New to Reef. A few equipment and startup questions.

Borsig

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 24, 2021
Messages
42
Reaction score
11
Location
Low country coast.
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I've been considering a reef for a while now, and am thinking of moving forward. It does seem to be a little labor intensive. I've kept rift lake tanks for about 15 years, and have had good success, and some failures after bloat and columnaris. I currently keep a 180 Tanganyika and a 110XH Malawi. The 180 is on a 40 breeder sump that I made, and has been running about 10 years, so I'm not new to sumps or aquatics, but reef and salt. In fact my first Malawi tank was a 75 gallon marineland corner flow and sump converted from salt that loved to leak from the bulkheads.

I've been debating a 40 breeder as a staring point, and also looking for some used good quality equipment. Everything I run now I've bought used and scored great on.
Recently I've stumbled across a less than year old ProStar90 and a couple older red sea reefers. I'm kind of thinking the prostar might be a good deal, because its 36" wide, the same as I'd carved out for the 40B project, and the ask is 700.00 for the prostar 90 set and a top. I figure I'd have at least 300-350 into the breeder by the time I either drilled and sumped it, (or got some kind of corner insert which takes up space) and got a stand. So 350 or so more gets me the prostar 90 that's less than a year old. That seems like a no brainer and a huge upgrade for a couple hundred bucks. Does anyone have any insight on that size tank for a first / 5 year reef plan?

There's other equipment available, a Bubble magus curve 5 elite skimmer, 2 nero 5 powerheads, and a vectra s2 pump. Those items are 500 extra. I know not much about these (I use mag drive pumps in my fresh sumps with DC drives, and have no real insight on skimmers, and I've always used Korelia powerheads in my rift tanks) Any insight here?

Are these shut up and take my money deals or should I keep looking?

The next question is that of water. I am on a well in a semi rural area. The water has a little iron, is hard as can be, before my seoftener and hard. My PH is about 8.5. I've watched a couple of the BRS videos on water. Is RODI a must or should definitely have for this endeavor?

The last question is that of live wet rock vs dry rock. I'm patient and don't need it 'now' and have fired up cycles several times in my rift tanks. The cost difference seems substantial. Then again I've never started up a reef before. Ive read things that say I wont need lighting for a couple months until the tank cycles and the rock is prepared. I worry it wont have that nice purple coral algae on it, but I have also seen products that seem to add that? Any suggestions here would be well received.

Lastly, what's a good budget here for lighting (LED) that one would expect to spend without breaking your budget? I still haven't researched corals, so I can't speak to that yet, but I'd like ones that are easier to start with, like the BRS 5 minute video on starter corals.

Thanks in advance.
 

blaxsun

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 15, 2020
Messages
26,709
Reaction score
31,131
Location
The Abyss
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
RODI is a must, yes. Dry rock is cheaper and pest free (purple coralline will develop <6 months). $500-$1000 for good LED lighting/mounts.

I think getting a ready-to-go tank will save you money in the long run. $500 for the other used equipment isn't a bad deal (I'd try to get a better one with Black Friday). I'd find out how old it is and have a look inside the vectra pump and skimmer.
 
OP
OP
B

Borsig

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 24, 2021
Messages
42
Reaction score
11
Location
Low country coast.
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Its less than a year old.

The biggest hold up for me at the moment is a place to store and make salt water. I don't have room for a 44 gallon brute, let alone 2. And whatever I have will have to be sealed because I keep the humidity at 40 percent in my basement shop.
 

Dbichler

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 14, 2019
Messages
2,288
Reaction score
3,462
Location
Menomonee Falls
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Honestly rodi is a definite must. As for tank size look at the fish you want or must have and get a tank that will be bigger than they recommend. You’ll always want more anyways. As for lighting you can go so many ways just make sure it truly supports corals before purchasing or you’ll waste money.
 

Geesus

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 16, 2021
Messages
67
Reaction score
101
Location
Baltimore
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Yup RO/DI is a must.

