Type of Lighting

[Guido]

Hi. I just recently bought a 75g tank and a glass canopy to go with it. I was curious as to what lighting would be good to start off with. I'm not quite sure if I will do a reef aquarium due to the costs of all the equipment that I would need (or so iv been told) so what would be a good lighting for a 75g tank. Also, quick question, (and I'm asking this because of my lack of experience) is coral the same as reef? Also, if you could, id like to know what a good chemical, bio, and mechanical filter would be for my tank as well, preferably all one unit, but I'm taking opinions and suggestions.

[dakar]

You'll see coral tanks and reef tanks used pretty interchangably, for most purposes a reef tank will be populated with coral (and of course we need fish to entertain us as well).

As far as lighting goes, it is really dependant on what you intend to keep in your tank, if it's just fish only they don't have any special lighting requirments, one of the running lokes is you can use xmas tree lighting for all they care, so normal output flourescent tubes would be fine. However if you are planning to keep any coral or anenomes then you will have to step up the lighting significantly to keep them.

Filtration, I don;t think anything beats a sump/refuge combination with a good protein skimmer. But there are many alternatives, just stay away from anything using bioballs, they cause nothing but problems down the road.

Give us some more details and we'll try to help narrow down some of the better options and choices for you.

[Guido]

Who much would it cost for a sump pump for a 75g and the lighting for it if i were to go the way of the reef aquarium? (I am kind of on a budget, so could take me a while to get even the cheapest of good equipment, but advice is still wanted none the less).

[graphixx]

as for lighting, if you want to do a FOWLR (Fish only with live rock) you can get away with PC lighting (Power Compact) Now if you are like everybody else in this hobby you will eventually end up going to a reef type system. The only advice I can give to you is get the most expensive lights you can get now. I know it seems absurd but if you skimp now you will end up upgrading later on down the road. Now if you want to do a reef type system you will want to go with MH lighting (Metal Halide) this is a much more intense lighting than the PC and your corals will need this type of lighting to survive. As for filtration dakar was correct you will want to go with a sump and refugium. The benefits of this are to hide all of your equipment in the sump/fuge and it is a great place to culture pods as far as the size the bigger the better whatever you can fit underneath your stand. you could convert a 20 gallon into a sump for very cheap. Get a good skimmer and heater and an overflfow now with your lighting on a 75 you are going to be at least $400 if you go the way of MH but its worth the money. And fiirst and formost in this hobby take your time. Patience is the key to this game. And also Welcome to the wonderfull world of Salt

[Guido]

How much would a sump cost me for my 75g tank? I already know about the skimmer (prices anyways) was already looking into getting one (I'm under the impression it will help with maintenance and water clarity)

[dakar]

The sump itself need not be anything more than a rubbermaid container. Just add an overflow box (assuming your tank has not been drilled here) and a return pump.

Adding to the overall water volume of the system is always helpful and gives you a place to hide things like heaters and other equipment, and creates a high flow area for dosing your tank with additives and top offs.

[Guido]

Well I'm not to sure how to "make" a sump. As far as the refuge.... lol, I'm not even sure what that is. I don't have a mega flow/overflow tank (no hole in bottom), bottom is tempered and cant be drilled (at least not by someone who doesn't know what their doing (me)). So if i were to go the way of the sump/refuge, how would i go about making it and setting it up? I'm in no hurry for all the answers, simply because I lack the funds to proceed any further at the moment. Who would of thought such an exotic aquarium would cost as much as it does :-)

[graphixx]

I built one out of a 30 gallon tank for my 92 gallon bowfront. What I did , I went to home depot and bought some acrylic. it was very cheap. I cut 6 pieces of it they were the width of the tank and like ten inches tall. those you use for your baffles. do them in sets of three. I divided the tank into 3 parts. from left to right, skimmer, return pump, and refugium. Say your tank is 30 inches long, what I did is I used 8 inches for the sump and the return and 14 inches for the refugium. this worked well for me and like dakar said anytime you can increase the total volume of water the better. And not to mention it makes the display tank so much prettier without the heater and all of the power heads being visible. Good luck

[Guido]

At the risk of sounding stupid (and it's a risk I'm willing to take), I still have no idea how to

build the sump/refug. I'm the type of person that would really have to have a "blueprint"

lol. I kind of get what your saying about part of it, my tanks a 75g 48"L 18"W 20"H, so I

think I would probably want the sump to be about 25-30L 18W and maybe 10-14H? I'm

just not quite sure what a sump even looks like, maybe if you could give me a link to one,

I could check it out and get a better idea how to build it.

