Help getting started

[davidg88tx]

I have been keeping freshwater fish for around 3 years. I got a 125 gallon marineland tank with stand from petsmart its not drilled. I am currently running 2 fluval 300 watt heaters in it and an fx6 with a spraybar for filtration. I have had it running for about 3 months or so. I have 2 clownfish and a diamond goby in it as of now. I want to start adding in coral but theres so many lights to look at...my question is do you guys have any reccomendations for budget friendly lights. Ive been looking at smatfarm g6 lights and maxspect mj-L290 or mj-L260 but open to others and im aware ill need at least 3 for a 6ft. Tank

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Here are a couple reccomendations!
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/best-affordable-light-setup-for-a-72”-125g.1063096/

 

[143MPCo]

I have been keeping freshwater fish for around 3 years. I got a 125 gallon marineland tank with stand from petsmart its not drilled. I am currently running 2 fluval 300 watt heaters in it and an fx6 with a spraybar for filtration. I have had it running for about 3 months or so. I have 2 clownfish and a diamond goby in it as of now. I want to start adding in coral but theres so many lights to look at...my question is do you guys have any reccomendations for budget friendly lights. Ive been looking at smatfarm g6 lights and maxspect mj-L290 or mj-L260 but open to others and im aware ill need at least 3 for a 6ft. Tank

Hey buddy, stoked you’re leveling up from 3 years of freshwater to a reef with that beastly 125g Marineland—clownfish and diamond goby are a fun start! But heads up, your FW-cycled setup isn’t reef-ready yet, so let’s chat tweaks before corals crash the party. What’s your water testing game like so far?

Cycle Reset First…
Drain it all, RO/DI rinse every piece of gear top to bottom, then mix saltwater to 1.020-1.025 SG with a refractometer (trust me, skip the hydrometer). Zero out ammonia/nitrite, nitrates under 20ppm—test daily till stable. How’s your RO/DI unit holding up?

Equipment Game Plan…
FX6 + spraybar is fine temp-wise, but it’ll gunk up and spike nitrates quick—sump with skimmer/chaeto on your wishlist? Ditch one 300W heater for a single 200-300W with controller, add wavemakers (20-40x turnover), ATO, and powerheads. Undrilled tank limits ya, but overflow box DIYs work (leak-proofing is key!). Thoughts on plumbing?

Lighting Recs…
Smatfarm G6 (140W) and Maxspect MJ-L260/290 are decent budget app-controlled picks with solid spectrums—3+ spread over 72”x18” gets you 60-100 PAR for softies/LPS starters (ramp slow!). Hunt used AI Prime HDs (4-6 units) on here for better coverage. What corals you dreaming of—zoas or something punchier?

Stocking & Timeline…
Light bioload = smart move. Wait 1-2 months post-cycle, frag softies first, weekly 10-20% changes + live rock/sand, params locked (78-80F, pH 8.1-8.4, alk 7-9). Hit your LFS for param checks. Drop pics of progress or questions—let’s get this reef popping! What’s step one for you?

 

[davidg88tx]

Hey buddy, stoked you’re leveling up from 3 years of freshwater to a reef with that beastly 125g Marineland—clownfish and diamond goby are a fun start! But heads up, your FW-cycled setup isn’t reef-ready yet, so let’s chat tweaks before corals crash the party. What’s your water testing game like so far?

Cycle Reset First…
Drain it all, RO/DI rinse every piece of gear top to bottom, then mix saltwater to 1.020-1.025 SG with a refractometer (trust me, skip the hydrometer). Zero out ammonia/nitrite, nitrates under 20ppm—test daily till stable. How’s your RO/DI unit holding up?

Equipment Game Plan…
FX6 + spraybar is fine temp-wise, but it’ll gunk up and spike nitrates quick—sump with skimmer/chaeto on your wishlist? Ditch one 300W heater for a single 200-300W with controller, add wavemakers (20-40x turnover), ATO, and powerheads. Undrilled tank limits ya, but overflow box DIYs work (leak-proofing is key!). Thoughts on plumbing?

