What Else do l Need??

[huskysglare1]

ls a good sklmmer enough? What else do l need? ln my 50g Tank
l have 20G Sump+
CS180 Euro Reef +
Rlo 2500 Return pump +
2 x Hydor 2.
4 x t5ho 154w total
are these enough? What Else do l need?

 

[rodeo klown]

might wanna look into getting a ca reactor unless you plan on dosing your tank

 

[bobparker]

what are you going to be putting in the tank?

 

[huskysglare1]

lt's golng to be a REEF tank. ^_^

O And l'll be Drlpplng KaLkwasser Mlx. lnstead of caLclum reactor.

 

[PaulieWalnuts]

i think he meant....is it going to be heavy SPS or lps or soft corals

 

[huskysglare1]

l would Llke to do soft corals lf that's successful, then go wlth a few hard corals lf the Llghts are sufficient. l Llke thlngs that moves (coral wlse).

 

[IslandCrow]

What brand and model T5s are you using. They should be fine for just about any soft corals and LPS you want to keep. You'll be able to keep at least some species of SPS, and depending on the quality, they may be enough for any SPS.

Kalkwasser is a good call. If you end up keeping a lot of hard corals, you may need to look into other supplementation (calcium reactor or two-part liquid supplements), but that's certainly not anything you'd need right away.

The only other things I can think of are an RO/DI water purifier and some sort of auto top-off device. The latter isn't very necessary, it just makes life a little easier. The RO/DI I'd highly recommend.

 

[huskysglare1]

lt's only a 50g tank. l am thlnklng of buylng 5G bottle from the flsh store. whenever l change water. What do you thlnk? What klnd of supplements are lmportant? What do l Need?

 

[PaulieWalnuts]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13504212#post13504212 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by huskysglare1
l would Llke to do soft corals lf that's successful, then go wlth a few hard corals lf the Llghts are sufficient. l Llke thlngs that moves (coral wlse).

i am the same way....i love my lps and softies .....and for sps i like birdsnest .....it moves lol....i am not the best to answer the lighting questions though....post some pics of your set up though

 

[PaulieWalnuts]

go to super k...they have these nice green jugs that hold 7 gallons each....and i use search reef advantage calcium, it has strodium and magnisum and also i use vitality and garlic with my foods. others can be more helpful with supplements but i love my search stuff...very simple to use...and it last a while when you buy it in the powder form

 

[huskysglare1]

can you mlx caLclum powder wlth Magneslum powder ln the same drlp bottle?

 

[PaulieWalnuts]

i don't see why not....but the reef advantage has magesium in it already so be careful not to get the mag levels over 1500 i believe. if you are just starting you tank though....and letting it cycle this is not as important as when you have coral though. but good questions to ask when its time. and i do not drip...but i know others do. i do weekly water changes which restore my calcium and adds trace elements and such.

 

[IslandCrow]

lt's only a 50g tank. l am thlnklng of buylng 5G bottle from the flsh store. whenever l change water.

Even with a 50g tank, an RO/DI is going to pay off in very short order. I know my 45g tank evaporates around 1g per day (that's with a 20g sump), so there's 7g a week. I do a 5g or so water change each week, so now I'm up to 12g per week minimum. I don't know how much you'll be paying for your water, but someone did the math awhile back, and on average, it's costing people with RO/DI units just a few cents per gallon. Add to that better quality control (you decide when filters get changed) and convenience, and I think it's well worth the expense.

As for supplements, I'd be a bit leary of any single supplement that adds both magnesium and calcium. First, if you're adding calcium, you want a balanced addition of both calcium and alkalinity. Calcium by itself does you no good. Magnesium is usually added on a much different schedule than either of the other two. I'd strongly recommend going to the Reef Chemistry forum and taking some time to read through the articles on Reef Chemistry, What to Supplement, Calcium, Alkalinity and Magnesium. I can't remember the exact names of the articles, but that should get you pointed in the right direction.

Take your time, though. You don't need to supplement any of this stuff when you first get started. This is for later on down the road.