My brand new 80 gallon tank

[mjstech]

OH NO!!
No Water/Fish yet. :shock:

I just got done building the stand and had a friend help move it, and place the tank on top.

I am still waiting on my filters to arrive this week. I have a Fuval 404, Emperor 400 and Red Sea Prizm comming.

I have been poking around the forums about the different types of lighting. I will be setting this up as a reef tank.

I may substitute the Emperor 400 for another Fluval 404, still undecided though. Will post that question in proper area.

Just thought people needed a funny.

Mark

[Telco Guy]

You're setting this up as a reef tank and you are getting canister filters? You're going to have live rock, right? And live sand? You'll have to make sure you clean out the canister filter often or it will become a nitrate factory.

I am currently running my 40 Gallon with no physical filter. I don't even have a skimmer right now. I only have two fish in it and do regular water changes. My live rock and other critters handle the clean-up. You may want to ask some more questions before continuing. Just a thought. :wink:

But, good start though! :)

[MikeS]

Hi there

To add to Nick's comments....you'll be better off spending the money that the canister would cost you on Live Rock and/or a good skimmer. Some go skimmerless, but I recommend a good skimmer to anybody new to the hobby.

As for lights, they all depend on what you wish to keep...IMO get more lights than you think you'll need. Lighting often becomes the main limiting factor when dealing with reef tanks. Getting a top notch light setup in the beginning removes this limit. I'd recommend a MH/VHO combo...

Mike

[Telco Guy]

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you should go without a skimmer. I was just attempting to make a point about reef tanks. That it is the live rock and live sand and all the other little critters that do most of the filtering. I agree with Mike, you should get a good skimmer. I see that you mentioned a Red Sea Prism. Not sure about that skimmer. Maybe someone can comment on that.

Also, you may want to read some of the articles on this site. >>This (http://www.coralforum.com/reference41.html)<< article talks about the Nitrogen cycle. This is how the Live Rock and Live sand breaks down the waste products in the reef tank.

[mjstech]

I have had a few people tell me that with a reef tank a canister filter may be a nitrite/nitrate factory. I will research more, but in any case the filtration items are costing me nothing.

mark

[MikeS]

well, if it's for free get it, you can use it to house carbon or phosphate reducing media.....

Mike

[Aquaman]

hey can you give me the dimensions of that tank? It looks just like the one I was looking at buying.

[nanoman123]

looks cool!

for lighting i reccomend a MH/VHO combo. 2x 250w MH and 2x 110w VHO actinics would probably be perfect, though pricy. that would just probably be the best setup for your reef though.

~Matt~

[rememberme]

Halides might be a problem in that little hood (heat wise etc).

If you can't fit two halides in there, stick as many T5s as you can and that should work well for most things... Some clams and SPS might not like the light as much, but the general families should live well under T5.

JMO