Two complete equipment lists needed! reef and fowlr 125 equipment list.

[fishmanmilex]

i managed to convince my family to let me get a 125. this is my first delve into a tank of this size, and im also completely new to corals. theres no guarantee i can get anything that isn't shipped or from a big chain store (Petco/petsmart) as much as id like to avoid going there. Point is, i need some equipment recommendations. Hopefully by the time i get the tank, ill have a full list or what else i need, for both a fowler scenario and a reef one.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

i managed to convince my family to let me get a 125. this is my first delve into a tank of this size, and im also completely new to corals. theres no guarantee i can get anything that isn't shipped or from a big chain store (Petco/petsmart) as much as id like to avoid going there. Point is, i need some equipment recommendations. Hopefully by the time i get the tank, ill have a full list or what else i need, for both a fowler scenario and a reef one.

Hey congratulations on your new adventure. I have a 120g and a full equipment list at the top of my build thread. Just click on my build thread badge to get there.

 

[bevo5]

i managed to convince my family to let me get a 125. this is my first delve into a tank of this size, and im also completely new to corals. theres no guarantee i can get anything that isn't shipped or from a big chain store (Petco/petsmart) as much as id like to avoid going there. Point is, i need some equipment recommendations. Hopefully by the time i get the tank, ill have a full list or what else i need, for both a fowler scenario and a reef one.

That's a great size tank to start out with.

What equipment you go with is really up to you, what kinds of things you're going to be keeping, and how much you want to spend.

All you really need to run your tank is a filter, heater, probably a skimmer, and some lights/flow to match what you're trying to keep.

So...I imagine you'll want a decent sized sump with a 300 watt heater and a skimmer that fits your eventual bio load. Then you need to pick out a pump and you're good to go there.

Lighting - so many options and so many variables. T5 or LED is pretty much your choice/standard.

You'll want some pumps for circulation - probably 2 MP40's sized pumps would be more than enough to turn some serious water.

Other than that - any additional equipment is completely up to you, but not much else is necessary to have a successful tank.

Eventually, an ATO will help tremendously as well as dosers when you start filling things up with coral. At that point, you'll probably want an APEX to help run things. Then you'll start wanting reactors and all sorts of toys.

For a FOWLR - you can probably skip the skimmer (although it's always a great way to manage nutrients) and your lighting isn't as important.

Pretty much everything you'd ever want to buy can be found in the marketplace here if you're willing to take a chance on some used gear. There are complete tank breakdowns posted every day, and if you know exactly what you want and get photos/videos etc. it's a great way to get equipment and save a few bucks.

Good luck!

 

[fishmanmilex]

Thanks for all the advice. Currently Im still working on convincing my family to let me drill. Any idea if i can use a big, empty canister filter as a sump?

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Thanks for all the advice. Currently Im still working on convincing my family to let me drill. Any idea if i can use a big, empty canister filter as a sump?

Practice drilling on smaller tanks because they’re cheap and harder not to break. If you have time you might get lucky and find some free ones being thrown out on Craigslist

 

[bevo5]

Thanks for all the advice. Currently Im still working on convincing my family to let me drill. Any idea if i can use a big, empty canister filter as a sump?

Yeah....you're going to want to probably get the tank drilled instead of giving it a crack yourself without some experience on it.

There are used tanks popping up all the time. Jump on craigslist and look for stuff there before you go drilling a new tank.

As far as the canister - you could just use the canister filter as a filter but you're going to have to do a lot of maintenance to keep it cleaned out and you won't have the option to add on additional equipment. But for a FOWLR tank, it would probably work just fine. The live rock is your biological filtration, and you can get flow with internal pumps - so all you really need the filter for is mechanical filtration and carbon or something if you want it.

But it will build nitrates very quickly so you'll have to keep busy keeping it clean or you'll have algae nightmares.