New new new to this....

Hellooo,
I am getting ready to start making the first of many big purchases in this hobby, the aquarium set-up.... I am looking to buy a 120gal tank and cant get any straight answers from my LFS about what filters, lighting, substrate, skimmers, etc... i will need to properly benefit my tank....some are telling me i dont need anything but a basic filter and sand, others are telling me that i need the most exspensive ones they have. I am new and dont really understand the language right now and feel like i am going to get taken advantage of because i look like a fool. I want to get what i need to have a sucessful reef tank....but what exactly is that??? Please help, I want to learn as much as i can....

 

Alright, I am as well very recently beginning this hobby (5 months). I started with a 29gallon, suceeded with a reef tank and moved to a 55 gallon. My 55 gallon specs are this and everything seems to be doing well.
I have 6 T5 48'' bulbs: actinics AND daylights 10,000K
90lbs Liverock, 60 lbs LS
Hydor Koralia Powerheads
Fluval 305 canister filter

I use tap water and lack a protein skimmer. I do regular 10% changes a week.

What is important are the following.
- RO/DI unit
- Protein Skimmer
- Lights (either metal halide or T5's)
- Lots of water movement (tank turnover 40x minumum)
- LR and LS: This is where your real filter takes place where beneficial bacteria can live and reproduce and etc... very important
*** Alot of hobbyists include a "sump with refugium". Check out the forums in these. These can be very important to an aquarium, although i do not use one yet. This is an another style of tank where you can place all you equipment, keep benficial animals in filtering your system, mactoalgae to reduce trace elements, especially nitrates and phosphates which algae thrive off of. The sump also adds water volume to the aquarium, another important aspect.

It is also very important to not cut corners and be cheap. I am a university student with the lowest of low budgets. I do have a growing system which is great and i have done it the cheapest i could. If i could start over, i would originally invest in an RO/DI unit, a system which purifies and cleans the water so that you know exactly what is being put into your tank. Tap water can have nitrates and phosphates which algae grow off, chlorine and chloramines which can be harmful to fish and you can also have copper pipes leaching copper into the water that will kill your inverts and corals. For these reasons, an RO/DI unit is key.
Lighting is very important as well, especially if you want to keep corals. Metal halides are the best lighting system as they penetrate the water deepest and provide a nice colour to the aquarium. However, they are expensive and costly to the hydro bills. T5 is what i use, and I have amazing coral growth with these lights. They do not penetrate the water as deep as metal halides do and since you have a 120, and depending on the depth of the aquarium and what you plan on keeping, i would make a decision then. You can always go LED's, but they're knew, expensive and not much experience with.
Water movement is important as well for fish, corals and your filtering system.
I do not know much about protein skimmers and their effectiveness, Im looking to get one however. Sorry i cant help you there. Hope this info helps you out, but dont quote me. Take as much advice before you do anything and be patient with everything. VERY IMPORTANT

goodluck, keep a thread posted and updated when you start.

Sterling

 

Thanks for the response and i will keep up a thread when i start....i have a few newbie questions to ask,.....when you say water movement, what do you mean? The amount of water moving through the filter? Or the actual water moving around in the tank? I am planing on using actual ocean water not tap water and sand from the ocean as well........would that work the same? And i have heard so much about metal halides that i am planning on getting those, however i am not sure how much wattage, how many bulbs, what color etc....

 

http://www.3reef.com/forums/reef-aq...three-steps-reef-aquarium-step-1-a-54477.html
Not sure where step 2 got moved to...?
http://www.3reef.com/forums/reef-aq...three-steps-reef-aquarium-step-3-a-54475.html

 

By water movement, I mean basically how much water is moving in the aquarium. You place powerheads in the aquarium which basically have a prop which propels water in a direction(s) creating a flow. I have 4 different powerheads creating different flows. It is important for all the water in the tank to be moving and have no "dead zones", areas where decaying matter will remain and such.