Starting over and i could use some advice

[rpc07]

Hello everyone, heres my story. About 4 years ago i had a fish only tank which worked out well but i was living in an apartment and had to break it down when i moved to a bigger apartment and did not want to go through that again and sold everything. Fast forward to now my wife and i are closing on a house in 3 weeks and since i don't have to worry about moving any time soon its time to get back into fish keeping.

Im located in lindenhurst long island and plan on visiting a few local aquarium stores. I have been reading for the last few days and plan on doing a lot more reading before i purchase anything.

I am really liking the 90 gallon foot print and I'm pretty sure thats what I'm going to go with. I looked at a "deep blue" reef ready tank,stand and canopy in cherry wood which matches all the furniture i own. I also plan on running the aqueon model 4 sump/refugium. Other then that i am looking for help and info on what else i should be buying as far as a skimmer and any other equipment i should be looking into. I would really like to run led lighting but i have no idea where to start, i know the cost is greater then the other options but i think in the long run it will pay off. Any and all help will be appreciated.

Sorry for the long read just wanted to re introduce myself.

 

[KathyC]

Welcome back

There are many threads on here discussing LED lighting. The site 'search' function will pull them up for you.

Skimmers are another hot topic and I'm sure more than a few people will chime in on those.

If you didn't run a controller on your prior tank, that is definitely a must have piece of equipment along with reactors for GFO and carbon.

Try cruising through our Marketplace as many of these items can be purchased for excellent prices and a lot of the equipment is gently used. if you find something that is interesting - do ask questions about it here to get more opinions

Are you planning another FOWLR or going full blown reef this time? (assuming you are, or LED's are a lot of overkill on a FO tank)

 

[rpc07]

Thanks for the reply, eventually I would like to setup the 90g as a reef tank, so my plans are at first get the tank set up and stable with fish only and upgrade the lighting down the road when I'm ready to start adding corals. I would like to setup the filtration as if I'm building a reef tank because I don't want to have to redo that, all I want to do is upgrade the lights when I'm ready.

I have a basic understanding about controllers but I have never used one before and am open to suggestions. I have been reading build threads and checking out the market place and trying to gain knowledge on different equipment but it can be a bit overwhelming.

 

[KathyC]

What lighting are you thinking of starting with? Kinda the most expensive piece of equipment we require, do you really want to buy that twice?

 

[rpc07]

What lighting are you thinking of starting with? Kinda the most expensive piece of equipment we require, do you really want to buy that twice?

I was going to just use the standard lights that came with the tank, I was under the impression that was ok for fish only

 

[MysticalKnight]

Congratulations on the house!

 

[rpc07]

Congratulations on the house!

Thanks!!

 

[fishman1069]

Congrats on the house!
You should look at the bubble Magnus skimmers. The new curve line is sweet. A curve 5 would work like a beast with the 90. Good luck on the new house and tank

 

[ClownAquatics]

Welcome back!!

You mentioned that you want to start as fish only, but want to move to a full blown reef.

You should start with a FOWLR first and not just fish only. You may already mean a FOLWR but make sure that you let people know what you plan. Adding rock to a tank that is already established is not the best idea IMO. If you are starting from scratch then look where you want to be in the future and go from there.

Lighting is a huge discussion. I have a few reasons for LED. One of which is the heat factor. Second is no need to change bulbs, third is the dimming ability. I have AI Sol over my personal tank. But any good LED will work. Again with a Fish only/FOWLR lighting is NOT important at all. BUT... depending on what you are looking to put in the tank such as anems or SPS, or clams, you will need better lighting.

So again look at what you want to have in the future and pre-plan now, you will be happy that you did. Having to re-purchase items is the worst thing to have to do.

Also if you plan on running reactors then you may want to decide on what type of pump that you will run. Do you want a powerful pump that you can run a manifold off of. A single pump can save heat.

As Kathy Said a controller is an awesome purchase. May be the best that I have every made. I am a fan of the Apex, but there are others out there.

Deep Blue makes very nice tanks, I have a 75 Rimless, but their overflows are on the bigger side. I would make sure to go and look at them.

Good Luck!

 

[rpc07]

Thanks for the info by fowlr you mean fish and live rock then that is what I planned to do, I'm probably about 4-5 months away from setting something up which is why I'm trying to get serious about researching now. As I find equipment I like I may buy it here and there if I can find a good deal.


Does any here have mentoring program? Lol I'm sure I could use some help setting everything up once I buy everything.

 

[ClownAquatics]

Yes, FOWLR (fish only with live rock).

Look around and when you see things that you want grab them as the good stuff goes fast.

