Essential Reef set up equipment

[Slipstream]

Originally Posted by Doug

Please refrain from post like this. Keeping on the topic will get more answers.

What they are saying is the truth. So many variables in this hobby. Depending on livestock plans, equipment availability & cash flow.

Thanks

Thats the thing, i already KNOW there are variables, but all they were saying was go and read more books, in which i have already done that, and am reading more as we speak, i came on here for help with what they thought i should get to start up and they didnt help me at all, and i was getting kinda annoyed at them because they wouldnt listen. But now that im actually getting help from people, its fine.

[kwirky]

Ok you never mentioned in your first post you've already done a lot of research. Quite a number of us feel daunted when somone asks simply "how do I keep a good saltwater reef?" Too much to say in one post

I'll try to think of "nice stuff to have". pseudo-luxury stuff that makes life a whole lot easier.

• Large round rubbermaid garbage can for mixing saltwater in with a high wattage heater to heat the water quickly before adding salt. Pump/s for mixing the water too.
• a Reverse Osmosis/Deionizer (RO/DI) unit to purify your tap water. Quite beneficial if you have a reef tank and almost a "need". If you have hard water (dunno how it is in prince george) you might want to buy one of those "whole house filters" from home depot that will go inline before the RO/DI unit. It makes all the cartridges last longer if your water has a lot of sediment. You can also tap into the "RO" portion of the purifier and get drinking water. We have a water cooler and we fill the jugs ourselves.
• You will need a pump and heater for mixing change water in too. That's something commonly forgotten about leading to an impromptu trip to the LFS usually . Heat the water BEFORE adding the salt. Helps prevent strange calcium/alkalinity problems.
• You'll also need a large rubbermaid bin (prefferably a round garbage can style one) to store your RO/DI water.
• A turkey baster or an extra maxijet powerhead to blow off your rock on a daily basis. I prefer the turkey baster. It prevents detritus buildup and helps with algae.
• Automatic top off units for evaporated water are a real nice luxury. the JBJ one is pretty good at $100. Saves a lot of time and hassel and your snails and oysters n such will thank you for it (very sensitive to salinity changes).
• Your initial calcium demand won't be so high to need a calcium reactor initially. You can procrastinate and make your own two part calcium/alkalinity mix. Contact littlesilvermax on the forums here. He has good calcium for a good price. the alkalinity is simple baked baking soda. recipe here: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php.
• Wavemakers are nice. For 60g or larger tanks a tunze powerhead/wavemaker combo (from j&L) or a wavebox if you have lots of $$$ to blow . Smaller tanks you can use a JBJ wavemaker controller and maxijet powerheads. Nano's are benefited from hydor rotating water deflectors. These all do a good job at randomizing your current and preventing detritus from settling. That way your skimmer can remove it while it's in the water column.
• oh! and forceps! giant 10" long stainless steel tweezers! My forceps are one of the most valuable pieces of equipment I have. You can get them from a surgical supply store. Extremely handy.
• A feeding stick is handy too for feeding things or moving things around in the bottom region of the tank. The less your hands are in the tank the less your skimmer acts up.

[Doug]

http://216.187.96.54/vbulletin/showt...ght=reefkeeper

Here, get yourself one of these. Eliminates many other components.

[kwirky]

oh and a cleaning magnet! Like this: http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/s...t_ID=cl-mre01f

one of my favorite accessories that's used often.

[Slipstream]

Thanx. Well, it wasnt in my first post, but it was after the next 5 replies.. READ BOOKS that i posted that i already had.. lol. But thanx for all the help guys.

[michika]

I also want to recommend either an excel worksheet, or a notebook to keep track of your parameters.

A couple of things I learned the hard way; test out the depth of your tank first before you buy it. Nothing like being unable to touch the bottom of your tank when something falls.

Lighting that either comes off or moves up and down is awesome. Lighting burns suck, and they take a long long time to heal.

Buy vinegar at some point. Its a great cleaning tool! Old toothbrushes, and those vegetable scrubber brushes are great too.

Consider the height of your stand, where the tank is going to sit. Make sure you have ample room for a sump/refugium (if you are going that route), storage, and room to move around.

Are you going to go with a standard 100g, or are you thinking of something custom? Consider what livestock you want in your tank, as it may dictate the best configuration for your tank. E.g. tangs like more length then height, yet seahorses like height.

Do you have any stocking ideas, anything you know is a must have for your tank?

[marie]

While your doing your research remember all you really need is a tank, some flow, lights and a means of exporting nutrients. It can be as simple as this



75g tank, MH lights, prizm pro skimmer, 3 maxijet 1200s and live rock

Or as complicated as this



175g bowfront, basement sump,calcium reactor and so on and so on

It depends on how much money you want to spend and how much time you have to spend

Having gone both ways I think keeping it simple is much better but thats just my opinion

[mr_alberta]

What methodology do you plan on using? Bare Bottom, SSB, DSB, etc etc. This will help determine what equipment you may or may not need. What equipment do you have now that you are going to reuse? A little more info would allow us to give you more detailed answers. Otherwise you'll just end up getting general answers...

[kwirky]

Originally Posted by mr_alberta

What methodology do you plan on using? Bare Bottom, SSB, DSB, etc etc. This will help determine what equipment you may or may not need. What equipment do you have now that you are going to reuse? A little more info would allow us to give you more detailed answers. Otherwise you'll just end up getting general answers...

My current setup is quite early in it's zeovit stages but I really like the zeovit method. Most people I've talked to have had good results if they stick to the regiment. It's not that expensive really too compared to all the other stuff bought for reefkeeping. Too bad it's more of a "product" than a methodology, meaning it's controlled by a single company rather than a community.

[Slipstream]

Well, prefferably i wanna get live sand. Apprx 2 inches deep. I HATE bare bottoms. And i plan on having fish, corals(hard and soft), and inverts. I basically wannna get it so that it looks exactly like ya took a shovel and took it outta the ocean.

Which is why i dont like bare bottoms, i dont think they look as natural.