first tank choices

hi all i am researching my first reef tank. i have been keeping cichlids for about 5 years and currently have several tanks set up including a 300 gallon sa/ca tank. i have decided i want to dive into the saltwater side of the hobby.

so i have two tank options availible to me for my first reef. first and most likely the one i will go with is a 130 gallon plywood tank the measures 50.5x26x24 inches. second is a 44 gallon pentagon corner tank that measures 24x24 for the back and side and 12x12x12 for the front and is 24 inches tall. the 130 has a built in center mounted "bean animal" overflow and duel lock line returns at either side of the tank and will have a 30 gallon sump. the pentagon is just a tank and if i decided on this tank i would have a HOB overflow and probably a 20 gallon sump. i am leaning towards the 130 becasue i thing it would be better suited for my endeavor and if i did the 44 gallon i know i will want bigger and would have to turn around and buy new equipment after i out grew the tank.

so with this in mind i am researching the equipment for the 130. so i would like to keep lps/sps corals and some fish and inverts. i know i can not just jump right into this and hope for the best so i will be starting slow. i have read a lot about how the cycle is supposed to go so i think i am on the right track there.

i am planning on using leds to light my tank i have done some reading on them and i think it would be worthwhile for the long run.

as far a equipment goes i am planning on using either a mag 9 or a reef octopus water blaster-5000 return pump for my tank. for circulation i was planning on using twokoralia evolution 750 gph powerheads

for my skimmer i have been looking at the reef octopus nwb150

heater: aqueon pro 250

i will be getting this ro/di unit BRS 4 Stage Value PLUS RO/DI System - 75GPD - Bulk Reef Supply

i will also get a refractometer

i have not researched my test set or salt mix yet

so what are your thoughts on my tank choice and proposed equipment?

as far as fish and corals go i am still a bit lost so some help here would be helpful. thanks for you help

 

Sounds like you're on the right track. The only issue I see is, you will need a lot more flow for sps corals- roughly 50x turnover rate or higher (6500+ gph).

As for fish, there are far too many choices, especially with a larger tank, and you might not like anything I suggest. That said, here's a good place to look at those choices as well as checking for compatibility and other issues.

Saltwater Fish: Marine Aquarium Fish for Saltwater Aquariums

 

Defo go for the 130, I would suggest you look into a pair of clowns as your first fish choice as they are so called "hardy".

In terms of coral keeping a good standard of procedure I think is to start off with a few soft corals. Get a notion of what they like/dislike, this will in turn help you successfully keep LPSs and once you have mastered those then you are ready to go pro with SPSs.

May I also suggest that if your ultimate goal are SPSs then keep your tank lightly stocked, this will be easier for you as a whole in terms of both coral keeping and general tank upkeep

 

Welcome to 3reef! +1 to what Mr. Bill said. You're going to need much more flow than that.

I would definitely look at liveaquaria for choices in fish.

 

Welcome to the salt side!
Highly suggest the 130 for a couple reasons.
1. As stated you'll want to go bigger especially if you start out with the 45.
2. Easier to learn some the added water volume will add a bit of buffer.
3. You're already a fish guy with another large tank (currently?) Up and running so the chances of you not following through imo are low. Plus you're doing your homework which better prepares you. Kudos!

Personally, I'd look into an external pump or two and run a manifold off one which can supply your skimmer, return, and any kind of reactors you may need. If you plan on going heavy sps I suggest researching a calcium reactor. Then setup a closed loop with another pump and perhaps a flow diverter of some type to get your flow. Cl has its pros and cons. You'll have to do extensive planning and research to get it right and it will be difficult to modify however, if done right, will look cleaner than phs. I've heard they're less efficient, primarily because of the head pressure but if you plan for this I think it is readily overcome. Other cons include, single point of failure, higher cost (compared to some of the ph options), larger footprint. Also might be hard to get right since you're new to coral. They're definitely not for everyone or every situation but I think it's worth looking into. Especially if this is an in wall build with 1 panel viewing as it will be easier to place your cl outlets.
Highly recommend leds, as stated, the long term benefits are great. Also suggest looking into spectrapure filters for your rodi and if space allows, setup a wc station so your wife doesn't hate you for having totes of water sitting around the tank for a couple days in preparation for a wc. Anyway, that's my 2 cents for now. There's so many different ways to setup a tank and no one way is perfect by any means. Do your research and tackle what works best for you.

 

I made the switch from cichlids a year ago. you won't regret it.

I would go this route for the reasons you stated. Corner tanks are great for aquascaping, but you have the same depth with the 130 and much more length!

Good first choice on corals. For lighting, you may also want to look into the combination LED/T5 fixtures as that seems to be an upcoming trend to get full spectrum light.

This will probably work if you're only looking to go with softies/LPS, but you will need more flow if you're going to have any SPS. As far as your coral question, I would look at some softies to start and then LPS after your tank is at least 6 months old and supporting a healthy pod population. These are all good starter corals.

Softies
Mushrooms
Zoas
Green Nepthea
Toad Stool

LPS
Duncan
Torch
Hammer
Acan Lords (does best with target feeding 1-2x per week)
Candy Cane

Good luck!

 

thank you all for your replies they are very helpful i will most likely have to buy my setup in stages until i can get everything i need to start up.

yes the 300 is currently running and doing great

how much of this flow should go through the sump?

another couple questions for you guys,

since i was originally planning this tank for african cichlids i already bought some smd 5050 cool white led strip lights to light up the tank. i have 120 of these led chips on my tank, here is the specks for them NFLS-X3-WHT series High Power LED Flexible Light Strip | LED Strips | LED Light Strips & Bars | Super Bright LEDs
i also have 300 rgb smd 5050 led chips that i could supplement the color spectrum with

do you think these lights would be ok for the cycle and for my first softies? i know they will not work for the lps/sps but if i can get the tank running with this and upgrade later it could help get this project started.

also i have a quiet one 4000 pump, with my head height i should have about 600-700 gph. could i use this to get the cycle started and for the softies/fish? i have read they are mostly low to moderate flow corals. again i know this will not work for the lps/sps but i already have it so that is one less thing to buy right now to get the tank going. to start with i would use just the return pump for flow in the tank and then if i needed more flow i would buy my power heads then lastly the new pump.

if i can use these two item i am thinking about buying my ro/di, salt, rock, and sand in the next couple months so i can get my cycle started.

again thanks for your help

 

Looking on eBay, I found tons of light strings in Hong Kong for super cheap prices, like $30 per 5-meter reel cheap. But I do have some worries: would these LEDs be less efficient than the ones I would buy here? There must be some reason why these ones are so much cheaper. My other worry is that the wattage listed on that eBay listing is only 42W for 300 LEDs (the one I was previously looking at was 72W for 300 LEDs), and it doesn't list the colour temperature, lumens, or amps. Does the reduced wattage guarantee a worse product?

 

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