New 125 Gallon, need some help!!!

[street fish]

Hello everyone -

I am taking my first step into SW and would like some suggestions.

I am purchasing a TruVu 125 Long with two corner overflows and I have the following questions:

1) Should I go black back or clear? I want to lion fish or groupers? I know they will outgrow the tank and plan to upgrade when the time comes

2) As for a wet/dry, I was recommended a Proclear 200, any thoughts or other recommendations (other than DIY)?

3) Heater - I would like to know what you guys prefer? I hear titanium is best for SW? Is this true?

4) Lighting - I would like to hear what lighting is best, especially the kind that has leg mounts and moon lights

I will have no coral, just liverock, but would like to purchase a light which is not too expensive, which could handle coral in the future...

Thank you everyone, I really appreciate the help

 

[KathyC]

Welcome to the world of SW

The first thing usually suggested is read, and then read more..I think getting a very good book is important as they are a great reference tool.

I'll tackle a few of your questions..
1- black - very helpful in hidng wires and makes the fish stand out Lionfish should be fine in the tank for many years (if you don't over crowd it). Groupers are a whole other ball of wax...they get huge. The issue isn't you having to upgrade, more that they aren;t so fun anymore and will eat you out of house & home..and you'd need to find them a home,...and that is very difficult... Try and do a bunch of research on whatever kind of fish you decide to get, so you know there future needs totally

2- Why a wet-dry instead of a skimmer? If you ever did decide to switch over to a reef or add corals, you'll need one, no point in buying twice.

3- You will hear positives & negatives on all kinds of heaters, there are horror stories on just about all of them, and others will tewll you they are great. Best I can suggest is buy it new, and buy a popular brand name (don't buy any brand you never heard of).
But most of all, run it off of a controller, and have a GFCI circuit for your tank.

4- Buy want you will want in the future. Lights NEVER return the investment once purchased new, shop here in our for sale forum, you'll get a great deal, be ready for the future and the better lights will make your fish look even nicer, even in a FOWLR tank
Your light will be your biggest expense...

One thing you will find is there are a lot of different ways to do things right in reefing, so always be open to suggestions and check any info you are given to be sure it is correct

 

[sjsoto]

Lighting will be one of the most expensive things if not the most...

for heater i recommend visi-therm stealth heater never had a problem with them, and very reputable name brand .
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3743+12060&pcatid=12060

 

[mr_X]

i like visitherm stealth too, but i suggest buying 2 or 3 smaller heaters instead of one large one. in the event that one fails, you'll still have heat from the other two.

if this is just a simple salt water fish tank, you can go cheap on the lighting. a basic fixture with just a few lamps will be fine. you can add an actinic bulb to bring out the colors of the fish and give a morning and evening transition, but you don't have to get crazy. i don't think you need the moonlights. you are not going to do much viewing of the tank while the fish are sleeping.
handling coral in the future is a whole different animal- this will be expensive.

i vote for a skimmer over a wet/dry also.

 

[street fish]

Thank you all for your advice.

I think I am getting confused about the Wet/Dry...

It was my understanding the Wet/Dry was a sump, which would assist in both biological and mechanical filtration...and why do all "reef-ready" tanks have overflows?

Are the overflows for a sump strictly for the heater and protein skimmer?

Thank you all for you advice, I sincerely appreciate the help.

 

[reefman]

i like jager heaters
your perception of wet/dry is correct. the reason wetdry is good for fish only n not reef is cause wet/dry relies on bio balls to break down nitrates, and filter pad to remove waste. however it doesnt break it down as good a job as live rock. for reef with corals, live rock is recommended.
reef ready just means the tank is drilled with 2 holes n 1 or more overflow. this is very useful if your planning on using a sump or wetdry. among other advantages, sumps/wetdry adds extra water volume to the tank n offers more space for tank equipment like the ones u mention so it makes the display tank look better n more room for fishes/corals.
this eliminates the need for overflow boxes which can b a nitemare.

 

[Dre]

Lion fish is one of my favorite SWF 3 or 4 would like really nice in a 125 gal tank. Dark reds and black ones are sometimes available they are compatible with groupers and you don't need a $500 light fixture for a fish only tank regular fluorescent and actinic will do fine.You will need skimmers and a refugium to help reduce nitrates and don't forget to test for nitrate.

 

[Awibrandy]

Forget the VisiTherm being all that reliable, as well as the Won Brothers. I had a disaster not to long ago with my visitherm shortening out and taking with it more then half of my fish.;(
And another some 4 or so years ago with a Won Brothers that took out my entire life stock.

As already stated do run it on a ranco for added security.

Check out the for sale forum here, you'll save quite a bit.
Lighting is up to you, fish only will do fine with regular output lighting. Depending on how soon you plan to go to corals perhaps you should just purchase a light fixture that will support them from the start.
Best wishes with your adventure in to the world of Salt Water Aquariums.

 

[street fish]

i like jager heaters
your perception of wet/dry is correct. the reason wetdry is good for fish only n not reef is cause wet/dry relies on bio balls to break down nitrates, and filter pad to remove waste. however it doesnt break it down as good a job as live rock. for reef with corals, live rock is recommended.
reef ready just means the tank is drilled with 2 holes n 1 or more overflow. this is very useful if your planning on using a sump or wetdry. among other advantages, sumps/wetdry adds extra water volume to the tank n offers more space for tank equipment like the ones u mention so it makes the display tank look better n more room for fishes/corals.
this eliminates the need for overflow boxes which can b a nitemare.

This was extremely informative. Thank you for your insight, much appreciated.

 

[street fish]

Lion fish is one of my favorite SWF 3 or 4 would like really nice in a 125 gal tank. Dark reds and black ones are sometimes available they are compatible with groupers and you don't need a $500 light fixture for a fish only tank regular fluorescent and actinic will do fine.You will need skimmers and a refugium to help reduce nitrates and don't forget to test for nitrate.

Completely agree. Thanks

 

[street fish]

Check out the for sale forum here, you'll save quite a bit.
Lighting is up to you, fish only will do fine with regular output lighting. Depending on how soon you plan to go to corals perhaps you should just purchase a light fixture that will support them from the start.
Best wishes with your adventure in to the world of Salt Water Aquariums.

Thank you! Will do - anyone selling 72" lights?