Hi!

[Monika]

Hi, I am just at the beginning here trying to figure out the best set up that will allow me to be gone for at least 10 days and maybe save my reef and fish from dying as a result of my future mistakes. I read that the bigger the tank the easier to keep it stable so I decided to get CADE Peninsula 1200 S2/P (130 gallon tank and about 20 in the sump system) that one and only thing that I am sure about. Was wondering if you could give me some input about the other parts

I am planning to do mainly soft coral tank with easy fish for starters but want to have the option to add some anemone down the road.

For wave maker I was thinking 2x Vortech mp10 qd
Octo regal 150sss 6” space saving protein skimmer
Lights what are your thoughts on AI Prime 16 HD light system?
pumps ???? honesty there is too much contradicting information out there so I was hoping you could shed some light.
pre cycled sand and rock from CaribSea so I don’t have to add anything to sand or rock.
Also what am I missing here…
Any and all help greatly appreciated!

 

[shakacuz]

welcome aboard the r2r board!

i would try and get a bigger skimmer
lights i would go reefi uno pro 2’s and some quanta led bars to supplement
for pumps (assuming you meant return pump) why not keep it ecotech? (if you have the budget) or you can get a jebao or sicce

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[vetteguy53081]

Prime 16or Hydra 24 or 32 are great lights
Live rock beneficial

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

Welcome.
The mp10 is for thinner glass. Would need mp40

 

[zheka757]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[Reef Devils]

Hi, I am just at the beginning here trying to figure out the best set up that will allow me to be gone for at least 10 days and maybe save my reef and fish from dying as a result of my future mistakes. I read that the bigger the tank the easier to keep it stable so I decided to get CADE Peninsula 1200 S2/P (130 gallon tank and about 20 in the sump system) that one and only thing that I am sure about. Was wondering if you could give me some input about the other parts

I am planning to do mainly soft coral tank with easy fish for starters but want to have the option to add some anemone down the road.

For wave maker I was thinking 2x Vortech mp10 qd
Octo regal 150sss 6” space saving protein skimmer
Lights what are your thoughts on AI Prime 16 HD light system?
pumps ???? honesty there is too much contradicting information out there so I was hoping you could shed some light.
pre cycled sand and rock from CaribSea so I don’t have to add anything to sand or rock.
Also what am I missing here…
Any and all help greatly appreciated!

Welcome!

 

[CO2TLEY]

 

[Brisk]

Welcome!

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

Forgot ATO and a really big reservoir for more than 10 days.

 

[Fish Fan]

Welcome to R2R! It looks like you are off to a great start for sure.

I am far from an expert, and others here at R2R will certainly have better advice, based on much more experience. There's so many choices for rock and sand and what methodology you choose. Getting back into the hobby after a long time out, I was sure I wanted to start with dry rock and sand (and may yet start a future tank this way), but I got back into the hobby recently with a couple small tanks and some aquacultured live rock and sand from Tampa Bay Saltwater. Their rock and sand is pretty cool, it comes teeming with beneficial microorganisms, and typically a bunch of beneficial critters and desirable organisms too. Just over two months in, and we are still discovering interesting critters.

Aquacultured rock does have some disadvantages, mainly that you will get everything in the ocean, good, bad, and otherwise, some of which cannot survive or is not suitable to be kept in an aquarium. So do some research, but with some care and planning aquacultured rock and sand may be an option for you.

We love saying 'hello' here, but I would suggest you repost your questions on the General Reef Aquarium Discussions, or one of the other sub forums. You will get more replies and recommendations specific to your concerns there, and from reefers who are way smarter and more experienced than I am ;-)

Best of luck with your build!

 

[PizzaIan339]

Welcome! We are glad to have you!
I have heard that the MP 10s are great but with that size tank it would be better to do mp40s. I would also do radions to keep everything the same app or do so nero and an so light.

 

[Ocean_Queenie]

Hello & Welcome!

 

[OctaviusBrine]

Welcome to the reef!

 

[Monika]

welcome aboard the r2r board!

i would try and get a bigger skimmer
lights i would go reefi uno pro 2’s and some quanta led bars to supplement
for pumps (assuming you meant return pump) why not keep it ecotech? (if you have the budget) or you can get a jebao or sicce

which skimmer would you recommend?
Yes, return pump scotch looks good indeed, I red some comments that its good to have a spear one on had would you say that's necessary or it rarely fail?

 

[Monika]

Forgot ATO and a really big reservoir for more than 10 days.

right! ATO good call, and how big are we talking?

 

[Brazilian Reefer]

Hi, I am just at the beginning here trying to figure out the best set up that will allow me to be gone for at least 10 days and maybe save my reef and fish from dying as a result of my future mistakes. I read that the bigger the tank the easier to keep it stable so I decided to get CADE Peninsula 1200 S2/P (130 gallon tank and about 20 in the sump system) that one and only thing that I am sure about. Was wondering if you could give me some input about the other parts

I am planning to do mainly soft coral tank with easy fish for starters but want to have the option to add some anemone down the road.

For wave maker I was thinking 2x Vortech mp10 qd
Octo regal 150sss 6” space saving protein skimmer
Lights what are your thoughts on AI Prime 16 HD light system?
pumps ???? honesty there is too much contradicting information out there so I was hoping you could shed some light.
pre cycled sand and rock from CaribSea so I don’t have to add anything to sand or rock.
Also what am I missing here…
Any and all help greatly appreciated!

Welcome to R2R and Happy Reefing!

 

[Monika]

Welcome! We are glad to have you!
I have heard that the MP 10s are great but with that size tank it would be better to do mp40s. I would also do radions to keep everything the same app or do so nero and an so light.

So I would love to have everything on one app and for that reason I was looking at Maxspect Lagoon Smart Aquarium (https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/maxspect-lagoon-smart-aquarium-80-gallon.html) but I am not sure how good of an option it is really because I could not find much information about it as it is a fairly new system. I don't think I like that wave maker (Jump 2K Gyre) or the skimmer (MJ-SK400) and I would prefer the roller over filter socks

 

[nano reef]

Welcome aboard! You dont have to buy the most expensive equipment to be successful! I wouldnt even consider those expensive mp 10 or 40's. I go Jebao all the way and they work perfectly fine and are programable as well! I buy them from amazon!

I started off wanting to have the best of everything until I got into the coral buying stage and now all my money goes to coral! lol

I also bought radions led's and took them back after I tried out Noopsyche! I compared both and like noops better so I saved a ton of money!

My most expensive gear is my eshopps skimmer and I absolutely hate it! I just cant keep the thing skimming!

Good luck and Happy Reefing!

 

[Monika]

Welcome aboard! You dont have to buy the most expensive equipment to be successful! I wouldnt even consider those expensive mp 10 or 40's. I go Jebao all the way and they work perfectly fine and are programable as well! I buy them from amazon!

I started off wanting to have the best of everything until I got into the coral buying stage and now all my money goes to coral! lol

I also bought radions led's and took them back after I tried out Noopsyche! I compared both and like noops better so I saved a ton of money!

My most expensive gear is my eshopps skimmer and I absolutely hate it! I just cant keep the thing skimming!

Good luck and Happy Reefing!

I will definitely look it up. The reason why I went for more expensive option is that I wasn't sure if the alternatives would one- more likely to fail, two- will be hard to set up and operate. I much rather invest more upfront and don't have to mess with it later but if there are good alternatives I will gladly switch.