SchnitzelReef
Active member
Schnitzel's Sticks
I think running a calcium reactor is one of top 3 reasons my tank does so well. Once you understand how they work, it's hard to screw things up. Keeps alk so stable, sps just love it.
Also changing my lights from LEDs to T5s was the single best decision I ever made. Had I ran T5s from the start, my corals would probably be twice as big. They never thrived in my tank with leds. They were alive, some grew, some were colorful, but as a majority they were def lacking something.
Take the time to research what works best before you get your tank wet. I read a TON before I setup my tank. Which sump designs work best, which skimmers work best, heaters, return pumps etc etc. Find people that are successful and read their threads, and try not to make the same mistakes they made. There was many weekends I would wake up, find a beautiful sps tank, and read the whole thread start to finish. (Sometimes taking hours). You see a lot of people that have equipment failure and cause tank crashes. That was one thing I tried my hardest to do right from the beginning. Do the plumbing the right way, find a good ATO, a quality return pump, quality heaters. Etc etc. You see people spending thousands of dollars on corals, meanwhile they have a $10 used heater break and wipe out their tank. Invest in your tank now, and save for the nice corals later.
And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the key to success is buying the most expensive equipment. Whether you are using Vortech pumps or Korallia, make sure you have the proper flow for which ever corals you are keeping.
I think running a calcium reactor is one of top 3 reasons my tank does so well. Once you understand how they work, it's hard to screw things up. Keeps alk so stable, sps just love it.
Also changing my lights from LEDs to T5s was the single best decision I ever made. Had I ran T5s from the start, my corals would probably be twice as big. They never thrived in my tank with leds. They were alive, some grew, some were colorful, but as a majority they were def lacking something.
Take the time to research what works best before you get your tank wet. I read a TON before I setup my tank. Which sump designs work best, which skimmers work best, heaters, return pumps etc etc. Find people that are successful and read their threads, and try not to make the same mistakes they made. There was many weekends I would wake up, find a beautiful sps tank, and read the whole thread start to finish. (Sometimes taking hours). You see a lot of people that have equipment failure and cause tank crashes. That was one thing I tried my hardest to do right from the beginning. Do the plumbing the right way, find a good ATO, a quality return pump, quality heaters. Etc etc. You see people spending thousands of dollars on corals, meanwhile they have a $10 used heater break and wipe out their tank. Invest in your tank now, and save for the nice corals later.
And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the key to success is buying the most expensive equipment. Whether you are using Vortech pumps or Korallia, make sure you have the proper flow for which ever corals you are keeping.
