[pthornton]

Afternoon all. Just joined the site after having it recommended to us while researching saltwater tanks and equipment in NOVA this past weekend.

We are going to begin setting up our tank as soon as possible. We have already purchased a 75 gallon tank and stand, but we have yet to get any of the equipment. We are on a budget, but we are thinking of the following items:

Lights: 48" Nova Extreme HO T5 Light Fixture (2 54w daylights - 10000K and 2 actinic 54w - 460 nm) has 4 moon white lunar lights and fan. Total watts: 216.

Protein Skimmer: Bit of a debate, but have looked at an AquaC Remora Pro Hang-on with Mag 3 pump, an Aqua Medic Turboflotor Hang-on and a CPR Bak Pak Dual Pack.

Powerheads: 2 Hydor Koralias (each rated at 850 gph)

Filter: Sincer we are using live rock we have heard that we just need a mechanical one to start so we have an emperor 400, which came with the tank.

Heaters: 2 200w Jagers

We will be adding about 80 lbs of fiji premium live rock and around 80 lbs of ground coral and live sand.

I hope I haven't forgotten anything, but if anyone has a couple of minutes and has any insights, please feel free to let us know. The last thing we want is to drop a grand on the wrong equipment and have it fall apart on us.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

[glampka]

I would suggest going with a sump if you have the place to put it. It gives you someplace to hide your equipment, increases your water volume so changes are slower & gives you a place to grow macro algae to help remove nitrates.
Stay away from crushed coral. It has larger particle size which will result in the sand & detritus getting through it.
If you're going to run the Emperor as a mechanical filter be sure to clean it on a REGULAR basis. If not they can lead to nitrate problems.
Lighting sounds good but if you can get a unit with more bulbs - the better. Also be sure it has individual reflectors for each bulb. They are much better than 1 big reflector.
Most of all have Patience. Don't hurry into things. Read, read, read. Then plan everything out.

[pthornton]

Thanks for the tips. If we go with a sump, what all does it entail? And what is a realistic price for a sump system? I think I can put the protein skimmer on the sump if we go that way, but will I need to purchase an overflow box and other equipment I haven't mentioned?

[lynnvangsnes]

Glampka is correct. Sumps are probably the best way to go. I do not have a sump in my tank. It has only been up and running a month, so the jury is still out on long term effects. I would suggest a minimum of 75 lbs of LR. You may cycle your tank with just the LR and save stressing a little fishy. It will cycle faster with the LR anyway...maybe two weeks. Go with some live sand as well. I bought 120 lbs of sugar sized aragonite for just under $1 a lb; delivered. The LR will seed your sand over time. Sounds like you pretty much got it together.
Oh yeah, Welcome to RB!

[pthornton]

Thanks lynn. We just want to make sure we don't make a collosal mistake - especially one that could run into the thousands of dollars and it seems everywhere we have gone (or everything we have read) give conflicting information. So we just wanted to make sure we are headed down the right path ...

[lynnvangsnes]

Sounds to me like you're pretty much on top of things. Sumps work best if your tank is predrilled for an overflow. If you are unable to get someone to predrill it, then the hangon overflow is what you will probably need to use a sump. They do have issues as I believe they work off of the siphon principle. My tank is a DAS tank and all the pumps and skimmers and prefilters are inside a box that is in the corner of the tank. I removed the biofilter off the main pump because of all the live rock I have. The skimmer works well, and my water parameters are good. I had two of these tanks before and I had no problems with "poor skimming" or "puny filter"

[TreeHugger74]

Glampka was it you that mentioned to me about removing the bio-wheels on the Emperor and using rubble in the filter cages...although it sounds like he may be going with the sump...

[Tonz of fun]

I would also go with a sump...maybe more lighting if you plan on doing corals