Hello from Peotone

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RJDENNIS

New member
Hi everyone, I am putting together a 75gal FOWLR system. I have been out of the hobbie for some time and wanted to get into it again so here goes.

Purchased and at the house now is a Marineland 75gal corner overflow tank with an oak canopy and stand. I painted one coat of black paint on the back of the tank but have to do a couple of more coats to make sure I have good coverage. I was given a black background when I purchased the tank but I opted to paint it instead.

As of today on the FedX delivery truck I have a few items to help piece it together. Not much but its a start.

Coming via FedX this week will be an Aqueon Proflex Model 2 Sump (still on the fence if I should have bought the Model 3 instead)
An API Master Saltwater Test Kit
An Aqueon 25ft water changer
A Fluval E series 300w heater
2 Koralia Magnum 5 powerheads
A Magfloat for glass only----my wife said I had to add this!
And 40# of Special Grade Reef Sand.

I may be purchasing in the next few weeks a Marineland Reef Capable LED system with timer for my lighting. Your thoughts and comments are needed here

One thing I am on the fence with is what pump I should go with.
Its between the RIO 2500 or the Magdrive 7, what would you suggest?

Lastley I will also be purchasing an Octopus 1000SSS Spacesaver Skimmer.

Anything else I may need that I might be forgeting?

I will be updating this thread as I go along but it will be a slow process,
cheers for now.
 
Welcome!
You also need to account the head-loss/height you're pumping that water up. I would definitely assume you will need more sand, are you planning on seeding the rest w/ live sand? What are you stocking ideas for the 75?
 
welcome looks like your on a good start id go with the rio 2500 its what i used on my 75 (sump understand) worked great. this ia fish only correct?? do u have plans on making it a reef soon or just gonna stick to fish only .. may want to look at rodi and dry rock instead of live rock then seed it with a few pieces of live god luck and post some pics as u go
 
Agreed with Luna, get the 2500. I'm running a 3100 on my 75 and i throttle it down. Wide open and my drain can't keep up.
 
Sump turnover should be 4-9 times display tank volume, so anywhere between 300 and 700 gph is a good range, so I'd go with the Rio 2500. I've used rios as my returns and have had the same pump for almost 7 years now and still going strong. You don't want the sump flowing so fast it can't properly get the poop out.

Also, in terms of lighting, if you're FO and staying that way, then I'd get something cheaper and better than the marineland lights. They're junk. There are reef capable LED pendants for $60 each on ebay, and two would cover the tank well and could be used for corals if you ever went that way.

If this will ever become a reef, do yourself a favor and get reef capable lighting now. I'd go with either the pendants or a china LED from ebay. Two of the china ebay lights would run you just over $300 and would be a mix of blues and whites, the pendants you can get in 12000k and then supplement with strip LED blues/reds/purples what have you.

I would get the pendants personally. Fantastic look. A member has them on here. Prov3 tank has them, and was keeping nems very happy.
 
If the tank is somewhere where u sit in the quiet, go with mag over rio. The rio isn't loud by any mends but it does have a hum to it
 
lunacris said:
welcome looks like your on a good start id go with the rio 2500 its what i used on my 75 (sump understand) worked great. this ia fish only correct?? do u have plans on making it a reef soon or just gonna stick to fish only .. may want to look at rodi and dry rock instead of live rock then seed it with a few pieces of live god luck and post some pics as u go
Click to expand...


Thanks for the responce, it looks like Im gonna go with the Rio 2500 for my pump, as for lighting Im not sure what will be best, I keep hearing bad reviews on the Marineland LED's.
I may go with the Tec T5 system but unsure,
I will start out with a FOWLR system and seed it with a few pieces of live rock and maybe in the future move over to corals also so I need a good lighting system.
Any suggestions?
 
RJDENNIS said:
Thanks for the responce, it looks like Im gonna go with the Rio 2500 for my pump, as for lighting Im not sure what will be best, I keep hearing bad reviews on the Marineland LED's.
I may go with the Tec T5 system but unsure,
I will start out with a FOWLR system and seed it with a few pieces of live rock and maybe in the future move over to corals also so I need a good lighting system.
Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Seems you might upgrade soon once you get your hand wet in SW and want corals :loldude: I say pay now and not lose money later trying to sell your fixture to upgrade.. We have 2 sponsors here that sell LED fixtures, check them out..
 
Technically yes, BUT, it would need to be several feet over the tank so that it spreads enough to covers a 4 foot tank. Otherwise you will have dark corners.
 
Well after working till 4am I came home to a bunch of packages in my living room. I got everything I ordered, however instead of recieving my Proflex sump they sent me the Marineland model 2 sump. What a let down, now I have to call them when I get up and have them send the correct one and return this one. :-(
 
Wow, I must have really been tired after getting home lastnight, It didnt even dawn on me that they could have just put the proflex sump in the Marineland box. I mean the box was huge and no indication otherwise that it was the Proflex.
Anyways, I have a good start with what came FedX yesterday and now I only need my lights, pump and base rock and I can start setting it up.
 
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