New Here! New to the Reef hobby! New Build started....w/many questions!

[Bellamy803]

Hi! I recently (in the last 2 months) became fascinated with saltwater aquariums initially which grew quickly after discovering the reefing side of the hobby. I am in the ordering, shipping & receiving stages of my build with I would say 75% of the core equipment purchased and tons of questions on which way to setup etc.............

Aquarium - Waterbox Reef 100.3 (72g display w/about 100 gallon total system) (Delivers tomorrow)
Lighting- Kessil Ap9x (Delivered)
Flow - x2 Vortech MP40's (2-3 Days out)

Sump setup:
Vectra S2 pump (1 day out)
XP Aqua Ultimate ATO (2 days out)
NYOS Quantum 120 Skimmer (1 day out)
Apex Neptune System Controller w/ Apex Dosing Package (Delivered)
Kessil H80 Tuna Flora Refuguim Light (Delivered)

Things I still need or I am still researching:
In-line UV Sterilizer - Researching still
Heater/Chiller (Thought I would cycle the tank and watch the temp variations before making decisions)
Live Rock (Still going back and forth between dry rock and live wet rock)
Sand (I think I have settled on CaribSea Bimini Pink) (Still researching)
RODI System (Still researching)

What am I missing????????????

Looking forward to my first tank. Would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit overwhelmed!

 

[Chrisfish]

Welcome to R2R, And congratulations on your new tank, looks like your on the right track. You’ll probably want to look at a Saltwater test kit.

 

[harley32907]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[Bellamy803]

Welcome to R2R, And congratulations on your new tank, looks like your on the right track. You’ll probably want to look at a Saltwater test kit.

Thank you!

I’m picking up the water testing kits Thursday

 

[Doctorgori]

Dry rock:” IME you can smooth out its issue with a few pieces of established wet rock. I think a lot of filter feeders get overlooked and there are smaller algae consumers under 1/2”that you will need to establish.
UV: that bulb will need replacing, (think about replacement bulb ) I would not get a cheap UV it just isn’t worth it. I’d get a Lifeguard or whomever they are now. BRS has other decent brands they recommend. IMO a UV nice but not absolutely nessasary obviously
Sand: definitely aquascape with room for the gravel cleaner. Also I’m sold on cementing my scape. Ilike babylon snails and tongan narcissus. I have had sea cucumbers live for years.
Heaters: 30yrs reefing and I just now got a heater, I feel heaters and pH pens are equally unreliable.
opinions vary but I can’t tell much difference between 71F and 79F. I have a 150G reef that has been unheated in a Cleveland basement for years, never goes above 75F. IMO the size of the tank and your ambient room temp should determine if you even need one

 

[Philly Reefer]

Welcome to R2R
This looks like the start of a build thread

 

[DVal]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[Bellamy803]

Welcome to R2R
This looks like the start of a build thread

Hey! Thank you. Yes I was thinking the same after I started it. I am going to do an official post on the build thread most tonight.

 

[Bellamy803]

Dry rock:” IME you can smooth out its issue with a few pieces of established wet rock. I think a lot of filter feeders get overlooked and there are smaller algae consumers under 1/2”that you will need to establish.
UV: that bulb will need replacing, (think about replacement bulb ) I would not get a cheap UV it just isn’t worth it. I’d get a Lifeguard or whomever they are now. BRS has other decent brands they recommend. IMO a UV nice but not absolutely nessasary obviously
Sand: definitely aquascape with room for the gravel cleaner. Also I’m sold on cementing my scape. Ilike babylon snails and tongan narcissus. I have had sea cucumbers live for years.
Heaters: 30yrs reefing and I just now got a heater, I feel heaters and pH pens are equally unreliable.
opinions vary but I can’t tell much difference between 71F and 79F. I have a 150G reef that has been unheated in a Cleveland basement for years, never goes above 75F. IMO the size of the tank and your ambient room temp should determine if you even need one

Thank you for the referral of the Lifeguard. I checked out their lights today and I like what I am reading. I will def invest in a good light.

Still torn about the Rock. But I will def consider your recommendation there.

 

[ScubaFish802]

Great start!

 

[sunken3]

Hi! I recently (in the last 2 months) became fascinated with saltwater aquariums initially which grew quickly after discovering the reefing side of the hobby. I am in the ordering, shipping & receiving stages of my build with I would say 75% of the core equipment purchased and tons of questions on which way to setup etc.............

Aquarium - Waterbox Reef 100.3 (72g display w/about 100 gallon total system) (Delivers tomorrow)
Lighting- Kessil Ap9x (Delivered)
Flow - x2 Vortech MP40's (2-3 Days out)

Sump setup:
Vectra S2 pump (1 day out)
XP Aqua Ultimate ATO (2 days out)
NYOS Quantum 120 Skimmer (1 day out)
Apex Neptune System Controller w/ Apex Dosing Package (Delivered)
Kessil H80 Tuna Flora Refuguim Light (Delivered)

Things I still need or I am still researching:
In-line UV Sterilizer - Researching still
Heater/Chiller (Thought I would cycle the tank and watch the temp variations before making decisions)
Live Rock (Still going back and forth between dry rock and live wet rock)
Sand (I think I have settled on CaribSea Bimini Pink) (Still researching)
RODI System (Still researching)

What am I missing????????????

Looking forward to my first tank. Would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit overwhelmed!

not necassary, but i run UV on my tanks. I like the aqua ultraviolet 57watt. heater/chiller is likely more about where the tank is and how you maintain your house (temp). i use both, but my house temp fluctuates a ton.. tanks can handle 75-82 degrees - but they dont like to do it in just a few hours... you're not running MH lights, so that should help with (not) needing a chiller. think about brightwell xport bricks for the sump.. i like those. i also really like the neptune trident for alk, ca, mg testing,,,, the nyos for nitrate, the hanna ulr phosphorus checker, and the milwaulkee digital refractometer.

 

[Orm Embar]

Heater/chiller - always use with a controller; if you think that you will need a chiller then get a dual stage controller. Cheap: InkBird, higher end: Ranco, most expensive: programmable stuff like Apex etc.

I'm not clear as to how much benefit, if any, a UV sterilizer will give you.

Test kits: I really like Salifert. Acccurate, easy to determine endpoints.

RO/DI: I really like SpectraPure, but there are many options. Get an inline TDS meter to be able to see your TDS at different stages, which makes it easier to determine when you need to change the membrane/resin.

Live rock: I really liked Tampa Bay Saltwater's rock, although you do get a significant amount of die off. Be prepared to rinse with club soda to get the gorilla crabs out (there will be several!) or a stray mantis if you go that route.

GCFI and grounding probe: get both. This is for your safety as well as the tank's.

Keep things as simple, and redundant, as possible. I have a backup return pump that I use to mix replacement saltwater, for example.