New to reef aquariums... Need some advice...

Hi Guys,

This is my first post and i need some help setting up a new Reef Aquarium.

Basically by reading on the forums etc... I have already started buying equipments and other stuffs that i might need. It will be great to know if there's anything else i will need or any good advice .

I've already built my aquarium as follows: 8ft(L) x 2ft(W) x 3ft(H)

Lighting: 7ft custom built with 8 x 150W Metal Hallide bulbs, 4 x 4ft white t5 tube light, 3 x 4ft blue actinic tube light, 50 blue double bright LED(just in case). 6 x Cooling Fans to extract heat and Aluminium Cooling pads for the metal halide structure.

Water to be used: Sea Water ( am from Mauritius, it's easy to get Sea water )

Sump Pump: Custom built with refugium which is under the cabinet as follows: 5ft(L) x 1.5ft(W) x 2ft(H) - powered by 2 pumps of 1200L/HR

Protein Skimmer: Don't have one yet, was wondering whether should i take the Reef Octopus Extreme XS250 In Sump Skimmer but the price is a little bit high for this little baby. Maybe i will be getting the JEBO Protein Skimmer 520.

Wave Maker: 3 x Hydor Koralia Evolution 750 Aquarium Circulation Pump, 750 gph

I also bought a few basic things like medication, hydrometer, test kits.

Would i need a chiller? As it doesn't get too hot in the location where my aquarium will be. Summer averages around 26 deg celcius, winter around 22 deg celcius, during day time. Gets a little bit colder at night between 17 and 22 deg celcius.

I will really appreciate your help.

Thanks
Kamal

 

Welcome to 3 reef Kamal

sounds like an excellent sized aquarium to work with

Jebo - never had one of these, but their reputation in general is not as good as the reputation held by the Reef Octopus brand
so if it where my aquarium I would steer away from Jebo

let us know what other brands are available to you
Bubble Magus or Aqua Max ( in China known as Aqua Excell) are both generally considered better quality than Jebo units

you may need a heater (more that 1 in fact with that amount of water ) during winter

if your cooling system on the halides works out, you may not need a chiller
well placed fans circulating the air above the aquarium can assist cooling via evaporation

please start a thread in the show of your fish tank section
as very large aquariums like the one your building are very interesting to watch develop

Steve

 

Welcome to 3reef

You have a 1360 liter aquarium, minimum flow is recommended to be 20 times the volume or 27000L/HR. Your pumps total output is 8300L/HR. I would suggest adding 4 Koralia Evolution 1400 to get up to the suggested minimum.

 

Hi guys,

Thanks for the reply...

I've just ordered 5 Koralia 1400 for the water flow...

Basically we don't have much choice here in Mauritius when it comes to Reef Aquariums and you can also expect a price to be 3 times over than what you get in the US. For example, i saw the Marineland Protein Skimmer 320 on sale here for $750. So i order all my equipments from US suppliers... Other than the Marineland, there is also the Coralife systems but quite pricey.

In regards to Jebo, i've been using them for over 8 years already on my freshwater tanks without any probs. That's why i thought they might be good ones.

By the way, for the protein skimmer, do i need one which is around 360gallons or could one around 150 gallons in sump do the job ? Am just asking as i've read somewhere that the filtration flow can be lower than the actual water flow in the aquarium.

@steve - i will definitely start a thread when i get my aquarium up and running... should be in the next couple of weeks

Cheers
Kamal

 

Actually, we do have Sicce products as well.

 

If your aim is to set up a reef tank
than you want a skimmer thats rated at least as high as your gallonage
and generally upwards of 50% higher is suggested

thus a 360 gallon tank - with a skimmer rated for 500 gallons would be a common situation IME

Sicce products have a good rep
I have used the water pumps previously and liked them

Steve

 

Hi Steve,

Thanks for your reply.

Would 2 x protein skimmer for 250g reef tanks be ok for my setup ?
eg the Reef Octopus Extreme XS250 In Sump Skimmer.

Thanks
Kamal

 

Hi Kamal

2 smaller skimmers should work out OK , IMO
its twice the maintenance. cup cleaning etc
might take a bit of effort to dial them both in to similar production rates
you may find one works extremely efficiently whilst the other one seems to be starved of work
but in terms of capacity it should work out OK
just need to dial them in, to ensure relatively even flow rates and thus similar work rates

Steve

 

Will 150w metal halides punch down far enough if his tank is 3ft deep? I was under the impression 150's would only provide decent par to around 20 inches or so? Granted 8 of them are going to provide awesome coverage especially with the t5's.

 

Comparing the Reef Octopus and the Jebo, go with the Reef Octopus. It will definitely be pricier but well worth it in the end. I've seen a lot of Jebo skimmers here and they are nowhere near as powerful as Reef Octopus ones.