Beginner tank!

Ashleyy

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Hey! I’m very new to this and recently have been wanting to start a reef tank but I don’t know where to start. I’ve been thinking about a 15-20g tank just because thats the size that would fit in my room, and I want to do a soft coral/zoa tank.
I don’t know what things I should get first, I’m going to start acquiring equipment over time, and I know I need the tank, a thermometer, light, heater, dc pump and the test kits, I also wanted to know about the water quality in salt water tanks, what do I need to test for and look out for with the type of tank I want. Thank you!!!:)
 

Tihsho

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I responded to your other post about this, but I'll follow up with some of the different equipment and test kit questions you have here.

You nailed it with your list of hardware. Everything there will get you going, but one thing I would add is a Refractometer which you will need to measure your specific gravity when you mix your RO/DI water with salt. Speaking of RO/DI, have you decided whether you're going to get a unit and produce your own? Or are you planning on buying water from your LFS each time for a water change and to keep around for top off? Speaking of top off, another thing you want to add to your list is an Automatic Top Off (ATO) unit. Smaller tanks generally sway more with parameters due to already having a small volume of water. When you lose tank water due to evaporation it spikes your specific gravity, and ATO will counter that by keeping the water level constant by continually topping off the tank with RO/DI when the water evaporates.

As for test kits, you're going to want one for your basic stuff:

pH
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate

You're also going to want to have the following just so you can keep an eye on parameters:

Alkalinity
Calcium
Magnesium

These can fluctuate a little more with a softie tank, but keeping things consistent is the secret to a successful reef.
 
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Ashleyy

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Hey! I’m very new to this and recently have been wanting to start a reef tank but I don’t know where to start. I’ve been thinking about a 15-20g tank just because thats the size that would fit in my room, and I want to do a soft coral/zoa tank.
I don’t know what things I should get first, I’m going to start acquiring equipment over time, and I know I need the tank, a thermometer, light, heater, dc pump and the test kits, I also wanted to know about the water quality in salt water tanks, what do I need to test for and look out for with the type of tank I want. Thank you!!!:)
I responded to your other post about this, but I'll follow up with some of the different equipment and test kit questions you have here.

You nailed it with your list of hardware. Everything there will get you going, but one thing I would add is a Refractometer which you will need to measure your specific gravity when you mix your RO/DI water with salt. Speaking of RO/DI, have you decided whether you're going to get a unit and produce your own? Or are you planning on buying water from your LFS each time for a water change and to keep around for top off? Speaking of top off, another thing you want to add to your list is an Automatic Top Off (ATO) unit. Smaller tanks generally sway more with parameters due to already having a small volume of water. When you lose tank water due to evaporation it spikes your specific gravity, and ATO will counter that by keeping the water level constant by continually topping off the tank with RO/DI when the water evaporates.

As for test kits, you're going to want one for your basic stuff:

pH
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate

You're also going to want to have the following just so you can keep an eye on parameters:

Alkalinity
Calcium
Magnesium

These can fluctuate a little more with a softie tank, but keeping things consistent is the secret to a successful reef.
Hi again! I was planning on buying water from my lfs for the first couple months and then start doing it on my own just so I dont mess anything up with water for the first part! And the ATO unit is a great idea! I will defined be getting one of those!! Thank you again!!
 

Tihsho

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Keep in mind that when it comes to getting RO/DI from the LFS, you're going to need 6-7 buckets (figuring that they are 5 gallon buckets that are not 100% full) with lids to start out. This is a lot of weight to be hauling at once, so I hope you have a truck or something with beefy suspension.

A perk of setting up your own RO/DI system is that you have water on demand. No telling yourself "I'm going to do a water change tomorrow so I need to go to the LFS and do my water run." It's as simple as hooking up the lines to a faucet, drain, and storage container and then letting it run overnight to get the volume of water you need. I'm glad I setup my unit and am happy I didn't wait. Problem is that I only have a 65 Gallon storage for RO/DI, so I'm making the water, then filling up my Brute trashcan to mix salt in and have to fill up more regularly due to my limited storage size.

In the case of setting up a 20 gallon, you can get away with setting up 2 Brute cans and using one as RO/DI storage for your ATO and the other to use as mixing bin to have clean SW stored for your next water change, or the next inevitable tank.

Whenever you're ready to delve into RO/DI look into Bulk Reef Supply, their videos on RO/DI are extremely helpful and their kits are a one stop shop. Their filter media is extremely top notch compared to others on the market and they list what brand filter media they carry unlike other RO/DI retailers.
 
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Ashleyy

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Keep in mind that when it comes to getting RO/DI from the LFS, you're going to need 6-7 buckets (figuring that they are 5 gallon buckets that are not 100% full) with lids to start out. This is a lot of weight to be hauling at once, so I hope you have a truck or something with beefy suspension.

