New tank- What do you wish you had done differently?

Kim

Non-member
My tank was broken in transit so I got even more time to think about my new tank and how I wish it to be set-up. It is a 135 gallon tank and my lighting will be Sunlight supply 250 HQI pendents. I got one now and I love it.

So what do you wish you had done differently setting up your current tank? What are your favorite powerheads? Skimmers? I'm taking my time on this tank(probably at least about 8 months or longer in set-up) so dream away; if you wish you had it, let me know about it.

I'm trying to learn from everyone elses mistakes and gather different ideas on how to set things up. Hopefully it will help others as well.

Thanks,

Kim
 
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Try to get out and see other tanks in your size range. There are a lot of ways to set up tanks depending on what you are trying to do. We have made many changes to our 125 gallon in the last 9 months even though it was set up and running when we got it. I don't know where you live, but there is Route 495 tank tour still planned for early June.
 
I wish I went for what I really wanted in the first place. It would have saved a boat load of money in the long run.
Especially lighting, I changed mine 3 times.
 
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denvig said:
I wish I went for what I really wanted in the first place. It would have saved a boat load of money in the long run.
Especially lighting, I changed mine 3 times.

So what lighting system did you end up with and why? :)
 
Would not have bought a bakpak2
Would not have bought an AQ500
Would not have bought a non ReefReady tank (especially a tempered bottom one :rolleyes: )
Would not have bought a steel stand
Would not have bought an arrow crab
Would not have ever said aiptasia 'look cool'
Would probably have purchased more online, and less locally.... I'm a cheapo :/
Would not have bought anything from petco (though my 2 false percs are still alive and kickin)
Would not have gotten a tang
Would not have gotten damsels to cycle my tank with

Theres really so many things I did wrong... and probably still that I'll do... but at least I have a little better idea of what I'm doing now.
 
i would plan closed loops, so i wouldn't have look at powerheads but still have the flow for sps. closed loops are much cheaper then tunze streams.
 
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I did extensive research for 6 months and played with a 30G before I jumped into a "full-size" reef. It really paid off, there are very few things I wish I had done differently. Two of them - i would not have bought Milwakee CO2 regulators and i would not have bought Tunze Osmolator. Both pieces of junk IMO.
 
dima96 said:
i would plan closed loops, so i wouldn't have look at powerheads but still have the flow for sps. closed loops are much cheaper then tunze streams.

Do you have a preference to a loop that has drilled holes in the back of the tank or over the top? Or you don't really care.

I am most likely going to do a loop of some sort. I have a loop using my return pump and a scwd on both my 30 and my 10 but I am thinking of using something other than a scwd. Just not sure what. I had been looking at those oceanmotions thingys.

Anyone have a favorite loop set up?

And I am hoping that I can have my sump in my basement, depends really on my final location of the display. I can't decide which room to put it in yet.
 
I drilled my 65g for a closed loop, and am using a Mag5 w/ a SCWD. One hole is 8" below the water line and the other 2 holes are a couple inches above sand level. The flex tubing used to direct flow and the bulkhead inlet screen are hidden in the rockwork. Can't see a powerhead in the tank and I love it! I also added a 3/4" PVC sparybar just below the rear brace and waterline at the back wall for some extra flow. The flow to this is a MaxiJet 1200 on a wave timer, and the powerhead is also hidden. These types of things are the way to go. Great random flow patterns and turbulence, especially for SPS. Hide the pumps/powerheads in the rocks and keep the unatutural eyesores out of the way!

Your lighting scheme sounds pretty good. I agree w/ Keith about the basement sump. Thats the way I'm going when I buy a house and upgrade to a larger tank.
 
i prefer the look of drilled closed loops. my feeling is the equipment you can see in the tank the better.
 
I started with VHO?s then to PC?s and now I have two 250w DE MH with PC?s the first two were cheaper but didn?t have the light for the SPS corals to keep their color. It sounded like I was saving money but it cost twice as much in the long run. The lighting you have chosen sounds good.
 
Hmmmm... Though powerheads do take up a few square inches in each corner of the tank, if we were to get the same control over the flow with a closed loop it would me much more obtrusive (all the tubing). Like everything else, it depends on the effect you are going for, as well as your tank, stand, hood, etc... Only one end of our tank is non-viewable and we have kind of a "pendant" style lighting (open space between the lights and the tank), so that may make things different for us.

We also "started" with VHO, but since they sent us a MH ballast (by mistake), we decided to keep it (along with the VHO). I would recommend MH - as long as you don't go crazy and boil your tank away with them! ;)

I think the best thing we did was to put a large (bigger than the tank) sump in the basement.
 
1) I should have given more thought to the space between the tank and back of the wall. It's fine the way it is now and I can get at the plumbing OK, but there's only 8 1/2" to work in. Because the sump is in the stand (the only place I could put it at the time), I can only squeeze in back there with one arm with depleted oxygen (this is one of those times I wish I was a guy:eek: ).

2) Should have bought a stand with two doors instead of one.
3) Put the sump in the basement, but I would have had to sit it on top of my dad's table saw or drill press.

I like the maxijet PW's, but I've had 2 brand new ones fail within 2 weeks for some odd reason, but yet still have another maxi that's been running for over a year, go figure.

I'd still like to find a way to permanently plumb RO/DI water so I wouldn't have to hook it up to the sink every time I need to make water.....

