Starting up from scratch (Need help with what's new)

[Anonymous]

OK.........so I haven't had a tank for probably 8 years now.

Say you guys had the chance to start up a new tank working with a clean slate..........how and what would you suggest??


I wouldn't mind a nice reef.......but doubt I would NEED SPS corals so not sure about lighting. I did go to a LFS the other day and they had a BEAUTIFUL reef of soft corals and LPS that was running T5 lights I believe.......don't even know what they are to be honest but that tank was SWEET.

I saw a BUNCH of new stuff that looked great.........water pumps that looked like fans held in place by large magnets for easy relocation........moon light LEDS......VERY quiet overflows....starphire glass.......etc. Pretty sweet stuff.


Here is what I am thinking.

tank size will be anywhere from 90--240. I have the room but just not sure how crazy I want to get.

I would like a nice reef but not something that consumes my life and turns my house into a science project. I will go fish only before chaining myself down to an ultra complex mega reef.

Don't know what the current philosophy on setups is as far as sandbeds goes but I'm sure it's still being debated :lol:

Live rock...........from where, how much, which kind??

Skimmers??

Sump size??

Refugium??

Additives........reactors or supplement??

Salt choices (always used Instant Ocean in past)

RO untis??



I have no limit on my budget...........having said that I will only pay so much for something before I question my sanity so please no $10,000 skimmer suggestions 8O



Should be interesting to see how many different directions people would take given a clean slate to work with.


THANKS in advance


It's good to be back in the hobby

 

[dadstank]

bigger the better...
i wish i had done the 140 custom instead... j'est a little more room.

plan your closed loop should you want one. waaaay easier prior to...

other than that, do what makes you want to sit in front of it and watch the tank rather than the tv....

i've got no say on equipment...

 

[Anonymous]

Pumps you were looking at most likely were Vortechs.

T5s are they way to go, if you got money to spend and want a nice look, go with a fixture, if you want to save an absolute ton of money, go with a retro of reflectors, bulbs and ballasts (but you need to do a bit of electrical dohickery).

Live rock, IMO doesn't matter, hell dead rock would be fine IMO, it'll get bacteria on it when your tank cycles, sure the diversity of life forms are not going to be there, but I really question how much survives a harsh cycling process anyways.

Skimmer - Look into the octopus extreme line of skimmers, nice budget model with huge potential. If you want to spend more.. you can, H&S, ATi Bubblemaster, ATB skimmers if you want to spend a few more bucks

Sump size - depends upon your tank size, and how big your skimmer physically is IMO not an important choice, since you can go with any ol' tank out there and throw some baffles in it.

Ditto with refugium.

Additives, depending how stony crazy you go, let that dictate, I am a personal fan of a home-made two part solution for calcium and alkalinity.

Salt choice, not as important as most will let you think, however if you're aiming for a particular level of calcium, etc you might want to use additives to bring up the salt, or buy a salt that naturally has more of... whatever.

RO Units, most definitely one of the best investments for a reef tank.

If it's been 8 years, there's been quite a few things that have "upgraded" along the way.

 

[SnowManSnow]

+1 what he said.. but I personally don't care for the Octopus skimmers. I had one and am MUCH MUCH MUCH happier with a good ol Euro Reef.

That being said.. I can appreciate your delima in choosing a SIZE. I recently went with a 120g tank... I felt like moving up to 200+ would require much more expensive equipment (although you'll probably want to get 200g equipment for a 120 tank haha). At 48 X 24X 24 it was just a nice balance for me. If you consider acrylic talk to www.myreefcreations.com . I just had a tank built by them and they were great. My 120g eurobraced tank was only $800.00. They will also ship.

If you have one made i would also HIGHLY recommend an EXTERNAL built on overflow.. it saves a LOT of room in your tank and helps with the flow.

I also agree with the above about t5. I LOVE muy t5 fixture.. but keep in mind that all t5 fixtures ARE NOT CREATED equal. IMO the top teir T5 fixtures are made by Aquactinics and ATI "power module". These have INDIVIDUAL reflectors for each lamp and active cooling. I ahve a Aquactinics Constellation 48" and couldn't be happier.

