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A heater controller of some sort is almost a necessity given the rate of heater failure. An inkbird or Ranco are your options here. ~$30
Perfect, I'll get one coming!I would go with the 4 stage value plus 75gpd from BRS for $214. More than enough capacity and the manual flush is really valuable for extending membrane life.
Perfect, I'll get one coming!
Also - Just saw you're from Denver. We lived there from 2008-2016 and I miss it every single day! Hoping to make it back eventually. Thanks again for all of your help!!
Inkbird ITC-308S
^Is this a good one? If not, which model do you recommend?
Buy a Tunze 9004.
Finally found a Tunze 9004 and it’s on the way. Looking into lighting options or possibly moving my prime to my 20 gallon in the office. Thanks!!Buy a Tunze 9004. It's the best skimmer I've found that fits in a Nuvo40. The IM skimmers are dumpster fires. Underpowered, unreliable, and loud.
You're going to need more light than a prime. Either buy two, or buy a used hydra/radion.
I'm not a fan of the apex - they're just not reliable enough for how much they cost. Way too many poorly built accessories.
I’m digging into this deeper. Great information and it looks like it will provide the same level of peace of mind as apex without the price tag. Thanks for the suggestions!On the Apex front , I run a Robo-Tank (reef-pi) on mine. Most of the functionality of an Apex, none of the shoddy parts, or proprietary walled garden nonsense.
$170 + shipping for the deluxe plug and play unit with a power bar, plus another $40 for a raspberry pi and sd card. Ph probes are like $20, temp sensors a couple bucks , etc.
I'm running a pair of jebao ow-10s in my tank - I think they'd work well in a softy tank turned down - and they're like the size of a golf ball.
I run my 50w heater on an inkbird that's plugged into the robo-tank. Inkbird turns on a fan at 80, robo-tank sends me text messages at 81.
If you can, plumb a sump and put your protein skimmer there. I clean mine every few months. They are sized to your tank volume and there are many used online (if you want to save money towards an Apex).
RODI is a great investment! Test your water's TDS to determine whether you need a 4/6 stage. You will need to estimate your water pressure. BRS has great models. I suggest also getting a brut trash can (if you have a place to put it) or something to store water if you need an emergency water change or to make maintenance easier. Most systems fit under the sink. Expect to spend $150-300. You could always go with a 5 stage from BRS and, if you need extra filtration, buy a separate canister to add on later.
re: Apex - I do travel for work, pretty regularly but not usually for long periods. Most trips are an overnight or two, occasionally 4 days but rarely longer. My husband is usually home when I'm not around but this is my project, so I do like the idea of automating and safeguarding but I agree, it's an expensive toy and I keep seeing concerns about reliability. Either way, it isn't an urgent need and something I can throw on when I actually have filled the thing with stuff that costs more than the apex itself...For me, the Apex isn't worth the money unless you are finanically invested (very expensive corals/fish) or travel for long periods multiple times a year. I have an ATO ($120) and an Inkbird ($60) which address salinity and temp (vs the Apex EL for $500, which will blow most of your budget).
If you can, plumb a sump and put your protein skimmer there. I clean mine every few months. They are sized to your tank volume and there are many used online (if you want to save money towards an Apex).
RODI is a great investment! Test your water's TDS to determine whether you need a 4/6 stage. You will need to estimate your water pressure. BRS has great models. I suggest also getting a brut trash can (if you have a place to put it) or something to store water if you need an emergency water change or to make maintenance easier. Most systems fit under the sink. Expect to spend $150-300. You could always go with a 5 stage from BRS and, if you need extra filtration, buy a separate canister to add on later.
Royal gramma and flasher wrasses are great and relatively cheap and colorful ($25 and $60, respectively).
This set up is an alternative/addition to an under sink system, right? If I put a smaller system (60-75 gal?) under the sink to do 5 gal jugs do I still want/need the brute bins in the garage or is that just for surplus? Does it just flow out too slowly for an under the sink to be functional?Hana salinty checker makes mixing salt very easy. The water filters are not as complicated as they look. Have a storage bin for the water with a float switch and your good. As others have said brute trash cans work great. The top is r/o and bottom is salt. Gravity drains into the salt bin when i need to mix salt. You can get away with a small brute can for ro and a pump to pump it out into buckets and just mix your salt in 5 gallon buckets for a 40gal tank. I did it that way for years before i got a large tank.
Yes this would be more of an alternative for a garage or basement. Depends on your water pressure and how fast your membrane makes water on how much you want to store. It takes my system about 14hrs to fill the 44gal bin with a 75gpd system and water pressure around 55-60psi. If you have room in your house for a bin or bins get whatever size you are comfortable with. I used to use a small recycling tote that held 20gallons of ro di water.This set up is an alternative/addition to an under sink system, right? If I put a smaller system (60-75 gal?) under the sink to do 5 gal jugs do I still want/need the brute bins in the garage or is that just for surplus? Does it just flow out too slowly for an under the sink to be functional?