125 gallon **need a mentor**
 

Hey All,
New to the forum and SW but not fish. I have a 300 gallon FW and will have a 125 Gallon SW in a week or so. I want to start a reef aquarium. Basically i have a light with T5HO and metal Halide as well as LED built in. I also have an FX5 filter for it at the moment.

Here is where you jump in. Please advise if this system will be enough to get it started. I know the basics of what i need but any info will help.

Thanks,

I also have a 125 I assume its a 6' tank. Is it predrilled? And please go into more detail about your lights. Im guessing you will need more, but it depends on what you are looking to do, your also gonna need a sump, skimmer, powerheads, pumps and heaters.

It does not have a sump but rather a canister. Do I need a sump for a reef. From what I have read the coral and rock and inhabitants do most of the filtration. Agreed on the rest of the list

For a 125g, canister will not work (other than possibly running some carbons and stuffs) and will need very strict maintenance schedule. Sump is always the way to go for bigger tank. Its not only for rocks but also to keep skimmers and add some extra volume of water.

Thats not true at all. Those FX5's are a good filter.
It'll work fine for the mean time. Of course a sump is much better as to reasons already posted.
I recommend that you do not use any of the media that comes with an FX5.
Fill the trays in that filter with lots of rock rubble, don't use the sponges and get some nylon bags and put some good quality carbon in them.
I ran an FX5 on a overstocked fish only tank before which was on a 90G.
I did have a junk Remora skimmer on it though. It was supposed to be a fish only tank but it was also filled with softies and an anemone.
I have since took that tank down as two tanks was just too much work.

Sump is the better choice. Not only does it allow more water volume, it'll allow a place to hide your equipment so no messy mechanical parts and wires exposed.

Do it now, as yiu will regret it in the future.

those sound like wise words actually,

There are a couple different ways you can get a sump. For your first one I recommend buying one over making your own. They are fairly easy to setup and will help you understand how they work, then later if you feel like building one you can. You still havent mentioned if your tank is predrilled, im going to assume no, since you come from FW background. I recommend two overflow boxes, having a back up is always nice, and they will cover more area.

the tank is not predrilled. i suppose this will be someting i will have to consider.

not predrilled is not a big deal if you already have the tank, although predrilled in so much better (can go right against the wall, no noises, no flood risk) Its up to you. There are some very good overflow boxes on the market, and they do give you more space inside the tank.