First reef tank suggestion.

[dannyny]

Hey guys i've been researching on this forum for quite some time now and i want to get my first reef tank. i do not have any saltwater tanks this will be my first. what do you guys suggest i get? if it were you what tank would you have gotten first?

my selection is limited as i can not have a big tank. i was leaning towards a 57g rimless tank it would be for my living room. either deep blue or oceanic.

also what would the electricity bill look like?

i had 8 freshwater tanks running in my place and the bill went from 60$ a month to 450$ a month i cant have a high electricity bill what so ever. i have since taken down about 5 of the tanks so i have 3 running in the house.

any and all advice is welcomed. thank you in advance.

 

[jcdeng]

Hey Danny, done with Flowerhorns? lol, I just started reef not long ago also, I just use my 55g tank and bought live sand online and got some good live rock from a fellow member and off to cycling I go.

for the salt mix go with ESV, Instant ocean reef crystal drops pH. Moneywise I have spent a lot honestly and I lost count. What kind of light do you want to go with? LED i guess cuz you said electricity is an issue.

 

[dannyny]

Hey Danny, done with Flowerhorns? lol, I just started reef not long ago also, I just use my 55g tank and bought live sand online and got some good live rock from a fellow member and off to cycling I go.

for the salt mix go with ESV, Instant ocean reef crystal drops pH. Moneywise I have spent a lot honestly and I lost count. What kind of light do you want to go with? LED i guess cuz you said electricity is an issue.

what's going man?? havent heard from you in a while...

flowerhorns are cool just not 8 tanks of them. looking to get a display tank in my living room. any help in the future would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Arati]

The 57 deep blue rimless is great.

you also need

A light TEK 6bulb t5 would be good and is affordable.
A protein skimmer , Bubble magus nac7 great value.
About 50lbs of live rock min. id figure on 200$
Heater you can use a cheap one. also reutrn pump..
Also set up an RODI water filter for maing fresh water to keep your tank topped off, and for making salt water. go 5 stages
Automatic top off should be high on the list of xtra's also a GFO reactor.

I cant help ya with the electricity bills I refuse to look at mine

 

[JimmyR1rider]

I really like the deep blue rimless. If you want an all in one I just got a red sea max 250 and love it. It's 65 gallons but they also have the 130D which is 34 gallons, I had to switch back to an all in one because of a new puppy coming- new pup and an available open sump to drink from is a no no lol.

You're electric bill will depend a lot on what kind of lighting you choose. If you use metal halide lighting they use the most energy, especially when they fire each day. Then you'll need to use T5's to supplement them for your actinic light. They also put off a lot of heat so you'll most likely need a chiller which will also cost you.

If you go with T5's you'll still need a chiller for sure but they cost less to run than metal halides.

Now if you go with LED's they're expensive to buy but the electrical draw is minute compared to both metal halides and t5's as well as put off almost no heat so you may get away with a/c in the room and fans to cool.

Most pumps for skimmers and what not are pretty efficient and don't draw a whole lot.

Good luck and welcome to the saltwater side of the hobby.

 

[jcdeng]

text me if you have any question, I will try to answer them if I know the answer, if not, MR is your key. and you need to buy a set of test kits and additives aside from salt. Also RODI unit or RODI water

 

[dannyny]

WOW thanks for the responses guy!! this is by far the most helpful forum out there.

is a RODI unit mandatory? can i use tap water mix the salt and wait a day and do the water change?

i was planning to get a 9g nano then a 29g biocube then i said what the heck lets go 40 breeder now i'm up to 57 rimless

it is almost getting out of hang before i even start. i think 57/60 is the highest i would go since i need a 30g sump as well. after that the landlord would flip out...

where can i get a 57 rimless for cheap? call my local guy in manhattan and he wants 500$ for it. long island has them for 340$ and craigslist has one for 285$ at the moment. any cheaper? LOL

 

[jcdeng]

RODI unit is not mandatory, but tap water is definitely a no. you can buy 50 gallons of RODI water from cvs, rite aid, walgreens and carry them home, pre mix it and throw a heater in and powerhead, next day put it in the tank and then each time when u want to do a water change, go buy 5 gallons the day before a repeat the process. In the long run, RODI unit is cheaper.

 

[dannyny]

The 57 deep blue rimless is great.

you also need

A light TEK 6bulb t5 would be good and is affordable.
A protein skimmer , Bubble magus nac7 great value.
About 50lbs of live rock min. id figure on 200$
Heater you can use a cheap one. also reutrn pump..
Also set up an RODI water filter for maing fresh water to keep your tank topped off, and for making salt water. go 5 stages
Automatic top off should be high on the list of xtra's also a GFO reactor.

I cant help ya with the electricity bills I refuse to look at mine

LOL any help with the electricity would be greatly appreciated... if you are in the tristate area i have a gas and electricity hook up to lower your cost monthly if interested...

