Minimum Equipment List for Coral Reef Aquarium

[jadendo]

Hi everyone,

I am from Orange County, California. Hopefully I can connect with someone locally to give me a jump start in this new interesting hobby.

What do I need at a minimum to run a successful coral reef tank?

Currently this is what I have. Please tell me what else I need to get.

80gallon tank with side overflow - Sea Clear with Stand
Sump and pump -
Protein Skimmer
Red Sea water Test Kit
Heater

I want to keep beginner coral and some tang fishes, nothing too fancy.

These are what I think I should get:
Calcium Reactor
Phosphate Reactor
pH meter
Chiller
Hydor circulation pump
RO/DI system

Am I heading the right direction? Please help.

Thanks,
Jaden

[bertoni]

The tank might not need a chiller, so I'd hold off on that. The other pieces of equipment can be useful in most setups, although you'll likely need more than one Hydor to get good flow in the tank. The reactors both can be bought at a later date. It's possible to run the tank using liquid supplements and not all tanks have phosphate problems.

This thread might be useful:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1526752

[jadendo]

Thanks for your help.

[shifty51008]

you will also need lights, and a refractometer

with only beginner corals you prob. won't need the cal. reactor until you start getting into alot of stoney corals. I would also add in a carbon reactor.

as for a tang I would stick with only 1 of the smaller tangs like a yellow or a bristle tooth

[E36328i]

I would get a few powerheads--at a minimum 2, preferably 3-4 (depends largely on how strong your return pump is). If you can spare the cash vortech's mp40 is a very nice powerhead and will cut back on the number of powerheads you would need in the tank.

Phosphate reactors are very useful, I highly recommend them! I would hold off on the calcium reactor until it is needed. As far as the chiller is concerned, during the winter you should be alright, but that is also dependent on your lighting and how much heat it adds to the tank (powerheads, pumps, etc also add heat to your tank).

[scubasteve06]

Originally Posted by jadendo

Hi everyone,

I am from Orange County, California. Hopefully I can connect with someone locally to give me a jump start in this new interesting hobby.

What do I need at a minimum to run a successful coral reef tank?

Currently this is what I have. Please tell me what else I need to get.

80gallon tank with side overflow - Sea Clear with Stand
Sump and pump -
Protein Skimmer
Red Sea water Test Kit
HeaterI want to keep beginner coral and some tang fishes, nothing too fancy.

These are what I think I should get:
Calcium Reactor
Phosphate Reactor
pH meterChiller
Hydor circulation pumpx2-3
RO/DI systemAm I heading the right direction? Please help.

Thanks,
Jaden

I have highlighted all the items you will need to be successful in the first year or so of your tank, and added 2-3 more powerheads to your list. I personally use the Hydor Koralia Evolution 1400's in my tank and I love them. They produce a nice wide flow and put out every bit of the 1400gph they say that they do. In your tank two 1400's would be great as I have two of them in my 6' 125, but I plan on adding one more later. Unless you are going to keep big stony corals or LPS corals then a calcium reactor isn't absolutely needed. Down the road though when your corals get bigger and you have a bunch of them then it may be necessary. For now as Bertoni said liquid supplements will do just fine.

A Chiller would not be necessary either unless you plan on running metal halides. You will also need a lighting system and I recommend at least a 6 bulb T5 fixture. T5's don't put off hardly any heat at all and don't require a chiller like metal halides. The bulbs are also less expensive, and this is an opinion of preference, but I like the color that you can get with T5's over MH's. If you can afford it then the AI LED's would be optimal, and any other LED would get the job done, just that the AI's are the best LED's on the market.

