Starting my first tank

[saltines]

Im as new to reefing as i was 6months ago when i made my reefcentral account.A few months back I read up on alot of stuff on newbie reefing. Time flew by since then and i would like to regain some knowledge and learn some tips since i have my tank in hand now. I just bought an undrilled 180g tank a couple days ago to start reefing. Im not sure exactly what my selection of saltwater fish is going to be yet i just know i want to include some tangs(hence the 180g). Im looking to start a FOWLR to begin with and progress onto a full reef with beginner corals. I know this is an expensive hobby but since im new to this hobby i would like to favor items that have a great value and good reviews. Im a big believer in the "you get what you pay for" quote. That being said i believe there is a difference with cheap/budget items and lower cost/good value items. I would mainly like to hear input about specific brands, models, or retailers to help me decide in which items to buy. More so from people running similar setups.
I have layed out my -questions (if i had any) by topic.

Tank:
180g 6x2x2 Glass.
-need i say more?

Stand:
Homebuilt but is thoroughly supported and in great condition.
-No questions here.

Lighting:
2 sets of 6xT5 approximatley 34" . Theyre in great condition as well. I will most likely be using the preset color spectrum the PO had on them until i get more knowledge.
-I believe this to be sufficient for soft corals, am i wrong? Anywho this isnt to much of an issue since thats a long time from today.

Location:
The only place large enough where i can place my tank is the living room. The blinds are closed 99% of the time so light wont be to much of an issue. I do have tile flooring so ill make sure everything is as level as i can make it before adding water. There is an hvac vent about 4 feet up and 5 feet across from where my tank will sit. Ill make sure the vents arent directly blowing in the direction of my tank to prevent temperature fluctuations. I have 2 outlets behind it in which i will run my surge protectors.(ill make sure theyre switched to gfci's before my setup will run)
- Is there any additional information under this topic that im not aware of?

Water:
To begin with i have no RODI system, I would like to purchase one.
I was looking at people having success stories with the ebay rodi kits. I hear others say theyre crap just go with an expensive one.
I figure spending anywhere between 100 and 150 dollars for a value setup is going to yield me good quality water. Alot of manufacturers have their value kits priced around those figures.
-Is there a preferred brand on value rodi systems?

Water(Salt):
Have no idea what im going to get. Im sure most local fish stores carry the major brands.
-Whatever brand i choose im going to keep using til i get out of the hobby. Anything i should stay away from?

Testing:
Something i overlooked when writing this thread. The only thing i have as of now is just a basic floating arm salinity tester. I know im going to need the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate test kit for cycling my tank.
-What other test kits will i be using for a beginner setup?

Filtration(biological):
I will be using live rock(eventually)to fill in my tank Im looking at buying the dry rock that BulkReefSupply sells. I like how its really porous and low priced. For the substrate i will be using aragonite.
-Live or Dead rock? oh boy... I do want to eliminate anything that has the potential to ruin my tank (ex: pests). If i buy all dry rock how long will it take to become live? Or should i go with 100%live rock? Is the risk for pests something that can be eliminated or is it just part of reefing?

Filtration(mechanical):
Seeing as my tank is not drilled, I am unsure as to go with mechanical filtration or running a refugium/sump. I hear people talk about mechanical hob filters being equally as good as a sump. I really dont want to risk drilling at this point so id have to run an external overflow setup or just go with HOB filters. Im aware that the sump will provide more water volume and extra space for equipment
-Maybe you can help me decide?

Cycling:
Will most likely make a new thread on this.
-skip i guess

Equipment:
Most of this stuff i will likely buy used unless i can get them cheap new. As mentioned above i do have a hob reef octopus skimmer(lx-1000s-hob). I will still be needing powerheads,heaters,thermometers and maybe mechanical filters. (depending on what i decide for filtration)
-what else am i missing?

Livestock:
Preferably beginner reef friendly fish and soft corals. What else? i dont know. This will most likely keep changing throughout the years of reefing(if im succesful).
-This is a topic for another thread for another day.

Stuff i missed:
-Is there anything important i missed that anyone would like to mention? (Mainly things that i cant drive down to a lfs and pickup for under $50)
-Any tips in setting up my stuff?
-more info and tips more tips tips! Tips! TIPS!

