noob update #1 w/more questions

[SaltyDog143]

First, thanks everyone for the advice in my first post

so here is where I am as of today

have- 120g tank w/rear external overflow dual drains 2" i think
- Ro system
- eco1056 submersible pump (not sure if its apporpriate for this tank) was fre
- hydor wavemaker, not sure the size but from looking at the ones in the store it isnt very big, was free
- bought sump last night from LFS ( trying to find a balance between supporting him and staying as inexpensive as possible)
- ordered steel stand from LFS last night he figures a week and it will be ready

ok order of things I think I need with questions

heaters- 3w/gal is this correct?
- if so 3w x 120 gal =360w
if i remember correctly I read somewhere that having two heaters is desirable, so...
- 2 heaters @ 200w each is what I am looking for?
in my opinion, heaters are cheap, two isn't a big deal $30 -$40 each

pumps- I have no clue what I need here, have not been able to find that magic number of how many gph I should be running, I know you need a return pump but what other pumps do I need?

Lighting, well I think I would prefer LED, but that isn' t written in stone just yet, my reasons for thinking led, yes they are more expensive but lower opperating costs, we really do want corals and dont want to limit our selection too much, and the flexibility of programming is very attractive

Skimmer- ok I am a little confused here........some guys say buy bigger than you need some say dont go too big? With a 120g tank is a 300-400g reasonable like a hydor performer1005 or something smaller like a bubble magnus nac5 80-135g, or should I shoot for something in the middle? This one confuses me!

well I will leave it there as these are what I consider necessary components, if I have left anything out please let me know, big learning curve here.


oh as a side note, a local guy is selling his live rock, do you guys think it is a good idea to buy a bunch from him and store it until I am ready? Like maybe let it dry and start the process over once I have the setup, LFS owner says he is willing to come with me to make sure its in good shape, no bad guys in the rock to worry about.

Thanks
Randy

[WarDog]

I'll weigh in on heaters. I would go with 2 @ 250w each. You will want 1 to heat the tank by itself and a 2nd as a back up should the first one fail. Both in the sump. Like you said, heaters are cheap so it's good to have more than one.

[SaltyDog143]

Thanks for the reply, I can honestly say I didnt think about putting the heaters in the sump but makes sense

[Dearth]

Fully submersible heaters best bang for your buck

As to skimmers everybody and I do mean everybody has their own preference on style and brand of skimmer and there are tons to choose from on the market it comes down to what you like and what you can afford

As to going oversize on the skimmer what we mean is if it says rated for 75-120 gallon go to a skimmer that is rated 120-150 gallon or higher that way you won't run into a problem of under skimming which can be a problem in itself

[riceboy]

for return pump i would suggest the ehiem 1262 reliable and quite and good turn over for your tank, As for skimmers i highly recommend the csc250 thats what i'm using and skimmer is easy to set and pulls like a champ

[Dearth]

For the basic tank set up with sump this is all you need

Tank & stand
Lights
Power head
Return pump
Skimmer
Sump
Thermometers
Pvc or flexitube piping and related valves, connectors

That is it its a small list but it's the basics of a tank with sump

[SaltyDog143]

That is what I am in the process of gathering, just trying to figure out sizes of pumps, lights, etc

[WarDog]

The number of pumps you will need will vary depending on what 'extras' you are planning to run. For the return Eheims are proven champs. As mentioned in your other thread, a 5 times turn over rate is good. If your display is 120g and your sump holds, say 25g, then your total volume equals 145g. Give or take a few gals in the plumbing. 145 x 5 = 725 gph. When shopping for a pump remember to use the head loss chart, usually displayed on the box. 'Head' is a term used in plumbing to calculate a pumps ability to push water straight up. If the distance from the pump in the sump to the outlet in your display tank is, say 33 inches, then you need to use the 3 foot head loss curve. You may find that the pump rated at 725gph will only deliver 500gph at 3 feet. This is kinda advanced plumbing info so to save yourself confusion i'd just aim for a 10 times turnover rate, lol.

If you need more plumbing info we are happy to help!

[SaltyDog143]

Good info wardog, thanks