# 110 gallon tank.



## gtprince (Sep 19, 2011)

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum and have been planning to get an aquairum since last feb to march a little after we got our blue and gold macaw. So last week i finally purchased a 60x18x24 tank and stand for 100 bucks (Hagen).

Anywayz my goals for the tank are, I would like to have corals, few tropical fish, a small eel and stingray, and maybe a seahorse (reading dependent). My main starter question is i've been reading alot on filtraion and lighting and i still dont have a definite answer, and i'm not sure that I will, but anyhow is there some sort of checklist one should go buy. I dont want to purchase unneccesary equipment, or purchase incorrect hardware and be stuck with it. I've also been reading about the sump setup as a filtration and it does not make any sense to me how a pump and water alone can filter without anytype of mechanical means.

Any advice is gladly appreciated.

http://www.vafishfreek.com/wetdrynsump.html thats what i was reading recently.

Thanks in advance for all the help.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

gtprince said:


> I've also been reading about the sump setup as a filtration and it does not make any sense to me how a pump and water alone can filter without any type of mechanical means.


I have a FOWLR tank and there are no mechanical filtration on it whatsoever, only water movement.

The most important kind of filtration is biological filtration, and that is done through live rocks, macro-algae, and a deep sand bed.

The only purpose mechanical filtration has is to remove floating debris in the water, making the tank look more attractive. In my case, even without any mechanical filtration, the water is crystal clear.


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## gtprince (Sep 19, 2011)

*thanks for the clearup*

i guess my next question pertaining to that is, do you ever have to take out the sand to clean it?


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## caker_chris (Apr 22, 2010)

NO, do not remove your sand and clean it. You get sand sifters and clean the top of the sand. Removing the sand, cleaning it and then putting it back in the tank will kill any animals living in it as well as send your tank into another cycle.


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## explor3r (Mar 14, 2010)

Welcome to GTTA........
A cleaning crue will help a lot and sand shifters, make sure you buy good equipment dont go cheap if you dont want to pay more at the end.
Research what you getting into and enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

For that size of tank, if you want to keep a few undemanding corals (namely easy LPS and soft corals), a high output T5 (T5HO) fixture with 4- 6 bulbs will be sufficient for you.

As for filtration, usually the only mechanical filtration will be either a filter sock on a drain line to the sump or a skimmer which has limited mechanical filtration capacity, but does have some ability to remove particulates.

As said before, the most important is your biological filtration which breaks down waste (ammonia, nitrites) into more tolerable nitrates. Nitrates have to be removed by some other method, usually water changes. Live rock is the key here. The rule of thumb has been 1 lb to 1 gallon, and it's a pretty safe bet for beginners. Once you get the hang of maintaining a SW system, you'll find that much less is actually required, and it also varies with people's tank sizes and personal tastes.

As for cleaning the sand, there are several factors - if you run a deep sand bed (as many do for nitrate reduction), it's best not to disturb it, as it needs to have anoxic (without oxygen) areas in order for the necessary bacteria to flourish. Hence you don't want to disturb the sand bed in case you stir up the established anoxic areas.

On the other hand, if you have a shallow sand bed, it's advisable to clean it once in a while to remove the accumulated detrius. Some people even go so far as to partially remove part of the sandbed periodically and replace it with new sand. Because you're not relying on the development of an anoxic zone in the sand, there's no worry about disturbing the sandbed, save for worrying about throwing around all the detrius trapped in there (which reminds me, it's high time I cleaned my sand bed....)

And yet another option is to leave a bare-bottom in your tank. it makes it much easier to clean up as detrius usually just accumulates in one corner and is easily siphoned out.

The key pieces of equipment you'll need now are: lights, live rock, powerheads (for water movement), and possibly a heater. Everything else isn't completely necessary, but they do have their places 

There are plenty of really good sites out there and books as well to read to get a solid footing and avoid many mistakes - but one of the best things can be to get clarification before you do anything by asking questions on forums like ours!


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

gtprince said:


> i guess my next question pertaining to that is, do you ever have to take out the sand to clean it?


No, never. As ameekplec said, you shouldn't ever disturbe a deep sand bed.

