[danny_hiemstra]

I am new to this hobby and thougt I would those in the know for advise before I go out and spend a minimum of 2k to get started without fish.

I am looking to get into a FO or a FOWLR marie aquarium. I am leaning towards a FO tank. I have in mind the following setup:

an AGA 110 gal 48x18x30 tank NOT reef ready.
2 Fluval 405 Canister filters
Coralife Brand Super Skimmer Protein Skimmer 220 gph HOS
Turbo twist UV Serilizer.
Current USA Satellite Dual Compact Fluorescent, 4X65 Watt, 48 inch
2 Visi-therm Submersible Heater 250 Watt
Koralia Water Pumps 440gph (for extra cirulation)
I am looking to use a crushed coral and live sand for a substrate. This is the basic equipment, I know I need test equipment water conditioners and so on but this is the basic equipment, I do have a stand and cover picked out also.
I also plan to use 50 lbs of honeycomb base rock snails and crabs to help with the biologicals.

Could anyone out there review what I think I need and leet me know if I am on the right track?

[teriyakithunder]

sounds good, i think you should go fowlr. especially with a tank that big. live rock will benefit your tank a lot. just my opinion though. oh yea, are you going to have a sump or fuge or anything of that nature?

[hosser]

IMO and it might not count for much, if Im wrong someone will surely correct me.....If your going FO or FOWLR you dont need to go even with power compacts, you could save a bit with just running a cheaper lighting system just due to you not having corals. I agree with Teri, Id go FOWLR just due to the abundance of biological filtration you will get and not too mention beneficial organisms for general health of the tank. Keep it posted and build threads are pretty popular. And a good reference tool as well. (lord knows it helped me)

[pogodzib]

Originally Posted by danny_hiemstra

an AGA 110 gal 48x18x30 tank NOT reef ready.

Reef ready tanks and sumps are nice because it adds extra water volume and a place to hide equipment, but it isn't necessary.

Originally Posted by danny_hiemstra

2 Fluval 405 Canister filters
Coralife Brand Super Skimmer Protein Skimmer 220 gph HOS

I wouldn't spend the money on the canister filters and would use the money to either buy a better skimmer or more LR.

Originally Posted by danny_hiemstra

Turbo twist UV Serilizer.

Not necessary if you have good tank husbandry and quarantine all incoming fish. IMO, having a q-tank will do a lot more for you than a UV Sterilizer since it will help prevent bad stuff from getting into the tank.

Originally Posted by danny_hiemstra

Current USA Satellite Dual Compact Fluorescent, 4X65 Watt, 48 inch

Not necessary for a FO or FOWLR tank, but it will allow you to keep soft and other less light demanding corals if you want to turn your tank into a reef tank.

Originally Posted by danny_hiemstra

2 Visi-therm Submersible Heater 250 Watt

Good

Originally Posted by danny_hiemstra

Koralia Water Pumps 440gph (for extra cirulation)

Good

Originally Posted by danny_hiemstra

I am looking to use a crushed coral and live sand for a substrate.

I'd ditch the crushed coral and use a sugar sized sand. A mixture of crushed coral and sand will separate over time. Crushed coral allows waste to get into it much easier than sand so you need to vacuum it out often to keep the tank healthy. With sand, you don't vacuum it out, but you rely more on your LR, inverts, and a skimmer to remove waste. FYI - Very few reef keepers use crushed coral anymore because we have found out that it doesn't work as good as sand to keep that water very clean, but we rely on our LR, cirtters, and skimmers more. Since FO and FOWLR tanks don't need to have as clean of water, you may still choose to go with the CC option.

[danny_hiemstra]

I really appreciate your comments. After being in the computer consulting world for more years than I would like to admit I have learned to listen to those that can not only talk the talk but also walk the walk. It sounds like you've been there and done that. I am all for doing it right the first time.

The reason I went with the non-reef tank is because I can get twice the flow rate. the reef tank I am looking at is only rated for 600 gph through the drain. With the overflow skimmer I am able to get 1200 gph. I understand you should have a minimum of 10x the number of gallons of tank volum.
110 x 10 = 1100 gph

I like the the sound of less maintanence by using sand rather than cc.

I am also working on a desigh of a sump I thought I would use sand an LR in. I am thinking to build it out of a 30 gal long tanks. would that be about right?

I've read the skimmer should beable to handle twice the number of gallons of thnk size, correct? What the concensies on a good skimmer. I may not be able to afford the best!
thanks again for the advice.... looking for all I can get from those who are in the know.

Quote: Why is there never enough time to right the first time but, always enough time to do it over??