As far as SUMP size goes.. you'll want the biggest sump you can fit under your stand

Salt choice? I don't really think you can go wrong with Instant Ocean.

IMO a good RODI unit is ESSENTIAL check www.buckeyefieldsupply.com they are cheaper than other brands offer great customer service and their products are rock solid.

As far as the display pumps go I absolutely LOVE my Vortech MP40w's. A pair of them is generally adequate for MOST tanks 100-200g a pair will set you back about $800.00.

I wouldn't worry with moon lights initially as they aren't important to the "life support" of your tank.

I just bought a lot of LR from www.premiumaquatics.com and was VERY satisfied with the shipment.

GL! I look forward to seeing a build thread.

PM me if you have any questions about any of the stuff I'm running above.. I may can help.

B

 

[Anonymous]

T5s are they way to go, if you got money to spend and want a nice look, go with a fixture, if you want to save an absolute ton of money, go with a retro of reflectors, bulbs and ballasts (but you need to do a bit of electrical dohickery).

I have done a LOT of DIY stuff in the past (including a couple hoods) and consider myself pretty handy...........but honestly, the idea of grabbing a fixture and plugging it in makes me pretty happy.

Ditto with refugium.

To be honest...........I know VERY little about refugiums........up to and including why people even use them........reduce nitrate and keep a good supply of little critters alive is my best guess right now. Is it just a bunch of macro in a seperate spot with a normal bulb over it or does it have a sand bed of it's own like a mini system??

Additives, depending how stony crazy you go, let that dictate, I am a personal fan of a home-made two part solution for calcium and alkalinity.

Made from what??...........again sorry for the lack of reef knowledge but it's been awhile and I am pretty much a fish only dude who has kept some easy corals........this will be a big change for me.

RO Units, most definitely one of the best investments for a reef tank.

Any recommendations??

 

[Anonymous]

+1 what he said.. but I personally don't care for the Octopus skimmers. I had one and am MUCH MUCH MUCH happier with a good ol Euro Reef.

Any particular reason??........I do remember the Euro Reef name as a quality skimmer but I have NO idea what makes one good vs another.

That being said.. I can appreciate your delima in choosing a SIZE. I recently went with a 120g tank... I felt like moving up to 200+ would require much more expensive equipment (although you'll probably want to get 200g equipment for a 120 tank haha). At 48 X 24X 24 it was just a nice balance for me. If you consider acrylic talk to www.myreefcreations.com . I just had a tank built by them and they were great. My 120g eurobraced tank was only $800.00. They will also ship.

I like those dimensions.............I don't NEED anything dramatic.......I think there is as much danger of me OVER doing it as there is UNDER. My BIGGEST problem is that I LOVE fish.........don't get me wrong, I like a well done reef but fish really draw me in.

If you have one made i would also HIGHLY recommend an EXTERNAL built on overflow.. it saves a LOT of room in your tank and helps with the flow.

My tank will be glass (starphire most likely)........not sure if they will do an external on a glass build but I will sertainly ask.

I also agree with the above about t5. I LOVE muy t5 fixture.. but keep in mind that all t5 fixtures ARE NOT CREATED equal. IMO the top teir T5 fixtures are made by Aquactinics and ATI "power module". These have INDIVIDUAL reflectors for each lamp and active cooling. I ahve a Aquactinics Constellation 48" and couldn't be happier.

THANKS.........that's the type of stuff I need to know!!!! Any restrictions with the T5's coral wise?? I am leaning towards a fixture 99%.........6 bulbs in yours I'm guessing??..........can you control the bulbs seperately??....can you pick the bulb setup??........how "blue" are the actinics??

How high do you have it above the tank and do you use a cover?? How is your coral growth?

IMO a good RODI unit is ESSENTIAL check www.buckeyefieldsupply.com they are cheaper than other brands offer great customer service and their products are rock solid.