However, I think that even with a shallow sand bed, as long as your nitrates are under control, there's no need to go through the hassle of cleaning it. I find that the chaetomorpha algae is excellent at keeping nitrates down.


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## gtprince (Sep 19, 2011)

thanks all so far for the help. for water movement i found out that i would need 2 powerheads and there relatively inexpensive the hydroflow ones anyways. Lighting is another subject i dont quite understand and as i've been reading it is subjective to each individual. But i admittingly do not know a vast amount of corals, but i'm guessing your suggesting not to use sps? Is there a reason why?


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Generally harder to keep - once you get the hang of maintaining constant parameters, pristine water and get a handle on monitoring parameters, then keeping SPS becomes easy. Without a bit of a foundation to work off of, they can be very hard to keep as they are among the more demanding group of corals to keep.


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## gtprince (Sep 19, 2011)

thank you all for the welcome. Did you guys buy your own live rock or make it? it seems to be i should look at acquiring the live rock before the lights?


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

From my experience, I would put some thought into getting a good skimmer for your system if you intend on keeping coral.

As for liverock, you can buy "real" liverock from your local fish store, and most will often have a selection of "dry" rock (sometimes called "marco" rock) you can use.


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## gtprince (Sep 19, 2011)

hi chris, thanks for the tip will be checking them soon.

however should i have saltwater setupin my tank before i put the live rock in or after i put it in?

How much rock do i need is it 1 or 1.5 or 2 lbs per gallon? In some sense i don think our homes were built to hold such a quantity of weight in one place. Assuming water ways 10lbs a gallon and i have a 110 gallon, i'm looking at 1000 lbs + in water alone plus rock, fish etc etc, is or will my house be able to support that kind of weight?

http://www.reefland.com/forum/marin...se-treatment/19180-what-live-rock-anyway.html


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## caker_chris (Apr 22, 2010)

its up to the individual how much rock they use. Generally the rule of thumb is 1lb of rock per 1gal of water. Depending on the experience and what people find more pleasing some people choose to use less and some people choose to use more.

The more rock you use the more biological filtration you will have but too much rock will lead to other complications such as flow restrictions and limited room for fish to swim.

In turn the less rock you use the less biological filtration you will have.

As far as the weight of the tank is concerned. Most houses especially newer ones will be able to support a 110gal tank but that all depends on the location of the tank and the individual house. Putting the tank next to a load bearing wall and positioning the tank so it runs opposite the joists is the best way to do it.


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## adrenaline (Jan 17, 2011)

I'm probably newer to marine than most other people here, but a protein skimmer is probably one of the most crucial investments aside from lights and live rock.

As for live rock, take a look on the classifieds here and one some other forums. You can almost always find someone selling some at a much better price than your LFS. i bought some from big als initially around the $5-7 per lb range. I needed to get my tank going so I didn't have much choice. I later picked up a lot more rock from some members on here at a much better price, which was already established, still quarentined it and added it slowly to my main tank.

It seemed like more work than my cichlid tanks initially, but it boils down to pretty much the same thing aside from mixing the water. It is more expensive to maintain, but it's quite rewarding. I love finding new hitch hikers when i pick up new live rock. so many interesting critters!

*edit*

1 rule to follow, if you think you'll need to spend some $$ on a quality product, don't skimp on it. you'll probably end up spending the money down the line anyways. I learned this lesson the hard way on my skimmer...

I'm not saying all qulaity products are expensive, but do your research first, which it seems like you are doing!


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

adrenaline said:


> I'm probably newer to marine than most other people here, but a protein skimmer is probably one of the most crucial investments aside from lights and live rock.


I agree, but it only applies when you can not maintain sufficient water changes based on the size of the tank. In BA on Steeles the have 30G without skimmer and with 5G per week water changes it is in perfect shape already for 5 years
(just my opinion)

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## gtprince (Sep 19, 2011)

Thank you all so far, i'm the process of looking to acquire live rock, probably bout 80-90 lbs or so, waiting for a deal to appear, then i will probably be buying live sand. Does anyone sell used sand or is it best to buy it new?


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

gtprince said:


> Thank you all so far, i'm the process of looking to acquire live rock, probably bout 80-90 lbs or so, waiting for a deal to appear, then i will probably be buying live sand. Does anyone sell used sand or is it best to buy it new?


