got a 125 gallon tank that i am thinking of setting up for sw.was a fresh planted tank that i took down. need some input on sump size. would like to drill tank but never did one that thick, did a 29 and 20 long with no problems. is it any harder to drill a thicker one? sand for sub or a little coarser sub? how thick of sub is good? have lots of dry live rock but no big pcs. was thinking of the diy stuff so i have larger rocks for such big tank, anyone use diy rocks and how good do they work? any help or ideas will be great.
For DIYS LR check out this article written by a former President of the DRC that still frequents the board:
http://delreefclub.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=62
To be honest to me it seemed like a great deal of work for what I thought was an end result that did not look as nice. I personally have used some MarcoRock and loved it, but there is a curing process with that as well and a significant shipping expense. Other than that you can go on a road trip and cherry pick LR out of local stores. The stores that seem to carry the most are That Pet Place, Captain Nemos, and The Hidden Reef.
What do you mean by “sub”? Planning on sinking a submarine for an artificial reef?
Large the sump you can do the better. Possible to plumb a sump to the basement or will you be working with the space under the tank? DIYS stand or prefab?
was talking about substrate. is sand better or is coarser stuff better,or is it just preferance? i can run the plumbing to the basement which i was considering since the basement is cooler and should help with keeping the water temp down in summer.
Plumbing to the basement would be ideal especially if there is more space down there for sumps/refugiums. It can be tight fitting equipment under the tank especially if you would like to do a large number of fish(which will cause lots of pollution you will need to dilute or skim) or do stony corals(may need space for a Ca reactor and need to keep your Nitrates low)
As far as the sand much of it is preference. That being said do NOT use “crushed coral”. Anything the size of “special grade” aragonite and below will work. Very small grain sizes will get caked easier and need lots of mixing. Regardless of the size of the substrate you read do your research first and when your tank is mature enough add sand sifters such as Nassarious snails and fighting conchs.
This is all my opinions from my experience; you may find differing opinions out there. Regardless feel free to ask many questions.
do NOT use “crushed coral”. i second this statement…
why not? Sand is a pita
Because it can trap detritus and become a source of nutrients if not religously cleaned very frequently.
i semi disagree i have a decent cleaner crew and i clean mine every two weeks and when i do clean it i can see the dirt with sand it to fine you cant tell what getting clean and you lose the sand
we all can learn, either from our own mistakes or from the mistakes/wisdom of others. it’s always our choice.
personally, i would think there’s a decent middle ground between what you call sand that’s too fine and the awfulness of crushed coral.
[quote=“moliken, post:9, topic:2723”]
we all can learn, either from our own mistakes or from the mistakes/wisdom of others. it’s always our choice.
personally, i would think there’s a decent middle ground between what you call sand that’s too fine and the awfulness of crushed coral.[/quote]
Agreed. I did like crushed coral in that I could give it a really good vacuum without issues. I now have a reef grade sand, not sugar fine, somewhere in between.
i would think there's a decent middle ground between what you call sand that's too fine and the awfulness of crushed coral
+1 ive always used southdown and until it “settles” it can be a huge PIA, and in case your wondering, it can take southdown 6 months or more to “settle” >LOL<
i know this is a little advanced for someone setting up their first tank but there is at least one thing asides from maintenance that can be impacted by your choice. The fish you want to keep. Many “burrowing” fish will benifit from having a mixed substrate as Paul mentioned. Fine sand will not work and you will likely need to create an artificial burrow for some fish if you choose this option. Keep in mind that there is a distinction between fish the “burrow” in sand an fish that “hide” in sand. Some wrasse require a sandbed to hide and sleep in but will often not use the same spot each time. Some jawfish on the other hand, like the bluespot, need to create an actual structure where they will reside 90% of the time. The will intentionally seek out relocate larger pieces of substrate to give their burrow structure. Just food for thought!
jj as far as the crushed coral goes experience talks on this one. If you browse previous tanks of the month on reef central, speak with marine biologist that run displays in good public aquaria, or talk with any author in the hobby, or talk with any reputable LFS, or talk with someone who has worked in the aquarium maintenance field and knows what they are doing… You’ll find a couple lose souls that like crushed coral, but it is not for me.
As far as being able to gravel vac sand… the right tool for the job can be the trick. Little tiny gravel vacs designed for Betta bowls are not what you want to use. Vacing special grade aragonite(pretty much the staple grain size and most commonly found) is easy. Fiji pink can be gravel vaced by anyone with a high school education and the right tool. Sugar fine… and southdown not as easy.
The next step in a healthy reef tank is to avoid gravel vacing all together. If there is the right type of flow in the tank and enough of it, coupled with biological stirs like certain fish, fighting conchs, nassarias snails, and so on then you may hardly need to touch your sand bad.
Good point Shawn about certain animals preference to certain sands. The fish Shawn’s mentions which my require specific grain size or mixed sized substrate also, I believe, require or at least highly prefer pretty deep sand beds. Can be cool small biotype aquariums, but in a 75g or larger providing preferable conditions for these fish can dictate your appearance and maintenance of the entire aquarium. Learn to enjoy reading up on the animals and figuring out what makes them tick. It will go a long way into enjoying the hobby.
Saw this in a LFS recently. Was curious if a fish made it. Not sure, but I believe there was a blue spot jaw in the tank not to long before I took this image. May have been a bored LFS employee.
very cool pic and exactly what i was referring to in my post. i highly doubt that someone went through that much effort to make it and if they did its an amazing job. looks almost identical to the types of burrows i was referring to. you can even see other large pieces in the back protruding from the substrates. large pieces like this give the burrow structure and allows for a more permanent den.
amazing pic Jon. thanks for sharing.
NP, I thought it was cool looking when I saw it as well. I didn’t see any fish in the tank that I thought would have made it and waited a little to see if I could find anything inside, but something else in the next isle was calling my name and had been for months.(post about that later) Wish I had more time to post images of some of the stuff I run into randomly in the field or in LFS.
Beiong i have the crushed in there now it would be a pita to replace it now. And i have plenty of flow in the tank. And if i see something on the surface that needs to be removed the net is easy scoop with out having a cloud of sand.
If you ever decide to remove it, it would not be that difficult. A 44gallon brute on a dolly makes it easier, but you could, and I have, used 5 gallon brutes. Take a large 1" clear vinyl tubing start a siphon and suck the gravel right off the bottom. If the tank is mature and established you could do a 40% water change and get most of it out and then in a week if need be repeat. Leave it bare bottom for a week then slowly start to add well rinsed sand/aragonite.
It’s pretty easy to do if you have the right tools. If you try to scoop it all out by hand it would be a royal PITA.
That being said it is a personal choice and please don’t go through the trouble and expense from my opinion alone. Especially if you enjoy the frequent required maintenance. 
To be honest john i have other pressing issue in the tank and crushed coral doesnt bother me right now. But my next tank with have sand and wont be a reef tank ethier i want to build a 400 g in the wall thats goes from the living room to the dinning room
Sounds like a fun project. FOWLR?