# Equipment Help



## Vuki88 (Mar 27, 2012)

So I am starting to buy and set-up my first marine tank. I would like some help and recommendations as to what equipment I should buy for my tank.

I have an 120G aquarium, dimensions are: 60"L x 18"W x 26"H
I have already picked out some pieces of equipment to use, but have not purchased yet. Please let me know if they are adequate for my tank size and if not which one is recommended.

Also my tank is not drilled; I plan on doing it myself. What diameter wholes do I need and where would they best be suited and how many.

Sump:
Eshopps Refugium R-200 - Second Generation
From: http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c5809/c378122248/p17653658.html

Protein Skimmer:
Bubble Magus NAC7 In-Sump Cone Skimmer
From: http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c194471/p17664369.html

Pump:
I'm not sure exactly what kind of pump I need and what the specs should be. Also do I need one for the sump and one for the protein skimmer? Or just one?

Power Heads: (x2)
Tunze Turbelle® nanostream® 6025
From: http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c378118491/p17656625.html

Heater: (To be placed in the sump)
Visi-Therm Deluxe 400 Watt Heater
From: http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c5810/c225515/p17522282.html

Lighting: (Cant seem to find any 60" lights)
Marineland Reef Capable LED Light Fixture
From: http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c5813/c231289/p17638735.html

Or

Deep Blue SolarXtreme - 48" Quad Lamp Fluorescent T5 HO Light System with Moonlight LEDs
From: http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c5813/c293075/p17641754.html

Right now for my freshwater tank I have two 24" Marineland LED lights. Are those fixtures good enough for saltwater tanks and for reefs?

That is everything I have picked out for now. If this is a good setup please let me know, and if not what would be better suited.

Thank you for any advice in advanced.


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

So I am starting to buy and set-up my first marine tank. I would like some help and recommendations as to what equipment I should buy for my tank.

I have an 120G aquarium, dimensions are: 60"L x 18"W x 26"H
I have already picked out some pieces of equipment to use, but have not purchased yet. Please let me know if they are adequate for my tank size and if not which one is recommended.

Also my tank is not drilled; I plan on doing it myself. What diameter wholes do I need and where would they best be suited and how many.

Sump:
Eshopps Refugium R-200 - Second Generation
From: http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c5809/c378122248/p17653658.html

good one if you have more money that you need.( I would return it and spend money on something else) Otherwise it is waste and you can make sump from used 40G breeder or any other tank

Protein Skimmer:
Bubble Magus NAC7 In-Sump Cone Skimmer
From: http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c194471/p17664369.html

not bad, but read reviews first. I will suggest you check Vertex 180 (make sure you have enough high in the cabinet
Pump:
I'm not sure exactly what kind of pump I need and what the specs should be. Also do I need one for the sump and one for the protein skimmer? Or just one?
The size of the pump related to the size of the drain (GPH). I would recommend eheim 1260 or 1262 with 1.5 size of the drain. Skimmer should include pump. 
Power Heads: (x2)
Tunze Turbelle® nanostream® 6025
From: http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c378118491/p17656625.html

Heater: (To be placed in the sump)
Visi-Therm Deluxe 400 Watt Heater
From: http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c5810/c225515/p17522282.html

Lighting: (Cant seem to find any 60" lights)
Marineland Reef Capable LED Light Fixture 
From: http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c5813/c231289/p17638735.html
Will not recommend as a main light
Or

Deep Blue SolarXtreme - 48" Quad Lamp Fluorescent T5 HO Light System with Moonlight LEDs
From: http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c5813/c293075/p17641754.html

http://www.goreef.com/
Right now for my freshwater tank I have two 24" Marineland LED lights. Are those fixtures good enough for saltwater tanks and for reefs?

That is everything I have picked out for now. If this is a good setup please let me know, and if not what would be better suited.

Thank you for any advice in advanced.[/QUOTE]

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## Chromey (Sep 25, 2010)

I few good thoughts, And some Off ones too.

If you have lots of money for this project, Then go for that sump.

If not make your own at a fraction of the cost.

As for skimmers, The one you like is priced right, But kinda Small for your system.
That skimmer is under rated a bit But still wont keep up to 120-150G system with a bio load.

The heater... OH Boy, Dont cheap out here. Ive used the Visi-therm, And they are good enough.... But get a Controlled heater instead.
http://www.goreef.com/Finnex-Heaters/

As far as Lighting, You need to drop some good coin here, Dont cheap out, It will cost you more in the long run.

If you want a 60" T5 light, Go with ATI.
If you want LED... The market Is building.
You could get the ReefBrite XHO 60" units.
Reefbrite is good and will grow everything, But hey are ON/OFF only, Not dimmable.

a DIY LED system from Rapitled.com would be the Best bet for the money, But you will have to build the light yourself.

Remember, READ EVERYTHING about reffing, Dont just think its like FW, Its alot more, And mistakes Cost you ALOT more.

I hope this helped.
Thier is alot of good people on this Fourm with great advice, Please listen.


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## advanced reef aquatics (Apr 20, 2009)

30" sump too small imo. At least 36" if u want fuge etc, bang for your buck u can do better than eshopps,


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## Chromey (Sep 25, 2010)

Like Flavio said... I have a 75 Gallon Fuge/sump.

All the room you need for everything. Plus the more water, The more stable.


