New 120g tank waterbury ct

salt2o · Jul 21, 2009

Hi. I am new to sw and I am in the process of collecting equipment for my new 120 g 4 footer. I so far have a custom light with 2-MH lamps, 2- fl's for actinics, and 2 compact fl's (1-red for night viewing and 1-blue for moonlighting), i have a custom acrylic sump (approx. 40 gallons), an ETS 600 skimmer and an aqua logistics 1/3 hp chiller (not sure im gonna use). I am still yet to purchase the new tank, 2 iwaki pumps, an RO/DI, and the ballasts for the lighting as well as new lamps, and live rock and sand. I just wanted to introduce myself (chuck) to everyone and hopefully meet some new friends.

I would like some input on stock for the tank. No corals to complex as this is my first sw tank. (Pics if possible) I am trying to make a list. No price limit, Just want tank to be full of very bright, eye catching colors, and soft coral. Once again pics would be great. thanks.

Any comments on fish are also welcome. I do plan on having basics ( Ocellaris clown, blue tang, yellow goby, a couple shrimp, and possibly a starfish.)

ahayes13 · Jul 21, 2009

Hi. Welcome to r2r !

I have the same tank you are getting a 120 4 ft and i love it.

looks like you are well on your way and glad to see you have done researching before just buying whatever and throwing stuff in the tank.

with the halides you will probably need the chiller. i also have a 1/3 hp that i use and it works great for the size of system.

as far as stock goes the sky is the limit. with the halides you can keep anything you want !

zoanthids are always a great addition to a tank and are fairly easy. and come in an array of colors.

some lps corals (ones i think are fairly easy--- frogspawn, blastos ).

you could also do some beginner sps pieces just to get the feel for them before adding more expensive pieces (possibly a green birdsnest, or pocillapora)

you could try some easy beginner soft coral pieces (such as daisy polyps, clove polyps, mushrooms (just keep in mind you may not want the above items on rocks where they can spread in the tank) they can get to be a pain and overtake things.

If you want some photos..... check out my link below to our 120 mixed reef.....................................

salt2o · Jul 21, 2009

ahayes13 said:
looks like you are well on your way and glad to see you have done researching before just buying whatever and throwing stuff in the tank.

with the halides you will probably need the chiller. i also have a 1/3 hp that i use and it works great for the size of system.

Thanks. I have spent countless hours online and in books researching equipment for this costly project/hobby. I want to do everything right and all equipment to be not necessarily expensive, but good reliable quality. And also with the help of my experienced brother-in-law.

the chiller is nice, but bought it used. I plugged it in and it sparked and doesn't work. I have confidence in myself to figure it out (being an electrician) but i am also limited to space so I think i want to look for a plumb-through style so i can put it in the closet behind tank.

Reefness · Jul 21, 2009

for bright colors, you may want to consider zoanthids. They come in every conceivable color. But, there are other soft coral that have a wide variety of colors...mushrooms for example. Still, don't make any ironclad decisions too quickly. I started out much like yourself, thinking I'd have only soft corals...but, once you have a coral and you see it thrive...there's LPS and even SPS out there and the sky's the limit.