Starting over....help me with the setup.

MoonInTn · 01/27/2008, 03:41 PM

About three months ago we had to get out of the hobby due to aging parents who live out of state, and us having to do quite a bit of traveling for it. We're also looking to be moving now also. Before we got out of it, we had a 75 gallon fish only tank, and a 90 gallon reef, which were all up and running for a little over a year. It is so true that once this addiction gets in your blood, you can't get it out!

We've done some looking on the internet and thought we'd go to glasscages.com for the tank. They have a drop off point fairly close to us so that would help. We're looking at a 180 gallon tank. 72x24x25. They also suggest a 45 gallon long tank to use for a sump. They have an option for starphire glass for the tank. Has anyone had any experience with this type glass? Pros and/or cons? Clearer? Scratch easy? Etc.

We've also thought of a new protein skimmer, and we've looked at the Euro-Reef RS models. But the RS 80 says for up to a 200 gallon tank, and/or 50-80 gallon heavy average bio-load. What is the difference? Also, the RS 250 would be nice, but it's 30 inches tall, and the stand we'd be getting is 30 inches tall so I don't think it would fit in the stand. Now....the thing is, we'd like to plumb the whole thing into an ajoining room to keep the equipment hidden and the noise down. The house we'd be moving to has a large room in the finished basement where the tank would be. Concrete floor so it would definately handle the weight. The problem with plumbing it into an ajoining room is that the room is a small bathroom and really has no room for a large sump, or even a medium sized sump. We'd like to get as big of a skimmer that we could, one that would really make easy work out of a 180 gallon tank, but how would we keep all the equipment out of sight, and keep the noise level down?

Sorry for the long post, but we're wanting to take our time, do alot of research, and really do this thing up right. We're also strill trying to figure out whether to do a reef, or fish only tank. We loved them both. Any suggestions? On anything in the post? We're open to all the new, and old ideas. So let's have it! What do y'all think??!!!!!

MoonInTn · 01/27/2008, 07:45 PM

No opinions on anything? Ok, if you had, or have a 180 tank, would you do reef or fish only? And if so....what kind of fish? If we do fish only, we want a little activity in the tank, and personality. A real conversation piece! But either way, we know the tank will become our new tv, and be watching it all the time. lol We also thought that once it's up and running, cycled, etc., that we'd keep our eyes out in the diver's den and see what they have.

Macimage · 01/27/2008, 11:40 PM

If I was only going to have one tank, I'd pick a reef. Of course, if you want non reef safe fish, that would also determine which way you go.

I would suggest you do a search with the RC search button on glasscages, as some others have had some bad experiences with them.

Just keep researching and eventually it will all come together.

Have fun!
Joyce

drparker · 01/28/2008, 12:34 AM

I got some 40 gall breeders years ago from them. back then they were know for ok stuff at fair prices. I'm not sure about recent reputation or big tank builds. I'd probably want to see some big tanks in person. If they have a pickup point near you soon, go and check-out some of the bigger tanks.

Everyone on here that has Starphire glass loves it. My LFS has an Oceanic 90 Starphire front tank on display. I can see the difference, wife and I decided our next big tank will be Starphire.

Euroreef are good skimmers, I have a lower cost copy and like it a lot an older ASM. Currently there is a lot a buzz about Octopus skimmers. What about two smaller skimmers in your stand? you'd always have one running while working on the other one.

I'm partial to reef tanks, a lot more going on so it easier to stare at for long periods of time.

shady127 · 01/28/2008, 01:32 AM

Your right once its in your blood you cant get it out! I love reef tanks myself, I can stair at mine for hours. Its by far the most active way to go. And I have found the DIY forums are very very helpful and you can save alot of money. Whichever way you decide to go good luck.

