So I just bought all this stuff

[puttyman]

thanks Bleedingthought.

Well today I got tired of waiting on a deal like I got on the tank for my ro/di filter. So I ordered an ocean reef +1 from the filter guys. While I was at it I also got a reefkeeper 2. Well actually I couldn't really stop myself. Seemed like by the time you buy all the power strips and timers and the mess of all that the rk2 was the way to go. Can't wait, I might not be to far from actually putting something in the tank, lol.

Now I'm thinking there might not be enough room under this stand. I saw a really nice 120(48x24) stand at cappucino, I made the rounds looking at LR. I might be building one. I was surprised that it had no center brace in the front which definitely made it easy to get into but will this hold up over time? The height was great too, 35" to the bottom of the tank, but would this be to high for seated viewing?

 

[puttyman]

Bleeningthought, how well can you see into the tank while lying on the couch? lol

So I've got another question, Do I need to drill the tank for a closed loop? It seems like a lot of the larger tanks have closed loop systems. Are the loops to gain more flow or to incorporate more equipment? It seems like my 120 is right on the cusp of needing one size wise. This definitely a now or never option so I want to get it right. The more opinions the better so throw in your 2 cents. Thanks.

I also noticed I just missed the meeting. Hopefully next time.

 

[chibils]

Addressing things as I see them:

Live rock is subjective. A piece of Caribbean can weigh 2# and only be 50% as effective as a piece of Walt Smith Fiji (same size @ 1#). I say use as much as you find aesthetically pleasing; you can always put some in a remote rubbermaid (with a rdsb? - more on that later).

The Coralife is fine for now. A good cost-effective alternative is an Octopus (probably the 200 or 250 in your case) or a DAS EX-1 or EX-2. Euro-Reefs are great, as are Deltecs, but are pricey and largely unnecessary for your tank unless you fill it to the brim with SPS and large angelfish/tangs (you'd probably need a Bubbleking 250 for that ).

As far as RO/DI goes, people rarely sell them for some reason.

Deep sand beds do more good than harm, but are unsightly and take up room in your tank. The same effect can be accomplished with a RDSB (remote deep sand bed) by plumbing a rubbermaid full of submerged sand (at least 6" deep) to your sump or DT. The downsides to a SSB (shallow sand bed) in your DT are that you can't house things like sand-sifting gobies/blennies (I would avoid them as-is since they eat all the nitrifying bacteria in your sand) and jawfish (which are really awesome).

PHs and CLs both accomplish the goal of water movement. Powerheads are more constant and controllable (they can be moved and adjusted) but take up room in the tank. Closed loops are more erratic (like a natural reef) but take up room below the tank (as you would be using a wavemaker plumbed to your return). Additionally, a CL can have flow coming from dozens of spots along the tank (wherever you feel like drilling holes and connecting pvc). It can get messy fast.



(P.S. I apologize if this is difficult to read or follow, I'm tired and going through some personal issues right now; I tried.)