New to the Hobby!!!

[chris949]

Hello everyone, I have been keeping freshwater tanks for years now but just recently have gotten into sw tanks. I just got a 60 gallon(48x13x24) for my birthday and am getting ready to start emptying my pockets to set it up. I'm doing a reef tank and even though I've been researching day n night I could definately use any advice or help. Thanks for your time everyone.

[BubbaBoBobBrain]

Obviously lighting is #1. I would recommend a 6 bulb t5 light setup like a tek light or ati powermodule. For filtration I would recommend a small sump rated for about 100 gallons like an Eshopps or something. But remember if you tank is not drilled you will need an overflow box and return pipe. Eshopps has a package deal on www.thatpetplace.com that come with everything but a return pump for $182, and a pump will be like $40. Also flow is a must have! Get a few powerheads to circulate the water as good as possible. Dead spots are a very bad thing in salt water. A few mp40's would be ideal but koralia makes a good powerhead also. Good luck with your build, keep us posted on how it goes.

[ovrboost]

Agree lighting is very important, get it right the first time so you dont have to spend more money. think about what you want. i would go with a sump or overflow, definitely keeps the tank looking clean and clear.

[izzy123]

If you are into DIY I would suggest going straight for LEDS, it is the future IMO and it will save you on the electric bill.

There are many diy threads to be found here and are very helpfull

Hope this helps

Ivan

[BubbaBoBobBrain]

Led lighting is great, but imo the diy route is kind of a pain. You wont save a ton of money and you will spend a lot of time building your fixture and then more time keeping your fixture working. The problem with diy led's is that if you dont do a perfect job sauldering you will be fixing it constantly. If you are thinking about led lighting and dont want to try the diy route I would recommend an ecoxotic panorama fixture. I was at a conference last week with a few pro reefer speakers and the tech speaker could not say enough good things about the new panorama. He said in his opinion it was the best fixture on the market.

[mssvp]

imo led's are the future but still the question remains as to whether they are beneficial to some sps corals or not... Some argue that they won't grow as much, others say they work just fine... At this point , I'm staying on the neutral side of the discussion because the technology is fairly new and my scientific knowledge of lighting intensity is "see sun , sun hot"...

Im setting up a 150gl dd 36x36 and plan on using 2 x AI sol blue modules to start then adding an 4 bulb ATI t5 fixture in-between and experimenting with both. My issue with T5 HO lights are the hi temps. and bulkiness of larger fixtures..we'll see how it goes.




mssvp

~~~~~ >((((

[BubbaBoBobBrain]

A quality led setup will grow sps, but there is still no replacement for a quality metal halide light. Nothing grows sps like metal halide. Led will do it but not like a metal halide will.

[mssvp]

Originally Posted by BubbaBoBobBrain

A quality led setup will grow sps, but there is still no replacement for a quality metal halide light. Nothing grows sps like metal halide. Led will do it but not like a metal halide will.

Yeah, that's what I've been told... So going to try both only because I don't have chiller and concerned about heat from larger t5 fixture to be an issue. Should I invest in chiller regardless?


mssvp

><((((•>

[PoeticInjustice]

Continue reading the stickies above, it will help you a lot.

Oh and have a lot of patience!

[PoeticInjustice]

Continue reading the stickies above, it will help you a lot.

Oh and have a lot of patience!

[SneakyPete]

Originally Posted by mssvp

I don't have chiller and concerned about heat from larger t5 fixture to be an issue. Should I invest in chiller regardless?

If you have AC in the house, then you will be fine. A good T5 light is probably not going to produce enough heat to bring your tank up too much. If you don't have AC, i might be concerned about the temperature of the place you live in getting to it though. I know I live in Minnesota, a place that is not normally know for high temps, but we get 90+ in the summer. If I didn't have AC, i would probably consider a chiller for the summer.

[BubbaBoBobBrain]

If you are concerned about heat than I would go with led and not metal halide. If you live somewhers hot and dont have an ac vent blowing.on your tank or have a window ac near the tank than a metaAl halide will boil your water. Led shouldnt heat your water at all and a t5 setup wont heat it up much either.

[skeeter_usaf]

I have LED's right now that provide my blues and they are awesome. Plenty of coral growth with my MH included. Will be upgrading to the LED whites in the future.

[chris949]

Thanks for all the advice, but I dont have the room for a sump so what should I do? Im looking at the reef octopus bh 1000 but could definately use any input. Thanks!