[dakar]

Take a look at this thread, that should give you some ideas.#ed_op#br#ed_cl##ed_op#br#ed_cl##ed_op#a href="http://www.captivereefing.com/viewtopic.php?t=554"#ed_cl#http://www.captivereefing.com/viewtopic.php?t=554#ed_op#/a#ed_cl##ed_op#br#ed_cl##ed_op#br#ed_cl#No such thing as stupid around here #ed_op#img src="richedit/smileys/Word_Positive/2.gif"#ed_cl#

[Guido]

OK, the link is much appreciated, but now I'm thinking I lack the ability to "make" one, so would it be possible to use maybe a 10g tank for my 75g 48"L 18"W 20"H tank.

[jerryc]

Id use at least a 20 long you wont have room for it all in a 10 i have tried that
and don't work good at all
But yes a cheap tank works grate all you need is a cheap tank and go
to a glass shop and have them cut the dividers for you.

[Guido]

OK, how many dividers do you think I would need if i were to do a sump/refugium (will

add a protein skimmer and a heater to the sump, any other suggestions to add to it?)

Also, my tank is not an overflow, so would I need to purchase maybe an "overflow

box"? (The dividers being used for something about 20+L)

[graphixx]

you will want to install baffles this takes care of the bubble problem at least 2 on each side. you can equally divide your tank into thirds and house your skimmer in one compartment and then your return pump iin one and your refugium in the third. you can put your heater in any of those. good luck :D

[graphixx]

you want as big a tank as you can get under your stand

[jerryc]

First section will be the water from your overflow and your skimmer
in the middle will be your refugim and a section on the other end for the return pump

I'm using a 20 long under my 55 and works good but the bigger the better
it will increase your total water volume witch is always good

I'm setting up a 75 it will have a 29 under it you can get them cheap

[Guido]

OK, I've fully decided that it would be best if I go the way of the sump. So now my

question is, when I'm making the sump (whether it be from scratch or from another tank)

what should I use to "glue" or hold the baffles into place so as to not toxify the water

and endanger the fish or any other living creature in the tank.

[Guido]

OK jerry, so your just going to buy a 29g tank and then incorporate the baffles as

needed in the tank? Also if maybe you get a chance, next time your on, PM me

because I have a couple of questions as far as the baffles in the sump go, I'm usually

logged on from the time I get up till the time I go to work (sad isn't it :( )

[Whoyah]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I am little late to this party but hopefullyI can help out. A 29 gallon will work great for your sump. I have a 20 on my 75 but it is cramped on fitting the skimmer and return pump in. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Here is a simple diagram that would work for you. Basically the water steps down from each section starting on left with the input chamber.There is a ton of different ways of designing sump/fuges but really all your doing is dividing the sump up in to sections. You can add baffles as well to remove bubbles from the system.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I had a local glass shop cut 1/4" acrylic for each of my baffles. A little more expensive but easier and cleaner cuts. Just figure out the heights you need.The width should slightly less then the insidewidth of the tank, say an 1/8". This allow slight errors on the cutplus your notfighting to get the piece into place. You will need to round the bottom corners with some sand paper to fit the silicom jount in the tank. The baffles are then glued in using aquarium grade silicon. Most LFS carry this and even Wal-Mart. A tube will run about $4.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#If this looks like something you want to try let me know andcan add more info.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op #IMG src="file:///C:/My%20Documents/Shad's%20Misc/sump%20drawing.jpg"#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Guido]

Thanks for the info, but I cant seem to see your pic, It's just a white box with a red x through it.

[Guido]

I drew a picture to see if I'm correct in my thoughts on the sump/refug because this is to

my understanding of how it is to be done and should look like. I've numbered the baffles

from left to right to see if I should make certain ones higher then others (for expl. baffle

#5, should that be higher to allow the skimmer to have a deeper depth?) If you can

give me any advice on any of it, please, let me know what I should do to improve it.

Hopefully I can get the picture on here.

[Guido]

OK, I'm not allowed to attach any files on this forum, I'll see what I can do.

[Guido]

OK, well, I'm not able to attach the file anywhere because it says the extension bmp is

not allowed, so, the best I can probably do is take a picture of it with my camera phone

(LOL sounds funny doesn't it? Get ready for a bunch of lines in it lol, because trust me,

if i had a digital camera, i would use it) and try to get that on here, but my picture mail is

currently down at the moment so I will try to have it on here, probably under DIY projects

tomorrow. It's not the best drawing but with it on here and the advice of a few others I

can be sure of what I am doing is correct and will work effectively and efficiently.

[harmanrk]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Open the BMP in MS Paint, and save it as a Jpeg.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Guido]

OK, I'm not sure how to do that, I'm going to try again with my camera phone lol.

[Guido]

OK, I posted the picture under DIY Projects/Sump questions. If anyone can get a chance

and check it out, let me know whats wrong/right, or what I need to do to improve it.