[Cable_Guy]

Originally Posted by saltines

Im as new to reefing as i was 6months ago when i made my reefcentral account.A few months back I read up on alot of stuff on newbie reefing. Time flew by since then and i would like to regain some knowledge and learn some tips since i have my tank in hand now. I just bought an undrilled 180g tank a couple days ago to start reefing. Im not sure exactly what my selection of saltwater fish is going to be yet i just know i want to include some tangs(hence the 180g). Im looking to start a FOWLR to begin with and progress onto a full reef with beginner corals. I know this is an expensive hobby but since im new to this hobby i would like to favor items that have a great value and good reviews. Im a big believer in the "you get what you pay for" quote. That being said i believe there is a difference with cheap/budget items and lower cost/good value items. I would mainly like to hear input about specific brands, models, or retailers to help me decide in which items to buy. More so from people running similar setups.
I have layed out my -questions (if i had any) by topic.

Tank:
180g 6x2x2 Glass.
-need i say more?

Stand:
Homebuilt but is thoroughly supported and in great condition.
-No questions here.

Lighting:
2 sets of 6xT5 approximatley 34" . Theyre in great condition as well. I will most likely be using the preset color spectrum the PO had on them until i get more knowledge.
-I believe this to be sufficient for soft corals, am i wrong? Anywho this isnt to much of an issue since thats a long time from today.

You have a 72" tank with 34" lights??

Location:
The only place large enough where i can place my tank is the living room. The blinds are closed 99% of the time so light wont be to much of an issue. I do have tile flooring so ill make sure everything is as level as i can make it before adding water. There is an hvac vent about 4 feet up and 5 feet across from where my tank will sit. Ill make sure the vents arent directly blowing in the direction of my tank to prevent temperature fluctuations. I have 2 outlets behind it in which i will run my surge protectors.(ill make sure theyre switched to gfci's before my setup will run)
- Is there any additional information under this topic that im not aware of?


I wouldn't worry about any temp issues with a tank that big. Seriously. (Unless you plan to run 2x500w halides or something)

Water:
To begin with i have no RODI system, I would like to purchase one.
I was looking at people having success stories with the ebay rodi kits. I hear others say theyre crap just go with an expensive one.
I figure spending anywhere between 100 and 150 dollars for a value setup is going to yield me good quality water. Alot of manufacturers have their value kits priced around those figures.
-Is there a preferred brand on value rodi systems?

Bulkreef supply has some good ones. There are others out there aswell.

Water(Salt):
Have no idea what im going to get. Im sure most local fish stores carry the major brands.
-Whatever brand i choose im going to keep using til i get out of the hobby. Anything i should stay away from?
Yeah, the expensive stuff. Stay with IO or RC.

Testing:
Something i overlooked when writing this thread. The only thing i have as of now is just a basic floating arm salinity tester. I know im going to need the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate test kit for cycling my tank.
-What other test kits will i be using for a beginner setup?
Get the reef kit. I'd also look into a calcium and Alk kit if you plan to keep coral.
Filtration(biological):
I will be using live rock(eventually)to fill in my tank Im looking at buying the dry rock that BulkReefSupply sells. I like how its really porous and low priced. For the substrate i will be using aragonite.
-Live or Dead rock? oh boy... I do want to eliminate anything that has the potential to ruin my tank (ex: pests). If i buy all dry rock how long will it take to become live? Or should i go with 100%live rock? Is the risk for pests something that can be eliminated or is it just part of reefing?

100% you choice. How long? A cycle.

Filtration(mechanical):
Seeing as my tank is not drilled, I am unsure as to go with mechanical filtration or running a refugium/sump. I hear people talk about mechanical hob filters being equally as good as a sump. I really dont want to risk drilling at this point so id have to run an external overflow setup or just go with HOB filters. Im aware that the sump will provide more water volume and extra space for equipment
-Maybe you can help me decide?

If you dont want to drill, get a dual external overflow. DUAL or more being important!

Cycling:
Will most likely make a new thread on this.
-skip i guess

Equipment:
Most of this stuff i will likely buy used unless i can get them cheap new. As mentioned above i do have a hob reef octopus skimmer(lx-1000s-hob). I will still be needing powerheads,heaters,thermometers and maybe mechanical filters. (depending on what i decide for filtration)
-what else am i missing?

Livestock:
Preferably beginner reef friendly fish and soft corals. What else? i dont know. This will most likely keep changing throughout the years of reefing(if im succesful).
-This is a topic for another thread for another day.

Stuff i missed:
-Is there anything important i missed that anyone would like to mention? (Mainly things that i cant drive down to a lfs and pickup for under $50)
-Any tips in setting up my stuff?
-more info and tips more tips tips! Tips! TIPS!

refractometer and patients.

[DMBFan]

HOB over-flows can be loud if not done right. with that much water, and the flow you'd want... I'd go with getting drilled. Having done both, I won't go back to anything but drilled. But, I'm very new to this and I care a lot about the sound.

[Orm Embar]

For filtration, I'd get a good skimmer. Can't make an informed recommendation, unfortunately.

