Newbie

Markyt58

New Member
Hi all. Just joined and it seemed that i need to introduce myself and what im about...?
Name: Mark

Lives: Halifax, West Yorkshire

Keeping: Will be fish and coral.

Tank: still in the process of buying but will be
EA Reefpro 900,
BM curve 5 skimmer,
3 way dosing,
2 x H2O reactors,
hopefully filter mat if not socks,
Schego heaters 200w x 2, linked to inkbird,
TMC UV600,
Cheato & pods in Refugium,
Maxspect Gyre up top.
Lights undecided but will be 2nd hand from t'interweb sdaly.
Return pump not decided yet,
Hydroponics lighting for cheato, masked off from rest of sump.

Sump set up:
1st chamber sock or mat, skimmer, UV with own dedicated pump in from 1st chamber, back out into 1st chamber. 1 off heater.
2nd chamber, cheato and pod hotel, hydroponics lighting,
3rd chamber DT return pump, 2 x reactors (Carbon and Phos), dosing setup. 1 off heater.
4th chamber RODI auto top up.

Additional:
RO-DI home made.
Salt water home made
QT tanks for both fish and coral.

So thats me and my ideas.

Do i get a badge? :)

Mark
 

DaveK

Well-Known Member
Welcome to RS.

Generally your equipment selections are good, but there are a few changes you should consider.

Initially save your money on 3 way dosing, H2O reactors,TMC UV600. By all means reserve space for them, but don't purchase them until you find out you need them. Depending on what you end up keeping, you may not need them. This is especially true for UV. It can solve a few specific problems, but unless you have these problems it will not do much, and can even be a detriment, since it will kill plankton that passes through it. The bottom line here is only get what you need to get the system running. These other items can easily be added later. As a footnote, I hate to think of all the equipment I have purchased over the years that only made a marginal improvement in the system. Not that the equipment was bad, I just didn't need it because I didn't have the problem the equipment solved.

You only need about 1/2 the amount of heat. Either get one heater or get two at 100w. Using an inkbird controller is a good idea, since it solves a lot of problems with heaters. I'd opt for one heater, and get the version of inkbird that lets you run heating and cooling from a single controller, You may not ever need a chiller as such, but you might want to use fans to help cool the water in summer.

This is more personal choice, but I much prefer Tunze Stream pumps or EcoTech Marine VorTech pumps over the Maxspect Gyre. You have a lot more options in pump placement and flow inside the tank.

Lighting is one of the key factors in a reef system. It is at least as important as filtration. It's ok to buy used, but don't skimp, especially if you want corals. At this point, good LED lighting is your best all around choice, especially since it consumes far less power and doesn't require bulb replacement or put off a lot of heat. However, if you get a super bargain on T5, VHO, PC, or MH lighting you can still consider then. You can get good light out of those options, but you need to consider the total cost of ownership. Include the cost of power and bulb replacement,

For a return pump, your best options are the DC controllable return pumps. They consume a lot less power. Any quality brand will do, since most are made by a few manufacturers.
 

Markyt58

New Member
Hi Dave, thanks for all that helpful advice. I will take it on board :)

I've got the UV already, 2nd hand, 2 months old, seen receipt. He was only selling as marriage had broke down and he had to sell everything. I have since read many reviews on UV or NotToUV and im torn... I did think about the best of both worlds and only running it for 12hrs per day and also hence the reason that its in and out was though the first chamber.

The dosing and reactors are the 'birthday/christmas present' kind of things where i can dictate an exact thing, rather than someone rocking up with a bag of Neon Tetras saying here, saw these lovely little things for your new tank... #wrongwrongwrong #bangforeheadnow.

The lighting is my biggest worry, ive budgeted £250 for something 2nd hand so on the lookout from a tank breakdown. Time will tell...

Heating, OK ill drop down Wattage. My thought pattern was that if theres two that are slightly overkill and they are controlled by inkbird then if one fails the other at least has a chance whilst i get a new heater into place. Also the one in 3rd chamber can double up when im doing a waterchange and be put in the water change bucket? Yes the inkbird is the one that does heating and cooling. Although weather in the UK wont really heat it up too much LOL, im going to install a small double fan that comes from eBay for just in case. for the sake of £20, i feel a worthwile investment even if it only comes on every blue moon.

Forgot to say that the return pump would be DC as i also believe that they are all pretty similar from what i read and Youtube has to offer.

PS, also forgot to mention, im doing dead rock and sand, no live and hitchhikers going anywhere near my DT...!

Thanks so much for your reply, honestly every single bit of information that is given to a newbie gets inputted and processed and becomes a part of a calculated decision.

Mark
 

Uncle99

Well-Known Member
I see nothing wrong with your heating.
The use of two heaters on a controller is great redundancy since heater failure is number 1 tank killer.
 

Markyt58

New Member
I see nothing wrong with your heating.
The use of two heaters on a controller is great redundancy since heater failure is number 1 tank killer.
Thanks for your comment Uncle99. So, I’ll go with 2 heaters. Back in my tropical days (ex catfish geek) 1 old school heater sort of in the right zone was enough. But now, size up the water volume, work out heater wattage, divide by 2 then round UP to next sized heater?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

DaveK

Well-Known Member
I see nothing wrong with your heating.
The use of two heaters on a controller is great redundancy since heater failure is number 1 tank killer.
Thanks for your comment Uncle99. So, I’ll go with 2 heaters. Back in my tropical days (ex catfish geek) 1 old school heater sort of in the right zone was enough. But now, size up the water volume, work out heater wattage, divide by 2 then round UP to next sized heater?

Two heaters are OK, but don't overdo the total wattage. Since the op is using an inkbird controller the heaters is much less likely to fail. The reason you don't want to overdo the wattage is similar to putting a way oversized furnace on your home. It will cycle and you get less even heat. Unlike a lot of newer equipment, aquarium heaters are still either off or on. Maybe someday we will see one that can regulate itself better, and be able to run at only a percentage of it's total output.
 

Uncle99

Well-Known Member
In my case I use 2, Fluval E-Series, 200 watt on my 65g, but only one is the "main" (keeping tank at 78) and the second would only come on at 76, (should the main fail) if either gets stuck "on", both go off as controlled by the inkbird at 80.

I must admit, these new Fluvals are quite "smart" now, by far, the best heater I have used. The new Cobalts are the same. Finally, someone made a "smart" type heater.

Once your up and running, get all 8 parameters in range, then make them stable, then look for redundancy for backup.

An EA Reefpro 900......I assume that's 900 litres......if so That's. Big water.
I'm thinking 2-300 watts, both on, inkbird controlled
 
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