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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 5/28/2008 10:14:55 AM
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I need some help from you fine fish people!! I am proud to say that I have become the proud new owner of a 500 gal reef ready tank. i will be receiving it within two weeks. So I am now trying to get things ready for it...trying! I have the filter system about 25% bought so far, It will have a 165 gallon sump tank below. I have all the plumbing as well ah hoses and lines to get the water to and from the tank. I am going to have the skimmer built by a company so it will fit and have enough gusto to do its job in the system. This is where i need help with, what else should I have in this massive filter??? I have been told all sorts of things like have it full of live rock and bio-balls...or half chemical half mechanical...mangrove trees...I have had a lot of tanks in my life but befor this my biggest tank was a 125. I had used two canister filters, both had some chem filters and bio filters and mechanical filters inside of them, but with this type of filter i am no help to myself??? I chose the 165 from the manufacturers guidelines...and it has little places for different things. Any help with this will be very useful.
Also I have turned my 125 into a stock tank for the time being. I am trying to stock it full of live rock for the big one when it is ready. How much live rock will i need for this big of a system??? And for live sand, I have always just took silica sand for the main part of it and then just seeded it using some live sand. I am not sure if this is good or not but it has always worked for me. Is this what most people do???
I would like to set it up as a community tank with all sorts of critters and fish. I don't know if the type of system will change on what it will be stocked with. So any help with the first phase will be awesome. Thank you for your time...
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| Hi 500gal, Welcome to the Marine Depot Forums . That is going to be a huge tank! Congratulations. You may want to check out this tank build thread or this one for some ideas. If it were my tank (filter system wise) I would probably have the skimmer where the water first enters the sump (skimmers work best when fed raw, unfiltered tank water). Then possibly have it go through a refugium area (alga, mangroves, sand rock, etc...) and finally an empty area with baffles to make sure there are no microbubbles or algae that get sucked in by the return pump and released into the main tank. No need for bioballs IMO. You will probably want to have anywhere from 1/2 to 2 lbs of rock per gallon, so around 250-1000 lbs of rock. I know that is a huge range, but a lot of it will depend on your aquascaping, the density of the rock, etc... I would myself probably go right around the 500 lb range. I personally don't like silica based sands, I like calcium based media. While some people have had luck with the silica medias, I don't believe they have any benefits like a calcium based media will (like buffering the water, being able to create a deep sand bed). HTH,
________________________________________________ Keith“I'm hitting the woods just great,
but I'm having a terrible time getting out of them.” - Harry Tofcano
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be patient.
thanks Keith.
no bioballs, what kind of reef do you want? what kind of lights do you have? no silca sand.
here is another good read.
http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic23945-9-1.aspx
also the books. see my build thread for a great list of books to read BEFORE you put it all together.
------------------------------------
Carl
"almost any obstacle can be overcome with information; information is truly the oxygen of understanding."
Anthony Calfo
Going Solar
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Group: Forum Members
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| what do you mean by baffles?sp? Like I said that filter setup is new to me. and by calcium substrate, what is that made up of? Right now i don't have the lighting picked out yet, but I am thinking a MH setup would be good. I have seen some that are 1152 watt bulb output. I would like to have some coral and fish with some inverts, so that light should go down to the bottom right? And on the live rock, I was thinking about the 500 range also. It is pretty expensive so I cant go all out on rock ya know? I also have looked into ro/di water filter, that hooks up to the filter for auto top offs, does anyone use this setup is ti good? the tank wont have water in it for another few months, so I have time to shop and I hope to find some deals as I have over 5 grand just in the tank stand and hood. I had the tank mad with sapphire glass??? Does anyone know if it is as good as they say??
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Group: Forum Members
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| Hello fish people, Thanks for all the info so far it is helping to pick through this setup ordeal!! I was just looking at the dimensions of the tank again an it is like 11 feet long it will take up my whole wall in the living room. I cant wait to get some schooling fish in there but I think that will be some time yet before water hits it. Anyway, you said you use a calcium substrate in your tank, by that do you mean a crushed coral or something else? I would at least like to start looking for that and maybe find some wholesale maybe a pallet or so. I also need help with the amount of the stuff, I would like kind of a deep sand bed but my wallet might say something else depending on price of the stuff. Would 4-5 inches be enough or should it be deeper? Another thing is someone told me to get a filter for a 1000 gal tank because for a tank that size it would work more water through it. Thus doing a better job, It sounds like a load but maybe not? I already have the 165 gal sump paid for and i don't want a 300 gal sump. A 165 gal tank just to filter seems kind of big to me to but like I said sumps are new to me? Is there going to be a lot of room in the 165 or should it be packed with stuff??? Well any help would be awesome, thanks again!!!