 

[dannyny]

I really like the deep blue rimless. If you want an all in one I just got a red sea max 250 and love it. It's 65 gallons but they also have the 130D which is 34 gallons, I had to switch back to an all in one because of a new puppy coming- new pup and an available open sump to drink from is a no no lol.

You're electric bill will depend a lot on what kind of lighting you choose. If you use metal halide lighting they use the most energy, especially when they fire each day. Then you'll need to use T5's to supplement them for your actinic light. They also put off a lot of heat so you'll most likely need a chiller which will also cost you.

If you go with T5's you'll still need a chiller for sure but they cost less to run than metal halides.

Now if you go with LED's they're expensive to buy but the electrical draw is minute compared to both metal halides and t5's as well as put off almost no heat so you may get away with a/c in the room and fans to cool.

Most pumps for skimmers and what not are pretty efficient and don't draw a whole lot.

Good luck and welcome to the saltwater side of the hobby.

thank you. i will keep doing my research before i buy the tank the red sea looks good!

 

[JimmyR1rider]

No problem.

Also I forgt to mention- if you go halide/t5 or straight t5 either way you'll have to replace the bulbs every 6 months as well. LED's have a 50,000 hour life rating. Not trying to persuade you to them, just you mentioned you can't have the high electric bill and that would be anotther expense while LED's you'll never have to replace.

I've used halide/t5 combo on my first tank and the RSM comes with all t5's.

Just didn't want to leave info out.

You're doing it the right way- research then buy keep that up and you'll definately have successes in the hobby.

Take care.

 

[stooops718]

I would go for the Solana XL 60 gallon if you can find one. I think they got discontinued. It's a really nice AIO. I would go with LED's as well. I think one AquaIlluminations Sol would be good for the Solana XL. I have a 12 gallon Fluval Edge with an AquaIlluminations Nano and my wife hasn't flipped out over the electric bill so I guess it hasn't jumped too far. Where in Queens are you? I'd be happy to help you out and answer any questions. I don't have anything to frag out yet but by the time you're ready to add stuff I should be able to give some starter corals.

-Chris

 

[Arati]

about the t5 vs LED thing. since this person is new to the hobby i advise affordable good options. heck if you gonna drop 2k on lights you should get a bubble king skimmer and an apex too..

 

[JimmyR1rider]

about the t5 vs LED thing. since this person is new to the hobby i advise affordable good options. heck if you gonna drop 2k on lights you should get a bubble king skimmer and an apex too..

Wasn't trying to tell him to spend 2K on lights, told him the pros and cons of each. BUT not everyone thats new is broke. If he wants to save and go LED's that's on him, if not he can go any other option which I tried to say the pros and cons of.
But if you want to go to affordability?


LED's- lets say 2K like you put out there. He'll never need to replace a bulb

My Maristar 36" fixture with bulbs and ballasts sells for 800+

Now if he has this tank for lets say 10 years:

Each MH bulb- around $55
Each T5 actinic- around $20

Replace bulbs twice yearly- $300X10= $3000 + $800 for fixture= $3800
And that's not to mention if he has any $140 ballasts go bad and need to be replaced.

Then figure in the fact that he had clearly stated that he CAN NOT have a high elecrtric bill

Halides and T5's will definately cost him more each month to run.

All in all LED's if bought in the first place can save him a lot of money throughout the life of the tank, so I think that makes them affordable.

Not tryin to bash you Arati, please don't take it that way but I don't think LED's are THAT expensive, especially if he's not in a rush to set up a tank.

 

[jcdeng]

Guys, lets not let this turn into another LED vs T5 thread please. Before we know it, Jerl will come in and start a war.

 

[JimmyR1rider]

Guys, lets not let this turn into another LED vs T5 thread please. Before we know it, Jerl will come in and start a war.

We're not doing that. We're merely trying to give a new hobbyist the total low down and pros and cons of each type of setup.....the more info the better. It will help them make the best decision for his money and help him start off on a good note

 

[dannyny]

No problem.

Also I forgt to mention- if you go halide/t5 or straight t5 either way you'll have to replace the bulbs every 6 months as well. LED's have a 50,000 hour life rating. Not trying to persuade you to them, just you mentioned you can't have the high electric bill and that would be anotther expense while LED's you'll never have to replace.

I've used halide/t5 combo on my first tank and the RSM comes with all t5's.

Just didn't want to leave info out.

You're doing it the right way- research then buy keep that up and you'll definately have successes in the hobby.

Take care.

will definitely lean towards the LED's, thank you

 

[dannyny]

about the t5 vs LED thing. since this person is new to the hobby i advise affordable good options. heck if you gonna drop 2k on lights you should get a bubble king skimmer and an apex too..

wait... 2k$??

 

[stooops718]

A new AI Sol Blue will run you $350 and $70 for the controller or you could go DIY and save a lot more. Wingo, a member on here makes some really nice affordable LED options .

 

[jcdeng]

^ yes, I went with wingo also.