I have been keeping freshwater fish for ages, I breed and I have many nitrate neutral tanks that require only a small water change every 3-4 months. I feel like I have it mastered and I'm ready to cross over.
The nitrifying bacteria work the same way in saltwater tanks as they do in freshwater, except that the way we design our reek tanks generally doesn't have enough plant matter to denitrate entirely. So we employ protein skimmers that remove dissolved organics before they break down, plus we change out filter media at least once a week so collected organics won't break down, and we don't use biological type filter media. These are the main differences when it comes to the nitrogen cycle. It's all about limiting organics before they become nitrate.
I have so much respect for saltwater reef tanks that I've always been afraid to attempt one before I felt I had the skill for one.
You don't need skill, just observation and patience.
I'm planning on having a holding tank for RO/DI that will be pumped up to the kitchen sink. I could easily just order a second holding tank for RO/DI saltwater
You could also use such things as 55 gallon drums or other such barrels to hold RO/DI water. You will need a mixing barrel for mixing up saltwater too. You can use a pump to pump it up to your tank.
I have a heavy, thick walled glass tank that I measured the volume to 125.8 gallons. The guys at the LHS that sold it to me for 2 bills told me it was a 120 high.
120
high? How tall is it? Standard 120s are 48x24x24".
Question #1 - I'm planning on picking up a used tank off kijiji or craigslist for 50 bucks or less and making my own sump. I was thinking a 75 gallon or a 90 gallon...which would you suggest? I like the idea of the 90...more water to me has always equalled better stability.
I would pick the 75 because the shorter the tank the easier it is to get into it to mess around. A 90 is 24" deep and that's a long way down. Plus, the skimmer will probably only want to be in 10" of water max.
Question #2 - My plan is to feed the water down out of the top left and top right corners via 1.25" PVC pipe and pump everything back up via a 1.5" to 2.0" PVC pipe. I plan on splitting the return to fire on 45 degree angles down and to the left and down and to the right from the middle back of the tank. Are these sizes correct? What would you advise?
I think you would be better off not using 1.25" piping at all since fittings that size can be difficult to locate, or are much more limited than those found in the 1" or 1.5" sizes. Always, always, always have bigger drain lines than return lines. For a 120-gallon system I would suggest a single drain and a Herbie style overflow. They are deadly silent, but much easier to install on a single drain system. No need for 2 drains on a 120 imo. I would also suggest just a single return line. For your first tank I would really suggest the KISS method...Keep It Simple Silly!!!
For this system I would look at using a 1.5" drain and a 1" return line with a pump capable of about 700-1000 gph after head loss. Ask if you don't know what head loss is. The "perfect" flow through the sump is 6.1x turnover (total system volume times 6.1) which means 99% of the system's volume will pass through the sump every 24 hours.
Flow within the tank will be achieved by using powerheads. A sump's return pump is for circulating the water through the sump for filtration purposes, the job of the return pump is not for providing main flow in the display tank. Too much flow through the sump will cause microbubbles in the display tank which looks awful and can irritate corals.
Question #3 - My 75/90 Gallon sump. I'm planning on using the small pieces of live rock that don't really fit my plant in the first part. I would have the overflows feeding into this area with a sock to collect debris. Is foam filtration required also?
You can use flat polyester filter media if you want, but there is no reason if you are using filter socks. Filter media must always be either thrown out or washed in the washine machine at least once a week.
Qusetion #4 - My second chamber would be for my protein skimmer, I was thinking of something that will handle 200-250 gallons. Does that sound about right?
It really depends on the brand of skimmer, some manufacturers really are quite optimistic about their skimmers' performance! I would suggest you spend a fair chunk of money here as a lesser quality skimmer will make it more difficult for you to achieve a beautiful reef tank. There are many reef tanks out there with poor skimmers, or no skimmers at all, but it is much easier to produce a beautiful reef tank with a workhorse skimmer helping you out. Some reaosnably-priced brands I personally like are EuroReef (noisy though), Vertex, SWC, Skimz. Most of these skimmers will run around the $350-500 mark for the appropriate size.
Question #5 - Then I would run a bubble trap with lexan or plexi glass, just like the other dividers into the final stage where I would have a subrersable pump that can run around 1000-1200 gph. Am I in the right ballpark?
Answered above. Don't forget head loss.
Question #6 - Is a calcium reactor really required? Is it the easiest way to maintain calcium levels?
Calcium reactors are getting less popular than they were 10 years ago. They can also cause low pH problems because of the use of CO2. I don't like calcium reactors, and much prefer dosers. I have been using my "Drew's Dosers" on digital timers from www.bulkreefsupply.com for over 3 years now and have found them to be very economical. I have had no issues with the dosers, and for the price I think you really can't beat them. You really only need 3 dosers as magnesium isn't used up overly fast you can just add a week's worth to your waterchange water. Two dosers from BRS plus timers plus a couple Rubbermaid containers to hold the fluid will run about $200, where the fancy digital standalone units will run about $500. You won't need dosers right away though.
As for what goes in the tank...I'm in no rush. I plan on running the tank with just live rock and sand for quite a while just to make sure everything is good. I plan on a rock wall covering 80-85% of both the height and length of the tank with a cave and a buttload of corals. But I want to make sure everything is stable first.
I would re-think the rock wall idea. For one, they aren't visually appealing. For two, it is difficult to get good flow patterns in tank with so much rock. Without good flow, detritus will settle behind the rocks and will break down causing nitrate problems. I would suggest you plan to fill much less of the tank with rock, and put rock in the sump if you feel you need more. I also suggest that you keep the rock from touching any of the glass sides as this will make cleaning the tank much easier.
I plan on running 2 powerheads, one on each side. I'm not sure if I should run 2 big ones, or one big one and one medium one and alternate them.
Depends on what types of corals you want to keep. LPS and softie corals want much less flow than SPS corals. You can always add more flow later. SPS are better left for when you have a bit more experience anyway as they are more challenging to keep alive and colorful. For LPS and softie tanks think 20-40x turnover just using powerheads (not inc return pump, only inc display volume), so that's about 2400-4800 gph for powerheads. SPS corals are quite happy with 60-100x turnover. My favourite combination is 2 larger powerheads and one slightly smaller one for 48" tanks.
I plan on using LED lights, I know that they cost an arm and a leg...but this is an expensive hobby
If your tank is indeed 24" deep you could always start off with a 6 or 8-bulb T5HO fixture like those made by Sunlight Supply which are reasonably priced. This fixture would be plenty of light for LPS and softie corals. It is my preferred lighting for LPS. For SW most people prefer 13,000 to 22,000K lighting. Corals need a fair amount of blue light for best color production.
I'm not yet keen on LED lighting for many reasons, but three key points:
1) New models are coming out very often with significant changes making last models obsolete. I'm not keen on spending thousands of dollars and having an obsolete fixture in 2 yrs or less.
2) I think the price is too high when compared to other options.
3) As long as you have air conditioning in the house heat shouldn't be an issue if you have an open top tank even when using halides.