Any suggestions?.........thanks for the link.

As far as the display pumps go I absolutely LOVE my Vortech MP40w's. A pair of them is generally adequate for MOST tanks 100-200g a pair will set you back about $800.00.

YEA!!!...........those things are sweet.........definately getting a pair of them. I had forgotten the name already but thanks for the reminder.

I just bought a lot of LR from www.premiumaquatics.com and was VERY satisfied with the shipment.

Cool.........how did it look (and smell) when it came in?? Any color or just yellow rock?

GL! I look forward to seeing a build thread.

Me too!!!!!!

PM me if you have any questions about any of the stuff I'm running above.. I may can help.

B

Will do...........thanks again.

 

[Anonymous]

I have done a LOT of DIY stuff in the past (including a couple hoods) and consider myself pretty handy...........but honestly, the idea of grabbing a fixture and plugging it in makes me pretty happy.

It is nice, but man they can get expensive, easily double the cost.

To be honest...........I know VERY little about refugiums........up to and including why people even use them........reduce nitrate and keep a good supply of little critters alive is my best guess right now. Is it just a bunch of macro in a seperate spot with a normal bulb over it or does it have a sand bed of it's own like a mini system??

A refugium is literally a refuge for tank inhabitants, typically microplanktonic life will take up residence and eventually some of it gets sucked/drained into the main system, but it allows it to live without worry of predation (except by other micro planktonic life which very often does happen). If you want some sort of nutrient export then you need macroalgae, and light on it, but that's not necessary. Over all a refugium in and by itself is not a necessity on a tank. But it can be whatever you want. On one of my tanks I basically got a little 23watt "daylight" bulb in one of those clip on reflectors, my macro grows like crazy.

Made from what??...........again sorry for the lack of reef knowledge but it's been awhile and I am pretty much a fish only dude who has kept some easy corals........this will be a big change for me.

baking soda for the alkalinity portion, calcium chloride for the calcium part (often sold either as a de-icing agent or a hardness agent for swimming pools, they need to have a data sheet on them by law so you can tell what's in it). Again not absolutely necessary if your stony population is low (in which case I'd simply just get off the shelf "Aquarium brand" stuff to deal with).

Any recommendations??

Not really, they're basically all the same, just different add-ons. Depending upon your needs should dictate what you get. I have low water pressure so a booster bump is very nice, I also run multiple de-ionizing canisters so I dont have to worry so much about changing them out. These sorts of things.

 

[livingstone]

GFO reactors to curb your phosphates may not be new but they are more heavily emphasized these days.

 

[Ben1]

IMO the top teir T5 fixtures are made by Aquactinics and ATI "power module".

Don't forget Sfiligoi.

I use two part for www.bulkreefsupply.com it's the same deal.

+1 what he said.. but I personally don't care for the Octopus skimmers. I had one and am MUCH MUCH MUCH happier with a good ol Euro Reef.


Any particular reason??........I do remember the Euro Reef name as a quality skimmer but I have NO idea what makes one good vs another.

I think there was a recent AA artical on skimmer performance. I like my Bubbleking mini 200. It runs dead silent, uses low amount of electricity, and produces very stable foam. I am using my old euro-reef on my LR curing bin ATM, but it was decent also just more noisy and less stable IME. My euro was the recirculting type though.

For a return pump I would go with a Eheim if you want it internal, or a panworld if you want external.

I love the vortechs also, some people perfer Tunze streams. The streams are a bit quiter since they are internal, and can be aimed a bit more. The also add more heat to the water and are more bulky in the tank, both are great products.


I recenlty ordered uncured LR from both premium aquatics and live aquaria, side by side its exactly the same and seems mostly everything died off in shipping and curing. Its been curing for over a month now and hopefully the coralline starts coming back. My current tank I used Marcorocks and that was a fine option as well.

 

[SnowManSnow]

check out the constellation....fixture

it sits right down on the TOP of the tank

no heat issues.