbon and other such media, nothing about it keeping amm. in check. Amm. is the first part of the nitrogen cycle, it goes like this
amm. = nitrite = nitrates, nitrates through the process of your live rock and live sand are converted and usually with proper tank maint. removed from the system as a harmless gas.

Because you do not have a sump and making no mention of adding one, I recommended you keep the mag 350 for carbon and other media that is sometimes needed in our systems.

I'll say it again, the magnum 350 has no bearing on or will it aid in keeping amm. in check

[zhenya]

You will probably need some more live rock. 80 gallon tank---> ~80 lbs live rock.

Generally I would agree with that, however some rock is porous and weigh less than other, more dense rock. So I would try chosing larger pieces that are more porous but take up good amount of space, making aquascaping easier. At least I think it would.
In my old 75g tank I think I had about 70-80 lbs of live rock in the begining, but as corals grew I was forced to remove alot of it, leaving about 50lbs or so in the tank.

okay i think im getting the 4 bulb light.. just because the price difference and the 8 bulb would take up pretty much the top of the tank... Ramora aquaC it is!!! now should i just sell all the filters that i have obtained with this set up and just try and do a sump or what are your suggestions i want this thing right before i even move it into the house and start!..

Yes, you definitely don't need 8 bulb fixture if your tank is 18" deep (wide). You should figure for coverage with T5 bulbs about 3" per bulb, so I think 4 or 6 bulbs fixture should be plenty.
AquaC Remora is decent skimmer for a tank your size, however there are lots of different types of skimmer on the market, so don't limit yourself to one specific brand and do some research. I like Remora because it has hang on back version and it is helpful if you do not have a sump (which I think you should consider ;) ).

Good luck with your new set up!

[supersporter69]

Hey SS,

Again, the magnum 350 being used for carbon, does not and will not keep your amm. in check, I don't mind being quoted but keep it right, I said that you can use the magnum 350 for carbon and other such media, nothing about it keeping amm. in check. Amm. is the first part of the nitrogen cycle, it goes like this
amm. = nitrite = nitrates, nitrates through the process of your live rock and live sand are converted and usually with proper tank maint. removed from the system as a harmless gas.

Because you do not have a sump and making no mention of adding one, I recommended you keep the mag 350 for carbon and other media that is sometimes needed in our systems.

I'll say it again, the magnum 350 has no bearing on or will it aid in keeping amm. in check

parrothead.. your right im sorry for miss quoting you.. I was trying to write a quick response this morning before I left to work and didnt read what I had wrote. I hope i did not offend you.. You guys have all been really helpful and ill post picture of the LR i have in my 29 gallon soon.. Just trying to get everything figured out so i dont make the same mistakes as i did with the eclipse 3

Thanks

[Parrothead]

No offense taken, just got to be careful what we type, some people don't do the research, they just read things and go from there


Looking forward to the pics

[supersporter69]

here are some pictures of the LR i have in my tank right now.. About 30lbs came from aquarium arts and the other stuff came from a friends tank... the ones from aquarium arts are awesome pieces and are rubbing off on the others lol.. my corals have not yet woke up for the day so they are still closed but here are some pics...

[supersporter69]

okay my light came in and got it installed .. Just ordered the remora pro with the mag 3,4 30 lb bags of sand a 400W heater and the K3.. getting closer

[supersporter69]

help?!?! I installed the remora pro and all it does is fill the collection cup with water and bubble out of the cover? is this normal? i empty it and after 3 minutes its filled with water again? i even raised it as high as I can.. been running for 2 weeks now and still doing it?