6 T5's (I'm assuming you have 2 sets of 6x34" T5's where each one covers half of the tank) would be fine, I'd think, for a mixed reef. I'd suspect that you could keep SPS up high, but not sure.

For overflows, I have heard good things about Lifereef. From that I've read, I wouldn't trust any other brand.

Welcome!

[acabgd]

You forgot an ATO. With such a large tank this would be a must for me.

[kenc87]

I'd say you are off to a good start, I started with all dry rock and cycled in a lol more than a month, I got my rock from reefrocks.net. Good prices and nice rock. As for salt I really like Red Sea coral pro or salinity by aquavitro. Both are not the expensive and ate very high quality. I would also recommend a very good skimmer and an ato. I would check out avast marine as I have their stuff and love it

[saltines]

Water:So for my rodi ive decided to go with a 4stage rodi unit and a ro faucet kit from bulkreefsupply.
ATO suggestion: Something i will look into the future. For now i plan to just top off manually.
Water(salt)ecided i cant go wrong with instant ocean.
Rock: Very likely im going to go with BRS reefsaver rock. Unless i find some live rock locally from a well maintained tank.
As to the confusion with the lights, orm got it correct: 2 fixtures of 34" length each containing 6 t5 bulbs. (each 34" fixture covers half the tank)

I went to the lfs today to look at mechanical filtration. I asked an associate and he told me for something my size he would run 2 or 3 fluval fx5 canisters at around 300 each + tax...

Running a sump/refugium: This would be my ideal choice over mechanical filtration. If i run this i would run it with a bean animal overflow. The problem is, as stated before my tank is not drilled. Now, the PO assured me that the tank is a leemar 180g. Its 1/2 thick with black silicone, unsure if its low iron glass. Does anyone know if leemar 180gallon aquariums use a tempered glass sheet on the back? I hear most people say the standard is to only use a tempered bottom. If infact it is untempered, i need to drill 3 holes for the bean setup and have an over rim return line?
The second issue is im unsure of how big of a sump i need for my 180g. Any sump i get will have to be 17.5 deep by 22 inches high which is the maximum cutout i can do on the side of my stand without affecting support. Im guessing running a 55gallon will be sufficient. Its almost 1/3 of the water volume in the display tank. From what i read, 1/4 of the volume of the display is the mininum sump volume. A quick google search gave me dimensions of 48 1/4 x 12 3/4 x 21 for a 55g which should clear my cutout. Ill run a custom acryclic sump if i cant find standard glass tank that can accomodate my cutout. All this about bulkhead, pvc sizing, headloss, gph and return flow confuses me. How much flow will i need from my return?

The HOB overflows would intrigue me if i didnt read about the noise, and siphon break issues.

[Orm Embar]

Re: overflows - I will start by saying that I have never owned one (my only sumped tank was predrilled with corner overflow and holes in the bottom pane by the manufacturer), but have read a decent amount and keep waffling between drilling and Lifereef. I have a 38 gal almost-cube in the garage waiting for next year and some savings to put it together.

(thinking out loud)

I'd pick drilling over a HOB overflow due to the risk of siphon breaks.

I'd pick a Lifereef HOB over drilling due to my paranoid fears about the tank cracking/breaking since the manufactuer didn't do it and my further paranoid fears of not getting the internal overflow lined up at the right height since they aren't adjustable (I'm thinking of glass-holes here, which looked pretty darn nice for the kits).

My understanding is that whether the siphon breaks or not is irrelevant provided that 1) you have enough reserve volume in the display tank to handle the entire volume of the return pump area (that baffle), and 2) the return pump will automatically shut off or is rigged to a float switch that turns it off if the sump volume gets too low to avoid pump damage.

An extra safety mechanism (which might be helpful in either case) that others have said would be to have a float switch in the main tank that turns off return pump power when the main tank water level gets too high.

1 caveat - my understanding is also that in a Lifereef HOB overflow, the water level in the out of the tank compartment cannot get higher than the level in the main tank. If that's true, then my preference for today (it'll change by tomorrow :-p) would be to get the Lifereef for adjustability and that if I change something I don't have permanent holes in the tank.

Re: sump size, I'd think that a 55 gallon gives you lots of space to play with. I've read that if you look at the glass with polarized glasses, tempered glass shows lines that untempered glass won't. Have never tried this.

Re: live rock, have you checked out Tampa Bay Saltwater? Aquacultured rock from the ocean, comes with lots of stuff (from what I've read and pics I've seen). The bad is that you get lots of stuff, including gorilla crabs and possibly some mantis as well. There's also tank cultured, dyed (!) Pacific looking rock called Reef Ready from Dr. Mac, I think. FYI.

Good luck!