help I have been in a coma for 15 years! I'm back and I'm lost.

[CayeCaulker]

I used to run multiple tanks 15 years ago. SPS/LPS Metal Halide, all the retro stuff.

I just purchased a 150g show.
now for the rest of the puzzle pieces.

This will be a SPS dominated system.


I am working on the sump solution and have decided to build my own. In the past that's what I did.
What I am curious about are external pumps, external skimmers and modern electronics and controllers. What are good quality return pumps. I want to use two for redundancy. Also what is a good recommended control system and probes? And a external dual motor skimmer? What is everyone using these days.

I am more concerned about quality than cost.

 

[AnotherReefHobbyist]

I didn't even know that external return pumps or skimmers were a thing! I think most people use return pumps that sit in the last chamber of their sump. The neptune cor is a great option if you want to pair it with a neptune apex control system, as it will work nicely with the rest of your controllers.

As for controllers, the neptune apex seems to be where it is at for high end controllers, but there are tons of less popular and less expensive control systems like the coralvue hydros.

 

[Dolphins18]

External skimmer all the way! I run a Reef Octopus SRO-5000ext and love it, so much more space in the sump. These recirculating skimmers are BIG and you need a secondary feed pump, I run a mag drive externally but there is nothing wrong with using an internal pump for this application. I always think running 2 returns is a good idea, lots of good brands out there these days but Eheim is still very good in my opinion. Sicce makes some great controllable pumps. Red dragon is probably the best but I don't think thats a reasonable or smart way to use money. From a control stand point, I have run a full apex with trident for a while, and just recently set up a GHL control system with a KH director. The initial impressions of the GHL are really good, quality probes and better control than the Apex - but the jury is still out on that.

 

[Rmckoy]

15 years ago external pumps were almost more popular in large systems .

I run a external ( recirculating ) skimmer and to be honest. Prefer them over any in sump model .

Mrc makes great skimmers for large volume systems . But I have found their pull requirement for each skimmer a little on the low side .
For ex : the MR2 requires a mag 18 or equivalent . I’m using a jeabo dc and using all 1” hose to supply it .

 

[reefnfun]

same thing happened to me, I decided to stay retro; basement sump with a reeflo hammerhead for an external return pump. I am still running halides and prefer them. Just a suggestion, stay with what you know. If you like gadgets the sky is the limit now.

 

[CayeCaulker]

I used to run a sump in my basement and may do that again but will run a sump under the tank with a small refugium. I ran a refugium 15 years ago and am planning on it again. It is such a great filter you can tune at will.

I think I am going to use two
iwaki Md 20 Rxt for the returns. So far that is all I have picked out.

Protein skimming; I have not settled on the skimmer. My old skimmers used beckett injectors and were huge and took huge pumps. Skimmer technology has really changed!!! Once the system is dialed in i won't need a super powerful skimmer but I have had anemones and corals spawn and it can create quite a mess. I do want something that can save me when I need it.

Mechanical filtration; I have never used socks or a roller system before. I sure do see the advantage of using them! Especially when cleaning the system. I would want to be able to bypass them in the sump if needed. I don't want to strip so much out of the tank there isn't enough food for the coral. For cleaning! Man I sure want them.

electronics; Well it sure looks like Apex is the clear winner here. I have yet to decide on what I need.

Lighting; Lighting has changed probably more than anything. I love the shimmer of metal halide. I would like to reproduce that if possible. I don't want a blue fish tank. I want it to look as natural as possible while at the same time getting my par levels where I need them. what used to be a few t8 blue tubes and two 250w Metal halides has turned it a total confusing mess.

Dosing; I used to use old hospital dosers I could pick up cheep. But having a doser integrated into the controller sure has advantages.

I am a long ways away to having the system running so months and months away before the first piece of coral could be added so I have lots of time to figure dosing, reactors etc..

 

[CayeCaulker]

15 years ago external pumps were almost more popular in large systems .

I run a external ( recirculating ) skimmer and to be honest. Prefer them over any in sump model .

Mrc makes great skimmers for large volume systems . But I have found their pull requirement for each skimmer a little on the low side .
For ex : the MR2 requires a mag 18 or equivalent . I’m using a jeabo dc and using all 1” hose to supply it .

External recirculating is what I am leaning to.

 

[CayeCaulker]

same thing happened to me, I decided to stay retro; basement sump with a reeflo hammerhead for an external return pump. I am still running halides and prefer them. Just a suggestion, stay with what you know. If you like gadgets the sky is the limit now.

I may just stay with metal halide! But the power savings is gnawing at me. I just don't want a blue reef tank like so many I see with all these LED's I want it to look like sunlight and be natural. I love the shimmer of metal halide.

 

[Hermie]

I used to run multiple tanks 15 years ago. SPS/LPS Metal Halide, all the retro stuff.

I just purchased a 150g show.
now for the rest of the puzzle pieces.

This will be a SPS dominated system.


I am working on the sump solution and have decided to build my own. In the past that's what I did.
What I am curious about are external pumps, external skimmers and modern electronics and controllers. What are good quality return pumps. I want to use two for redundancy. Also what is a good recommended control system and probes? And a external dual motor skimmer? What is everyone using these days.

