Sps display equipment recommendations please

smokinreefer

smokinreefer

Premium Member
Hey everyone,

A bit about me...
I've pretty much been out of the sps game since my 180 crashed about 10 yrs ago... I ran 400W Mh + VHO, kalk reactor plumbed to my ato, calcium reactor,
Refugium, minimal water changes, turboflotor skimmer, lots of fish

A bit about the tank to be...
250ish gallons peninsula
It will be open top
On the main floor of the house (doing renos)
Used as a divider between family room and formal dining room in an open concept area

Requirements:

System must be as quiet as possible

Being that the tank will be beside the dining table, light spill needs to be minimal, blinding people is not an option

Ease of maintenance is also priority, I now have two kids, so I don't have time to tinker on the tank all day long

For practicality, I am planning to have all equipment under the tank.


Let's start!

Controller: I've never used one, but definitely will in order to automate as much as I can and to monitor. I'm thinking the aquatronics controller with touch display

Calcium reactor, I'm thinking I will be going this route. Any suggestions?

Lighting: giving me a headache, being that it's a focal point, it has to be aesthetically pleasing. I love the colors I'm seeing in your t5 tanks, but I'm guessing I will end up with LEDs, simply for low maintenance. But I love the sleek look of the matrixx!!!

All suggestions and experiences welcomed and appreciated!
 
Hey Aaron,

Those ap700 you have look pretty nice.
Also, thanks for the tip about equipment needing to be compatible with which ever controller.

And yes, I'll have to look into an auto water changer.
 
Thoughts on low maintenance:

- T5 isn't really higher maintenance than LED. Changing 6 bulbs every 12 months takes about 5-10 minutes & really isn't a big deal. Eventually you may have to replace fans & ballasts, but they may last year's on a quality fixture. If you read the LED threads, you'll see that some folks while away a great deal of time adjusting intensity, spectrum, light duration and other features.

- Controllers are great, don't get me wrong. But wow, talk about an opportunity tinker with stuff all day. It's actually kind of fun for many, thus many spend a great deal of time fooling with it.
 
Having quality LEDs on that tank will be super expensive. I'd go with T5. I think T5 will also be softer on the eye if light spill is a concern, but that's just my opinion. Plus, it seems like most ppl hang thier LEDs pretty high, making it easier to be blinded from the table.

The new quiet drive MP40s or 60s will help with noise. Also, a DC return pump will as well. Perhaps even a DC controlled skimmer if noise is a big prerogative.

Just some random opinions to toss around
 
Last edited:
If your going with a controller I would recommend the Tunze power heads. They are easily controller via APEX and at about 200$ each you will save significantly. However with the MPs the stock controller is so great it's better without controller control.
Think about this though. If you control all your power heads and your DC return pump with the one controller you can do really cool things like:
One button feed mode, set powerheads off or very low. Also the return will be slowed so that all your food doesn't go over and down the overflow. This is the really cool one! You can connect a good car battery to your system and have power backup much better than the ecotech. My friend and an Optima yellow on his 180 and when power goes out the battery automatically sets the powerheads and return pump to low and can run for days before the battery dies. If you need more than that you can have a back up battery. He also has a trickle charger/battery conditioner connected at all times. I use my phone to start feed mode. I fact my wife texts me to tune it on from work because she forgot how to do it. You can chose the equipment that shuts off with power outage. Of your skimmer have an APEX ready DC pump you can also sun that at low speed to help keep up the O2. Doesn't need to skim.

I have my Kessils mounted 5" about the water on the 6' 180. Perfect night. No light spilling and that's the height recommend for SPS.

Kessil takes all guess work out of the
Making you lighting schedule. Just pick you our spectrum and intensity. Other than LED fixtures require you to schedule intensity and timing for each changed. More channels = more guessing. Kessil did all the research and no matter the color spectrums you choose the light already included and the different colors in the spectrums for optimal growth no matter what.
ccbd9840a6a79c245aca4ca4c2cbf671.jpg


As you can see above. Just chose one of the preset color spectrum, time, and intensity. One channel automatically combines the right UV LEFs for best color/growth. I has my first schedule done in 5 min.

I had the Kessil 360s before and they looked amazing, had great shimmer and lots of punch they lacked in coverage and showdowns are a problem. Most needed T5s to supplement them. NOT WITH THE AP700s. My tank is flooded with light, still great shimmer, no dark shadows, plenty of punch, full spectrum, WIFI, and no disco effect on the sand (color separation). They look Mich like my old HQI lights. IMHO they are the best LEDs are the market. Do some research on Kessil, they are the only fixtures that manufacture their own LEDs. All the other top end LED fixtures use off the shelf LED technology. In fact you could build a radion from scratch and control it just as well with the APEX

Also look into getting a dosing pump for carbon dosing (vinegar, vodka, or NOPOX).

Bulk reef supply is a great place to shop, they also have amazing videos on YouTuBe to explain some of the new tech in the hobby. Every month they have group buys for RC members. I think they are the first Saturday of each month and you register the week before. This gives you 10% back in points to use on the website. Some brands like Ecotech are exempt but not Kessil. That's how I got mine. 192$ back in points I think.