[shifty51008]

Originally Posted by scubasteve06

T5's don't put off hardly any heat at all and don't require a chiller like metal halides.

sorry but I do have to dissagree cause I run 2 400 watt MH's over my 75 gal and don't use a chiller. actually my heater still comes on more than my fans. so not all ppl need a chiller when using mh's.

as for the price of the bulbs actually i pay a lil more or less for my 2 mh bulbs than you do for 6-8 t5 bulbs. my $140 for 2 xm 400 to say your 6-8 x $20 a bulb = $120 - $160

[scubasteve06]

Originally Posted by shifty51008

sorry but I do have to dissagree cause I run 2 400 watt MH's over my 75 gal and don't use a chiller. actually my heater still comes on more than my fans. so not all ppl need a chiller when using mh's.

as for the price of the bulbs actually i pay a lil more or less for my 2 mh bulbs than you do for 6-8 t5 bulbs. my $140 for 2 xm 400 to say your 6-8 x $20 a bulb = $120 - $160

I agree with you there but only because you used one key word, fans. If you have good exhaust for your canopy and a way for the heat to escape and fans blowing over the top of the tank then I'd say 50-75% of the time you can get away without using a chiller. It would also depend on what temperature you keep your house at.

As far as Bulbs go its six to one half dozen or the other. 6 bulbs at 20 bucks a piece 120 bucks or 8 bulbs at 20 bucks is 160 it comes out around the same. It would all depend on where you bought the bulbs from. But if you have more than 2 MH's (which on a 90 you wouldn't need more than two) they would cost more than the T5 fixture. My opinion was based on a tank of my size that would require 3 MH fixtures, even though you could argue that you could get away with two, that it would cost more in reflectors, ballasts, bulbs, fans, canopy and then a way to mount them than it would to buy a 6-8 bulb T5 unit that already has all those things, plus no added heat. IMO the good and bad with the T5's outweighs the good and bad with MH's. This is JMO and we can agree to disagree

[bertoni]

I also ran metal halide systems with no chiller and no fans and had no problems. The heat output of metal halides vs T5 HO bulbs is overstated, IMO. A watt of lighting is a watt of lighting. MH systems do have their downsides, but esthetics is a very important issue, so I'd suggest looking at a variety of systems in person before deciding. I strongly prefer MH lighting.

A lot of people, including me, have had bad results with Red Sea test kits. Their liquid reagent design seems to have expiration problems, although they are more convenient.

[jadendo]

Thank you so much for all your posts.
Below is my current setup after a trip to Marinedepot.com last weekend sales.

60 gallon tank with side overflow - Sea Clear with Stand (i've mistaken it for 80)
Sump and pump -
Protein Skimmer
Red Sea water Test Kit
Heater
Hydor 1050 circulation pump
Phosguard
Cl-150 Euro chiller (not hooked up, rated for 24gallon max only)
pH test strips
Test kits
2 T5 Blue (48" long)
Current sunpod 150W MH with 12 Leds

I am running the 150MH for at least 6-8 hours/day, then turn on the 2x T5 at night.
Is this good? would you please suggest a lighting scheme with my lights above.
By running the MH and 2 blue T5 together, the aquarium has a blueish and bright sun light on the live rocks. This looks really cool. However for coral, should I convert those blue T5 to 10K T5 to get the max effect?

Thanks,
Jaden

[bertoni]

The 10,000 K bulbs might give a bit more growth, but I'd leave the setup alone and see how it does. Lighting has a lot of personal taste involved, and I'd trade a bit of growth for coloration I like any day. You might be a bit more limited in what corals you can keep, although I'm not sure how likely that is.

I would leave the T5 bulbs off overnight. Leaving them on when you're viewing the tank is fine, but many animals might need a true dark night now and then.

Personally, I would get an autotopoff system. You might be able to return the chiller. If it's not needed, which is reasonably likely, if the tank has an open top. The money for the chiller should get a nice autotopoff setup.

[Dustin1300]

I'd agree with Bertoni that you ditch the chiller and get an ATO system. I'd also agree with turning the T5s off at night and if you want some lighting at night I'd get some blue LEDs for 'moon lights'.

[jadendo]

The Sunpod MH has 6 blue LEDs and 6 white LEDs. They are pretty nice at night. The chiller I got has a heater built-in, which is pretty cool. However I have not set it up yet.

Can I top off the water with R/O or does it have to be RO/DI?

Thanks

[Dustin1300]

IME R/O water will have a TDS of 5-10. If using RO/DI then the TDS reading will always remain at 0 if you are changing the filters/DI as often as you should.

If wanting to keep delicate coral having a TDS of 0 is often key IMO

[Dustin1300]

Also, top off is often better done when you process water from the filters in large batches as the waters TDS will be very high when the filtration first starts. This means high TDS, faster burnt DI because of the high TDS reading....

