Completely new reefer asking for setup advice

Wilbert · May 30, 2025

Hi everyone!

I am completely new to the hobby, with some experience with freshwater tanks. For my research I watched the BRS 5 min guide you all know, among other things.

For months I have been contemplating on pulling the trigger on a 40 breeder LPS/soft coral setup, and decided to pull the trigger.

The following is my part list, and I am here to ask the seasoned reefers on this forum for any advice or any oversights on my list.
My budget is around 1000 bucks, and I can manage to obtain the following parts for around that price if I get used Primes.

Gear:
Tank: 40G (32''x16''x22'' LWD) or 150L (80*40*55) cm
HOB Filter: tidal55
HOB skimmer: Tunze DocSkimmer 9004
Wavemakers: 2x Jebao SLW-20 (mounted on either side of the tank)
Heater: Eheim jäger 150W
Lights: 2x AI Prime 16HD
RO/DI: Aqua Medic Easy Line 300

Bio-load
25% Cured Wet Live rock (~10 lbs, 5 kg)
75% Dry AquaForest rock (~30 lbs, 15 kg) + epoxy for aquascaping
Sand: Special Grade arag-alive 40lbs, 18kg
Salt: Pro-reef meersalz salt mix 22lbs, 10kg
Fish: Introduce two clownfish once the initial cycle is complete
Corals: Begin with Euphyllia once the initial cycle is complete

Testing
PH, Alkalinity, Magnesium, Nitrate, Potassium, Phosphate, and Calcium testing kits all from Salifret
Amonia alert badge
Red sea refractometer

Cycling gear:
API quick start
Modern reef ammomix

Many thanks!

PPBlimpy · May 30, 2025

looks like a solid build. check out reef rookies with logan on youtube. lots of great videos to help you get started

Gumbies R Us · May 30, 2025

Take a look through this thread, too. Very informative and will hit all the high points of what you need to know!

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean, but it is nowhere near simple. This task is going to take patience, a...

www.reef2reef.com

keatonmjenkins · May 30, 2025

Build looks great. The only thing I would do is cycle the rock with no lights for longer than you would want. It’ll pay off in the long run.

6month cycle in a trashcan would be best unless you’re fine with looking at a rock tank for 6 months.

Adding a ton of copepods when you start to ramp up lights will help out too and build your CUC up during this phase to keep algae at bay.

Wilbert · May 30, 2025

Thanks for the replies! I will check out the YT vids and the thread. @keatonmjenkins I am planning on doing the entire Amonia cycle without the lights on just like everybody says. I am planning on speeding this process up with added bacteria, live rock, live sand. Still, you would recommend to keep the lights off beyond the initial cycle, say until I plan on adding the first coral ~4/5 months in?

exnisstech · May 30, 2025

Welcome to the salty side. I came over from FW about 9 years ago.
You may not need a skimmer. People tend to treat them as a necessity but I run four tanks and only one has a skimmer. I run a 40g breeder with an aquaclear 110 hob.
I would add a heat controller like an inkbird even if the heater has a built in controller. I run titanium heaters on inkbirds. I have some old eheims but use them to heat water for changes. I'm not a fan of the glass heaters in with all the rocks but Im clumsy.
An ATO of some type is a must have IMO. It doesn't have to be tunze, there are of plenty of less expensive units that work just as well IME
I only test Nitrate, phosphate and alkalinity on a regular basis and calcium every months or so, I'm a simple kind of reefer.

Randy Holmes-Farley · May 31, 2025

I’d personally skip the magnesium and potassium measurement for now.

Wilbert · Jun 3, 2025

Thanks for the replies! Quick update on the process: I got a used tank of 40G including a stand + two canister filters and a helix max 2, all for only 70 bucks. All used of course, but still a very good deal i thought. I was planning on using the HoB filter i stated in my partlist, but now i have access to either an Eheim Experience 150 or a Aquael ultramax 1500. One is on the conservative side for a 40G, the other is overkill. Which would you guys recommend me to use, should the Eheim together with a skimmer be enough?

Gumbies R Us · Jun 3, 2025

I'm not an expert, but I think just the Eheim and skimmer will be enough!

Fish Fan · Jun 3, 2025

Wilbert said:
Thanks for the replies! Quick update on the process: I got a used tank of 40G including a stand + two canister filters and a helix max 2, all for only 70 bucks. All used of course, but still a very good deal i thought. I was planning on using the HoB filter i stated in my partlist, but now i have access to either an Eheim Experience 150 or a Aquael ultramax 1500. One is on the conservative side for a 40G, the other is overkill. Which would you guys recommend me to use, should the Eheim together with a skimmer be enough?

Nice score on the setup!

Those Eheim canister filters are excellent, however; here I'm going to suggest you go with the larger filter. It might be overkill for a 40 gallon freshwater, but not for saltwater. You want considerable flow and water movement in a reef tank with corals, and while most of us use additional circulation pumps to achieve this, I think you might as well get as much flow as you can from the canister filter you already have. Just my $0.02 here

As always, good luck!

RocketEngineer · Jun 3, 2025

Wilbert said:
Hi everyone!

