Getting back into the hobby after 5-6 years... what's changed?

[elbweb]

So, the last time I had a tank was over 5 years ago. I do not believe I had a protein skimmer (. Best I can remember were metal halide lights and a sump. I believe the sump had a opposite light timing and treated more as a refugium.

Now while I've had a passing interest in everything, I don't know much about it. There are a million LED lights available, and just as many as everything else.

Now, it seems like the basics haven't changed. Still need pumps, powerheads, lighting, etc. Seems like most people, now, get away with a skimmer and a properly balanced tank (just some water changes).

So, really, my question is what's worth looking into? Obviously LEDs seem wonderful (maybe no more need for a chiller?!). Is there anything else that's really changed in the last 5 years as far as equipment goes? Hopefully this isn't too vague a question to ask, and this isn't the wrong place to do it.

 

[KnightMetro]

I'd say LED's are the big one. Well they had them 5 years ago, but they were $$$$ and only offered by a handful of companies. Now there are pro level $$$ options that do amazing effects, mixed with imports that are basic and stunning yet seriously affordable. I'll never go back to MH. Too much water burn off, light bills, bulbs.

Other than that, the basics have stayed the same. If anything, there are more and more companies making reef equipment look more like the inside of a high end liquid cooled gaming PC, made by Apple engineers. Equipment is now functional and purposefully made to look good while doing it.

More automated gizmos that are all tablet and phone controlled. Neat but most new shiny swag is in the nice/automated side of the chart and most needs for a great reef tank have stayed the same.

At the end of the day, it's all mostly the same cheese. Chemistry, salt, turnover, what does and doesn't keep fish/coral alive hasn't really changed. LED's have really been the only game changer when they became affordable, and it's hard not to go that route when doing a new build. I'd suggest it. DC pumps for return or used in the skimmer have also changed the game on pumps running dead silent for once. I'd look into those as well if it's a fresh build.

Hope that sheds some light.

 

[RocketEngineer]

Sure there are a slew of LEDs available with all sorts of "features". The question is, how many of the "features" are just gizmos you won't use? You don't need storms rolling across the tank to be successful. Also, how many folks are combining LEDs with say T5s because the LEDs create really deep shadows? I would say more than you realize. While they are the "next big thing" they still have a ways to go where as MH and T5 have a long history of working. I personally use T5 supplemented with LED. My LEDs give the coral that pop of color while the T5s do the main lighting. To each their own.

Another big thing to realize is that the Chinese knockoffs have infiltrated all areas of the hobby. Buyer beware is very true in this day and age. There are only a few brands, especially pumps/powerheads, that I would purchase and ALL of them have a long track record. I'm not interested in buying cheap, I want something that will last and I don't have to worry about.

The one big shift you may notices is with "reef ready" tanks. The old plastic overflows with holes in the bottom have begun to be replaced by longer internal boxes connected via bulkheads to external boxes. These also tend to run multiple drain pipes to the sump with either a 2-pipe "Herbie" configuration or a 3-pipe "BeanAnimal" configuration. The idea is to have a lot of flow through the sump with minimal noise. Combined with the newer pumps, you would be amazed at how quiet a modern reef can be.

HTH,

 

[elbweb]

Hope that sheds some light.

This is exactly what I'm looking for, thank you. It would be amazing to have a tank that you can't hear - that seems completely impossible to me, but it's been a long time.

The idea is to have a lot of flow through the sump with minimal noise. Combined with the newer pumps, you would be amazed at how quiet a modern reef can be.

Beyond a different overflow / pipe configuration, and a different return pipe, is there anything else that would let a tank be silent? I hadn't really considered this an option and now that you've brought it up, I'm wondering if powerheads, skimmers, the like, could be quiet enough that you actually don't hear anything!

 

[garyinco]

I think controllers have come a long way. With an Apex you can do some amazing things. Carbon dosing has gotten more popular with pellets and commercial liquid products. DC pumps are a trend now. Skimmers keep improving while cost for good ones has come down.