A perk of setting up your own RO/DI system is that you have water on demand. No telling yourself "I'm going to do a water change tomorrow so I need to go to the LFS and do my water run." It's as simple as hooking up the lines to a faucet, drain, and storage container and then letting it run overnight to get the volume of water you need. I'm glad I setup my unit and am happy I didn't wait. Problem is that I only have a 65 Gallon storage for RO/DI, so I'm making the water, then filling up my Brute trashcan to mix salt in and have to fill up more regularly due to my limited storage size.

In the case of setting up a 20 gallon, you can get away with setting up 2 Brute cans and using one as RO/DI storage for your ATO and the other to use as mixing bin to have clean SW stored for your next water change, or the next inevitable tank.

Whenever you're ready to delve into RO/DI look into Bulk Reef Supply, their videos on RO/DI are extremely helpful and their kits are a one stop shop. Their filter media is extremely top notch compared to others on the market and they list what brand filter media they carry unlike other RO/DI retailers.
I definitely will look into those!! I appreciate it:)
 

Greenreef75

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Welcome to R2R, my RODI is probably one of the best investments I've made since beginning reefing.
 

scott11106

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i would also get the RO/DI first, easy to test and make sure things are good. it will save you time and energy and then you will be plumbed in. You dont need all the bells and whistles for controllers and gear but when planning and plumbing you want to take them in consideration so later you dont have to tear down and redo. it is alot harder to change things after there is water and livestock involved
 
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Ashleyy

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i would also get the RO/DI first, easy to test and make sure things are good. it will save you time and energy and then you will be plumbed in. You dont need all the bells and whistles for controllers and gear but when planning and plumbing you want to take them in consideration so later you dont have to tear down and redo. it is alot harder to change things after there is water and livestock involved
Thank you so much!! I appreciate the help!!:)
 

BeejReef

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Especially for a new person that is really excited... a rodi will save you money. Not only is the water way cheaper; how many times do you think you'll be at the pet store and buy only water? NEVER.. lol.

Only other thing I can think of (ATO was a great suggestion) would be a temp controller. Maybe it's not a "must have," for your first year, but it's pretty close.
 
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Ashleyy

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Especially for a new person that is really excited... a rodi will save you money. Not only is the water way cheaper; how many times do you think you'll be at the pet store and buy only water? NEVER.. lol.

Only other thing I can think of (ATO was a great suggestion) would be a temp controller. Maybe it's not a "must have," for your first year, but it's pretty close.
I’ve been thinking about getting one of them, any recommendations?
 

BeejReef

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I’ve been thinking about getting one of them, any recommendations?
The guts of them all are really pretty similar. I've heard good things about the spectrapure membranes, but they will fit or come with many.

I'd suggest the brstv vids. A lot to consider. Your water pressure, water quality, permanently mounted or screw to tap, and how much water you need. If you're going through 100g a month, the fancy ones make more sense to save on di resin. If you have a 40g tank, probably excessive to install a booster pump and 7 stages.. Lol.

Built in tds meter would be my must have. Auto shutoff too. I run a little 65g w a used 4 stage np, but would buy new if do over. Replacing all the filters and membranes cost near as much.
 
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Ashleyy

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Unless u were asking about temp controller :) If so, sorry for the novel. Can't really recommend one over the other. Short track record. Inkbird is the entry level. Sky is the limit.
Both were very helpfully, I’d rather have long explanations and detail than something small and short!! Thank you so much!
 

Tihsho

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For the RO/DI you're going to need to find the source water pressure and make sure it's 50 psi or higher. Once you do that you can verify you don't need a booster pump. The reason for a booster pump is two fold:

1 - Optimal pressure means you get the best overall filtration through your media

2 - Your media will last longer

After you go through and get that out of the way I'd contact the folks at BRS through their live chat on their site and discuss with them your wants/needs and they will point you in the right direction.

For the temperature controller, you have a bunch of options. If you want to go all out, you're looking at an aquarium controller and that's going to cost $$$, but will give you alot of features in the long run to pay for itself over time. Then the other option would be running something like the Finnex heater controller or the Rainbird temp controller. Both are very affordable.
 

GCL

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I’ve just passed my first year in the hobby. I’m using a BRS 4 stage Rodi and am very happy with it. I am budget minded and started out with a cheaper unit but it failed. I’m also using a Ranco temp controller. I’ve only been using it for a couple months but I did lots of research before purchasing it.
 
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Ashleyy

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I’ve just passed my first year in the hobby. I’m using a BRS 4 stage Rodi and am very happy with it. I am budget minded and started out with a cheaper unit but it failed. I’m also using a Ranco temp controller. I’ve only been using it for a couple months but I did lots of research before purchasing it.
That helps so much!! Thank you a ton!!
 

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