[orestes19832003]

hey guys just need some advice on equipment, i have a 125 gal. with a 40gal. fuge. i need to know what more equipment would be nice for my system. i have a Hot magnum canister filter, 136lbs. of live rock, two pumps one mag drive and one that is for my Uv sterilizer i have a small protein skimmer ( i would like to know what kind of protein skimmer would be best for my tank) also have a strong power head. any other ideas that would improve my system/

[glampka]

Don't see heaters or lights on your list. What are your plans for the tank - FOWLR or reef? If reef, what kind of corals do you plan on keeping? You should get at least 2 more PH for a tank that size. IMO, a larger skimmer is a must.

[pogodzib]

Like previously posted, what do you have for lights and a heater and what type of corals (if any) do you plan on keeping. I would get a good skimmer (Euroreef, ASM, or AquaC) and then ditch the canister filter. A good skimmer and your live rock will provide all the filtration that your system should need.

[orestes19832003]

i have a 300 watt submersible all glass heater. and coral life lights with 6 x 65 watt pc bulbs (they aren't the best but its all i could afford at the time). also i keep easy corals right now i don't plan on getting into the difficult ones i keep mushrooms and xenia some leather. i only have a canister filter because i run a phosphate sponge in there and i clean it regularly. i'm going on a year with my tank but i've just took the step into coral and i'm always looking for things that will improve my system.

[pogodzib]

It's always nice to have duplicates for the critical equipment. Two heaters and two return pumps incase something fails. If your lone heater fails in the off position, the tank wouldn't have any heat and you may not notice it until your corals or fish are distressed and sick. Depending on how your two pumps are setup, you may only have one pump going from your sump up to the main tank. I prefer two smaller pumps since if the one pump would fail there is a backup circulating the water through the sump. Assuming your heater and skimmer are in your sump, without it your tank again would not have a heater or skimmer. Trust me when I say that I thought my system was protected against all mishaps until my one and only return pump failed to restart after a power outage and I didn't notice until my tank's temp had dropped to 70 degrees and a fish got sick.

You should also think about adding another powerhead or closed loop and adding a little more LR.