Tell me what to do

[LiquidBlues]

i'm upgrading my tank from a 75G to a 180G
reason: i'm moving and i got more space

because i'm moving... going to be working on a tight budget

This is my plan 180G Reef Ready...
lights i'm going to invest in
3x 250W MH plus Actinic supplements

For the time being..
I'm going to use my old Skimmer, Remora Pro
Not going to have a calcium reactor because i'm not going to get a sump yet

You think i can get away with this setup for the time being ?

 

[StephenEvans]

i don't see why not... upgrade later

 

[jackson6745]

LiquidBlues, the remora pro is extremely underrated for a 180G (I've used it) I would keep your fish load very low until you can upgrade the skimmer.

 

[LiquidBlues]

its hard to utilize your money on the tank when you got to get other stuff because your moving...

if you guys know where i can get great deals on lights, 180G tank, protien skimmer or whatever
please post
thanks

 

[jackson6745]

I'm in the same boat as you. I am moving in the next few weeks and I'm upgrading to a 120G. I have been planning the upgrade for a while and have been saving for it though. My best advice to you would be either to wait until the funds are there and move the 75 gallon to the new place for now or upgrade to a smaller reef (4 foot, 2 halides) A 180 is NOT a cheap reef. To properly setup and run will cost you big bucks!!!
Keep searching the F/S forum on Reef Central for deals.

[ February 10, 2005, 10:46 PM: Message edited by: jackson6745 ]

 

[marrone]

Just take your time right now and slowly upgrade your equipment when you have the money. You don't need to get the most expensive equipment to have a successful tank. Anyway with things changing so much everyone is alway upgrading anyway.

 

[LiquidBlues]

the ASM G3 rated for 250G seems decent

i think vic got it... they have a ASM club on RC and a lot of people seems to love the price and quality

the thing with the skimmer is that, i've never owned a sump, therefore building one is going to be frustrating...

heres what everythign cost so far
tank is 600-700, lighting 700-800, protein skimmer and sump 400-500 so pretty much 2000 bucks for the setup for now

anyone know where i can get a 180G RR tank for cheaper cost... i've tried the selling forums on MR and RC... no one selling them

 

[jackson6745]

House(Jim) just ordered a 180 from glasscages.com. You should PM him for details. Keep searching the boards for used skimmers, you'll find a deal. Be sure to act fast because they sell like hotcakes. 400-500 will get you something very nice. For that money the most powerful skimmer you'll find will be a beckett skimmer like an MR-2. An ASM or euroreef are also very good choices for the money(easier setup). Buy the biggest skimmer that you can afford

Building a sump is easy, don't stress it. You can
pretty much use anything that holds water as a sump (rubbermaids, glass tanks, acrylic etc.)

You will also have to decide on a top off system. Adding buckets of water everyday can be a PITA. Tunze osmalators or liter meters seem to be the best choices depending on the setup i.e. Kalk reactor or kalk reservoir?

Flow will also be a big decision. Adding penductors to your return will greatly increase flow for little cost. Seio 1500's are decent for the price or you can spend the big bucks for tunze streams, closed loop etc.

Sorry for jumping all over the place. It's just that I had to decide on all these things for my new reef so the ideas are fresh in my mind

 

[Tim]

Tony at acropora has a black aga 150g reef ready for $528,black stand $234.In oak,tank $543,stand $224.Check out his other stuff his prices are very reasonable.Good luck....Tim

 

[LiquidBlues]

how does these top off system work ?
i'm using that PITA way now with my 75G haha

i would rather get the 180 than the 150 because of the dimension.. since both are already 72" the lighting won't change and stuff

 

[LiquidBlues]

oh jackson the beckett skimmer MR2 at acropora is 299 and the recommended pump is the Gen PCX-55 which is like 140

the PCX55 is the return pump right?
if so this is a pretty good deal i think for the PS and Return Pump

 

[jackson6745]

I use the liter meter because I dose kalk from a reservoir. kalk will clog conventional pumps. The liter meter has a probe that goes on the lip of the sump and it maintains the water level at that point at all times. And for a saftey feature you can set a max top off rate per day....so just in case the probe ever came loose it would not add much more than you evaporate daily.
Basically thie liter meter sucks the fresh water from a container and pumps it into your tank at a controlled level.

 

[LiquidBlues]

oh where can i buy one of these liter meter

 

[jackson6745]

I just bough the same exact setup....MR-2 with PCX 55 pump. Do a search on reefcentral for the MRC Club. You'll see pics of these skimmers in action. They are BEASTS!!!!

 

[LiquidBlues]

well 299 isn't that far away from the ACM G3's 250...

 

[LiquidBlues]

oh spectra's liter meter
300 bucks on marinedepot... yikes !!

 

[jackson6745]

I picked up a use one for $100

, but the tunze osmilator is around $160. You just cant use kalk with it.

 

[Josh]

I am using 3 Ultralife float switches and a Mag2.

I live in an apartment building, so I am very concerned about flooding/overfilling. My sump has 2 floats, one for high, one for low. The third float is in my overflow box. There is actually a 4th float in the 2nd part of my overflow but I don't know what brand it is.

I'm sure you can do it a lot cheaper and better, but this evolved over the course of 3 years and a few near disasters with the top off process.

 

[Justin_NY]

that why i get aquamedic dosing pump. i used to have rio 600 with my ultrafloat switches, and the flood the whole basement. one time my ultrafloat swich got stuck with the cable and the dosing pump running the whole night. during that night i only lost 1 gallon of water from my resorvior (i have 6 gal resorvior).

 

[LiquidBlues]

hey jackson the PCX55 is just the pump for the protien skimmer right?

well i emailed the dude from acropora and he said if you want to do that you can use the "Dart" pump which has like 1200GPH
does that work ? having the return pump as the protein skimmer as well ?