10 years later thinking about getting back into the hobby...need help!!!

[marper331]

As the title says, I am thinking about getting back into the hobby. I had a great reef setup and had to sell it off post-divorce in 2005. I still have the 65 gallon custom acrylic tank and stand. I have an RO/DI filter, a sump and a bunch of pumps and powerheads that need to be checked for any sign of life. I sold off my lights, skimmer, calcium reactor and wave maker.
I haven't been paying much attention to the hobby over the last decade so I'm asking for a bit of advice. I would like to get the old tank up and running again with the goal of another reef setup with a variety of corals. I've been looking at the classifieds here and see some nice equipment for sale. I'm just not sure what type of lights, skimmer, or any other systems I should consider for my setup. Essentially I'm starting from the ground up and do not have an unlimited budget so I will be looking for used whenever possible. Once I get up and running I would also appreciate any advice on where to get good live rock.

Specifically, I would like to know what sort of equipment you are having success with in your setups. Do LED lights keep corals thriving, are calcium reactors being used ?

 

[nemodan]

LEDs ? Calcium Reactors ? .... etc. They will do a good job but why you don't tell us first "what type of reef Tank you would like to have now ?"

- Soft Corals
- LPS
-SPS
-Mixed.... what mix ?

That will help to define, i.e if you will need a calcium reactor or a 2 part dosing....etc.

Best

 

[marper331]

LPS and soft corals.

 

[Jeff.:P]

If it were me I would replace the 10 year old 65g tank as-well. The silicon in the joints could have shrunk, warped, and become brittle being dry for that long and be prone to leaks, but hey Im a worry wart haha. Maybe someone with knowledge of old tanks could chime in.

 

[marper331]

I was wondering about the seals on the acrylic tank being compromised over the years. It's a great tank, I would hate to have to toss it.

 

[FishHead]

Do LED lights keep corals thriving, are calcium reactors being used ?

many people are having success with LED. some love em some don't. reviews are mixed on the topic. i had MH(175) went to LED(china) and back to MH(250). Might try LED again at some point, although perhaps better quality.
same with reactors, some use em some don't. weigh the pros/cons with manual dosing and it's up to the individual what they prefer. if you are diligent in your maintenance practice manual might be fine. I'm not, so my system would benefit probably more from having it more dialed in with reactor.

regarding adding LR from a system that has/had fish. Unless you quarantine the rock for 3 months DO NOT add it in your tank.
if you know you are going to setup then start to cycle dry rock now and in a 6-8 weeks it will have all the nitrifying bacteria needed to cycle the system quickly.

 

[marper331]

I like the idea of LED especially since they are more efficient with power consumption. My old lighting system was a giesemann metal halide fixture. Nice product but a bit pricey.

 

[FishHead]

that's one of the reasons i would switch back.. also heat buildup in an enclosed canopy is always a battle.

 

[marper331]

The kessil led pendants look pretty nice. Anyone using these?

 

[JohnK]

I was wondering about the seals on the acrylic tank being compromised over the years. It's a great tank, I would hate to have to toss it.

As long as the tank was built properly in the first place I wouldn't be concerned. When you weld acrylic the different sections of material are literally welded or melted into one and I don't think that this will weaken over time.

 

[Jeff.:P]

As long as the tank was built properly in the first place I wouldn't be concerned. When you weld acrylic the different sections of material are literally welded or melted into one and I don't think that this will weaken over time.

Oops I should of read more thoroughly, missed the fact it was an acrylic tank and not glass with silicone!

 

[nemodan]

LPS and soft corals.

For LPS and soft corals if you do 10-20% weekly Water changes most probably you will not need to dose 2 parts and less to use a Calcium reactor.

If I have to start that tank, these will be my steps.

Fill with tap water to do a leak test.
Then fill it with sand and rocks (your choice).
Lights: LEDS (your choice and budget)
Pump (s) beside the return pump (you have these stuff, needs testing).
Skimmer in the sump
If possible a fuge
If possible an ATO

Very simple for LPS and Sof corals.

I see some work on selecting a not too expensive good LED light and the skimmer.

 

[marper331]

For LPS and soft corals if you do 10-20% weekly Water changes most probably you will not need to dose 2 parts and less to use a Calcium reactor.

If I have to start that tank, these will be my steps.

Fill with tap water to do a leak test.
Then fill it with sand and rocks (your choice).
Lights: LEDS (your choice and budget)
Pump (s) beside the return pump (you have these stuff, needs testing).
Skimmer in the sump
If possible a fuge
If possible an ATO

Very simple for LPS and Sof corals.

I see some work on selecting a not too expensive good LED light and the skimmer.

Thanks for the advice. I'm looking at an octopus in sump skimmer and checking out lighting options, which seem endless.
ATO would be nice but my tank will not be near any water lines

 

[nemodan]

Thanks for the advice. I'm looking at an octopus in sump skimmer and checking out lighting options, which seem endless.
ATO would be nice but my tank will not be near any water lines

I'm not knowledgeable on lights and skimmers. I set up 3 tanks in the last 3 years. Two had the lights included and the other I just got the same light as someone else had for the same tank. It worked.

