General Questions on 220 mixed reef

[AlphaSig]

I purchased a new custom made reef tank from a fellow reef. The dimensions are 6'x 30"x 2'. He had never used it but drilled it to be a closed loop system. My hope is to use bulkheads to "patch those holes" since I will be using Jeabo power heads. Here are my questions.

1. Lighting. I currently have a 75 gallon mixed reef with a 4' 6 bulb T5 and i love the color. I would like to put that on my new reef as a supplement. So my question is. Should I go with a 6' 8 or 10 bulb T5 unit to total 14 or 16 T5 bulbs or should I put a Halide/T5 combo on there with my current 4' 6 bulb T5?

2. Rock. Where is the best place to buy Pukani dry rock. I plan on acid bathing these and using Macro cement to create larger structures that are still manageable to move.

3. Macro cement. What has everyones experience been with this? After the acid bath I plan on using it to get the idea structure then cycling the tank with rock instead of using a brute trashcan as I have in the past.

4. Height. What height of stand is safe for a tank this size? It came with a 24" stand but I was hopeful to increase that to 32" or 36".

5. Sump. I was hopeful to convert my drilled 75 gallon into my sump. I would need to put my phosphate reactor, heater, protein skimmer, and return pump in there but I would also like to have a decent sized frag tank in there as well. Is that possible and does anyone have pictures of something like that.

[ca1ore]

Tall stand is fine as long as you build it properly (my frag tank is on a 48" tall stand). Taller means greater chance of 'racking' so you need to either fully skin it with something like plywood or make sure there are plenty or cross braces.

[kevin.st]

Originally Posted by AlphaSig

I purchased a new custom made reef tank from a fellow reef. The dimensions are 6'x 30"x 2'. He had never used it but drilled it to be a closed loop system. My hope is to use bulkheads to "patch those holes" since I will be using Jeabo power heads. Here are my questions.

1. Lighting. I currently have a 75 gallon mixed reef with a 4' 6 bulb T5 and i love the color. I would like to put that on my new reef as a supplement. So my question is. Should I go with a 6' 8 or 10 bulb T5 unit to total 14 or 16 T5 bulbs or should I put a Halide/T5 combo on there with my current 4' 6 bulb T5?

I have the the same tank. I run the 60" 8 bulb ATI fixture and its plenty of light for everything.

2. Rock. Where is the best place to buy Pukani dry rock. I plan on acid bathing these and using Macro cement to create larger structures that are still manageable to move.

Some fish stores will make you a deal on bulk rock. Bulk reef supply also sells it. I have bought live rock from other local reefers and prefer that method.

3. Macro cement. What has everyones experience been with this? After the acid bath I plan on using it to get the idea structure then cycling the tank with rock instead of using a brute trashcan as I have in the past.

I have no experience here.

4. Height. What height of stand is safe for a tank this size? It came with a 24" stand but I was hopeful to increase that to 32" or 36".

My tank is over a 30" stand and I love it. 32" would be awesome.

5. Sump. I was hopeful to convert my drilled 75 gallon into my sump. I would need to put my phosphate reactor, heater, protein skimmer, and return pump in there but I would also like to have a decent sized frag tank in there as well. Is that possible and does anyone have pictures of something like that.

I run a 150 gallon sump in the closet behind my tank. I think your plan is overly ambitious-there's just not much room under there.

PM me your cell phone and I am happy to send you photos of whatever you want.

[AlphaSig]

My thought is to run the sump next to the tank, not under it. I hate bending over to deal with any issues in the sump.