New 80g tank Need Help

[gadawg]

I just won a 80g bow front tank from Posidons Reef Tonight at there customer appreciation night. It was a Blast. It is a corner flo pre drilled for overflow and return. I have never had a tank this big so i am looking for a little help. I am going to use this tank for corals and fish. I currently have a 29g so nothing would probably be able to transfer over from that. My questions to you are,
1. What size sump should i use?
2. What size return pump?
3. What size skimmer?
4. What kind of filtration?
5. What size heater?
6. How many pounds of live rock?
7. How many pounds of live sand (if needed)?
& last but not least
8. What Kind of lighting and wattage?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. And let me know if i am forgeting something. Thanks

 

[kappaknight]

Can you fit the 29 down there as the sump?

 

[sammy33]

1. What size sump should i use?
I would try to use the biggest sump that will fit under your stand and still be able to be removed when the tank is set up. If you DIY a sump then you can use a standard glass aquarium and install some acrylic baffles. http://samsreef.com/component/option,com_zoom/Itemid,27/page,view/catid,1/PageNo,2/key,9/hit,1/">(Here is mine)</a>

[B]2. What size return pump?[/B]
My preference is to use something about 3-5 times the display volume (per hour). With an 80g you want a 240gph to a 400gph pump. Just make sure it will push the height of your return. This slower flow through your sump will allow your skimmer to perform and will decrease micro bubble problems. Use some powerheads or a closed loop with a separate pump to acheive reef level flow. You will need a total flow between 800-1600 GPH (or more) depending on your animals you are planning. Note that this can be from mutliple powerheads or closed loop returns (not a single source).

[B]3. What size skimmer?[/B]
I would think a bit oversized but still able to fit in your sump. Maybe something rated for a 125g or larger.

[B]4. What kind of filtration?[/B]
Live rock and live sand. Maybe some carbon in the sump. Not much else needed if you keep your fish stocking levels reasonable and do not overfeed. Your cleanup critters will help as well (snails and a few hermit crabs)

[B]5. What size heater? [/B]
3-5 watts per gallon. So between 250 to 400 watts. Maybe even two 150 watt heaters.

[B]6. How many pounds of live rock?[/B]
For budgeting purposes plan on about 1lb per gallon. You may use more or less depending on the density of the rock you choose and how you aquascape your aquarium.

[B]7. How many pounds of live sand (if needed)?[/B]
Well sand does make for a nice reef. I would think about a 1Lb per gallon for a decorative sandbed. If you would like a DSB (deep sandbed) with the denitrification benefits you may need 2-3 lbs per gallon.

[B]& last but not least
8. What Kind of lighting and wattage?[/B]
This depends entirely on what you want to keep as far as corals. A combination of metal halide and fluorescent actinics (T5, PC or VHO) seems to always be a good choice. If you are planning on SPS coral, clams and anemone you may want to lean towards 250w MH or higher. If you like mostly soft corals and LPS (acan lords, candy cane, frogspawn) you can likely get away with 150w MH or maybe less. I like 10k or 14k MH lamps with some actinic 03 (420nm) and actinic blue (460nm) T5's or PC's.

Best bet is to make a list of corals you want to keep and find out what their requirements are for light and flow. :)

 

[tsciarini]

great write-up Sam!

 

[gadawg]

Thanks for the great advice sammy. If i go with MH would i need a chiller? Also the tank says it delivers 700GPH of circulation. Does that mean i need a return pump of 700GPH?

And i plan on giving the 29g tank to my mother and seting it up for her b/c she loves saltwater fish. So would my best option be to find a used sump or just buy a tank and make it my self?

 

[ubfishy]

are you going to make a canopy? if so; and you use mh i would install a fan or two i have a a 250 mh on my 29 aga and use two fans; one to blow in and one blowing out during this last summer my tank tank didn't go over 87. so i don't think you would need a chiller but then again every set up is different!

 

[suasati]

GaDawg wrote: Thanks for the great advice sammy. If i go with MH would i need a chiller? Also the tank says it delivers 700GPH of circulation. Does that mean i need a return pump of 700GPH?

That probably is the rating for the return drains, then you may want to keep the return pump less than that value. As sammy suggested, if you keep a max of 400gph you should be ok.

 

[gadawg]

What brand of return pump do you suggest?

 

[sammy33]

GaDawg wrote: What brand of return pump do you suggest?

Big D gave you some great suggestions. :up: Also check out Eheim Universal pumps. The 1250 or even the 1260 would be a great return pump. They are a bit more expensive but have a great track record and are pretty quiet. I have 2 Gen-x 1500 pumps that I am probably changing out to Eheim 1250's. The Gen-x are doing a resonable job but are a wee bit noisy for my taste.

 

[reefscape]

sammy was you writing a book there ....wow what a write up...thumbs up..somebody did there home work.....sammy your thoughts on a closed loop..

 

[gadawg]

Has anybody used a Rio Aqua Pump? Just wondering if they were any good. The 1700 is 642GPH at 23 watts for $37.00.

 

[platyplakia]

If you decide to go with the sandbed, I'd use base rock at the bottom for sure. I put about 50 lbs of base rock in my 75 gal and when I put sand in, it covered them up almost completely. Not to mention that at $2.00/lb at some places, you can't beat it. Mine has only been up for about 4 months and the only base rock that looks different from my live rock is the stuff that doesn't get any light. the rest looks great. Putting the base rock in before the sand worked great for me. It gave me a firm foundation for the rest of my rock work. I don't have to worry about anything settling over time. Don't know if this helps or if you knew this already, but i hope everything works out well. Oh yeah, before you give that tank to your mom you may want to think about using it for a sump. Remember that giving a tank to the parents usually means you will need to coach them along the way . I'd just get her a bio-cube or something as close to a "plug-and-play" system as possible. Just my 2. Good luck and GO DAWGS!!!!!!!!!!

 

[rhomer]

GaDawg wrote: Has anybody used a Rio Aqua Pump? Just wondering if they were any good. The 1700 is 642GPH at 23 watts for $37.00.

Absolutely not, Rio's in generally have horrible track records. I've never had one last more than 6 months, and in fact I had one short out :wow2:.
Stay away from RIO at all costs.

Rob