Getting back in the hobby have some Q's for you all

[george1532]

Hello Everybody well I finally am getting back in the hobby. I have bought a place and now have a permanent home. It was hard having an aquarium while i was renting as there was always this looming possibility that I would have to move, in the past 4 years 2 of the places I rented at I had to move because the owner decided to sell the unit. Makes it kind of hard to have a reef tank long term, and moving a tank is a PIA.

So I've ordered a new tank from exotic aquariums, aprox 160 gal 72 x 24 x 22. I've ordered other tanks from the in the past and have always been happy with them. They are also building me a stand, well not them but whoever their cabinet maker is.

the tank will be a mixed LPS SPS, hardy sps, im not trying to go full blown SPS right out the gate. Going to start with dead rock and live sand

Equipment i plan on getting or have already gotten:

TRIGGER SYSTEMS SAPPHIRE 39 (blue acrylic) - What a beauty, its a shame this thing will be hidden under the tank, definitely the nicest sump I've ever had, but also the most expensive, lol. had to buy something to satisfy the itch so over Christmas vacation i bought this and the skimmer.

REEF OCTOPUS REGAL 200 INT 8" INTERNAL protein skimmer - BRS rated it for a heavy bio load at 175 gal and i am planning for a heavy bio load so seems correct though there isn't much room for error there, but we'll see. Anybody have this skimmer? feedback?

My return pump Im in between the Reef octopus varios 6 controllable DC return pump and the Ecotech vectra M1 maybe the L1 but i think that might be over kill. Anybody have experience with any of these of these pumps?

Havent decided on lighting yet but im leaning towards the ATI sunpower 60" 8x80watt. also condidering 3 x hydra 26 hd's.

the biggest thing I'm concerned with now is RODI. Id like to hear from the Miami guys what your running for RO? Do we have chloramines in our water? I need to buy a system and i just want to make sure I am buying the right system for our water in Miami. The system im considering is:

BRS 6 Stage Universal Water Saver Plus RO/DI System - 150GPD

Thanks so much for your feedback and help!

 

[rovster]

Sounds like a nice system. I'm jealous of the dimensions. I run the BRS chloramine kit just to have all my bases covered. Pretty sure Broward has chloramines from time to time but its only a few bucks more per filter change and worth it for peace of mind. For your tank, that lighting comparison is no contest. Sunpower all the way if you do LED you'll want the 52 and 3 units would be minimum but you could likely get away with it on a mixed reef. Good luck and post a build thread when you get everything.

 

[Greybeard]

Welcome back!

Seems like you've got a plan, and working towards it...

Any time I have a question on RO/DI systems, I call the folks at AirWaterIce. Good people, know their stuff. They've been pointing me in the right direction on RO/DI systems for many years.

 

[jonnyu]

Seems like a great system. I would do the t5 light. Then add some e5 bulb blue pop


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[firemedix911]

Hello Everybody well I finally am getting back in the hobby. I have bought a place and now have a permanent home. It was hard having an aquarium while i was renting as there was always this looming possibility that I would have to move, in the past 4 years 2 of the places I rented at I had to move because the owner decided to sell the unit. Makes it kind of hard to have a reef tank long term, and moving a tank is a PIA.

So I've ordered a new tank from exotic aquariums, aprox 160 gal 72 x 24 x 22. I've ordered other tanks from the in the past and have always been happy with them. They are also building me a stand, well not them but whoever their cabinet maker is.

the tank will be a mixed LPS SPS, hardy sps, im not trying to go full blown SPS right out the gate. Going to start with dead rock and live sand

Equipment i plan on getting or have already gotten:

TRIGGER SYSTEMS SAPPHIRE 39 (blue acrylic) - What a beauty, its a shame this thing will be hidden under the tank, definitely the nicest sump I've ever had, but also the most expensive, lol. had to buy something to satisfy the itch so over Christmas vacation i bought this and the skimmer.

