A Tank Renovation - School Me on this Reef Stuff

[CHOX]

Hey guys, I come to you asking for help and suggestions. I have a "reef tank" that has been up for approximately a year now, started in my senior year of college (not the best idea considering money was an issue!) which led to lackluster equipment. I've been on the reef scene for multiple years, but no matter what way I break it down, I'm a newbie. I have an elaborate plan to give my critters the home they deserve, but first is a breakdown of my aquarium.

Aquarium: 27 gallon cube (20x18x20)
Pumps: Three Power Heads
- Hydor Koralia Nano, 240 GPH x2
- Cheap Amazon bought "SunSun" 528 GPH
Light: Mars Aqua Black Box, about 18 inches above the water. I've never been able to figure the right settings out.
Misc: Eshopps Sump, Eshopps PSK-75 In tank Sump, Hydor Smart Top Off

Fish: Royal Gramma, Yellow Watchman, Yellow Banded Maroon Clown
Inverts: Serpent Star, Fire Red Shrimp, Emerald Crab, a handful of shrimp, two rock flower anemone.
Corals: Green Stars, Yellow Polyp, Pink Birdnest, Duncan Coral

My tank levels have been great the whole way through. No problems whatsoever. I mentioned before that I started this while in college. Well, I now have a career and am ready to upgrade this, slowly throughout the rest of winter/spring. My goal is to have a lean, mean, reef machine come Summer. The following equipment is what I plan to add, please offer some suggestions:
1. Vortech mp10 (Or should I go with a Gyre?)
2. Reef Octopus 110 Space Saver. My current skimmer crapped out on me. I know one isn't needed for an aquarium of my size, but I'm going to upgrade for sure when I move into a house. I see no harm in getting the skimmer now. 3. A new light. This is the big one. I'm thinking of going with a Hydra 26, Radion XR15W, or Kessil. I do currently have a pink birdsnest which is growing under the Black Box LED.

How does this look? Any help would be MUCH appreciated!

 

[BrianKC]

Hey CHOX. What issues are you trying to fix? If you have good coral growth/color, no algae, and healthy fish...I'm not sure which items I'd prioritize from your list. It's easy to get in a cycle of buying stuff, but I really try to make sure I *need* it (I said try! I don't always succeed).

For example, a lot of really successful tanks here on RC use the Mars black boxes. It's also hard to justify new lights if you think you're going to upgrade tanks soon unless you're pretty confident in what size/shape you're going to get next. Lots of folks think a way-overpowered skimmer is actually less effective and again, hard to buy unless you're confident what you're going to get next. What if you decide you want a 180?

Some thoughts on other ways to let the money burn a hole in your pocket:
- do you have a separate temp controller in case your heater goes crazy?
- have you thought about an Apex controller to monitor things and alert you to issues?
- auto-dosers are fun additions to bring more stability.
- better test kits (just ordered these myself)
- Home Depot's 5-gallon bucket head wet / dry vac for giving your sump a thorough cleaning with each water change (also just ordered this)

Just some thoughts.

For the record; I have a reef octopus myself and it's a very nice skimmer. You will find people in both the Kessil and Hydra camps. Less fans of the Radions these days I think; so expensive.

 

[A.Astore]

Hmm, wet/dry vac is a good suggestion... I might have to remember this for when I start to consider buying something next time

 

[BrianKC]

Hmm, wet/dry vac is a good suggestion... I might have to remember this for when I start to consider buying something next time

It's only $25. Several folks have recommended it on RC. I'll post a review after I get and use it.

 

[BrianKC]

Hey guys, I come to you asking for help and suggestions. I have a "reef tank" that has been up for approximately a year now, started in my senior year of college (not the best idea considering money was an issue!) which led to lackluster equipment. I've been on the reef scene for multiple years, but no matter what way I break it down, I'm a newbie. I have an elaborate plan to give my critters the home they deserve, but first is a breakdown of my aquarium.



Aquarium: 27 gallon cube (20x18x20)

Pumps: Three Power Heads

- Hydor Koralia Nano, 240 GPH x2

- Cheap Amazon bought "SunSun" 528 GPH

Light: Mars Aqua Black Box, about 18 inches above the water. I've never been able to figure the right settings out.

