Well, time to jump in.. advice welcome

[protie]

Starting my first Salt Water tank. Been many years since owning a tank at all and recently starting a fresh water tank got me thinking about finally jumping into salt. I have done some research and have most of my plans in place but would be interested in advice mostly when it comes to specific brands of equipment.

I am currently building the stand for an 85gal Acrylic flat back and plan to have the DIY 30gal sump in an adjacent room. I will be away for most of Feb and Mar so I have no plans on introducing fish until I return but I would like to get the tank running soon.

So I came across this kit: https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/o...ht-mounts-return-pump-flow-pumps-current-usa/

Makes it seem easy for the initial equipment. Is this a safe way to go, or should I avoid kits or these brands altogether?

Thank you

 

[mcgyvr]

As we currently can't see your post you must be a new member and posted an external link or image.. This site has some "spam protection" to lock/hide your post when you do that and a moderator will unlock it (usually in 24 hours or less)..

I like to alert people when this happens so they aren't going "What is wrong with this site.. I'm going somewhere else where they actually care and will help"
I wish the site/rules did that for me though when such a post was made..

So please hold on.. Don't jump yet as we have no clue where to stand to catch you..

 

[protie]

As we currently can't see your post you must be a new member and posted an external link or image.. This site has some "spam protection" to lock/hide your post when you do that and a moderator will unlock it (usually in 24 hours or less)..

I like to alert people when this happens so they aren't going "What is wrong with this site.. I'm going somewhere else where they actually care and will help"
I wish the site/rules did that for me though when such a post was made..

So please hold on.. Don't jump yet as we have no clue where to stand to catch you..

Thank you so much for informing me. I will remove the link for now or change it so it does not appear as a link (To a product I was considering).

Thanks again!!

 

[protie]

Re-posting original until I can post links:

Starting my first Salt Water tank. Been many years since owning a tank at all and recently starting a fresh water tank got me thinking about finally jumping into salt. I have done some research and have most of my plans in place but would be interested in advice mostly when it comes to specific brands of equipment.

I am currently building the stand for an 85gal Acrylic flat back and plan to have the DIY 30gal sump in an adjacent room. I will be away for most of Feb and Mar so I have no plans on introducing fish until I return but I would like to get the tank running soon.

So I came across this kit: w_w_w.saltwateraquarium_com/or...s-current-usa/

Makes it seem easy for the initial equipment. Is this a safe way to go, or should I avoid kits or these brands altogether?

Thank you

 

[protie]

Wow, I am having a rough time here lol

saltwateraquarium_com/orbit-marine-48-60-loop-full-tank-package-light-mounts-return-pump-flow-pumps-current-usa/

 

[mcgyvr]

If you want corals that light is just not suitable in most cases..
Those pumps are fairly new and not many people are using them either so there is little feedback/reviews..

I personally would not go that way.

 

[protie]

If you want corals that light is just not suitable in most cases..
Those pumps are fairly new and not many people are using them either so there is little feedback/reviews..

I personally would not go that way.

Thank you for taking the time to check the link.
Kits are always too good to be true
That's a shame, the light looks interesting. Can you tell me what I need to look for that is coral friendly?

 

[mcgyvr]

Thank you for taking the time to check the link.
Kits are always too good to be true
That's a shame, the light looks interesting. Can you tell me what I need to look for that is coral friendly?

In general avoid Fluval, Marineland, Current USA, and anything that looks like those.. These typically include much lower power LEDs that will work just fine for illumination in a fish tank.. They cannot do whats needed to sustain photosynthesis (for the most part.. They can work on shallow tanks/low light corals)

In general you want something starting with cheap and simple as what we refer to as "Chinese Black Box" LEDs which are like 120-165 watt fixtures available on Ebay/Amazon for right around $100 to 200+ (for wifi control,etc..) then up to reefbreeders photon and up to some of the more high dollar (but fully controllable) led fixtures like Ai Hydra/Prime/Razors,etc.. 3W or more wattage per LED,etc..

Its best to find something in your budget then search and read comments on here/reviews,etc.. Usually someone will set you straight pretty darn quick..


Personally I've been a LED fixture user for years now but have happily switched to ATI T5 fixtures and am very happy with that so far..
In the long run T5 is more expensive,etc... But T5/Metal Halide,etc.. is proven to work and work very well.. Just more heat/less bulb life/more bulb replacement costs over the years...

 

[Ron Reefman]

proyie, I just saw the Current wavemaker pumps and controller at a friends store and I think they look like a very nice product... but they are new and unproven. I think Current has recently added return pumps and wavemakers to their line up of products. I think the pumps look good as far as new products go, but time will tell if they are of good quality.

It's a shame they sell so many crappy light fixtures. If they made it abundantly clear that the lights were for fish only or 12" shallow tanks I wouldn't mind, but they say the fixtures work over 24" deep tanks. It's just marketing BS and IMHO shines a bad light on the entire company. The exact same thing can be said about Marineland and their led fixtures!

 

[mcgyvr]

If they made it abundantly clear that the lights were for fish only or 12" shallow tanks I wouldn't mind, but they say the fixtures work over 24" deep tanks. It's just marketing BS and IMHO shines a bad light on the entire company. The exact same thing can be said about Marineland and their led fixtures!

My complaints exactly..
The truth WILL come out at some time.. If you try to hide it that makes you look bad..
I hate marketing BS..

 

[JohnnyHildo]

i have an led current plus fixture that would be fine for a fish only system but these guys are right. you're just better finding a better fixture that will grow what you hope to have.

 

[protie]

Thanks everyone for the information and opinions.
I am not working with any kind of budget but hate to buy twice if avoidable so your opinions are important to me. I will check out some of the brands you have listed MCGYVR.

Getting on to the start of this project, I am finding a ridiculous amount of Sump configurations. I am going about this as a project I enjoy building more so then just getting to the final result so building what I can on my own is more desirable. Can I get some configurations used by members here to help me get started? I don't mind using 'socks' and I would like to include a refugium and skimmer. Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated.

 

[protie]

Ordered the RB Photon V2 light. Looked like it had the features you guys recommended.

 

[protie]

It's a shame they sell so many crappy light fixtures. If they made it abundantly clear that the lights were for fish only or 12" shallow tanks I wouldn't mind, but they say the fixtures work over 24" deep tanks. It's just marketing BS and IMHO shines a bad light on the entire company. The exact same thing can be said about Marineland and their led fixtures!

Ron, I went with the RB Photon but can you explain what you mean when you say certain fixtures do not work in deeper tanks? I am guessing this means that the lighting does not get the 'nutrients' to the deeper living fish and corals?
Just trying to understand correctly.

 

[Ron Reefman]

protie, the Current Orbit and Marineland led fixtures use 0.5 watt leds. They make good light that is capable of growing coral... in a shallow tank. But as the light moves through the water in loses energy and gets dimmer. The 0.5 watt leds only get enough PAR (Photosyntheticly Active Radiation) about 12 deep in the water, maybe 18" for easy soft corals.

All the better fixtures use 3 watt or even 5 watt leds. Your new Photon V2 uses 3w and 5w leds. These have enough 'energy' to penetrate 24" to 36" deep.

Your coral needs the light intense enough so the zooxanthellae (algae) that live inside the coral polyps can do photosynthesis which feeds them both.

What are the dimensions of your 85g tank? Which V2 fixture did you get, i.e.how long is it?

 

[surfingdude]

good advice on the lights...also new and went with the import 165w offerings like others that has suggested on this site. Was going to do the same and go with orbit. Liked the program ability of the orbit, but just as simple to go with cheap timers. Glad I listened.