REEF OCTOPUS REGAL 200 INT 8" INTERNAL protein skimmer - BRS rated it for a heavy bio load at 175 gal and i am planning for a heavy bio load so seems correct though there isn't much room for error there, but we'll see. Anybody have this skimmer? feedback?

My return pump Im in between the Reef octopus varios 6 controllable DC return pump and the Ecotech vectra M1 maybe the L1 but i think that might be over kill. Anybody have experience with any of these of these pumps?

Havent decided on lighting yet but im leaning towards the ATI sunpower 60" 8x80watt. also condidering 3 x hydra 26 hd's.

the biggest thing I'm concerned with now is RODI. Id like to hear from the Miami guys what your running for RO? Do we have chloramines in our water? I need to buy a system and i just want to make sure I am buying the right system for our water in Miami. The system im considering is:

BRS 6 Stage Universal Water Saver Plus RO/DI System - 150GPD

Thanks so much for your feedback and help!

Congrats on the new tank. you'll love it. My tank was made by Exotic and I'm glad I ordered from them.
-As far as Return pump I'd go with the M1 or L1. If you are planing on running reactors and want to run it off a manifold go with L1 better to have extra power.
-The skimmer will be perfect. regal Skimmers are great I also on one and love it. Also support is great with Coral Vue.
-Lighting is a very personal thing. Trust me you don't wanna start that debate. LOL I would personally got with the ATI. I am partial to MHs and T5s I use all three technologies in my DT and I'm happy. If you want to go the LED route I'd recommend to get Radions Gen 4. Yes expensive but probably the best LED light out there for reefing.
-RODI You can always upgrade with your needs. Mine Started as a 3 stage and once the needs and the tanks increased Ive increased my RO system as well. I'm 99.9% sure Miami Dade uses chloramines. I'm in hialeah and they d use chloramines as well. It's cheaper to use so that says it all.
Good luck with the build man. I'm sure it's going to be great.

 

[george1532]

Sounds like a nice system. I'm jealous of the dimensions. I run the BRS chloramine kit just to have all my bases covered. Pretty sure Broward has chloramines from time to time but its only a few bucks more per filter change and worth it for peace of mind. For your tank, that lighting comparison is no contest. Sunpower all the way if you do LED you'll want the 52 and 3 units would be minimum but you could likely get away with it on a mixed reef. Good luck and post a build thread when you get everything.

thanks for the advice, I ended up getting the BRS 6 stage 150gpd per day, like you said just wanted to cover all my bases.

Also got an ATI Sunpower 8x80 wat 60inch fixture on its way. It was btween that and the powermodule but i felt that the 4 pucks of LED's werent worth the $1400 over the sunpower. Ill be posting a build thread as soon as the tank arrives, the waiting is a killer.

Congrats on the new tank. you'll love it. My tank was made by Exotic and I'm glad I ordered from them.
-As far as Return pump I'd go with the M1 or L1. If you are planing on running reactors and want to run it off a manifold go with L1 better to have extra power.
-The skimmer will be perfect. regal Skimmers are great I also on one and love it. Also support is great with Coral Vue.
-Lighting is a very personal thing. Trust me you don't wanna start that debate. LOL I would personally got with the ATI. I am partial to MHs and T5s I use all three technologies in my DT and I'm happy. If you want to go the LED route I'd recommend to get Radions Gen 4. Yes expensive but probably the best LED light out there for reefing.
-RODI You can always upgrade with your needs. Mine Started as a 3 stage and once the needs and the tanks increased Ive increased my RO system as well. I'm 99.9% sure Miami Dade uses chloramines. I'm in hialeah and they d use chloramines as well. It's cheaper to use so that says it all.
Good luck with the build man. I'm sure it's going to be great.

Thanks for the experience and advice!

 

[george1532]

Those of you that have one, what do you think of calcium reactors?

My opinion was that generally they were a PIA to setup and get dialed in correctly. But since i haven't been very active in the hobby in the past 5 years I'm trying to see if this has changed. Are they easier to setup and dial in now?

While the tank wont be sps heavy right away, i know that's where I'm going to end up.

Thanks!