New Reef Tank Essentials

[TopWater]

Hello all,

Just rejoined as I forgot my username from many moons ago. I had a 55 gallon reef for a little while when I was younger but I've been out of the game for quite some time. I am finally getting to a point where I am ready to get another one going and I would like any help or input on the necessities. I'm sure I could search and find it all eventually, but thought this would kick off my reintroduction.

I am looking to start up a moderately sized reef tank of 100-125 gallons and will stock some simple soft corals and reef safe fish. Please bare with me as I am starting over from scratch and my previous knowledge has left my brain over the years.

What size sump?
lbs of LR per gallon?
lbs of sand per gallon?
Watts of light per gallon?
GPH for power heads?

Which lighting system/type of lights?
Skimmer recommendation?
Whats a good heater?


These are just a few of the questions that come to mind right off the bat. I am going to continue reading through the forum to bring my memory back, but in the meantime, thanks in advance!

 

[Reef noob_]

What size sump?
lbs of LR per gallon?
lbs of sand per gallon?
Watts of light per gallon?
GPH for power heads?
Which lighting system/type of lights?
Skimmer recommendation?
Whats a good heater?

As big as possible ( I have 90g for a 90g tank)

~1lb / gallon, really depends on eat kind of rock is used

Depends on if you want a DSB, shallow sandbed, or bare bottom. For a non DSB approx .75-1 lb/ gallon

Read up on lighting, watts per gallon means literally nothing. Do you want LED, t5, mh, combo, etc.

Approx 40-50X DT turnover / hour

See "watts per gallon", I recommend t5/ LED combo

Bubble magus 7 personally but reef Octo, vertex, liferef, lots of good options

Titanium heater with a controller or cobalt be therm as standalone (replace yearly)

Glad to hear you're back!

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[TopWater]

As big as possible ( I have 90g for a 90g tank)

~1lb / gallon, really depends on eat kind of rock is used

Depends on if you want a DSB, shallow sandbed, or bare bottom. For a non DSB approx .75-1 lb/ gallon

Read up on lighting, watts per gallon means literally nothing. Do you want LED, t5, mh, combo, etc.

Approx 40-50X DT turnover / hour

See "watts per gallon", I recommend t5/ LED combo

Bubble magus 7 personally but reef Octo, vertex, liferef, lots of good options

Titanium heater with a controller or cobalt be therm as standalone (replace yearly)

Glad to hear you're back!

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

Hey, thanks much for the info! Any and all advice is welcome.

 

[Reefiez]

the BRS 52 weeks of reefing series on youtube was my main source of information when starting in the hobby, talks about pretty much every aspect of reefing.

i must have watched it 3 times over before deciding the equipment, and have been re-watching episodes for any particular areas i need help on.

highly recommend that series =)

 

[nereefpat]

I am looking to start up a moderately sized reef tank of 100-125 gallons and will stock some simple soft corals and reef safe fish. Please bare with me as I am starting over from scratch and my previous knowledge has left my brain over the years.

What size sump? Yes, bigger is better. It also depends on what equipment you will have in it. For a starting point, I would recommend something in the 40 breeder to 55 gallon range.
lbs of LR per gallon? About 1. The thought has changed a bit over the years. People tend to do a more minimalistic approach to aquascaping. But rock is still needed for processing nitrogen.
lbs of sand per gallon? Depends how deep you want it. Here is a calculator: http://reefcentral.com/index.php/sand-bed-calculator
Watts of light per gallon? Not really useful
GPH for power heads? about 30x turnover would be a good spot to start.

Which lighting system/type of lights? LED and T-5 are the most popular, but some still like MH. There are advantages to all kinds. Much reading to do.
Skimmer recommendation? Lots of options there too. Tech really hasn't changed much here.
Whats a good heater? Most folks will recommend two heaters, and a temp controller for them. 2 heaters at 150 watts might be a good place to start, but it depends on the delta.

 

[Uncle99]

Yes the BRS 52 weeks you tube was a big help.....and Ryan finally got a hair cut

 

[Trigger Tough]

Hello all,

Just rejoined as I forgot my username from many moons ago. I had a 55 gallon reef for a little while when I was younger but I've been out of the game for quite some time. I am finally getting to a point where I am ready to get another one going and I would like any help or input on the necessities. I'm sure I could search and find it all eventually, but thought this would kick off my reintroduction.

I am looking to start up a moderately sized reef tank of 100-125 gallons and will stock some simple soft corals and reef safe fish. Please bare with me as I am starting over from scratch and my previous knowledge has left my brain over the years.

What size sump?
lbs of LR per gallon?
lbs of sand per gallon?
Watts of light per gallon?
GPH for power heads?

Which lighting system/type of lights?
Skimmer recommendation?
Whats a good heater?


These are just a few of the questions that come to mind right off the bat. I am going to continue reading through the forum to bring my memory back, but in the meantime, thanks in advance!

I'd do a sump that's at least 1/3 the size of your tank

Try to do that new live rock that's not alive yet and seed it yourself. Less chance of unwantful critters that way. I'd say 1lb per gallon is good

Go bare bottom or with just a dusting of sand. Less maintenance that way

Watts per gallon doesn't translate anymore, but I'd do a combo T5/LED set up if you've got the $ for it. Just do a lot of homework on the LEDs. I find them to be a PITA compared to T5s or MH

Vortex MP40s for powerheads no doubt

I have a Reef Octopus 150 and love it

Titanium heaters are the way to go IMO

Also, look into DC return pumps. They're dead silent and you can adjust them without a ball valve

Good luck!