Probably, I is just me, but live sand it is just dirty sand. I would wash at any way before putting in the new tank. I think you do not have access to AP, but there is good price $2 per Lbs and live sand also for sale.
In case you do not have access there, PM me your info and I will try to connect you with this guy.
When you will buy LR, make sure that it does not have aphtasia

Here is the guy on Kijj. he has around 120Lbs. Try him under condition to take all. It should reduce price

http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-pets-other-pets-for-sale-marine-shut-down-W0QQAdIdZ313288560

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## gtprince (Sep 19, 2011)

Hi sig,

Thanks for the link, i've emailed him and a few other people, will hopefully see shortly.

So i've been lookin and tryna research light right now still at the drawing blank stage, maybe i need some sleep to understand it, but i posted a link to two of the fixtures i was looking at. The T5 someone reccommended was that what was being refred to?

http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-pets-other-500-W-Metal-Halide-MUST-SELL-Make-Offer-W0QQAdIdZ276585015

http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27959


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

1) I personally, will not go with MH today until you planning to keep highly demanded lights corals

2) you can not use 24" long on 60" tank, it will not cover enough even with MH

3) I use T5HO lights with 6 bulbs on 24" deep tank and bulbs you will need to change every year.
http://www.goreef.com/Sunlight-Supply-Tek-Light-T5-60-6x80W-Fixture-Black.html (if you doing to buy new like this, you can add ~200 and get LED)

4) Many people switching to LED but these are very expensive. Comparing price ~ $20-30 per T5 bulb in the long term it will be cheaper to buy LED

Do not rush and do research 
Try to go trough the posts on the Marine Equipment and look for the lighting questions.

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## gtprince (Sep 19, 2011)

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all those who have helped so far... been looking into a skimmer.... 

Aqua Medic Turboflotor T1000 Protein Skimmer with Ocean Runner 2700 pump

I've seen that model for a 100 bucks, but from the reviews people say its only good up to 75 gallon tanks, but the rating is up to 250, does anyone else have any experience with this skimmer or anyone else using it for a 110 gallon tank?


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

I am using Super Reef Octopus 2000 on 120G tank and ~ 50G in the sump. I can not compare with other skimmers, since this is the only one I own (I am not talking about crappy coralife SS).
Every 3 days I am cleaning cup full of crap. The only problem with this one that water output should be above the water level (at lest half of it). This creates noise (falling water) and small flashes, but I attached filter bag to output and it works perfect.

You should always take in consideration you future bio load in the tank and as result should always look for the bigger rating.
Here is the main

http://www.goreef.com/Super-Reef-Octopus-2000-Internal-Protein-Skimmer-180-Gallons.html

*Recommended for tanks up to 180 gallons with average bio load.*

When bying skimmer make sure Footprint will feet in your sump.

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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

gtprince said:


> Hi Everyone,
> 
> Thanks for all those who have helped so far... been looking into a skimmer....
> 
> ...


Not a huge fan of the aqua medic skimmers...just not well designed.


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

gtprince said:


> Hi Everyone,
> 
> Thanks for all those who have helped so far... been looking into a skimmer....
> 
> ...


If it used, make sure price of skimmer includes PUMP. For example total for my is ~400, but just the pump cost 240.
If you also buying old without pump, it will be difficult to check if body is good (no leaks).

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## gtprince (Sep 19, 2011)

is there a reason you dont like the coralife?? I've seen a few good reviews about them..


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

Try to ask Carmenh. She is a member here. I do not have enough English to explain my disappointment with Coralife products in polite terms
All skimmers work, but here is the main difference:
On the same tank Reef Octopus produces more crapp in one day, than coralife did in a week.

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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

Coralife skimmer is definately a finicky piece of equipment. I'm a handy kinda guy, so it's okay, I guess, but doesn't work as good as I know some more reliable models do


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## gtprince (Sep 19, 2011)

Been doing some research, this came up, so far read alot of good reveiws, anyone here can ubject before i purchase it?

http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-ViewAd?A...AAAACAAAAAAQsHYCt5y8NGAVX396PrWw7Qp7V38EAwA**


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