Forrest's "Pre-Build Thread" Thread

WalrusKisses

WalrusKisses

Member
Hello everyone!

I recently purchased a mostly complete system from Steve (thanks again!), and am looking forward to turning it into a SPS and zoa dominated reef with some choice LPS as well.

Equipment so far is:
40 gallon breeder, drilled
SCA-301 Skimmer
4 bulb T5 fixture
600 gph return pump
awesome sump

What do you guys suggest to start putting together the greatest tank of all time? I plan on getting a couple WP10's and wavemaker for good flow, dry rock from BRS, figure out a good ATO system, and an automatic dosing system later down the road.

I'd love your guys' suggestions on equipment, or even better if you have it and want to sell it.

Let's talk system set ups!
 
Sounds fun.. Imo Don't skimp on the equipment up front. I have the same skimmer and it works well for the price but the collection cup is super small and it can be a little finicky sometimes for no reason. Pulls some serious crap though.. I built my own Drews dosers for cheaper than brs sells them if your interested I can give you the info needed to do it they are rock solid reliable.

Are you going bare bottom? If so I know home depot pro sells starboard for cheap.. Are the lights good quality? Def use good quality bulbs regardless =).

(edit) didn't see you said wp10 =)..
I have a mp10 for sale cheap.. It's a 2010 year one a little cosmetic flaw on the wire but I already swapped the bearings and it's a newer wetside. Wireless model works perfect.. Pm me if your interested .
 
Last edited:
Yeah, I think I'll be upgrading the lights, I really like LED's for the efficiency and cooler temps. Does the skimmer need to be beefed up? I think it's over sized for a 40, but maybe not over sized enough.

I've never liked the look of bare bottomed systems, and from a biological/ecological view, I think it's extremely beneficial to have a sand bed. I like the look of Seaflor Special Grade.

I may be interested in the MP10, depending on the price point. Those little guys are pricey, I may just stick with Hydor's little pumps and their wavemaker.
 
I'm not the guy for leds so I'll let someone with experience comment on that.. I'm personally not sold on 100% led systems yet.. Too finicky imo doable with patience but I'm partial to t5 and Mh. Maybe adding some leds to your fixture I'm sure rapid can take care of you. I was actually just checking out the Aurora pucks they have and thinking of adding 4 down the middle of my powermodule Really similar to a radion pro for about half the price.

Depending on how stocked you get the skimmer should be OK. It's just got a really small cup and occasionally mine will just overflow when I feed.. Fwiw I have mine on a small frag tank and it's been pretty solid for over a year.

And on the koralia I'd stay away from them if you can. For the same money or even less you can have a jebao(if your not against them like some people seem to be) that will outperform and never start in reverse or clack when you turn them on. I had problems with hydors but a lot of people run them and love them so that's up to you.. I'd go jebao wp10/25 all day compared to a koralia and a wave maker.

Totally agree on the sand I run the special grade and vacuum sections of it during water changes.

My best recommendation is to make the sump as easily serviceable as possible. If your going to run socks make it so you can quickly remove/replace them. Having to remove plumbing eventually turns into "I'll do it tomorrow" or a pita in general.
 
The lights aren't a great fixture but since it's a 4bulb with external ballasts so you could always pull two bulbs and add LEDs in the center section. The fixture has old ati bulbs in it which IMO is a good thing. I would acclimate the corals to the old bulbs and then replace one bulb at a time with new bulbs so it doesn't shock any corals..... Or the wallet.
 
I would look into the WP10 from jabeo. One or two on your tank would be great. I ran korolias for a long time and still have 1 in the tank that is running. Korolias don't do real well long term on a wave maker unless they are the controllable ones. And at the cost of the controllable ones a wp10 is way way cheaper.
 
The skimmer came from me and it does work very well but as stated the collection cup is a bit small.... however you can do an old trick and drill a small hole on the side and connect some airline tubing to it and to a bigger collection container and not have to worry about changing it out often.... I have also an mp10wes if you're interested but you would need to buy a new control board since the one it has now accidentally fell in the sump but i saw you can get a new one for around $45 on ebay.
 
I also can attest to vortech controllers not being at all water resistant. Excessive stupidity caused a puddle to form around one of mine and it died an ugly death. Salt water and circuit boards do not mix. Ecotech shipped a new one in a timely manner.
 
So maybe 2 WP10's with wavemaker, some sort of LED fixture or jerryrigged LED/T5 combo.

Any good/inexpensive ATO and dosers? I'd like to have this system be pretty self sustaining--the cube is proving to be a little touchy with everything being manual.

Also, any opinions on a ReefAngel or similar controller?
 
If you get the reef angel it comes with its own Ato floats fwiw. I run one and love it(don't use the Ato though) .

And fwiw the wp10 doesn't need a wave maker they have the drivers built into them to do the waves or random current.

If you choose a reef angel or any controller all you need is any standard dosers to run on it.. No need for the ones with controllers cause your controller will be better anyways. And you can get the cables to attach the jebaos to the RA and mimic ecotech flow or anything you dream up.
 
Any recommendations on dosers and top off? I really like the look of your sump system, and your tank looks great as well, what do you have running?
 
WalrusKisses said:
Any recommendations on dosers and top off? I really like the look of your sump system, and your tank looks great as well, what do you have running?
Click to expand...

For my dosers I use some diy Drews dosers I made. I got the same pump motors and heads brs sells and put them in my own enclosure and saved some $. For the Ato I've used tunze Ozmolator for years. Not the cheapest but my first one lasted me about 8 years I just got a new one during the end of the year sales.

Thanksfor the compliment =). Planning on adding some more sps here in a bit.

If your looking for good dosers the standard brs ones are good fwiw and not too bad on the price. Cheapest popular Ato is the jbj by far. But if you get the reef angel your Ato is taken care of already. And FYI Roberto (owner of reef angel) is in Fremont and you can pick it up from him and save on shipping. I've done that with all my add ons and original purchase. And he also has refurbished units for cheaper than list..

People are scared of the RA cause the way it is to program but as long as your not doing anything crazy it's all taken care of in the wizard for you. No coding involved. If you want automated and don't want to spend a lot doing it it's the way to go and reliable. Let me know if you have any questions/reservations about it I really regret not getting a controller a long time ago everything is on my phone at a glance and adjustable thru it also.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
220G Tank Setup - Flow/General Advice Needed
2
Replies
23
Views
2K
The Reef Addict
T
J Crew
New Reef Build - equipment list
Replies
10
Views
1K
griss
griss
Twisk
New Ro-di system & aquascape questions
2
Replies
20
Views
2K
griss
griss
Biodork
Advice for new 50 gal build
Replies
1
Views
2K
Vinny Kreyling
Vinny Kreyling
Reefing102
My wife’s 32 Gallon BioCube Build
Replies
12
Views
2K
Reefing102
Reefing102
Back
Top