restarting old tank.....need help

[orthokardia]

I need your help. After beeing out of the fish game for a few years I am restarting my old tank. I am looking for setup recommendations as I have lost track of the current wisdom. I am planning on doing sea horses, small clowns, and BTAs with a tank or two for good measure. Below is a list of what I have on hand.

290 gal glass cages with center overflows moved to the back corners (it is installed in a wall) made of 4" PVC the tank is 72"x31"x31".

3x 250w metal halide 15k, 15k, 10k and an Icecap 660 (i need bulbs)

an iwaki rlt-55 and the iwaki 70 (the tank is drilled with 2-2" and 2-1.5")

about 100 lbs dead and clean live rock

enough sugar sand for 1" over the bottom

so i am thinking, but need advise.
1. epoxy rocks together to form a back wall with caves
2. buy two vho actinic or 6.5k daylight
3. rear spray bar facing the front
4. no sand under rocks (only in front)
5. rubbermade refugium with 8" reef special sand and cheto light on at night

thanks in advance for the help.

I first posted this on the chatty club site, but it apears to be dormant
bart

[swamprat]

sounds like a good start. What do you have for supplement flow, and do you have a skimmer? I don't think a flow bar is going to be enough for flow. What are you going to keep in the tank? You might look into t5 instead of vho for supplement lighting.

[orthokardia]

i was going to use a sqwd and maybee a dump tank. are dump tanks still in vouge? i was thinking of going closed loop from one of my out flows, but it seems like there is a reason why not to do this that i can not remember. will the ice cap run T-5s? if so were is the best place to get endcaps and how much intensity will i give up? I am thinking of keeping clowns, BTAs, and some sea horses. what do you think?

thanks for the advice

[swamprat]

Well, t5's won't loose you any light but will give you more as long as they have individual reflectors and the icecap will run t5's just fine. Reef geeks has all the parts you should need for that. The closed loop might not be enough for flow but it is hard to tell but with sea horses you might have all you need.. Someone else will need to answer about the BTA, I know they need a well established enviroment and lots of light but with 3 mh's you should already have plenty of light. A few people use dump tanks and the thought of using one is interesting.

[bigreefnutt]

I like the idea of a dump setup from my experience they are nice if you have the room and plan properly. As for lighting I have always been a fan of MH with VHO actintics

[Playa-1]

Welcome back

[orthokardia]

thanks for the welcome and inputs. i have read a fewq post about foam and rock walls. i remember any areas of low flow were taboo. what happens behind the plastic grid the foam and rock are attached to? anyone have experience with this method?

[ChadTheSpike]

Seahorses and any anenomes are a bad idea. Seahorses move slowly and methodically and tend to hitch to whatever is nearby when they are hunting (like rocks, corals or anenomes), they are likely to be stung and perhaps eaten by the anenomes. Or conversely, sometimes a seahorse's favorite hitch is the nearest coral, which causes the coral to stop expanding and decline.

Honestly, it seems with the equipment and setup you have, you are more geared toward a reef. Seahorses dont do well in a reef setup. To do well with seahorses, you need to think "I have a seahorse tank" and cater to their needs. Perhaps other stuff can be added to the tank if it fits in the seahorse tank.

[orthokardia]

You are right on with the equipment. It was a mixed reef before the tenants called a plumber who disconnected the flow in the tank. Good put on the seahorse and anemone seahorse issue. I had not thought of the badness in having a stinging hitch'n post. I am wanting to do something a little different. The kids wanted sting rays and then I learned the barbs must be clipped so that idea went down in flames. Any suggestions?