Dream tank or wet dream! here comes a 180

[piscies75]

hi: been running a 40 gallon for years, time to take it to the basement as a refugium 6" sand bed for my new 180 gallon , 6 x 2 x 2 ; half inch glass except the front which will be 5/8" (no idea why I did this,lol) with 1" southdown bed and thinking of a 65 gallon sump, a 4 stage r/o di filter, venturi skimmer (Life Reef?) 3 x mh 175 watt with ballasts, and actinics. Iwaki return pump. Any brand preferrences would be greatly appreciated and/or suggestions.

 

[DERRIKD]

why so little sand??

 

[piscies75]

why so little sand? IF you have 6" in your refugium then you only need 1" or so in the main tank to support your rock work. In my opinion, any comments about anything else? :lol:

 

[Modo]

I agree with the above post. I think a deeper sandbed would benefit. But, some do not like the look.

I would suggest going with a higher wattage Metal halide. I don't think you will be happy in long run with 175s. I personally prefer the 250w to reach the bottom of a 2' deep tank. But, again you may not be needing that much light for what you plan on keeping. If you are thinking SPS or Clams I would definately up the wattage now and save the cash in the long run.

Something else you may plan into the system that can be added later is a calcium reactor or Kalk reactor. I prefer the calcium reactor, but I'm biased because I've never personally used Kalk and I built my calcium reactor.

I'm envious of your new project and especially the fact that you have a basement!