I am completely new to the hobby, with some experience with freshwater tanks. For my research I watched the BRS 5 min guide you all know, among other things.

For months I have been contemplating on pulling the trigger on a 40 breeder LPS/soft coral setup, and decided to pull the trigger.

The following is my part list, and I am here to ask the seasoned reefers on this forum for any advice or any oversights on my list.
My budget is around 1000 bucks, and I can manage to obtain the following parts for around that price if I get used Primes.

Gear:
Tank: 40G (32''x16''x22'' LWD) or 150L (80*40*55) cm
HOB Filter: tidal55
HOB skimmer: Tunze DocSkimmer 9004
Wavemakers: 2x Jebao SLW-20 (mounted on either side of the tank)
Heater: Eheim jäger 150W
Lights: 2x AI Prime 16HD

Very similar to my setup from years ago:

The Tunze 9004 was a beast.

Wilbert · Jun 3, 2025

Fish Fan said:
Nice score on the setup!

Those Eheim canister filters are excellent, however; here I'm going to suggest you go with the larger filter. It might be overkill for a 40 gallon freshwater, but not for saltwater. You want considerable flow and water movement in a reef tank with corals, and while most of us use additional circulation pumps to achieve this, I think you might as well get as much flow as you can from the canister filter you already have. Just my $0.02 here

As always, good luck!

I think I might just take my luck with the bigger filter :) Should be very overkill, but I can always dial back if I need to. Thanks for your $0.02 haha

Wilbert · Jun 3, 2025

RocketEngineer said:
Very similar to my setup from years ago:

The Tunze 9004 was a beast.

Looks like my setup! And I ust ordered the Tunze 9004 because of all the good stories I have heard about it for those people without a sump :)

Reef_at_Sea · Jun 3, 2025

I would start with adding soft corals before euphylia!
I know they look cool, but euphylia tends to randomly die even in the hands of the more experienced reefers..

Wilbert · Jun 3, 2025

The setup needs some cleaning from the previous owner, but you cannot beat that price :)

RocketEngineer · Jun 3, 2025

Wilbert said:
Thanks for the replies! Quick update on the process: I got a used tank of 40G including a stand + two canister filters and a helix max 2, all for only 70 bucks. All used of course, but still a very good deal i thought. I was planning on using the HoB filter i stated in my partlist, but now i have access to either an Eheim Experience 150 or a Aquael ultramax 1500. One is on the conservative side for a 40G, the other is overkill. Which would you guys recommend me to use, should the Eheim together with a skimmer be enough?

Honestly, I found the skimmer did the heavy lifting on that tank. Then again, it was at work and lightly stocked. Your mileage may vary. A powerhead or two plus the skimmer and you’re well on your way. If I had those, I would use them for cleaning vs running 24/7. JMO.

Fish Fan · Jun 3, 2025

Wilbert said:
The setup needs some cleaning from the previous owner, but you cannot beat that price :)

Nice score!

Try a mild acid like vinegar or citric acid to cut through any of those white mineral deposits.

Backtolifemassage · Jun 3, 2025

Wilbert said:
Hi everyone!

I am completely new to the hobby, with some experience with freshwater tanks. For my research I watched the BRS 5 min guide you all know, among other things.

For months I have been contemplating on pulling the trigger on a 40 breeder LPS/soft coral setup, and decided to pull the trigger.

The following is my part list, and I am here to ask the seasoned reefers on this forum for any advice or any oversights on my list.
My budget is around 1000 bucks, and I can manage to obtain the following parts for around that price if I get used Primes.

Gear:
Tank: 40G (32''x16''x22'' LWD) or 150L (80*40*55) cm
HOB Filter: tidal55
HOB skimmer: Tunze DocSkimmer 9004
Wavemakers: 2x Jebao SLW-20 (mounted on either side of the tank)
Heater: Eheim jäger 150W
Lights: 2x AI Prime 16HD
RO/DI: Aqua Medic Easy Line 300

Bio-load
25% Cured Wet Live rock (~10 lbs, 5 kg)
75% Dry AquaForest rock (~30 lbs, 15 kg) + epoxy for aquascaping
Sand: Special Grade arag-alive 40lbs, 18kg
Salt: Pro-reef meersalz salt mix 22lbs, 10kg
Fish: Introduce two clownfish once the initial cycle is complete
Corals: Begin with Euphyllia once the initial cycle is complete

Testing
PH, Alkalinity, Magnesium, Nitrate, Potassium, Phosphate, and Calcium testing kits all from Salifret
Amonia alert badge
Red sea refractometer

Cycling gear:
API quick start
Modern reef ammomix

Many thanks!

Nice build. The only recommendation I have is use live rock. I have a 32g biocube and a 230 prostar peninsula. I cycled the biocube with regular rock from a local LFS. It took so long. I lost so much coral and fish. I cycled my peninsula using live roam from Tampa bay saltwater and was o impressed. So many cool things were on the rock and it was ready to go almost instantly. I let the tank settle in for about 48 hours and I didn’t go through an ugly stage. I used Fiji sand live sand. I will never use anything g but live rock.