Misc: Eshopps Sump, Eshopps PSK-75 In tank Sump, Hydor Smart Top Off



Fish: Royal Gramma, Yellow Watchman, Yellow Banded Maroon Clown

Inverts: Serpent Star, Fire Red Shrimp, Emerald Crab, a handful of shrimp, two rock flower anemone.

Corals: Green Stars, Yellow Polyp, Pink Birdnest, Duncan Coral



My tank levels have been great the whole way through. No problems whatsoever. I mentioned before that I started this while in college. Well, I now have a career and am ready to upgrade this, slowly throughout the rest of winter/spring. My goal is to have a lean, mean, reef machine come Summer. The following equipment is what I plan to add, please offer some suggestions:

1. Vortech mp10 (Or should I go with a Gyre?)

2. Reef Octopus 110 Space Saver. My current skimmer crapped out on me. I know one isn't needed for an aquarium of my size, but I'm going to upgrade for sure when I move into a house. I see no harm in getting the skimmer now. 3. A new light. This is the big one. I'm thinking of going with a Hydra 26, Radion XR15W, or Kessil. I do currently have a pink birdsnest which is growing under the Black Box LED.



How does this look? Any help would be MUCH appreciated!

Have you made any decisions?

 

[CHOX]

Hey CHOX. What issues are you trying to fix? If you have good coral growth/color, no algae, and healthy fish...I'm not sure which items I'd prioritize from your list. It's easy to get in a cycle of buying stuff, but I really try to make sure I *need* it (I said try! I don't always succeed).

For example, a lot of really successful tanks here on RC use the Mars black boxes. It's also hard to justify new lights if you think you're going to upgrade tanks soon unless you're pretty confident in what size/shape you're going to get next. Lots of folks think a way-overpowered skimmer is actually less effective and again, hard to buy unless you're confident what you're going to get next. What if you decide you want a 180?

Some thoughts on other ways to let the money burn a hole in your pocket:
- do you have a separate temp controller in case your heater goes crazy?
- have you thought about an Apex controller to monitor things and alert you to issues?
- auto-dosers are fun additions to bring more stability.
- better test kits (just ordered these myself)
- Home Depot's 5-gallon bucket head wet / dry vac for giving your sump a thorough cleaning with each water change (also just ordered this)

Just some thoughts.

For the record; I have a reef octopus myself and it's a very nice skimmer. You will find people in both the Kessil and Hydra camps. Less fans of the Radions these days I think; so expensive.

Okay, so I have done a little bit of work since I posted this thread. I was using an eShopps hang on back overflow at the time of the original post. I drained the tank, took out all the sand, and drilled it for peace of mind. I haven't refilled it with sand, I think I'm going to stick with barebottom in this particular aquarium.

- The light works okay, but I'd really like more customization. I'm leaning towards the Kessil 360w right now because I'll easily be able to add another when I upgrade...but the radion still calls to me. I just feel like I'd HAVE to upgrade to the 30 over the 15...

- I do not have a separate tank controller, but I'm going all in with the Standard Apex controller in a couple of weeks so I'll be able to monitor all those goodies. I'd also like to get their dosing system eventually, as I plan to move on towards a couple clams and more SPS...but as of right now, my calcium, alkalinity and magnesium levels have been perfect with a couple water changes a week. But like I said, I'm going to upgrade soon.

- I'm using the API test kit and the Salifert Magnesium kit. I'm planning on upgrading to Hannah kits for Calcium and Alkalinity. I don't trust API's kits...the damn thing leaks out of the cap and I just don't trust it.

- I've been using Home Depot's bucket wet dry vac for a while, it works great! I'm thinking of building my own Sump though...probably a 20 gallon tall. I'm using a small eshopps one right now and there is hardly any room. I'd like to get a refugium in there somewhere.

- I bought the mp10 and it is working great! My SPS Corals are thriving and everything else (sans a Hammer Coral) is very happy.

And the BEST thing of all? I replaced a piece of crap mag float with a Nano Scrubber...
http://www.amazon.com/Flipper-Nano-...6100422&sr=8-4&keywords=algae+scrubber+magnet
This is THE BEST THING EVER. Alagae is no longer a problem and I my hand doesn't die when I try and scrub the algae like it did with the mag float.