That being said, a top off system which allows you to filter batches of water (In my case I use 44 gallon brute for my top off water). I use a LMIII for top off as I've figured the amount of water that evaporates daily. You'll find many options available and various top offs on RC.

[bertoni]

I agree that RO/DI is safer, and that's what I used, but some people are successful with RO only. It depends on what's in your water lines that day.

[jadendo]

So I have setup the tank and have a flower pot, polyps, and something like brown Xenia.
I checked my pH, Amonia, Nitrite/Nitrate, Calcium and Phosphate. I dosed the water with seachem pH 8.3, seachem Reef complete Calcium to 400 pmm, and some stromium.

Would you please show me how to dose water properlly. I am so confused because there are hundreds of stuff from the fish store that I could buy and put in the water, but I don't want to make stupid mistakes. Please show me how you maintain the water and the essential elements.

Thanks so much,
Jaden

[jeff@zina.com]

Originally Posted by jadendo

I am so confused because there are hundreds of stuff from the fish store that I could buy and put in the water, but I don't want to make stupid mistakes.

Dose nothing unless your tests show you need it. Maintaining water quality is all about testing and developing a routine for water changes, dosing (if needed) and so on, then sticking to that routine.

Jeff

[gofor100]

Originally Posted by jeff@zina.com

Dose nothing unless your tests show you need it. Maintaining water quality is all about testing and developing a routine for water changes, dosing (if needed) and so on, then sticking to that routine.

Jeff

+1 million... don't buy the "magic potions" out there. More often than not, they will hurt your overall system more than help it...

Stick with the main supplements that will keep the following in check and stable... 1) Calcium, 2) Alkalinity, & 3) Magnesium. As long as those are in check (in addition to low/zero ammonia, nitrate, nitrite), you'll be very successful.

Good luck!

Oh, and I'm down in OC as well... so just PM me if you have any questions about local stores or just post in the Southern Cali forum... lots of great guys to help out.

[jefathome]

Jaden,
Where in the OC are you? I'm in Mission Viejo.


to follow up on what has been said here...

Do you need RODI? Probably not. I got by for a few years without one. It was a PITA getting topoff water all the time though. If you ditch the chiller though, you may need to use a fan to cool things down in the summer and then you will need the RODI even more. (I keep a 4x2ft frag tank in my garage all summer long w/o a chiller and the garage gets up to at least 110degrees. I just point one of those upright fans across the top of the water and tempss never go above 85.

As for what to add (chemicals), what you have works just fine BUT... if you are not doing a huge SPS tank, you could probably get by with Kalk in your top-off water. You can get a big container (will last you a few months) for only $4 from many local grocery stores (one in Mission Viejo that I know... another off Culver and the 5...)

I would also get a decent refractometer, a GOOD magnet scraper, a media reactor...
Skip the expensive Auto-Top-off and get a cheap timer with 15min increments (about $10 at home depot) and a Tom's Aqualifter pump (about $16 at the LFS's).

[jefathome]

Whatever you do, Don't trust that Gofor100 guy!!

Just kidding. GoFor... you wanna try to connect this weekend for the "tank tour"? If so, drop me a PM as I may not be able to find my way back to this thread.

[gofor100]

Originally Posted by jefathome

Whatever you do, Don't trust that Gofor100 guy!!

Just kidding. GoFor... you wanna try to connect this weekend for the "tank tour"? If so, drop me a PM as I may not be able to find my way back to this thread.

Hahaha... for sure. PM me your address and I'll stop by to check it out. Pretty much all of Saturday is looking pretty open (Sunday afternoon as well)... unless of course, the wife has changed my schedule without letting me know

[Paul B]

You are going to get way too many answers to this question. You "need" things depending on how much you want to spend and what you want to keep.
I personally don't have a sump, refractometer, calcium reactor, or any reactor, pH meter,
or hydrator. I would suggest an RO/DI, skimmer, powerheads and of course lights and a heater.
My tank is very old so I know all of that stuff is not necessary

[jadendo]

I live in Westminster, corner of Trask and Golden West. Where in OC are you guys?

[jadendo]

what is Kalk water? Thanks.