It has been 14 years since I kept a reef tank. I previously had a 15G nano and a 75G mixed reef. I am planning for my dream tank and I have three criteria/design philosophies for it: (1) keep DIY to a minimum since work keeps me very busy, (2) automate as much as possible since work keeps me very, very busy and (3) money is not an issue since work keeps me very, very, very busy but it also pays me well, lolz. This will be a mixed reef, but dominated by SPS and clams.
I have been out of the hobby for a while, so I have been researching furiously over the past weeks to get up-to-speed on the latest developments. Below is my equipment list. Please let me know your thoughts.
Fire away and don't hold back. I want to do it right the first time.
Thanks
Quy (aka Jim)
I have been out of the hobby for a while, so I have been researching furiously over the past weeks to get up-to-speed on the latest developments. Below is my equipment list. Please let me know your thoughts.
- Tank and stand: Red Sea Reefer Peninsula 650 63” x 25” x 24" or Waterbox Crystal Peninsula 7226 72" x 26" x 24" [I was planning to go for the 750 XXL, but I prefer the side overflow rather than central overflow.Since Red Sea does not make a 750 Peninsula, I am also considering the Waterbox 6-foot peninsula. I wished that both companies offered an aluminium stand similar to the Rea Sea S-series. It would make me feel safer.]
- Cover: Artfully Acrylic ClearView Lid
- Sump: Synergy Reef CL-44
- Protein skimmer: Reef Octopus Elite 200 Internal
- Mechanical filter: Klir Di-4 x2
- Reactor: Vertex 2.0L Zeolite or Avast Marine 2L Vibe Automatic Zeovit Reactor
- Return pump: Abyzz A100 Controllable DC with RFG return nozzles from Vivid Creative. I plan to use an EcoTech Vectra S1 in parallel as my back-up pump with battery pack.
- Water circulation: Neptune WAV x 2 or Tunze NanoStreams x 2 and EcoTech Marine VorTech MP10wQD [EcoTech MP10 is undersized for the tank, but it is only there as a back-up with 36-hour run time on the EcoTech battery pack in case there is a power failure.]
- Lighting: 60" Giesemann Spectra MH/T5 with 2x 250w 21k Giesemann MH bulb driven by Luxcore selectable 250/400w ballasts and 4x Actinic Blue T5 420nm
- Calcium/alkalinity/magnesium dosing: BRS 2-Part via Neptune DOS/DDR or perhaps KH Director/GHL Doser 2.1 in case I go with ProfiLux
- Auto top-off: Apex ATK paired with Advanced Acrylics ATO100 Reservoir
- Heating: Finnex 300 watt titanium heater x 2
- Chiller: JBJ Arctica Titanium Chiller DBE-200 1/4HP feed by Syncra Silent 4.0 pump or from main return pump with tee-off
- System control: Neptune Apex or GHL Profilux 4; I am leaning towards the P4.
- Sand: CaribSea Dry Aragonite Special Grade Reef Sand; 120 lbs for roughly 2.5-inch sandbed
- RODI: BRS 5 Stage 150GPD
- Salt: Rea Sea Coral Pro
- Rock: 100 lbs of CaribSea Shapes dry rock and 50 lbs TBS cultured live rock
- SW Mixing Station and Auto Water Change: I am still working on this, but I plan to set-up a mixing station in the garage with two 65 gallon Norwesco vertical storage tanks and plumb the RO reservoir to the ATO tank and the saltwater reservoir to the main sump for automatic daily water change (1% volume replacement per day). I will probably use Neptune's AWC (auto water changer).
- QT: I will re-use the RO reservoir tank that comes with the Rea Sea 650 as my quarantine tank. The RO tank is 7.5 gallons. I will use a 25W Easy-Therm Heater and Eheim Micro Mini-Up Internal Power Filter.
- Other: Tunze Care Magnet Strong, Reef Foundation Pro Multi Test Kit (CA, ALK, MG) and Phosphate Colorimeter HI713 Hanna Checker
- Future Options/Expansions: Plumb in Advanced Aquatics frag tank (because I will be so broke that I need to make some money on the side!) and Pax Bellum Arid Biofilter (only if tank conditions warrant it)
Fire away and don't hold back. I want to do it right the first time.
Thanks
Quy (aka Jim)
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