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500gal (5/15/2008)
what do you mean by baffles?Baffles are partitions put in the sump to help prevent microbubbles from going all the way through the sump and being sucked up by the return pump and pushed into the main tank. If you look at a few sumps designs you will be able to see kind of how this is done. I will see if I can find any good pictures or such to give a better example. 500gal (5/15/2008)
and by calcium substrate, what is that made up of?Calcium Carbonate. Take a look at the Caribsea line of substrates for a very good one. I like the Aragamax Oolitic sugar sized sand myself. 500gal (5/15/2008)
Right now i don't have the lighting picked out yet, but I am thinking a MH setup would be good. I have seen some that are 1152 watt bulb output. I would like to have some coral and fish with some inverts, so that light should go down to the bottom right? Here is a little write up on metal halide lighting that should help out some. You can also check out some good articles on the educational section of the Marine Depot website. 500gal (5/15/2008)
And on the live rock, I was thinking about the 500 range also. It is pretty expensive so I cant go all out on rock ya know? That probably will be fine for the tank. 500gal (5/15/2008)
I also have looked into ro/di water filter, that hooks up to the filter for auto top offs, does anyone use this setup is ti good? Take a look at the SpectraPure units for some good options. You should be using RO or RO/DI water for everything (top off and mixing with a synthetic sea salt to make saltwater) 500gal (5/15/2008)
the tank wont have water in it for another few months, so I have time to shop and I hope to find some deals as I have over 5 grand just in the tank stand and hood. I had the tank mad with sapphire glass??? Does anyone know if it is as good as they say??Be patient, read as much as you can (between online stuff and also books like The Reef Aquarium Vol. 1, 2 and 3 by Delbeek and Sprung, Aquarium Corals by Eric Borneman or The Modern Reef Aquarium, books are on sale on the Marine Depot Site right now, use the coupon code bookworm to save 25%) and talk with people. The more you educate youself the better chance you have of a sucessful tank. I have never used sapphire glass on my tanks, but from what I hear it makes the tank look much clearer and polished looking.
________________________________________________ Keith“I'm hitting the woods just great,
but I'm having a terrible time getting out of them.” - Harry Tofcano
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Group: Administrators
Last Login: Today @ 3:34:33 AM
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500gal (5/15/2008)
I was just looking at the dimensions of the tank again an it is like 11 feet long it will take up my whole wall in the living room. That will be impressive. Make sure the floor it is going on can handle all the weight. 500gal (5/15/2008)
I cant wait to get some schooling fish in there but I think that will be some time yet before water hits it. Yes, be patient. It will pay off in the long run. 500gal (5/15/2008)
Anyway, you said you use a calcium substrate in your tank, by that do you mean a crushed coral or something else? I would at least like to start looking for that and maybe find some wholesale maybe a pallet or so. I think I answered this in the previous post (sand). I am not sure if the manufacturer would sell direct and unless you are a business wholesalers can't (won't) sell to you. More than likely your best bet is to figure out how much sand you want and call around to different online and LFS to see who can get you the best price. 500gal (5/15/2008)
I also need help with the amount of the stuff, I would like kind of a deep sand bed but my wallet might say something else depending on price of the stuff. Would 4-5 inches be enough or should it be deeper?You can use a remote deep sand bed (RDSB). See this thread for more information about that. You could put the DSB in the sump (refugium area) and just keep a thinner layer of sand in the main tank if you wanted to. What is the footprint of your tank (11 feet x ???)? 500gal (5/15/2008)
Another thing is someone told me to get a filter for a 1000 gal tank because for a tank that size it would work more water through it. Thus doing a better job, It sounds like a load but maybe not? I already have the 165 gal sump paid for and i don't want a 300 gal sump. A 165 gal tank just to filter seems kind of big to me to but like I said sumps are new to me? Is there going to be a lot of room in the 165 or should it be packed with stuff??? Well any help would be awesome, thanks again!!!For a reef tank, your main filtration should be done by your liverock (and livesand) for biological filtration and your skimmer. You can also use filter socks and/or sponges to help with mechanical filtration but you will want to make sure you are rinsing them often. Again you can get a lot of great information from those other two tank build threads in regards to set up. HTH,
________________________________________________ Keith“I'm hitting the woods just great,
but I'm having a terrible time getting out of them.” - Harry Tofcano
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