This thread is going to start out a bit slow so I apologize in advance for that... It's been about 10 years since I had a reef tank up and running and have lately had the itch to start again. My last tank was a 200g mixed reef (sps-dominant) that was pretty successful. I took it down for a move/divorce (totally unrelated, I swear...) and just never got it back up and running again.
Well fast-forward to today, I've moved again and have a perfect partially finished basement space directly below the only good location in the house for a display tank. Still, it is not a big house, so I have to stick in the 90g range (I'd prefer 120 but the extra depth might be a bit much).
Here's the deal though - I am going to do this in stages and work on the "fish room" first. Down there, I want to start right away with a 45g frag tank, a sump, and remote refugium. Eventually I will send water to the main floor but that might be several months out (or more).
In the meantime I would love y'alls help with planning and navigating all these new toys and methods that have erupted.
So far, I have opportunistically gathered some equipment to get me started:
--Skimmer: Reef Octopus 3000-int with 3" neck extension
--Sump: Eshopps 300-Adv
--Lights: I have a Kessil 360We Tuna spot, a reefbreeders black box-style 165w bank and another one with no brand markings. all that is for the frag tank, not the main display. that will probably be Radions but not 100% sure.
--Pump: I have a Tunze Silence Pro 2900 gph pump but I am looking to acquire one or two DC contollable pumps
--Water Filtration: I have a 100 gpd 6-stage RO/DI filter on the way. I may add a second RO membrane in line as well.
--powerheads: 2 eflux wave pumps (1050 gph each) are on the way for the frag tank
--Chiller: picked up a 1/2 hp JBJ commercial series for stupid cheap
--Other filtration: in that same deal, got a Korallin 3002 denitrifier. It's a nice piece of equipment, don't know if I should use it or not!
--Calcium Reactor: Aquamaxx S-2 is on the way (hopefully will arrive intact). Also have a 10lb CO2 tank, but no regulator yet
--Live rock: so far I have 35lbs of nice cured LR in a rubbermaid with a heater and powerhead from an old friend from my local club (Atlanta Reef Club), but looking to add to that
And that's about as far as I've come so far with equipment and planning!
First things first will be setting up the frag tank. If I've figured out how to upload a file correctly, you are looking at a picture of it, along with the rest of my collected gear... I am going to put that tank on the stand it came with (THANKS SHAC) and use the table top for the sump and as a general workspace. I have a lot of cleaning up to do down there but I've got a pretty good start!
I'll be updating this thread with lots of questions and pictures as there are things to look at, so please stay tuned! Always open to input and constructive critique!
Well fast-forward to today, I've moved again and have a perfect partially finished basement space directly below the only good location in the house for a display tank. Still, it is not a big house, so I have to stick in the 90g range (I'd prefer 120 but the extra depth might be a bit much).
Here's the deal though - I am going to do this in stages and work on the "fish room" first. Down there, I want to start right away with a 45g frag tank, a sump, and remote refugium. Eventually I will send water to the main floor but that might be several months out (or more).
In the meantime I would love y'alls help with planning and navigating all these new toys and methods that have erupted.
So far, I have opportunistically gathered some equipment to get me started:
--Skimmer: Reef Octopus 3000-int with 3" neck extension
--Sump: Eshopps 300-Adv
--Lights: I have a Kessil 360We Tuna spot, a reefbreeders black box-style 165w bank and another one with no brand markings. all that is for the frag tank, not the main display. that will probably be Radions but not 100% sure.
--Pump: I have a Tunze Silence Pro 2900 gph pump but I am looking to acquire one or two DC contollable pumps
--Water Filtration: I have a 100 gpd 6-stage RO/DI filter on the way. I may add a second RO membrane in line as well.
--powerheads: 2 eflux wave pumps (1050 gph each) are on the way for the frag tank
--Chiller: picked up a 1/2 hp JBJ commercial series for stupid cheap
--Other filtration: in that same deal, got a Korallin 3002 denitrifier. It's a nice piece of equipment, don't know if I should use it or not!
--Calcium Reactor: Aquamaxx S-2 is on the way (hopefully will arrive intact). Also have a 10lb CO2 tank, but no regulator yet
--Live rock: so far I have 35lbs of nice cured LR in a rubbermaid with a heater and powerhead from an old friend from my local club (Atlanta Reef Club), but looking to add to that
And that's about as far as I've come so far with equipment and planning!
First things first will be setting up the frag tank. If I've figured out how to upload a file correctly, you are looking at a picture of it, along with the rest of my collected gear... I am going to put that tank on the stand it came with (THANKS SHAC) and use the table top for the sump and as a general workspace. I have a lot of cleaning up to do down there but I've got a pretty good start!
I'll be updating this thread with lots of questions and pictures as there are things to look at, so please stay tuned! Always open to input and constructive critique!