I am more concerned about quality than cost.

IMO, if I were in your shoes, I'd pick one of the Reef of the month people and virtually duplicate their setup. They list all the controller/dosing/pump things. And since they had success, it would be a leg-up so to speak as opposed to "frankenstein" builds.

 

[CayeCaulker]

IMO, if I were in your shoes, I'd pick one of the Reef of the month people and virtually duplicate their setup. They list all the controller/dosing/pump things. And since they had success, it would be a leg-up so to speak as opposed to "frankenstein" builds.

That is an excellent suggestion.

 

[Oregon Grown Reef]

I half expected a legitimate story about you being in a coma for years and wanting to start up your reef tanks now that you've had time to adjust. LOL! It wouldn't have surprised me as it's pretty much on par for how reefers think.

 

[Rmckoy]

External recirculating is what I am leaning to.

Check out Mrc ( my reef creations ) skimmers .

 

[CayeCaulker]

last night I picked up a used RODI system I found on facebook market place. The seller I met ran blue lights in the evening and I must say amazing. The blue light really make the corals pop. It was like a black light. I may have to rethink by opinion on LED lighting. I still love the shimmer of metal halide but an amazing glowing black light tank in the evening... WOW.. I have never seen one of these in person.

I have been out of the hobby for so long I am pretty much lost. Lighting is one of the things that has changed the most. The RODI systems are exactly the same.

 

[bnord]

I may just stay with metal halide! But the power savings is gnawing at me. I just don't want a blue reef tank like so many I see with all these LED's I want it to look like sunlight and be natural. I love the shimmer of metal halide.

to your lighting concern and the blue hues LEDs check out T5 hybrids - for me it gives great flexibility with energy savings, and ability to tune further with bulb selection - I run them over a 6 foot tank with Radion's, and use them to simulate the 11 to 3 o'clock high sun like you would see on Caye Caulker - which is where I wish I was right now
and I too love the transition to deep blues in the last hour of the day - saves on your TV bill

 

[CayeCaulker]

to your lighting concern and the blue hues LEDs check out T5 hybrids - for me it gives great flexibility with energy savings, and ability to tune further with bulb selection - I run them over a 6 foot tank with Radion's, and use them to simulate the 11 to 3 o'clock high sun like you would see on Caye Caulker - which is where I wish I was right now
and I too love the transition to deep blues in the last hour of the day - saves on your TV bill

Thanks, I will check that out!

 

[jda]

There is very little that has happened in the last 15 years that is of much consequence that you need to know about. Solid equipment has not changed much - what worked then still works now. Needle wheel skimmers are mostly in vogue for this crowd, but most don't know what downdraft, venturi or beckett skimmers can do... or they dont have tanks large enough to run one. I use LifeReef and a few best of breed needle wheels (RO with Sicce PSK pumps and then some EuroReefs and ASM which still skim better than most "modern" cone skimmers. AC pumps are reliable whereas DC pumps can control flow and have feed mode - if you choose well, both will take about the same wattage, but if you replace a 400w AC pump with a 50w DC pump, then you made a bad choice to begin with.

You don't need a controller, but you can get one if you want. Some love them and some hate them - I have no need.

The biggest advancements since you left are New Life Spectrum pellets and PE mysis for fish food... and Hannah Ultra Low Phosphorous Checker. Otherwise, mostly just newer things to do the same old thing and not all of them are as good as what was out there.

Halides with some Blue LED strips like ReefBrite XHO are still best of breed for performance.

 

[PlumberDude]

I’ve been running a fluval sp 4 return pump for several years and it’s dead silent.
I’ve got a friend who is running 2 of the controllable reef octopus pumps on his tank and he loves them. Some stuff is junk and if you read enough on forums you can see which ones have the most issues and poor customer service. Iwakis are workhorses but loud. Seems like the yellow and black pan world pumps were a little quieter and basically identical to iwaki. I haven’t ran those since 2009 or so. If I remember right I put a block of foam rubber under the whole pump to quiet it down and used flex pipe. It never failed. My reeflow dart had to be sent out a couple times but they had great customer service.
The equipment now is really based on energy savings as a selling point.
I still have halides on a shelf and a 1 horse chiller in my crawl space if I ever change my mind… haha most of us collect a lot of crap and save it just in case.

 

[CayeCaulker]

to your lighting concern and the blue hues LEDs check out T5 hybrids - for me it gives great flexibility with energy savings, and ability to tune further with bulb selection - I run them over a 6 foot tank with Radion's, and use them to simulate the 11 to 3 o'clock high sun like you would see on Caye Caulker - which is where I wish I was right now
and I too love the transition to deep blues in the last hour of the day - saves on your TV bill

Looks like I am leaning towards Kessel 500x lights. Two on the system.

 

[bnord]

Looks like I am leaning towards Kessel 500x lights. Two on the system.

would love to see that in person, so please send phots when done

 

[cthetoy]

Also LPS/SPS frags has gone up in prices. People are selling frags, add some fancy name and jack up the price $$$ that cost just as much as an Ipad.