If you had to start all over…

[CBonito]

what controller did you get

Apex. So far it's all working great for me.

But I'm sure when I start with all the automated testing stuff, I'll end up getting mad. Seems like anyone doing that with any brand goes through that. It's like the ugly phase of your tank, only it's the ugly owner phase. hahaha

 

[Homebrewer]

1) start with a high-end skimmer instead of going through a few cheap ones (the ‘Ol “buy the best you can afford”… yeah, didn’t do that and ended up paying more in the long run)

2) gallon-for-gallon, buy the longer tank (I have a 65 “show” tank … 36” wide… and I’d prefer a longer, shallower setup)

 

[flashsmith]

I'm starting over sort of.... For the past 2.5 years I've had an IM SR80 and a reefer 625xxl G2 going at the same time. I recently broke down the 80 and sold it all off. Sometime in the near future I'll be breaking down the reefer and parting it out too. I've already sold some of the livestock. I'll probably keep the lights and skimmer just in case though. I purchased a red sea max nano peninsula this weekend and that's going to be my fix for the foreseeable future. Joining the nano world and I couldn't be more excited for the challenge. Running both of the large tanks was a burden financially and time consuming. The 80 paid for my new system so I'm happy with that. I'm also going to a new house with half the space. So there's that too. We became empty nesters this year and we are on the process of getting rid of the Mcmansion in favor of a simpler lifestyle so I don't have to work until 2:00PM on the day of my funeral. Lol

 

[ScubaSkeets]

1. Reef Mat. They are a bit pricey but well worth the money. Crystal clear water.

2. Higher GPD RO/Di system AND booster pump. I went from taking several days of tricking water to fill up a 32G Brute to it being done in about 6 hours.

3. Paying extra for QT'd fish. One of my LFS quarantines and while their prices on certain fish are somtimes higher than I'm willing to pay, they are usually not and the extra 25-30% price is well worth it.

4. Buying Vibrant. I dosed Vibrant in one of my tanks. The next day 5 out of the 7 fish that were in that tank were dead.

 

[alabella1]

I think I'm going to do that.

you won't regret it! Get the autoflush thing too that someone mentioned earlier. All these little upgrades have made all the difference.

 

[alabella1]

Apex. So far it's all working great for me.

But I'm sure when I start with all the automated testing stuff, I'll end up getting mad. Seems like anyone doing that with any brand goes through that. It's like the ugly phase of your tank, only it's the ugly owner phase. hahaha

I also went ALL apex, but in the end I dumped the trident and got a Reefbot Lab and I love it so far.

 

[CBonito]

I also went ALL apex, but in the end I dumped the trident and got a Reefbot Lab and I love it so far.

You did??? I want one of those so bad. Do you have the original or the new version?

 

[alabella1]

You did??? I want one of those so bad. Do you have the original or the new version?

The new one... Reefbot Lab. It's amazing and they just set it up to take the A, B and C reagents that the trident uses.

 

[CBonito]

The new one... Reefbot Lab. It's amazing and they just set it up to take the A, B and C reagents that the trident uses.

Nice! I'm going to get one. Just the build quality alone sets it apart.

 

[alabella1]

Nice! I'm going to get one. Just the build quality alone sets it apart.

@Reef Kinetics - Hook my guy up here! He's ready to buy.

 

[Reef Kinetics]

Nice! I'm going to get one. Just the build quality alone sets it apart.

We are thrilled to have you join the RK family. Welcome aboard!

 

[Reef Kinetics]

@Reef Kinetics - Hook my guy up here! He's ready to buy.

We're waiting eagerly!

 

[Kathy Floyd]

Definitely should have listened and went with a bigger tank when I had the chance.

 

[CBonito]

The new one... Reefbot Lab. It's amazing and they just set it up to take the A, B and C reagents that the trident uses.

That's pretty much what I wanted to do. How was the shipping and duties and all that guff?

I was just looking at the dashboard on their site...so can one integrate this with their apex to run a dosing regime based on test results? Or are you still dictating the dosing?

 

[CBonito]

@Reef Kinetics - Hook my guy up here! He's ready to buy.

I'm doing it. Got the Black Friday Discount too.
The big reagent bottles and extra needles too.

Every video I've seen on this seems to suggest the only things that you'll need to replace on this maybe every 6 months are the needles. I would see doser pump tubes too, but apparently even those hold up fine. Unlike a lot of the others, I have no reason to think this is NOT the best unit out there.

It's going to be a lot more reliable than I am. That's why I'm getting it. I hate sitting there for two hours testing everything. I can just pull it up onscreen on a saturday morning and get the state of the union. Too cool.