A friend just gave me a 65 gal tank and 30 gal sump. I need a pump, live rock and live sand, and lighting amongst other things. I was hoping to get some input and recommendations on pump size (gph) for a 65 gal tank as well as preferences on brands. Also, I was hoping to find a good source to order live sand/rock online because I can not find any quality stuff here locally. Thanks in advance for all your help and suggestions.

nice friend!!!
best way for sand, ime, is to get some as seed from an established tank and use patience.

Hey sentinel , welcome to RAF

Do you know what kind of overflow you have? Is it a reef ready tank where the overflow is built in or is it a hang on back over flow? We need to know this so we can get an idea f how much flow it can handle before picking a GPH for a pump. As a general rule i like to try and have 5x to 10x display tank volume go through the sump so 65x5=325, 65x10= 650, so your pump GPH should be somewhere between 325gph and 650gph. For an external pump something like this will work great WMD20RLXT 540gph http://www.bluezooaquatics.com/productd ... 08&cid=115 , Or if you need an internal pump something like this http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant ... Code=Eheim

If you are going to keep corals then your going to need some power heads in the tank to get the internal flow up. Let us know if you are going to keep corals and what type your thinking of and we can make suggestions on this also.

For live rock, Dean found this place http://www.intmarinefish.com/liverock.html and the rock and prices look pretty good.

I agree with moliken on the live sand, you dont really need to buy live sand just add dead sand to your tank and the bugs from your live rock will bring your sand to life in no time.

Thanks for the reply's. It does have an overflow built in, I was thinking about a pump approximately 600-700 gph. As far as corals I was planning on mostly soft corals, mushrooms, polyps, and such, but I am sure I will venture into other things, but probably stay away from those things that need real intense lighting. Also, my sump tank being 30 gallons, what would you guys recommend putting in there. I am sure it is debatable, but I was thinking about just putting LR frags in there, but I am open to suggestions. As far as powerheads that you mentioned, can you go overboard with those should I look for certain things or types of powerheads? I actually kept a reef aquarium for years, I used to have a 300gal tank, but its been probably 12 years since I moved and left the tank where is was, so I am quite rusty to some of the new methods and ideas. I really do appreciate all the input. Is the theory on LR still 1-2lbs per gallon? Thanks again.

You can do a 600 to 700gph pump. If your tank is reef ready(built in over flow) then i bet the drain can handle 800 to 1000gph but i wouldnt go over board with a return pump. You dont need the flow ripping through the sump.

Two of these pumps will give you 50x display tank turnover and you can pretty much keep any coral you want.

I wouldnt put live rock chunks in the sump. They will just collect gunk. I would either do a refugium with macro algae or make it a frag tank.

What other equipment are you going to get? Did you pick a skimmer yet?

I have not picked a skimmer yet, and I am not sure if I am going to get one or not. Everyone always said I needed a skimmer in the past and I never used one and had great success with my tanks. Also, I friend of mine in town has a large reef tank and he is anti what you are supposed to do, he has not skimmed or done a water change in probably 15 years and his tank is one of the nicest I have ever seen. So I am reading and educating myself and making a list of must haves, wish I had, and maybe someday I will try that. I am open to all suggestions, but this stuff gets pricey and I want to buy everything so I am trying to spend and build wisely. Thanks for the input

You can definitely have a great tank with out a skimmer. Most people just go the skimmer route so thats why i asked.

BTW im pro skimmer but im not going to tell you you have to have one but i think that once youve run a good one you will never run a reef tank without one.

Please by all means point out a good one, I may give it a try, in theory I like the idea of skimming, I have tried two in the past and they seemed way to finicky for me. I cant remember the brands or types, but just when I would get good foam and start cleaning it out, I would run into trouble with it just overflowing with water. I had the same problem with both skimmers, so I am a little gun shy but maybe I didnt give it a fair shake.

Skimmers have changed a bit in he last few years but one fact remains, you can still buy a crap one

So your looking at about a total system volume of around 100 gallons. So something like this is going to work great for you. They have a smaller skimmer that might still work if the first one wont fit in your sump but i always like to try and get a larger skimmer if it will fit.

Those do look sweet, I will definitely consider one of those units too. So many things so little money oh what to do. I really appreciate your feedback and helpful knowledge.

what's the water supply. def'ly need ro/di water for corals, ime

Hey Sentinel, Welcome to RAF

I just noticed this thread, hows the build going?

With pictures

slowly so far, but its going, I will try and get some picttures, in the next day or two. What does anyone know about refugiums, I have a 30gal sump thinking about building it out into a refugium (Please any tips). I went with the Eheim 1260 return pump and 2 Hydor Koralia power heads, the smaller nano ones. Looking at lighting and if I want to skim or not. Also, how I want to go about filling the tank with water since I dont have a RO/DI system. Anyway, keep any suggestions coming. Oh, I went with caribsea sugar sized aragonite, 60lbs. I got the dry stuff and hoping to find some good seed sand. Havent decided where to buy the LR from yet if anymore suggestions.