Good luck Kim, if you ever need help let me know!:)
 
There are so many things...
--Started with a bigger tank (first was a 90)
--Gone with MH the first time.
--Found out about Boston Reefers before getting so much BAD INFO from LFS!!
--Been a bit more patient.
We have gotten so much good info. since joining The BRS (past 3 months) then in the past 3 years with LFS! Now I have a new LFS. (AA)

Probably the best thing I did was go with the sump in the basement a few years back. Lot of work, worth every bit of time and effort put into it. I am also on my third set of lights as of Monday. This should do it. Again, wish I had better info. in the beginning.

If you can, do a hard plumbed RO/DI. Very glad we did early. Saves a lot of time and effort (and money.)

Ask questions! I believe you never stop learning, no matter what the subject, or how much you may think you know!
 
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Keith Sheridan said:
Four words, big a** basement sump. Ohh that would be nice.

got a 120 for that and love it. but wish it was acrylic so when I wanted to drill something new or different it woudnt be such a pain in the A$$
 
I wouldn't have bought an Iwaki to be used in the tank in my bedroom.
I would have used glass tanks for sumps, and i would have expanded my sump and refugium like i'm planning to do.
 
Post-breakup

So what do you wish you had done differently setting up your current tank?
This question sounds similar to the question asking if you could go back and live your life over again, what would you do differently. Sorry, I'm still in a post-breakup mood today. We had the good-bye talk just this afternoon..:(

Anyhow, without dragging the thread down way under the water, I must say I have no regrets about my tank, even though it bears little or no resemblance to the system that was started almost 18 months ago.

Sure, I wish I had not spent money on things such as power compact lighting or a wet-dry filter for a sump, but in the long run, these expenses were really small. I still have the PC lights if anyone is interested (2 x 65W).

I started this hobby unusually, in that I did not set out to build a reef. In fact, I did not have any faith in my ability to keep a reef alive. I never kept many fish before, so fishkeeping, for me, had the stigma of things uncontrolably dying. Although I have always been fascinated by saltwater fish, I thought keeping a reef alive was voodoo, and so I settled for what I felt was a compromise: fish only with live rock (hence the PCs and W/D filter). After all, it is the fish, not the corals, that lured me into reefkeeping in the first place.

So would I have not done anything differently? Well, I was never sure that this would work out, whether I could keep fish alive, so I guess I'm not regretful that I bought less expensive lighting, the wrong filtration, etc. the first time around, only to be unable to resell it and have to buy more expensive versions of the same things the second time around (metla halides, a protein skimmer versus a wet/dry filter, etc.). I am regretful that I didn't listen tot he advice of others and buy at least a 75gal tank. I was warned that even with fish only, 55gal was way too small and way to difficult to aquascape.

In sum, here are my learned-the-hard-way points of wisdom after doing this for a mere two and a half years:
  • Unless you are wholly capable of accepting a small system, for 4ft tanks, buy at least a 75gal tank, and preferably a 90gal or a 120gal. a 55gal tank, regrettably, is not easy to aquascape.
  • If you have any intention of ever wanting to keep corals, go for it. You can do it!
  • Again, if corals are even the slightest bit interesting to you, invest in Metal Halide lighting now. I hope I don't offend anyone, but I feel every form of fluorescent lighting, while more affordable, is a distant second in aesthetics and coral growth.
  • Eschew powerheads in favor of a closed loop. It is something that can be built into a tank before you even get it set up. Powerheads (which I now have many unused sitting in a drawer) generate heat and are a deadly trap to many lifeofrms.
  • Buy a stand that is made entirely of wood (no particle board!), and has doors on both sides. The AGA modern stands, while sightly, are not suited for reef tanks. Mine is literally falling apart with the tank on it as the particle board breaks down from one too many saltwater baths.
  • Even if you are fish only, buy a reef ready tank. I am so grateful I did the first time around.
  • Make sure you have a decent skimmer. Mine is too small, but it is the only one that would fit underneath a 55gal.
  • If you find yourself aquiring more corals, and have a fairly large tank, pass dosing kalkwasser on by and go for the calcium reactor; it is much less effort and much more effective. I thought calcium reactors were for the crazy people, but now that I keep SPS, there is no comparison.
  • Make sure you own a digital pH meter. Also, make sure you own a refractometer. I learned the hard way that the pH test kits and swing arm refractometers are not acceptable for the demands of reef keeping.
  • Don't be color blind like me -- test kits are impossible to read;)
  • At least the old versions of Mag Drive pumps are not guaranteed to be waterproof, so they should be used submerged. I also don't recommend the QuietOne external pump, and have heard that the Velocity pumps are the quietest.
  • X10 technology is very time saving.
  • And finally, read read read and read some more and always check the BRS forum!
Just 2.5 years worth. I wonder what the next 2.5 years will teach me?:rolleyes:

Matt:cool:
 
Setting up a 125 tank now. All subjective opinion.What I learned. Get very good live rock. It is the bones of the tank. Pick and choose specific pieces so your aquascaping looks good. You can change out lights , pumps, but you'll bust up your corals changing out the rock. Do your plumbing to make it water change friendly.You can use your main pump and extra hose to remove water. Make sure you use disconnects and valves so you can remove, repair and clean easily.
Only buy fish and corals you really like. It doesn't matter how big the tank is, you will fill it quickly.
 
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