I am new to the hobby but currently keeping 2 10 gallon tanks as a practice to make sure i can keep them alive . When browsing craigslist i found a 135 Gallon fish tank with stand for really cheap so i went for it. I have now cleaned it up and looks like i will have to possibly redo some of the silicone cause someone else did a crappy job on it but it does hold water. Now im researching into what i need to get this thing set up and WOW its getting expensive. here is what i have so far. Note the tank is not drilled. It is very old to the point that the framing on the edges of the tank look to be actual wood and the tank thinkness looks like it could be 3/4 thickness. Please provide feedback if there are better products at better prices? Goal: Saltwater Reef tank. Hopefully live coral. My currently setup i am looking at does not have a sump or refugium. This seemed to me like least maintinance due to the filter i am looking at. Also the stand is not very deep and i dont think i could fit one although i have though about building a new stand. From what i can tell if you use a skimmer you would be taking out additional nutrients in the tank that the deep sand bed would consume so i dont think a skimmer would be needed or beneficial? Here are the items i am looking at so far. Fluval G6 filter rated up to 160 Gallons 3X 24" Panorama Pro LED Fixtures deep sand bed(i like the added deminsion of life and the possibility of lower water maintinance) What sand to get and where to get it for the cheapest i need help on. 150 pounds of live rock. again not sure where the best prices are for this. 2X Aqueon 1650GPH power heads from petco Thank you for any help you can provide!
pictures would be helpful I have run tanks around that size off canister filters before, and fisher12 has had a 125 run off a canister for years now, and It's truly an amazing tank. As far as LED's go there are lots of different ones, I have three of my four tanks on LED's now and love them. Sand and rock are a personal preference, I have always liked 1"-2" sand beds and as far as rock goes I have some tanks packed with rocks and others that only have a few pieces of rock in them. Flow takes playing with, I have a couple 3,000gph power heads and it took me a few weeks to keep them from blowing my sand everywhere in my 200 gallon tank. With that being said, everyone has a different way of doing things and there is no right or wrong way of keeping a tank. All of my tanks are set up and maintained differently. So the more you talk with different reefers in the club and research what other people do around the world the easier it is to figure out exactly what you are wanting to do with your specific tank.
Here is a picture of the tank i got. So having 1ib of live rock per gallon isnt a must? Also i hear some people say that having a deep sand bed can cause tank crashes however it seems to me as long as you have enough life in the bed that it should keep it turned up enough to not cause build up correct? How can i tell which led lights are going to work and not going to work. It seems there are many cheap options on the market. Also on sand im looking at petco and its like $1 a pound. so if you do a deep sand bed im talking like 400 bucks! Is there a cheaper place i can get this? So if you have a canister filter in what cases would i need to have a skimmer?
Not all "sand" is good for a reef tank. I would suggest that you be sure that it is an Aragonite material. I prefer the mixed size grain. It doesn't get too packed like the fine grain can and is better for sand sifters than the course grade. You will do fine with about 2 inch layer. I prefer to have it shallower at the front glass(maybe an inch) and slope it deeper towards the back. You might try buying several bags, put them in and add until you like the depth. When it comes to LEDs, there are a number of US and Chinese companies that make good fixtures and some make fixtures that are less than adequate for a reef tank. The Chinese companies are less expensive and there are a number of us in the club that have them. You need to check the company's info on the fixture you are considering. For your size tank I suggest that you not consider any fixtures with less than 3 watt LEDs. Your other detail to check is the variety of colors in the fixture. Some companies have only blue and white. Others add green, red and varying colors of blue and white. If your primary interest is to have just fish and some soft corals then the white and blue should work fine. If you want hard corals then the added colors can help the health of your corals. Your basic fixture is just on and off. The next level has 2 channels and manual dimmers for each channel that allows you to adjust the balance between the blue and white to give you the color you want. The advanced have the ability to vary light levels through the day.
