Seeking advice - The research begins

So after some time a 20g FW tank, 50 gal FW tank and a 50 gal SW tank
all basic setup with HOB filters, I have become intrigued with the full blown setup.

First I need to understand the relationship between the tank, sump, and refuge. I have read all the threads and I have a basic idea of the plumbing and such, but what is it all for, really? Are these smaller tanks simply a place to maintain the main tank ?

Second, I am torn between Glass and Acrylic. I am thinking about 200 Gal tank. Is this really just a preference ? This will definately be a SW reef type setup to relace my current SW tank.

What are some good places to begin this quest ?

Thanks in advance.

 

In terms of the Sump/Refugium. Yes it's to keep your display tank as free of hardware as possible. The sump is where heaters, The Skimmer, monitoring probes, Carbon packs and anything else can go and be hidden away. The Refugium on the other hand is a type of Nitrate filter. Using Macro Algae as a water filter to remove Nitrate.

Personally I would stick to Glass tanks only because of the ease of scratching acrylic.

to begin you quest I would start thinking about what you want to keep in your tank. What corals or inverts demands will effect the build and components you need. For example if you were to go with all LPS or soft corals your lighting and water flow demands would be less than if you went with an SPS dominated tank.
If you want sand sifting gobbies than a sand bed would be required. and so on. Feel free to ask as many questions as you need to we are all here to lend a hand

J

 

Thanks for the feedback.
I currently have;
1 Snowflake Morray, 1 Flame Angel, 1 Jawfish, Lemon 1 Angel, 1 Monicle Bream, 1 Manderin, 1 Blenny, 1 Gobi, and a bunch of snails and crabs. The Jawfish, Morray tend to dig the sand, and the Bream is a sifter.

So far the Manderin seemes to be eating the brine shrim so he should stick around, I question my choice on the Snowflake and not sure if he will be suited for the new tank or not, but I love the rest so they will stay.

For the Corals, I currently have some mushrooms and Zenia. I dont really have a set design for these between LPS or other so what ever makes sense to mix with these types of fish. I do want some anemones with clown fish and a tang, and I would love a porcupine puffer.

I now know why so many have multiple tanks.


\Cheers

 

LOL Yes as soon as you buy one fish it eliminates 20 others. Same is true with coral.

J

 

So I think the live stock will sort itself out, but I dont suspect the equipment should change that much. I mean, same skimmer, Ca reactor, Heaters, filters, media, ect.

What's the deal with getting a chiller ? Isn't all water temp in the 78' range? Is there some livestock that requires colder than that and thus the chiller ?

Or is it, the ambient room temp in a particular room doesn't allow the tank to get down to 78' and you need a chiller to cool it ? Is there a rule of thumb for this ? For example, the room I am looking at should never go above 78' so would the tank ever go higher ?

 

Chiller

I believe the reason for the chiller to keep the temp from fluctuating. Most of the chillers have controls for both the chiller and a heater. With my compact fluorescent lighting the temperature will easily rise over 10 degrees with an all glass top. In the summer if your house gets warm and you do not have AC then a chiller is a must. Chillers tend to be larger investment.

Zak




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55 Gallon Glass Aquarium; 1-UV Sterilizer-(In tank ); 260 W Compact Fluorescent Lighting;Rena Filstar XP2; 2-Power heads;20 lbs live rock; 2-Ocellaris Anemonefish; 2-Fire Goby; 1-Royal Dottyback; 1-Blue Tang; 2-Banggai Cardinalfish; 1-Green Mandarin; 20 Blue Hermit Crabs; 8-Turbo Snails ; 2-Bubble Anemones; 1-Seabay Anemones; 1-Yellow Hand Coral; 1- Polyp; 5-Green Strip Mushroom; 2-Sandsifting Starfish; 1-Red Sponge; 1-Grub

 

the chiller will deal with the heat from the Hight output lighting, mainly the Metal halides which produce lots of heat. and will cook your tank if you don't have the proper cooling precautions.

 

A chiller is not a must have item. Depending on where you live, fans or a room AC works great for those exceptionally hot days.

 

I've never had to run a chiller, I have one I just replaced the compressor in setting at the shop and I still have yet to bring it home no need even on what these folks up here call HOT! weather LOL 92 F or so and little humidity But to me thats not hot.

 

Trust me if you can get away with out one don't get one. they are loud, expensive to run, and blow hot air everywhere.

If you increase the evaporation in the tank and spend a 1/10th of the cost of a chiller on a good auto top off (or make one) you can keep the tank cool all year long

J