MoonInTn · 01/28/2008, 06:44 AM

Thanks for the replies gang. I know when we had our reef tank, we really enjoyed it, and found we had alot more options on what kind of fish we could have in it, and with fish only, then sometimes you're limited on what you can have together. In our fish only, we had a snowflake eel, and a dwarf zebra lionfish. We had thought about a trigger and a couple tankmates, but then again, you're a little limited on what kind of fish you can have for tankmates. And with fish only, then sometimes the clean up crew gets eaten. lol

Macimage, since you mentioned it, I remember reading that some folks have had a problem with glasscages. I'll have to do a little research and see what I come up with. Does anyone know of a good online supplier of tanks? Good reputation and customer service, and will ship?

Hmmm...drparker, I never thought of having two smaller skimmers. But it seems that if only one was running, it wouldn't be strong enough, or big enough to really pull the gunk out. Does anyone know if running two at the same time would just be working against each other? Or does anyone know of another brand/size skimmer for a 180 gallon tank, and would fit in sump?

drparker · 01/28/2008, 08:56 AM

I've never had the room in my sump for two. Here's a really long thread with Anthony Calfo answering questions about Skimmer Production. Somewhere in that thread he mentions that he runs two skimmers because when you service and clean a skimmer it's production stops for a while, so the 2nd one will still be running and pulling some junk instead of none.

Macimage · 01/28/2008, 07:55 PM

I purchased this H & S skimmer for my 180 because it was only 23.5" tall and had good reviews:

http://www.finsreef.com/product.php?...cat=253&page=1

I would purchase one good skimmer rather than two so-so ones. I've seen a few tanks with two high end skimmers on this site, but one is all I want to purchase! Once you decide on the equipment you are interested in, browse or search the RC sales forum for fairly priced equipment. You might even get lucky and find a great deal near you for an entire setup:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/forumd...p?s=&forumid=2

I have starfire glass on my front viewing panel of my in-wall and it's well worth it.

Joyce

MoonInTn · 01/28/2008, 08:21 PM

I'll agree that I really want just one good skimmer for the system instead of two. Although I do admit that it might be nice to have the extra one just in case a part fails or breaks down. Then you'd have the part you'd need, or even a whole skimmer. I remember the first time I cleaned our skimmer, I might have cleaned it a little too well. I mean, when I cleaned it,....I really cleaned it. I took it apart and cleaned everything!! When I put it back together and fired it back up, it was like a brand new one. I had microbubbles everywhere and had to wait for it to go through another break in period. lol Lesson learned on that one! lol Still, I think I'll have to look around and find a really nice/strong one for the tank. And thanks for the link macimage. Been a while since I had been on here and had forgotten about the for sell forums. I'll have to take a look in there. And from the way it sounds, I think we'll be going with the starphire glass also. I think we've gotten the pros part of it....does anyone have any "cons" about it?

Macimage · 01/28/2008, 09:02 PM

Sounds like it's all coming together

.

It would be nice to have a spare of everything! I've had my skimmer off line for a week a time or two (sent pump out for new seals) on my well established tank and there weren't any problems.

Joyce

MoonInTn · 01/28/2008, 10:55 PM

I don't know about coming together already. There's still alot of thinking and planning ahead. One of the first things is trying to find a reasonable, reputable manufacturer for the tank. And the next biggie is going to be the light.....whether going reef or fish only. And after a couple days of thinking about it, we keep looking toward a reef tank. And of course that means a whole new topic about the lights. lol The rest of the equipment, skimmer, etc, will come in time. We're just trying to get as much information about equipment that we can, and then do the research on it. I also looked at the lifereef skimmers. And if the sump is going in the stand, then we're limited on how tall the skimmer can be. And as we know, there's a world of choices out there, and we just want to get some opinions from the hobbyists that has the bigger tanks, and what they have, or have had that they're really satisfied with. What works.....what doesn't work....etc. I've also thought of doing a closed loop system on the tank. That's gonna be another one that has me sitting here scratching my head. lol But first.....we've gotta get a tank! lol

