Bio pellet reactor? Calcium reactor? Chiller?

60gal reef guy

New member
I know there is a lot of things we can buy that are not exactly needed, but def. help. I'm wondering besides your main things for water quality and just making your tank run( I run a basic loop system, skimmer, fuge/sump, and return). What else is money best spent on? I have been out of the hobby for 3-4yrs but before did run carbon in just a bag in my wet/dry filter and always seemed to work. Another reason for asking is I'm starting to plumb up my 125gal and want to make sure not to leave something out that might help out.
 
I've always wondered if pellets or carbon would help me at all, seems like a lot of people run one or the other or both. You'd only want a chiller for the obvious, if you're having trouble keeping temp down in range.

Lighting is a good place to spend some dough, as well as a good skimmer.
 
I wouldn't run a sps tank without a 3 part Doser or Hanna alk checker. Has improved my quality of life.
 
Thanks for the input guys. I have a good oversized octopus skimmer and have decided on either Vegas or the new 52's for light. As far as the chiller, I live in the Midwest and my tank before and this one my filtration is located in the basement and the biggest thing is actually keeping the temp up. I have never used a doser before.
 
I know there is a lot of things we can buy that are not exactly needed, but def. help. I'm wondering besides your main things for water quality and just making your tank run( I run a basic loop system, skimmer, fuge/sump, and return). What else is money best spent on? I have been out of the hobby for 3-4yrs but before did run carbon in just a bag in my wet/dry filter and always seemed to work. Another reason for asking is I'm starting to plumb up my 125gal and want to make sure not to leave something out that might help out.

Tank controller (not cheap), gfo and carbon (reactors, very cheap and low risk), auto top off (cheap and a necessity) and possibly biopellets (cheap but carries both some risk and study) and as has been mentioned...some form of dosing (although running kalk in your auto top off unit is virtually free, carries a low risk if you read up and do it conservatively) and then manually dosing mg. You probably should not be without a spare tank to use for quarantine either (could always convert it to a breeder once you have stocked your tank also, that's just me.
 
I had def. figured on a auto top off with this tank which I didn't have before on my old one. I have also not had a wave maker before and will have to size accordingly. I guess I was mainly wondering about the reactors and if there were ones that really help out more then others? Or would def. be a assist?
 
I am happy with the TLF phisban reactors for GFO which you might as well run from the start if you're going the SPS route. They all operate on the same principal and the pump flow & ease of valve adjustment are important considerations.

A chiller or at least fans on a temperature controller can be a lifesaver & add peace of mind if tank temps are likely to climb much above 83F. If your ambient room temp climbs beyond the mid 70s you may have to address heat depending on lighting & the use of closed canopies and tops. It's also great insurance if you don't coetely trust your air conditioning system.

A heat controller or splitting your heaters into multiple units is a good idea too. Runaway heaters have destroyed many tanks. Also having a back up plan and equipment ready to deal with power outages is a smart idea too. Build your tank in such a way as to be prepared for any contingency.
 
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