About ATO you do not need it right away. When you know your evaporation rate then you decide. In my old time, there was no ATO and I just added water every day. Fortunately they exist today. I do not have to remember to fill the tank. You do not need a water line. You can buy an ugly cheap water container. I had a 3 G destile water container inside of a beautiful basket to hide it. Or you can buy a fancy acrylic container or whatever fit your room decor and budget. You keep it filled with RODI water. Once I had a ~2G red crystal flower pot "very fancy and cheap" over a small corner table. Later I got a bigger one of ~10 G that I placed over the floor. It had the shape of a bottle

 

[cilyjr]

Here's my suggestion on lighting.
These lights that give you a thousand choices on how you want the light spectrum is just not ideal. Coral like stability and those that change and keep messing with the lights seem to often bein the ones with the most problems. I've been running AI sol blues (4 of them on my tank and 1 on my frag) for 5 years now. They will grow anything . I haven't changed a setting or messed with the controller since I bought the updated controller 3 years ago and all I did was plug in the same program. I love the AI product.

AI and radion are more expensive for a reason. They are putting a higher quality led and use better lenses and chips then other brands. I prefer AI as they are modular and any part of the light can be replaced if it breaks easily (no soddering). This includes the led pucks as well.

I also think that lights with more then just blue and white leds are sold as more gimmick then necessity as most non blue lighting is filtered out in the first couple meters of depth in water. My guess is 1 brand started putting more color leds in so the others had to for marketing.

As for ato. I like gravity fed and a float valve but you have to have the room to place a reservior above the sump. I have used a pump driven ato and it failed so I'm back to gravity. Here's why.
1. It's cheap. 15 dollar float valve, Bucket, 1/4 inch tubing. And in my case a john guest shut off on the bottom of the bucket.

2. Reliable. They are hard to break, the one thing to look for is the valve sticking but it rarely happens unless you are using kalk Wasser (I would recommend against if you decide to use gravity fed float valve)

3. In case of failure your system will get a limited dose of fresh water as opposed to those who plug their rodi in directly. My 220 gallon system only gets hit with 20 gallons of fresh water should the float fail. That changes sg .001 point.

A skimmer is still just an acrylic tube with lots of tiny bubbles. Don't go too oversized or the lack of nutrients won't allow the bubbles to gather enough organic molecules for a stable enough bubble to end up in the cup. Don't go too small or you'll be emptying it every 20 minutes. And as always don't buy a coral life superskimmer . Just get something that is easy to disassemble and clean. That's my opinion on skimmers the harder it is to take apart the less likely it will happen.

Yes calcium reactors are still used but unless you are throwing a bunch of large colonies in on day one it will be something you can wait on.

Consider plumbing in a manifold so you can easily add or remove equipment later.

Good luck. And as always the above is just my opinion

 

[marper331]

Here's my suggestion on lighting.
These lights that give you a thousand choices on how you want the light spectrum is just not ideal. Coral like stability and those that change and keep messing with the lights seem to often bein the ones with the most problems. I've been running AI sol blues (4 of them on my tank and 1 on my frag) for 5 years now. They will grow anything . I haven't changed a setting or messed with the controller since I bought the updated controller 3 years ago and all I did was plug in the same program. I love the AI product.

AI and radion are more expensive for a reason. They are putting a higher quality led and use better lenses and chips then other brands. I prefer AI as they are modular and any part of the light can be replaced if it breaks easily (no soddering). This includes the led pucks as well.

I also think that lights with more then just blue and white leds are sold as more gimmick then necessity as most non blue lighting is filtered out in the first couple meters of depth in water. My guess is 1 brand started putting more color leds in so the others had to for marketing.

As for ato. I like gravity fed and a float valve but you have to have the room to place a reservior above the sump. I have used a pump driven ato and it failed so I'm back to gravity. Here's why.
1. It's cheap. 15 dollar float valve, Bucket, 1/4 inch tubing. And in my case a john guest shut off on the bottom of the bucket.

2. Reliable. They are hard to break, the one thing to look for is the valve sticking but it rarely happens unless you are using kalk Wasser (I would recommend against if you decide to use gravity fed float valve)

3. In case of failure your system will get a limited dose of fresh water as opposed to those who plug their rodi in directly. My 220 gallon system only gets hit with 20 gallons of fresh water should the float fail. That changes sg .001 point.

A skimmer is still just an acrylic tube with lots of tiny bubbles. Don't go too oversized or the lack of nutrients won't allow the bubbles to gather enough organic molecules for a stable enough bubble to end up in the cup. Don't go too small or you'll be emptying it every 20 minutes. And as always don't buy a coral life superskimmer . Just get something that is easy to disassemble and clean. That's my opinion on skimmers the harder it is to take apart the less likely it will happen.

Yes calcium reactors are still used but unless you are throwing a bunch of large colonies in on day one it will be something you can wait on.

Consider plumbing in a manifold so you can easily add or remove equipment later.

Good luck. And as always the above is just my opinion

Thanks for the advice. I'm looking at a pair of the new AI HD prime puck lights and they will be a bit less expensive than the Kessils since I wouldn't need a separate controller. As for the top off setup, have to wait and see if I have enough room to cover up a large container of RO water next to the tank....have to keep the wife happy.
Skimmer looks like it may be a reef octopus Classic in sump model.

What are people using for sand these days? Is Caribsea sand any good?

 

[Marshall O]

Marco Rocks sand would be my recommendation ☺

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk

 

[cilyjr]

I find with the powerheads becoming so powerful (I have 2 that do 5000gph each) a more coarse sand is better as it prevents sand stors from powerheads. I talked to Mark at the last trade show I was at and he said he has a more coarse these days and it would likely be fine. That said I use tropic eden. I'm using a mix of the 3.0 (reefflake) and 2.5 (mesoflake) though the 2.5 would be ok...it's cheaper.

 

[marper331]

Just ordered tropic Eden bag of reefflake and a bag of mesoflake.

Where can I get 100 lbs of good quality live rock these days?