01/27/2008, 03:41 PM	#1
MoonInTn Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: East Tn. Posts: 183	Starting over....help me with the setup. About three months ago we had to get out of the hobby due to aging parents who live out of state, and us having to do quite a bit of traveling for it. We're also looking to be moving now also. Before we got out of it, we had a 75 gallon fish only tank, and a 90 gallon reef, which were all up and running for a little over a year. It is so true that once this addiction gets in your blood, you can't get it out! We've done some looking on the internet and thought we'd go to glasscages.com for the tank. They have a drop off point fairly close to us so that would help. We're looking at a 180 gallon tank. 72x24x25. They also suggest a 45 gallon long tank to use for a sump. They have an option for starphire glass for the tank. Has anyone had any experience with this type glass? Pros and/or cons? Clearer? Scratch easy? Etc. We've also thought of a new protein skimmer, and we've looked at the Euro-Reef RS models. But the RS 80 says for up to a 200 gallon tank, and/or 50-80 gallon heavy average bio-load. What is the difference? Also, the RS 250 would be nice, but it's 30 inches tall, and the stand we'd be getting is 30 inches tall so I don't think it would fit in the stand. Now....the thing is, we'd like to plumb the whole thing into an ajoining room to keep the equipment hidden and the noise down. The house we'd be moving to has a large room in the finished basement where the tank would be. Concrete floor so it would definately handle the weight. The problem with plumbing it into an ajoining room is that the room is a small bathroom and really has no room for a large sump, or even a medium sized sump. We'd like to get as big of a skimmer that we could, one that would really make easy work out of a 180 gallon tank, but how would we keep all the equipment out of sight, and keep the noise level down? Sorry for the long post, but we're wanting to take our time, do alot of research, and really do this thing up right. We're also strill trying to figure out whether to do a reef, or fish only tank. We loved them both. Any suggestions? On anything in the post? We're open to all the new, and old ideas. So let's have it! What do y'all think??!!!!!

01/28/2008, 01:32 AM	#5
shady127 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Madison Hgts. Mi Posts: 11	Your right once its in your blood you cant get it out! I love reef tanks myself, I can stair at mine for hours. Its by far the most active way to go. And I have found the DIY forums are very very helpful and you can save alot of money. Whichever way you decide to go good luck. __________________ Shady Grady 127 Current Tank Info: 90 Gallon overflow

01/28/2008, 09:02 PM	#10
Macimage Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Quartz Hill Posts: 4,078	Sounds like it's all coming together. It would be nice to have a spare of everything! I've had my skimmer off line for a week a time or two (sent pump out for new seals) on my well established tank and there weren't any problems. Joyce

01/27/2008, 07:45 PM	#2
MoonInTn Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: East Tn. Posts: 183	No opinions on anything? Ok, if you had, or have a 180 tank, would you do reef or fish only? And if so....what kind of fish? If we do fish only, we want a little activity in the tank, and personality. A real conversation piece! But either way, we know the tank will become our new tv, and be watching it all the time. lol We also thought that once it's up and running, cycled, etc., that we'd keep our eyes out in the diver's den and see what they have.

01/27/2008, 11:40 PM	#3
Macimage Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Quartz Hill Posts: 4,078	If I was only going to have one tank, I'd pick a reef. Of course, if you want non reef safe fish, that would also determine which way you go. I would suggest you do a search with the RC search button on glasscages, as some others have had some bad experiences with them. Just keep researching and eventually it will all come together. Have fun! Joyce

01/28/2008, 12:34 AM	#4
drparker Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Palatine, IL Posts: 2,652	I got some 40 gall breeders years ago from them. back then they were know for ok stuff at fair prices. I'm not sure about recent reputation or big tank builds. I'd probably want to see some big tanks in person. If they have a pickup point near you soon, go and check-out some of the bigger tanks. Everyone on here that has Starphire glass loves it. My LFS has an Oceanic 90 Starphire front tank on display. I can see the difference, wife and I decided our next big tank will be Starphire. Euroreef are good skimmers, I have a lower cost copy and like it a lot an older ASM. Currently there is a lot a buzz about Octopus skimmers. What about two smaller skimmers in your stand? you'd always have one running while working on the other one. I'm partial to reef tanks, a lot more going on so it easier to stare at for long periods of time.