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## advanced reef aquatics (Apr 20, 2009)

Problem is you may have micro bubbles returning to d.t. At least 36" to disipitate bubbles. Room for skimmer, fuge etc.


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## Chromey (Sep 25, 2010)

in a nut shell, Build your own or buy a better made unit. You have MANY options.

With the advice from these guys and gals, Not to metion the help if you need it, You can get all you need from here.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

All good comments like usual.

I would stay away from the Marineland lights. Build your own sump and invest into good lighting. Also get 2x200w heaters and run them off a controller with the money you save from the sump. I'm using the Tunze powerheads and the only drawback is that you can't hook them up to a wavemaker. 

As for the return pump it's all going to matter on what sized holes you drill and how much head height you have.

Good luck!!!


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## J_T (Mar 25, 2011)

altcharacter said:


> All good comments like usual.
> 
> I would stay away from the Marineland lights. Build your own sump and invest into good lighting. Also get 2x200w heaters and run them off a controller with the money you save from the sump. I'm using the Tunze powerheads and the only drawback is that you can't hook them up to a wavemaker.
> 
> ...


Return pump...

This should be big enough to move how many gallons per hour the pump on your skimmer is rated for...

The return pumps only job is to cycle the water from the DT to the sump. So, why to the sump? The skimmer. It doesn't make sense to run 1000 GPH through the sump if your skimmer is only going to be able to clean 400 GPH. Right? The power heads in the tank are far better suited to create flow. The return pump shouldn't really be tasked with that.

So, Skimmer GPH + 100 GPH for ever foot of rise, and for every plumbing joint. This will give you a rough estimate of how many GPH your return should be.

Also, make sure your drain can handle that many GPH


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

All good comments, but with whom are you talking? Where is the owner of the thread? 

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## J_T (Mar 25, 2011)

sig said:


> All good comments, but with whom are you talking? Where is the owner of the thread?


MIA?

Good info for the sites search feature


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## Vuki88 (Mar 27, 2012)

lol sorry guys I was away for a little while and did'nt have access to a computer.
So right now I am just reading over some of the post and just gathering some info, and the comments you guys are leaving is really helpful.

So since everyone here is saying I should just build a sump myself, I guess that's what I will do. So to start, I have a 40G tank laying around, would this be suitable to use for a sump for my size tank?

Today I have just started dismanteling my freshwater tank and soon going to start working on converting it to a salt water.
The first thing I want to do is drill the holes in my tank. Can anyone help me out with that, or if able to send me in the right direction for a DIY tutorial.

Thanks for all the omments and help guys.


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## explor3r (Mar 14, 2010)

A 40g would be just fine for the sump but remember if you can get a bigger one much better, as for the water pump a Eheim 1262 would be ok and the Vertex 180in sump would be a good match to this water pump.
This is just my opinion giving the fact that you would get many different ones...Good luck


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## Taipan (Feb 12, 2012)

My two cents for what it's worth:

If you have the time, effort, and/or money - build your own sump. The bigger the better - that's my best piece of advice. You already have a 60" footprint; use it if you can. I'm not saying it has to be 60" long....but a 48" sump would be nice. My 120 gallon has an 80 gallon sump (approx. 60 gallons of water). This may seem like overkill; but it suits my purposes. I love the size of my refugium (it's its own display), extra baffles and media compartments, and lots of room for skimmer and your elbows. etc. Also; sometimes making your own works out to be less expensive.

I'd have 2 200W or 2 300W heaters being used together as opposed to 1 that can fail. If 1 fails; you'll have the 2nd already working as a back-up. If your budget allows - go titanium.

Marineland lights - seem only good for Fish Only with Live Rock (FOWLR) systems. Depending on what your future needs are - it may be enough. Regardless of what you decide - try and find a unit that has one power cord with a built-in timer that can control your separate lighting needs (if necessary) OR separate power cords that you can control your needs with a timer. Sometimes - one cord with just an on and off feature may not be convenient.


As for the size of holes - minimum returns (surprisingly, I've actually seen smaller). You'd be surprised how snails manage to end up in the oddest places. All it takes is a snail in the wrong place plugging things up and you have a spill on your hands. Actually one turbo snail will plug a 1 inch pipe.

As for the skimmer - I've been out of the loop for a while now and haven't done my research lately.

As for the pump - try and find one that is within your budget that is energy efficient, has low heat transfer, and quiet. You'd be surprised how many people forget the 'quiet' part.

I'm fairly new to this forum as well. Good luck. Cheers.


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## Chromey (Sep 25, 2010)

Im able to drill Holes for you, I also have some Glass already cut for a 40G breeder tank, If you would like to buy them...

I do agree that a bigger sump is better, BUT I did run almost a year with a 40G as my sump.

Let me know what size of bulkhead your going with and we can work out the details after.

Ive drilled Well over 60 Holes So Dont worry..... BUT you need to know if the glass is tempered or not.


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## Vuki88 (Mar 27, 2012)

Chromey said:


> Im able to drill Holes for you, I also have some Glass already cut for a 40G breeder tank, If you would like to buy them...
> 
> I do agree that a bigger sump is better, BUT I did run almost a year with a 40G as my sump.
> 
> ...


How much would it cost to drill two holes for my tank?


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## Chromey (Sep 25, 2010)

got anything to trade?
What size do you need?


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