I also have the MarinePure blocks (4"x4"x8") for nitrate control. I think they said it equal to like 50" pounds of LR as far as surface area goes. They are amazing products.

Have fun researching your build I know I sure did. You can see my build in my signature.

Here are my tangs https://vimeo.com/167243765

Hope this helps.
 
a lot of noise will come from your overflow so consider a Bean Animal or Herbie overflow to keep the noise to a minimum.
 
Reef Frog said:
Thoughts on low maintenance:

- T5 isn't really higher maintenance than LED. Changing 6 bulbs every 12 months takes about 5-10 minutes & really isn't a big deal.

- Controllers are great, don't get me wrong. But wow, talk about an opportunity tinker with stuff all day. It's actually kind of fun for many, thus many spend a great deal of time fooling with it.
Click to expand...

Heh, gotcha on the T5.
I am struggling cuz I like the matrixx fixture, but its also a lot bigger than most LED options, just from an aesthetics standpoint.

kevin_e said:
Having quality LEDs on that tank will be super expensive. I'd go with T5. I think T5 will also be softer on the eye if light spill is a concern, but that's just my opinion. Plus, it seems like most ppl hang thier LEDs pretty high, making it easier to be blinded from the table.

The new quiet drive MP40s or 60s will help with noise. Also, a DC return pump will as well. Perhaps even a DC controlled skimmer if noise is a big prerogative.

Just some random opinions to toss around
Click to expand...

good point about hanging fixtures, but with my set up I think I'm limited to tank mounted lighting.

ok, sounds like DC pumps are a must have now. i'll make sure the skimmer is run with a DC pump too.

spkennyva said:
Do yourself a huge favor and watch the entire series of the BRS 160 build. They address almost all of the key aspects of design.

Get started here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKEXNIhomGs
Click to expand...

thanks! i'll check those out.

solitude127 said:
a lot of noise will come from your overflow so consider a Bean Animal or Herbie overflow to keep the noise to a minimum.
Click to expand...

yup, I'm running a herbie now. I know the bean has an extra emergency drain, is that the only difference?
 
bif24701 said:
I have my Kessils mounted 5" about the water on the 6' 180. Perfect night. No light spilling and that's the height recommend for SPS.

Kessil takes all guess work out of the
Making you lighting schedule. Just pick you our spectrum and intensity.
Click to expand...

do the kessils have tank mounts?

thanks for all the info on them. sounds like a good option.
 
smokinreefer said:
do the kessils have tank mounts?



thanks for all the info on them. sounds like a good option.
Click to expand...



The AP700s have several options. A hanging kit for ceiling mount. A canopy mount for inside a canopy. The also have an arm mount fixture that can be mounted to the back of your tank or with the extension kit you can mount the light to the stand and the extenders allow you put the light high over the water.

NP! Glad I can help.
 
Heh, gotcha on the T5.
I am struggling cuz I like the matrixx fixture, but its also a lot bigger than most LED options, just from an aesthetics standpoint.

If aesthetics are important to you and you have the funds you can look into Geissmann fixtures, they make beautiful lights but they are $$. Having all the equipment under the stand will be the challenge. I tried it and it's very difficult fitting everything and being able to work on things, but if the stand has enough clearance it's possible. Good luck.
 
What do you all recommend for a calcium reactor?

I'm thinking control is more important than the reactor itself?
As long as I get a decent reactor, I should strive for a masterflex delivery system?
 
smokinreefer said:
What do you all recommend for a calcium reactor?



I'm thinking control is more important than the reactor itself?

As long as I get a decent reactor, I should strive for a masterflex delivery system?
Click to expand...



I use a geo calrx with masterflex feed pump and carbondoser co2 regulators. It's literally the perfect setup in my opinion.


As far as all the other stuff - t5 requires the least maintenance and tinkering in my experience. It's literally plug and play regardless of what bulbs you choose and schedule. As long as your not blasting the corals for longer than 10 hour a day, you'll succeed with sps.

I'm not sold on the reliability of DC pumps. I've been using a used mag 5 on my tank for 2 years now, and it was 3 years old when I bought it. Pretty impressive IMO.

All the wave makers are pretty quiet now that vortech came out with the QD technology. I use a mp40 that I bought in 2009 and a large gyre, plus a mp10 on my 75 Gal sps system and will likely replace the gyre. If it's not cleaned every 30 days or so the flow LITERALLY gets cut by 50%. Honestly I have it set at 100% right now. If I did that after its cleaned, I'd push water out of the tank. Too much work for me. The vortech just keeps on going and going etc.

Do LOTS of research and I always recommend that people ask to see the tank of those people who's advice you choose to follow. Just to be safe....
 
Geo calcium reactor , ati hybrid, and vortech dc pumps and wavemakers! One millions dollars but in my opinion the best stuff around. My mp40s are seriously the first ones off the assembly line with no wifi, but I upgraded to qd wetside and controller and they are pretty much silent at something like 7 years old! I run gen 1 and 3 radions and I can't say bad things about them at all. A friend of mine runs all ai and I really can't say anything bad about them either. Glwb.
 
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