01/28/2008, 06:44 AM	#6
MoonInTn Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: East Tn. Posts: 183	Thanks for the replies gang. I know when we had our reef tank, we really enjoyed it, and found we had alot more options on what kind of fish we could have in it, and with fish only, then sometimes you're limited on what you can have together. In our fish only, we had a snowflake eel, and a dwarf zebra lionfish. We had thought about a trigger and a couple tankmates, but then again, you're a little limited on what kind of fish you can have for tankmates. And with fish only, then sometimes the clean up crew gets eaten. lol Macimage, since you mentioned it, I remember reading that some folks have had a problem with glasscages. I'll have to do a little research and see what I come up with. Does anyone know of a good online supplier of tanks? Good reputation and customer service, and will ship? Hmmm...drparker, I never thought of having two smaller skimmers. But it seems that if only one was running, it wouldn't be strong enough, or big enough to really pull the gunk out. Does anyone know if running two at the same time would just be working against each other? Or does anyone know of another brand/size skimmer for a 180 gallon tank, and would fit in sump?

01/28/2008, 08:56 AM	#7
drparker Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Palatine, IL Posts: 2,652	I've never had the room in my sump for two. Here's a really long thread with Anthony Calfo answering questions about Skimmer Production. Somewhere in that thread he mentions that he runs two skimmers because when you service and clean a skimmer it's production stops for a while, so the 2nd one will still be running and pulling some junk instead of none.

01/28/2008, 07:55 PM	#8
Macimage Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Quartz Hill Posts: 4,078	I purchased this H & S skimmer for my 180 because it was only 23.5" tall and had good reviews: http://www.finsreef.com/product.php?...cat=253&page=1 I would purchase one good skimmer rather than two so-so ones. I've seen a few tanks with two high end skimmers on this site, but one is all I want to purchase! Once you decide on the equipment you are interested in, browse or search the RC sales forum for fairly priced equipment. You might even get lucky and find a great deal near you for an entire setup: http://reefcentral.com/forums/forumd...p?s=&forumid=2 I have starfire glass on my front viewing panel of my in-wall and it's well worth it. Joyce

01/28/2008, 08:21 PM	#9
MoonInTn Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: East Tn. Posts: 183	I'll agree that I really want just one good skimmer for the system instead of two. Although I do admit that it might be nice to have the extra one just in case a part fails or breaks down. Then you'd have the part you'd need, or even a whole skimmer. I remember the first time I cleaned our skimmer, I might have cleaned it a little too well. I mean, when I cleaned it,....I really cleaned it. I took it apart and cleaned everything!! When I put it back together and fired it back up, it was like a brand new one. I had microbubbles everywhere and had to wait for it to go through another break in period. lol Lesson learned on that one! lol Still, I think I'll have to look around and find a really nice/strong one for the tank. And thanks for the link macimage. Been a while since I had been on here and had forgotten about the for sell forums. I'll have to take a look in there. And from the way it sounds, I think we'll be going with the starphire glass also. I think we've gotten the pros part of it....does anyone have any "cons" about it?

01/28/2008, 10:55 PM	#11
MoonInTn Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: East Tn. Posts: 183	I don't know about coming together already. There's still alot of thinking and planning ahead. One of the first things is trying to find a reasonable, reputable manufacturer for the tank. And the next biggie is going to be the light.....whether going reef or fish only. And after a couple days of thinking about it, we keep looking toward a reef tank. And of course that means a whole new topic about the lights. lol The rest of the equipment, skimmer, etc, will come in time. We're just trying to get as much information about equipment that we can, and then do the research on it. I also looked at the lifereef skimmers. And if the sump is going in the stand, then we're limited on how tall the skimmer can be. And as we know, there's a world of choices out there, and we just want to get some opinions from the hobbyists that has the bigger tanks, and what they have, or have had that they're really satisfied with. What works.....what doesn't work....etc. I've also thought of doing a closed loop system on the tank. That's gonna be another one that has me sitting here scratching my head. lol But first.....we've gotta get a tank! lol