 

[RocketEngineer]

Beyond a different overflow / pipe configuration, and a different return pipe, is there anything else that would let a tank be silent? I hadn't really considered this an option and now that you've brought it up, I'm wondering if powerheads, skimmers, the like, could be quiet enough that you actually don't hear anything!

Some of them can run amazingly quite. The biggest noise I hear from my tank is the MP40s but I have old ones that I bought used, one of which doesn't even have an ecosmart driver it's so old. My understanding is the new QuiteDrive controllers do a much better job of keeping the pump noise to a minimum.

My skimmer never made much noise and the one I use has a muffler on the air intake so I don't hear much when the doors to the stand are closed. I use a DC return pump which is amazingly quite considering its pushing about 1000gph through the display as well as feeding the refugium and my GFO reactor.

Is the tank totally silent? No, not really. But I don't hear it outside the living room and even what I can hear is well below the volume of the rest of the stuff in my house.

 

[garyinco]

Just for kicks I downloaded a decibel app on my phone and measured outside the cabinet on my tank. The mean was 42 decibels which is supposedly about an average library, quiet conversation or babbling brook. The brook part sounds about right. I find the sound calming when I go into the bedroom to sleep (my neighborhood is dead silent during the night). 105g w/ 30g sump, big skimmer, 2 MP40's and a couple little Jaebos, two reactors, LED lights, some dosing pumps and an ATO which I don't think were on during the test, bean animal overflow.

 

[kcinnick]

I am getting back in, I am stubborn. Picked up MH/T5 Fixture only because VHO's are not readily available like they use to be.

 

[elbweb]

Just for kicks I downloaded a decibel app on my phone and measured outside the cabinet on my tank. The mean was 42 decibels which is supposedly about an average library, quiet conversation or babbling brook. The brook part sounds about right. I find the sound calming when I go into the bedroom to sleep (my neighborhood is dead silent during the night). 105g w/ 30g sump, big skimmer, 2 MP40's and a couple little Jaebos, two reactors, LED lights, some dosing pumps and an ATO which I don't think were on during the test, bean animal overflow.

What do you use for the return pump? And are the MP40's the 'QuietDrive' ones that I see everywhere now? This change seems wonderful to not *have* to hear the tank.

 

[garyinco]

Sorry for the delay in replying...
I use, I think, a Sicce 3.5. It's output is rated at 680. I have it dialed back a little. If I was shopping now I might look at the Syncra Pro. It's suppose to be even quieter. I have a nearly identical Tunze as a backup (supposedly the Tunze pumps are made by Sicce and they do look identical).
My Mp-40s were both bought used (one locally on CL, the other here in the classifieds. There are good deals on used ones if you can be patient enough for a good deal). Neither one is the newer "quietdrive". I never hear them unless the short periods I use the nutrient transfer mode. Even then its a little surging noise from the pump units. I think the benefit of that mode overweighs the slight sound. And I just program that for times when I'm not usually at home or am in another room asleep. A fan or space heater is way noisier than my tank.

 

[Reef Frog]

1) Running very high Alkalinity is going out of style, and for good reason IMO.

2) Controlable DC pumps have proliferated and have been made to be much more reliable and quiet since you were in the game.

3) We have some rather wacky shows on TV that are setting a bad example but it has raised public awareness about the hobby.

4) The color choices in T5 bulbs has increased.

 

[sfdan]

I just got back into the hobby after about 10 years, and to me the biggest change is the apex controller. Holy crap it is so amazing to monitor and control and program your whole reef tank from this one little smart box. Not only does it make setting up the aquarium much simpler, but you can just add so many more redundancies you couldn't before. Rely on one heater, and if that one breaks fallback to another one. If the aquarium is getting too hot and the lights are on, turn off the lights. If the pH in the tank is dropping too much turn off the co2 reactor and send me a text message.

I've only just started using mine but it already makes the whole setup process completely different.

 

[MrsReefK]

We are just getting back in after 8 years. Completely different hobby. LED's, Apex and even power heads for me. All blew me away how much they've changed.