[SPC Ray]

Hi, I am a beginner to this wonderful hobby, and am in the planning phase of my first marine aquarium. I was going to wait a lot longer to purchase my equipment, but I have received word that I will not be moving anytime soon (I'm in the military), so I've decided to purchace and begin my aquarium. I have selected a 75 g AGA with a stand and canopy. I'm considering an Aquaclear Aquatics Pro 300 wet/dry filter with prefilter and protein skimmer, a Mag Drive 12 return pump, a couple of Maxi-Jet powerheads (Haven't determined flow rate yet), and as for lighting, I'm torn between going with 2 175w MH or 1 250w... Also, for my Actinics, I don't know whether I should go PC or VHO. With MH, however, I'm worried about the water temp/chiller issue, though with my reenlistment bonus coming, money really won't be too big of a problem. I've found many different fixtures online which will suit me whether I go either way. I wouldn't get MH at all, except I want to eventually cultivate SPS corals and clams. All constructive criticizm is welcome... Feel free to rip this thread to shreds, as I really want to start out right. Thanks.

[Samper]

Hey SPC. where you stationed at? I'm at Ft. Bragg if you're close to me I can help ya set it all up. For lighting someone will have to advise you as I'm only softies and lps at the moment and am running pcs. Research Berlin style systems and see if you might wanna go that route.

[SPC Ray]

Hey, I'm at Fort Knox... Not too far away, I suppose, but not too close either. At any rate, I want lighting that will accomidate softies, and I believe they need as much lighting as clams. On the Berlin filtration issue, that is what I am going for, but I don't know how big a sump I need etc. I like the Aquaclear pro because it has a skimmer and air pump included, a 24 g sump (It's designed for a 300 G tank) and overflows and prefilters included.... I guess I just need to read more about Berlin filtration; I believe it would be cheaper as well.

[Poseidon]

Skip the wet dry all together! Get a REALLY good skimmer, lots of Live rock and then choose between bare bottom or Deep Sand Bed (DSB). Personally I use a DSB but Reefland uses bb. Either way is great. I use a MAg 12 for return from my 55 gallon sump that is little more then a place to grow Macro algaes, and house my heaters! I use the Kent Nautilis Skimmer also driven by a MAg 12, but if I had to do it over I would have chosen a My Reef brand skimmer! Don't skimp on the skimmer, it is the most important part! As far as lights go a MH will light an area 2'x2' so in a 4' tank you would need 2 bulbs regardless if you choose 175 or 250 watters. Personally I'd do the 250's as you will have better luck with Clams and SPS. Next you get to choose the bulb color... A whole 'nother thread. I would recommend VHO for your actinic, it just looks the best in my opinion.

Keep reading and reading and reading... Remember buy cheap, buy TWICE!!!

Get it right the first time!

[SPC Ray]

Thanks for the advice... judging from posts I have been reading today, wet/dry is not the way to go... now, with an all glass aquarium, could I just buy a hang on overflow and let it drain into my sump? Also, as far as sumps go, what should I use for a sump, a smaller aquarium or a prefab sump w/baffles and such?

[Samper]

Read about the benefits of having BB and DSB in the display tank. I personally will never have a dsb in the main but will have a very deep sb in the fuge. Hang on overflows will work just fine but if you don't like the look of them you can have a corner overflow installed and a hole drilled, then you can cover it with your rock work. It will be much cheaper for you to just use an aquarium as a sump but imo if you do this you will need seperate refugium due to the flow needed in the fuge vs. the sump.

[SPC Ray]

Wilco... I agree with you though, I like the look of sand at the bottom... I saw a sump with built in baffles and a refugium... that might be nice, but it sure is expensive. Cost isn't too much an issue, because of a re-enlistment bonus, but I don't want to blow every cent I have on my setup, if I don't have to.

[Reefland]

Hi SPC Ray, Welcome to Reefland!

I am located in Bardstown, KY; we're seeing a few locals here lately.

Anyhow, you do not want to go with the wet/dry filter. They can be used sucessfully with Fish Only aquariums as the fish will tolerate higher levels of Nitrate and the media in the wet/dry usually leads to higher levels. Your best bet would be to use either a standard glass aquarium as a sump with some DIY inserted baffles, or spend the bucks for a professionally made acrylic sump. Either will work fine, a professional made sump that is properly built with baffles and perhaps even a section for a refugium, will work better.

For lighting, Soft Corals do not need the intensity of Metal Halide to grow; a nice VHO or PC or even T-5 system will work just fine. If however you plan to keep some clams, you will need the intensity of Metal Halide at which point, as Poseidon mentions, 2-250w would be your best bet. The 175's will work fine but for the few extra bucks, the 250's are a better purchase.

[SPC Ray]

Wow, Bardstown huh? Buddy of mine is from Bardstown, it's not far away from me at all. Do you know of any good local saltwater suppliers? I'll probably buy online, but it's nice to go windowshopping.

Anyway, I think I am going to go with MH... two 250 10000°K as well as 2 96w actinic 03 PC's. That would be more than sufficient lighting for a 75 g tank, imo. However, going that route is surely going to require chilling, which brings in another variable in this neverending struggle to balance out equipment and costs. I want to buy what I need now so I don't have to upgrade later.

How big of a sump would you suggest for 75 g? I am thinking around 25-30. I would like to buy a sump, rather than make my own, as it would be easier; however, I'm not opposed to the idea. Now that my wet/dry idea has come and gone, I need to start pricing skimmers... I hear RedSea makes excellent skimmers... any suggestions?

[Reefland]

We use a standard 20 gallon aqaurium with a couple of baffles installed for our sump. It holds our MAG return pump, Ebo-Jager heaters and a My Reef Creatons MR-1 with a MAG 18 powering. I think a 20 or 30 gallon sump will be just fine.

You may not see a need for a chiller, we don't. We run 2-250w bulbs over our open top reef with no heat problems at all. One day I would like to build a canopy and even put a couple of 175w to supplement. Running a couple of 4" fans will be all we need to battle the heat. Chillers are expensive, noisy and should be avoided if possible. Some applications in warmer climates have no choice but to use chillers, but they don't do it because they want to.

[SPC Ray]

How many GPH are you getting out of your return pump? Also, how do you create the baffles? Lastly, I noticed you have a royal Gramma in your tank... how is its temperment? My wife is DYING to get one when I get set up, but I've heard they're territorial.

[Reefland]

We're pushing about 500gph through the sump and an additional ~3500gph through the display; no substrate.

The first Royal Gramma we had was a very peaceful fish, the only problem is he rarely showed his face. We just purchased the one we have now a week ago and he is very active and shows no territorial characteristics.