New 125 Setup Newbie

Hello from Florida
Palm City

Just joined today and wanted to say Hello and see if I could get some input on a new setup. I just bought a 125 72x18x22 with Oak wood stand and lighting for $300.00 thought it was a good deal . I currently have a 55 Freshwater and I'm looking to make the 125 Salt. I had a friend tell me to get a Pro Clear Aquatics 150 with protein Skimmer, is that a good filter for what I have, it will be fish only. Also what else will I need to get?
The other question I have is Do I need to buy Fiji Rock to establish my tank? I stopped at a store and damn the guy there was telling me that I would have to buy like 150 lbs of rock for $8.00 a lb
Any help from you guys would be appreciated.

John

 

Welcome aboard. For rock, search on Craigslist. I looked for someone selling their setup and I found a guy who sold me about 65lbs for $1.50 a pound. Stores around here sell it for like $7.99-$8.99 too.

 

Welcome to this addicting hobby!
You will find that saltwater isn't too hard to maintain as compared to freshwater. You have much of the essentials covered. I haven't used a Pro-Clear skimmer, nor heard any reviews on it, but it looks better than some of the cheap ones, like Seaclone. You will need to get some good circulation for a tank that size. You will see many of the people here recommend Hydor Koralia pumps. I use them, they are great for the price. You will want to get about 100-140lbs of live sand and maybe 50-100lbs of live rock. If your local fish store (LFS) is telling you that you need 150lbs @ $8.00/lb, they just want your money. With a FOWLR you can get away with less rock than a reef system. LR is used for natural filtration and breakdown of ammonia in the tank. Personally, I only have FOWLR systems too and in my 150G, I have 65lbs. I have less because my stingray needed more room to burrow in the sand. I usually get live rock from Dr Foster's and Smith (liveaquaria.com). They run good specials every now and then. Last time I picked up 60lbs of premium select Fiji for $80. I hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the replies guys, I'm really looking forward to getting it setup correctly so I don't have problems up the road. Just checked on that filter has Protein skimmer built in , what kind of pump should I use , I was thinking about having two returns from either corner of the tank.
Yea I needed a chair with arms and wish I was sitting when he told me about the rock LMAO.. DAMN
John

 

john 59, WELCOME TO 3REEF!!! My opinion - Don't spend a ton of money on live sand or live rock. Get some good base rock and see if your local fish store or a fellow reefer will let you have or sell you a cup or two of live sand which you will mix in with the regular sand, CaribSea is a good brand. The live sand will seed the rock and the rest of the regular sand over time and it will all turn live. It's the slower way to go but much much cheaper. If you want to buy a few pieces of nice live rock then go ahead, it will speed up the process and add diversity to the tank. As far as buying the bags of "live sand", think about it before you do. Those bags are shipped all across the country in the backs of trucks and then stored in various temperatures from freezing to really hot. How well do you think the organisms are going to do? Live rock and live sand or really nothing special even though they will charge you an arm and a leg for it. It's just a product with living organisms in it. Just my two cents worth.

 

Welcome to 3reef! I also agree that starting with mostly base rock with a few pieces of Live Rock to seed it is the way to go.
Are you planning on using the Live Rock to cycle your tank?

 

Thanks for the replies

Well after picking a few brains over the weekend and then coming back here to the forum and seeing what you guys suggested I def. think that using base rock and a few live rock is going to be the way I proceed I'm really not in a position at the present time to be dumping tons of money into rock and such when, if I give the new environment some time I can accomplish the same thing and keep food on the table, lol.. this economy has put a real hurtin on my BIZ I'm still undecided as to which filter system I should use, I spoke with a couple guys that have salt setups and they say that it isn't much more to go with a dam I forgot the name lol (the one with the plants and lights as opposed to just the plastic balls) and getting a used protein skimmer up the road a bit, they said Pro Clear reef system 200 would be good with a 1200-1800 mag pump and a dual pre filter box ?
Is there a better way to go or do you guys think this would be enough?
I was told that the filtration would be better using this setup even though I don't plan to use any live coral and such.

Thanks for all the help guys as you can see I need it, I already love this hobby and I'm looking forward to seeing it all done.
John

 

As far as filtration, look into DIY wet/dry filters and sumps. You can get the same results as the $400+ setups with out the price tag. If you have a few hours, take a look at KOgle and Otty's threads and be ready to learn alot!