Not necessarily new but could use any advice!

Mr.Rocc · Nov 23, 2014

Hello Reef2Reef users
My name is Jordan and I am new to this forum. I have been in the salt water aquarium hobby most of my life now (im only 22 its not that long). I personally started with a 8g biocube reef tank and moved up to a 20g long tank then back down to the 8g biocube. My father is a hobbyist as well and wants to build a tank set up from scratch in our means.
To start I have a pretty good background in nano tanks but were moving up in the world. So here we go, the tank and sump size are ganna be about a 100 gallon main tank and a 30 gallon sump. Now the equipment is what has got me baffled.
Protein Skimmer- Reef Octopus Classic 110 INT Protein Skimmer this is what im thinking about getting. I have read reviews and no one hates it. I also heard that its better to get the protein skimmer with the pump on the outside of it as appose to the inside.
Return Pump- So for this I know I want to buy from Eheim I have only hear good things about them. How ever I don't know which one. There is a compact one and the universal pump. Then im stuck on what GPH I want to get. i do know that this is heavily based off how far my sump is from my tank but i would just like to hear maybe what people are using just to get an idea.
Powerhead - Jabeo WP-25 However I do not know if I need to run another powerhead.
Now for the biggest part!
Lighting- However now I see LED is the way to go. Only problem, they are way out of my price range to light my whole tank. I was thinking of running some type of t5 system with 2 strips of LEDs on each side. Again if anyone can point me in a good direction or tell me there set up for an idea it would be excellent.

Any type of help is diffidently welcomed!!

Mike J. · Nov 23, 2014

First, welcome to Reef 2 Reef. You might want to consider getting a larger skimmer for a 100 gal. tank. As for the return pump, it depends on how much flow you have coming from the tank, what's the capacity of your overflow? An Eheim 1260 is probably the pump you'd need. You definitely would want more than one power head. A lot of people, me included, prefer T5 lighting over LED. LED lighting though can be much cheaper in the long run - you don't have to change the bulbs every 9-10 months. A couple of LED lights over your tank is very comparable to a T5 light in cost. Again, welcome aboard.

Mr.Rocc · Nov 24, 2014

Thank you for the quick response! I am planning on getting a better skimmer. And I think im ganna do the t5 lighting.

polancoeddie · Nov 25, 2014

I got my led lights for $100. Is 165w full spectrum lights. On ebay. Has good reviews. The colors are awesome. I got some red, green, blue, white.

Mr.Rocc · Nov 25, 2014

can I get specs on them

hart24601 · Nov 25, 2014

I use reefbreeders LED for my lights. You can find them used sometimes but I think anymore you can find ones on ebay or amazon that are pretty much the same. You can see growth of my acro under 2 of those units and the overall tank in the threads below. I will be using 3 value LED fixtures on my 120. It's a good time to get a new skimmer if you want, BRS has crazy deals on verteks.

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/member-tanks/178581-harts-120-3-4-starfire-expansion.html

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/sp...cros/176670-harts-acropora-coral-growout.html

polancoeddie · Nov 25, 2014

Here's a link on the ones I got. The prices go up and down. Lowest I seen them is for $98. http://m.ebay.com/itm/251495773757?_mwBanner=1

hart24601 · Nov 25, 2014

Those look nice, but I wish they had violet in the 420 range too.

hart24601 · Nov 25, 2014

BridgeLux LEDs, 410 violets, look pretty nice but I have not used this particular light:

EDIT: wow, digging around on ebay there are tons of these things. I would try and find the one with the most violet imo.

Dimmable LED Aquarium Grow Light Full Spectrum 165W Marine Fishtank Reef Coral | eBay

jeremy · Nov 25, 2014

Nothing wrong with a good t5 fixture either. Like a ATI Sunpower. Not sure on dimensions of tank but I would guess a 6 bulb 48 inch or whatever length the tank is.

polancoeddie · Nov 25, 2014

Replacing those bulbs every year is like buying led fixtures every year. Doesn't make sense to me.

jeremy · Nov 26, 2014

polancoeddie said:
Replacing those bulbs every year is like buying led fixtures every year. Doesn't make sense to me.

And buying a cheap made led fixture doesn't make any sense to me either. But to each his own. I bought a fixture that is reliable well built, and works for me. Led just isn't my thing. But alot of people really like them and alot don't. They didn't t work for me I tried. But like I said to each his own.

hart24601 · Nov 26, 2014

jeremy said:
And buying a cheap made led fixture doesn't make any sense to me either. But to each his own. I bought a fixture that is reliable well built, and works for me. Led just isn't my thing. But alot of people really like them and alot don't. They didn't t work for me I tried. But like I said to each his own.

To each their own. Good statement!

I am a LED fan, but other light sources are cool too! I just stumbled on these, and a site sponsor. I would love to try them out. I really like the amount of violets.

Arctic-T247 LED Aquarium Light_Aquarium LED_OCEANREVIVE LED