It's time to say Goodbye...

[naesco]

I just want to post some general comments based on my experience.
The difference between fresh and marine is that marine is less forgiving. You have to go slow, have patience or problems develope early.

There is no problem with sand. IME a sand bed of 3inches provides various life forms that your future fish and coral relish.

Plan the additions of your fish adding one per month rather than four at the same time.

Add the mandarin 9 months after cycling to give your tank a chance to mature and the critters it needs to survive to flourish.

Start SPS and clams after one year.

Sorry if I posted basic info that you already know.
Good Luck eh and welcome.

[marie]

Originally Posted by naesco

I just want to post some general comments based on my experience.
The difference between fresh and marine is that marine is less forgiving. You have to go slow, have patience or problems develope early.

There is no problem with sand. IME a sand bed of 3inches provides various life forms that your future fish and coral relish.

Plan the additions of your fish adding one per month rather than four at the same time.

Add the mandarin 9 months after cycling to give your tank a chance to mature and the critters it needs to survive to flourish.

Start SPS and clams after one year.

Sorry if I posted basic info that you already know.
Good Luck eh and welcome.

All good info except the start sps after 1 yr comment. If the tank is started with the intention of being an sps tank, it is better to start with pioneer sps corals (montipora ect.) then to start with softies and later move to sps. Softies leave little bits of themselves behind which can plague the tank for years after, they also can release toxins that make it difficult for sps to thrive.
There is no reason why you can't start adding some hardy sps at the 2-3 month mark

[naesco]

I meant to say acropora. The pne year comment came from the vendor who gave me advice on keeping acropora and the books I have read.
Thanks for correcting my error.

[hillbillyreefer]

After more research it seems the lifereef overflow is the way to go. I don't want to depend on aqualifter pumps, I despise pumps, and I'm not lucky enough to have them start everytime. We have frequent power outages, that's what you get for living in the boonies. What flow rating overflow would Canreefers put on this tank? I have my own idea but would like others with more experience to give their opinions.

I'm a newb but not a total newb, my tanks atm are a 5 gal softie, 24 gal nano reef, and a 33 with a diy 11 gal sump reef. I've started with the smaller tanks to gain knowledge and understanding of reef setups to make the jump to this 120.

As for sand one of my tanks has it, one had it and one has always been BB. This one will probably have it, I seem to be getting a handle on what animals work to keep the sand clean.

As for stocking there isn't much chance there will be any livestock in the tank before the end of Feb or sometime in March. Too much work to do in the mean time. The Mandarin will be the last fish added. I would like to get the overflow in and running while it's still a fresh tank, just to make sure the basis of the system will work out. Go slow and have fun, the only way to reef.

Thanks for all your input so far, keep it coming.

[Delphinus]

I completely agree with wickedfrags.com. Seems to me the time to drill the tank is now. You'll have the tank empty at some point during the conversion, you won't have it empty once you stock it.

I used an overflow box for many years when first starting and yes they do work but yes they can fail in ways that a drilled tank cannot. Drilling is not hard and the holes can be easily plugged if you wish to convert to sump down the road (patch it over with glass, or just put a PVC cap in the bulkhead).

I guess to me it comes down to the KISS principle. To me drilling, although you have to first get into the right mindset of it I guess, is the simpler solution. Adding boxes and U-tubes or up-and-overs and etc. is the less simple approach.

[hillbillyreefer]

The KISS approach is usually the best. I have no fear or worries about drilling the tank myself. As of now my wife doesn't want the tank out from the wall any further than it is. And the way it's set up a side outlet would be best. There is a dead spot on one end that just collects kids junk that I will be taking over for a sump frag tank area. My issue with drilling is that when the tank is moved to a new location, the old hole may be visible and ruin the asthetics of the tank.

Does anyone have recomendations on flow rates through the sump?

I'm thinking I'm going to order the overflow and play around with it while the tank is still freshwater. That will give a couple months experience before the tank is drained. I'll make the decision whether to drill or not then.

After thinking about the timeline, March is probably pushing it, April is more realistic. It's got to be up and running by seeding time or it probably won't get done until next October, and that just won't do.

[Slick Fork]

I had the sump for my old tank at 600gph and will probably do the same with the new one. If you push the water too fast through it you'll get all sorts of bubbles and the equipment just won't have time to do it's job. Too slow and it gets stagnant.

Also, I'd second the recommendation that if it's going to be an SPS tank, start it with montipora's and hardy acros. I read an article recently (can't remember where) that went so far as to recommend putting your rock, corals, etc. in MONTHS before adding a single fish. I'll see if I can dig it up again and post a link. but the logic was that it gives everything in the tank a chance to flourish without any predation at all.

[Snappy]

Originally Posted by naesco

I meant to say acropora. The pne year comment came from the vendor who gave me advice on keeping acropora and the books I have read.
Thanks for correcting my error.

Be careful not to lump all acropora into the same "hard to keep" mindset. There are several acros that are very easy to keep and care for. If the tank is set up properly and the parameters are optimal I see no reason to wait too long after the cycle is completed.