Used stuff you can save alot of money on. The only thing that I will not buy used and do not recommend is tanks. Some people may disagree with me. But if a used pump fails, not a big deal. If a used skimmer fails, not a big deal. If used lights fail, not a big deal.

If a USED TANK fails, a very big 90 gallon deal all over your floor!

So I would stick with new tank and sump just for the piece of mind.

There are a lot of good vendors on here that can get you everything that you need!

 

[rpc07]

When it comes to equipment I have the same feeling the tank,stand,canopy and sump I will buy new everything else ill see if I can get a good deal on.

Is what I'm thinking of doing a good idea? Set up a fowlr tank with reef capable filtration and down the road all ill have to do is upgrade lighting? And the only reason I'm thinking of doing this is cost, seems like I can cycle the tank and get some fish and live rock and then upgrade lighting when I have the funds and start adding corals when I feel comfortable.

 

[ClownAquatics]

I am not a fan of re-buying anything.

But if you planned on just using a cheap flourescent light over the tank then that would be fine. Fish really don't need light, you need the light to see them. Now different wavelengths will make the fish look different or more robust colors.

A cheap light would be fine IMO. But I would not look into anything like a good T5 or led fixture only to upgrade it.

Do some reasearch and see what you can afford during intial setup. Because that day that you are at the LFS or see something online and there is this awesome coral that you want to get?? But damn you cant put it in your tank cause your lights will not sustain it. So then either you have to make impluse buy on lights, or not get the coral that you wanted and then start to research lights.

I am a fan of setting it all up in the beginning, but that is just me.

When I got back into the hobby, i knew that I was going to go reef. I was either doing LED or I was not doing a tank. I was not going to deal with T5 or Halides (mostly because of the heat and having to change bulbs)

 

[Dace]

First, I think you should take some time and make sure that a fish only is what you want to do. Most people spend more money upgrading equipment then you can ever imagine. I would spend a little more money and just buy the equipment once. I own a Aqueon 4 sump. If you want to used it as a refuge as well its a bad choice. You would have to place the skimmer in the return area and you will never be able to keep the micro bubbles that come out of the skimmer out of your display tank. I had to send to make a refuge and added it to my system separately. Buy your self a skimmer rated atleast double your whole water volume. Make sure you add all the equipment your going to use into your water volume.
Get a good one so you don't have to upgrade
Atb 840 V2
Vertex Alpha 170
I hear the Bubble Magus are good but i never used one.
Lights are tricky as i never liked LED solely on my tank. But its up to you what you like.
I like t5 fixtures with led supplements.
Alot of people claim, Get led, you don't have to change the bulbs, Well no bulb last forever. Your going to start losing par eventually. The question is when this happens, how easy is it going to be to replace, Will it be cost effective. I rather use something thats been around for a long time, easy to replace and it's a proven fixture. as for flow. This is an area you can save a bit and don't need the high end power heads like (tunze or vortech).
On a 90 gallon you could be fine with something like a Eheim 1260 or 1292 return pump and two hydor koralia evolution pumps

 

[Dace]

Here is a picture of my sump area so you can understand what I did.

 

[rpc07]

Thanks for all the great info, I was planning on just using the cheap lights at first and upgrading later. But if I do have the funds in the first place then I will buy the lighting when I am gathering everything.

Thanks for the pic of the sump, what size tank is that on? And do you think I would be better buying the model 2 or 3 which is smaller and adding a refugium separate? And at first I was going to run the fowlr and then just upgrade lighting, all the other equipment I was going to buy before setting up the tank.

 

[Dace]

Thanks for all the great info, I was planning on just using the cheap lights at first and upgrading later. But if I do have the funds in the first place then I will buy the lighting when I am gathering everything.

Thanks for the pic of the sump, what size tank is that on? And do you think I would be better buying the model 2 or 3 which is smaller and adding a refugium separate? And at first I was going to run the fowlr and then just upgrade lighting, all the other equipment I was going to buy before setting up the tank.

The Aqeuon 3 would be a good choice. the size is 26.3" x 14.8" x 17.4" and if your stand is 48" it would give you room to get something custom built cheap (Custom King) that you can put on the side of it. you just have to make sure it's taller then the sump so you can drill it high and it could drain into your sump.
the Aqueon 4 size is 36.9" x 14.8" x 19"and you would not have the room for anything

 

[Dace]

My tank is a 138 gal rimless. Custom built by Reefoman.

 

[rpc07]

That's a nice tank! Maybe ill look into that option, I'd like to get the stand first and measure before I do anything but that seems like sea like a good idea to have a separate sump and refugium.