Lights ... My suggestion as someone else who is still getting parts, keep an eye on deals but you don't need these right now. You will after cycling, 6+ months, so you can save up as well. I'd also recommend going through as many lighting BRS Investigates videos as possible. It really comes down to what you:
A) what you want to have in your tank
B) budget
C) location of your corals (front, back, sides, bottom, top) each location plus the needs of the coral
D) shimmer or no shimmer
E) shimmer? Okay now you have a tighter group of lights unless you want to have a disco-tech in your tank (AKA caustic lines)
F) your overall look for your tank. Is it in a fish room or out in a public space where you don't want to have janky cords etc just out in the open
G) per F, this could mean hanging lights from your ceiling or using a simple mounting arm as well as the PAR intensity needed
H) most important, don't forget PUR. PAR is great but not if there isn't enough PUR for your corals to use.

Also felt this lecture was very informative when it came to cycling and the positive bacteria we're all looking to have.

As someone who came from freshwater, marine is basically the exact same hobby just with sightly different needs but otherwise the same needs.
 

gbroadbridge

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 25, 2021
Messages
3,925
Reaction score
4,063
Location
Sydney, Australia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I've been considering a reef for a while now, and am thinking of moving forward. It does seem to be a little labor intensive. I've kept rift lake tanks for about 15 years, and have had good success, and some failures after bloat and columnaris. I currently keep a 180 Tanganyika and a 110XH Malawi. The 180 is on a 40 breeder sump that I made, and has been running about 10 years, so I'm not new to sumps or aquatics, but reef and salt. In fact my first Malawi tank was a 75 gallon marineland corner flow and sump converted from salt that loved to leak from the bulkheads.

I've been debating a 40 breeder as a staring point, and also looking for some used good quality equipment. Everything I run now I've bought used and scored great on.
Recently I've stumbled across a less than year old ProStar90 and a couple older red sea reefers. I'm kind of thinking the prostar might be a good deal, because its 36" wide, the same as I'd carved out for the 40B project, and the ask is 700.00 for the prostar 90 set and a top. I figure I'd have at least 300-350 into the breeder by the time I either drilled and sumped it, (or got some kind of corner insert which takes up space) and got a stand. So 350 or so more gets me the prostar 90 that's less than a year old. That seems like a no brainer and a huge upgrade for a couple hundred bucks. Does anyone have any insight on that size tank for a first / 5 year reef plan?

There's other equipment available, a Bubble magus curve 5 elite skimmer, 2 nero 5 powerheads, and a vectra s2 pump. Those items are 500 extra. I know not much about these (I use mag drive pumps in my fresh sumps with DC drives, and have no real insight on skimmers, and I've always used Korelia powerheads in my rift tanks) Any insight here?

Are these shut up and take my money deals or should I keep looking?

The next question is that of water. I am on a well in a semi rural area. The water has a little iron, is hard as can be, before my seoftener and hard. My PH is about 8.5. I've watched a couple of the BRS videos on water. Is RODI a must or should definitely have for this endeavor?

The last question is that of live wet rock vs dry rock. I'm patient and don't need it 'now' and have fired up cycles several times in my rift tanks. The cost difference seems substantial. Then again I've never started up a reef before. Ive read things that say I wont need lighting for a couple months until the tank cycles and the rock is prepared. I worry it wont have that nice purple coral algae on it, but I have also seen products that seem to add that? Any suggestions here would be well received.

Lastly, what's a good budget here for lighting (LED) that one would expect to spend without breaking your budget? I still haven't researched corals, so I can't speak to that yet, but I'd like ones that are easier to start with, like the BRS 5 minute video on starter corals.

Thanks in advance.
RODI is essential, especially given your water.

For lighting, well i put two Hydra 64's on a new 75 gal I started 8 months ago. It's got a couple of SPS in there and they like the lights running about 50% due to LPS corals. Cost in your part of the world I don't know, but a lot of money here.

Nero 5's are okay, I have 4 in a 75g, but I probably wouldn't buy again unless they have some better mounting.

As for rock, definately live rock. I have two tanks, one started completely with dry rock, the other with live, and the difference is startling,

I'm sure over time like decades the dead rock will become as good, but you really cannot beat live rock. Which is why it's costly.
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 73 51.8%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 72 51.1%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 36 25.5%
  • None.

    Votes: 31 22.0%
  • Other.

    Votes: 9 6.4%
Back
Top