Lighting Recs…
Smatfarm G6 (140W) and Maxspect MJ-L260/290 are decent budget app-controlled picks with solid spectrums—3+ spread over 72”x18” gets you 60-100 PAR for softies/LPS starters (ramp slow!). Hunt used AI Prime HDs (4-6 units) on here for better coverage. What corals you dreaming of—zoas or something punchier?

Stocking & Timeline…
Light bioload = smart move. Wait 1-2 months post-cycle, frag softies first, weekly 10-20% changes + live rock/sand, params locked (78-80F, pH 8.1-8.4, alk 7-9). Hit your LFS for param checks. Drop pics of progress or questions—let’s get this reef popping! What’s step one for you?

Thanks for the reply. My cycle didnt take too long at all its been complete for a good month and a half or so i used dr. Tims and fritz. I have been using rodi water from the very start of the tank. Ive got around 70 pounds of rock in the tank. Its got an ato on it as well. As for the corals id like to keep probably just softies and some sps. I do plan on getting a temp controller but would 1 300watt heater really be enough for 125gal tank. I dont have any plans for a sump i really like canisters thats what i know how to use coming from fresh water..who knows maybe down the line ill change my mind. I been doing 20-25 gallon water change weekly everythings been testing good as far as ammonia,nitrate, and nitrite.

 

[davidg88tx]

Here are a couple reccomendations!
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/best-affordable-light-setup-for-a-72”-125g.1063096/

Thanks for this this is exactly what im looking for

 

[143MPCo]

Hey buddy, stoked you’re leveling up from 3 years of freshwater to a reef with that beastly 125g Marineland—clownfish and diamond goby are a fun start! But heads up, your FW-cycled setup isn’t reef-ready yet, so let’s chat tweaks before corals crash the party. What’s your water testing game like so far?

Cycle Reset First…
Drain it all, RO/DI rinse every piece of gear top to bottom, then mix saltwater to 1.020-1.025 SG with a refractometer (trust me, skip the hydrometer). Zero out ammonia/nitrite, nitrates under 20ppm—test daily till stable. How’s your RO/DI unit holding up?

Equipment Game Plan…
FX6 + spraybar is fine temp-wise, but it’ll gunk up and spike nitrates quick—sump with skimmer/chaeto on your wishlist? Ditch one 300W heater for a single 200-300W with controller, add wavemakers (20-40x turnover), ATO, and powerheads. Undrilled tank limits ya, but overflow box DIYs work (leak-proofing is key!). Thoughts on plumbing?

Lighting Recs…
Smatfarm G6 (140W) and Maxspect MJ-L260/290 are decent budget app-controlled picks with solid spectrums—3+ spread over 72”x18” gets you 60-100 PAR for softies/LPS starters (ramp slow!). Hunt used AI Prime HDs (4-6 units) on here for better coverage. What corals you dreaming of—zoas or something punchier?

Stocking & Timeline…
Light bioload = smart move. Wait 1-2 months post-cycle, frag softies first, weekly 10-20% changes + live rock/sand, params locked (78-80F, pH 8.1-8.4, alk 7-9). Hit your LFS for param checks. Drop pics of progress or questions—let’s get this reef popping! What’s step one for you?

Thanks for the reply. My cycle didnt take too long at all its been complete for a good month and a half or so i used dr. Tims and fritz. I have been using rodi water from the very start of the tank. Ive got around 70 pounds of rock in the tank. Its got an ato on it as well. As for the corals id like to keep probably just softies and some sps. I do plan on getting a temp controller but would 1 300watt heater really be enough for 125gal tank. I dont have any plans for a sump i really like canisters thats what i know how to use coming from fresh water..who knows maybe down the line ill change my mind. I been doing 20-25 gallon water change weekly everythings been testing good as far as ammonia,nitrate, and nitrite.

100% right...

A single 300W heater falls short for reliable stability in a 125-gallon tank, especially without a sump; opt for 2-3 heaters totaling 5-8W per gallon (625-1000W total) to handle ambient drops and provide redundancy against failures. Place two 300W Eheim Jagers (one at each end, set 1°F apart) or three 200-250W units like Finnex titanium models, all plugged into an Inkbird ITC-308 controller with alarms for 77-79°F deadband—this prevents hot spots or crashes common in larger reef volumes.