Needing advice

[-TheGunner-]

Hi everyone,

I'm finally thinking to jump into the saltwater hobby, I keep freshwater fish for a long time, but I have no idea about saltwater tanks.I also decided on the Nyos Opus G2 440 Pro-Line as my first major setup, as I’ve heard it’s a really good tank. I want a bigger tank to start with as I heard it’s a bit easier to keep everything under control and also I don’t have to upgrade it anytime soon. My total budget for the tank and ALL equipment is around £8,000 I am aiming for good gear not necessarily the most expensive but surely not the cheapest, also whatever you guys thinks would make my life easier too.

I'm looking for advice on two main things:

1. Essential Equipment: I know the tank comes with the tank, cabinet, sump, plumbing, and ATO reservoir. What is the most reliable gear you guys recommend to fill the rest of the system, considering the £8k budget?And is this tank worth it?Or is there a better one around this price range?

2. General Setup/Cycle Advice: Any specific tips or tricks for setting up this particular tank?As in sump layout and all that?Any bit of information would be greatly appreciated.Thank you!

 

[Fish Fan]

Welcome to Reef2Reef and to saltwater!

I think this guide would be a good start if you're totally new to saltwater:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/
And I personally suggest this video series would be a good watch:
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/cont...damW6cdk_0OsI1nOgalnA_UMw-qhBiryFhv-5X9rZMX0v
Good luck with your new tank!

 

[BryanM]

^^ agree with the above.

I will also say there's 100 different ways to deal with filtration. That's a topic you'll probably want to research, and I would suggest that the things that "jive" with you should guide you in that direction.

The most common setup I think going today is socks or a filter roller and skimmer.

I basically only have an algae turf scrubber, and my "jive" is minimal and natural.

 

[-TheGunner-]

Welcome to Reef2Reef and to saltwater!

I think this guide would be a good start if you're totally new to saltwater:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/
And I personally suggest this video series would be a good watch:
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/cont...damW6cdk_0OsI1nOgalnA_UMw-qhBiryFhv-5X9rZMX0v
Good luck with your new tank!

Thank you so much, will check it out!

 

[-TheGunner-]

^^ agree with the above.

I will also say there's 100 different ways to deal with filtration. That's a topic you'll probably want to research, and I would suggest that the things that "jive" with you should guide you in that direction.

The most common setup I think going today is socks or a filter roller and skimmer.

I basically only have an algae turf scrubber, and my "jive" is minimal and natural.

I’ve heard about the sock filter, but shouldn’t you change socks weekly?because that sounds like a hassle to remember weekly haha,or can you just wash them and put them back?

 

[Fish Fan]

I’ve heard about the sock filter, but shouldn’t you change socks weekly?because that sounds like a hassle to remember weekly haha,or can you just wash them and put them back?

You have some options here:

Many reefers will have more than one sock so that they can just swap the old with a clean one, and then clean the old one and let it dry for next time. Some run socks through their clothes washing machine, some say that's kind of gross. Many will use bleach or peroxide in a bucket to clean them, which is fine, you just need to let the socks completely dry to degrade the bleach or hit them with a lot of dechlorinator (peroxide is less toxic).

I personally don't care for socks, I don't like dealing with cleaning them all the time. I prefer using filter cups with cheap Poly-Fil, which is the same as aquarium filter floss, but a lot cheaper, found at craft stores or the craft section of your local Mega-Lo-Mart:
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/high...55mijz3dZsevAB_RjEEx-A2PzSgldd0hoCE30QAvD_BwE
https://www.michaels.com/product/th...233&gbraid=0AAAAADkMxxd-2aoB0b3LsUZUP1NXyZG-6
I've not tried them myself, but Reef Diapers is a newer product that's basically a disposable sock so you don't have to deal with the cleaning of the socks:
https://reefdiaper.com/
Many don't use any mechanical filtration all. I once heard Josh Earle from World Wide Corals say in a video that you should take everything your filter sock catches and add it back into the tank

I hope this helps!

 

[BryanM]

I’ve heard about the sock filter, but shouldn’t you change socks weekly?because that sounds like a hassle to remember weekly haha,or can you just wash them and put them back?

Sock maintenance is why many either go without, or go to a filter roller.

 

[Fish Fan]

Sock maintenance is why many either go without, or go to a filter roller.

That's a good call, I forgot to mention a roller as an option above

 

[-TheGunner-]

I’ve heard about the sock filter, but shouldn’t you change socks weekly?because that sounds like a hassle to remember weekly haha,or can you just wash them and put them back?

You have some options here:

Many reefers will have more than one sock so that they can just swap the old with a clean one, and then clean the old one and let it dry for next time. Some run socks through their clothes washing machine, some say that's kind of gross. Many will use bleach or peroxide in a bucket to clean them, which is fine, you just need to let the socks completely dry to degrade the bleach or hit them with a lot of dechlorinator (peroxide is less toxic).

I personally don't care for socks, I don't like dealing with cleaning them all the time. I prefer using filter cups with cheap Poly-Fil, which is the same as aquarium filter floss, but a lot cheaper, found at craft stores or the craft section of your local Mega-Lo-Mart:
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/high...55mijz3dZsevAB_RjEEx-A2PzSgldd0hoCE30QAvD_BwE
https://www.michaels.com/product/th...233&gbraid=0AAAAADkMxxd-2aoB0b3LsUZUP1NXyZG-6
I've not tried them myself, but Reef Diapers is a newer product that's basically a disposable sock so you don't have to deal with the cleaning of the socks:
https://reefdiaper.com/
Many don't use any mechanical filtration all. I once heard Josh Earle from World Wide Corals say in a video that you should take everything your filter sock catches and add it back into the tank

I hope this helps!

Polyfil in cups does sound better and I know polyfil is super cheap as I use it in my freshwater filter, thank you!

 

[-TheGunner-]

I’ve heard about the sock filter, but shouldn’t you change socks weekly?because that sounds like a hassle to remember weekly haha,or can you just wash them and put them back?

Sock maintenance is why many either go without, or go to a filter roller.

The roller does seems easier, got any good suggestions for one?Thank you

 

[BryanM]

The roller does seems easier, got any good suggestions for one?Thank you

The only one I've used personally is from RedSea, but I don't really recommend their products anymore due to tank issues. That said it might be their best product.

 

[-TheGunner-]

The roller does seems easier, got any good suggestions for one?Thank you

The only one I've used personally is from RedSea, but I don't really recommend their products anymore due to tank issues. That said it might be their best product.

Yeah I’ve seen some bad stuff about the the red sea tanks, I’ll keep an eye out for their rollers though