Hi,
I'm new to the hobby but I do have experience keeping freshwater fish. About two years ago I developed a desire to have a reef aquarium. Since then, I've done a lot of research and have learned quite a bit. I now feel like I'm finally ready to pull the trigger on this thing. But before I spend thousands of dollars, I'm just looking for feedback and suggestions for my build, just to make sure I'm not doing something I'll regret.
Tank and Lighting: Reefer 350 Deluxe with Reef LED 90w x2
Return Pump: Reef Octo Varios-4 (1050 gph)
Skimmer: Red Sea RSK-300
Heater: 300W Titanium Element
Chiller: Arctica 1/10 HP
Temperature Controller: Ink Bird ITC-308SA
Reactor: Nyos Torq 1.0
Flow: Red Sea Reefwave 45 x2
Filtration Media: Purigen in a media cup and planning on running GFO and Carbon in the Torq.
Rock: 40 lbs of Real Reef Rock
Sand: Caribsea Arag-Alive Bahamas Oolite
Salt: Red Sea Coral Pro
Coral: Assorted beginner-friendly soft corals.
Fish: Blue-green Reef chromis x5, ocellaris clownfish x2, royal gramma basslet x1, yellow-eyed kole tang x1, carpenter's flasher wrasse x1
Inverts: Various crabs/snails for a cleanup crew along with two cleaner shrimp
Additives: Tropic Martin All for Reef, Tropic Martin Reef Actif
Some general thoughts I have,
I'm trying to keep things pretty simple since it's my first tank. I would like to add a dosing pump eventually, but I'm thinking of just holding off until Red Sea releases their dosing pump. I'm hoping with bi-weekly 20% water changes with the reef pro salt, and just adding All For Reef a few times a week, I can keep parameters in check for the coral. And I'm definitely going to be slow with adding coral.
I'd also like a Clarisea, but I don't think there is enough room for it unless I remove the filter sock compartment -- and I'm not really comfortable with doing that. I've read a lot of mixed reviews on the torq, but I do like being able to run multiple types of media in one reactor and it doesn't require any additional pumps or plumbing. Would I be better off just running Chemi-Pure Elite instead of both GFO and carbon?
I am on the fence about the chiller, it takes up a lot of room in the cabinet and is quite expensive. I don't have air conditioning where I live because it rarely surpasses 77 degrees fahrenheit in the house during the summer months, so I wonder if just fans would keep the aquarium cool enough.
But if anyone has any comments or suggestions on the build, I would really appreciate it. This has been a long time in the making and I'm very excited to finally get going on this. While I expect to have hiccups and make some beginner mistakes, I just want to be able to do the best job I can with it.
I'm new to the hobby but I do have experience keeping freshwater fish. About two years ago I developed a desire to have a reef aquarium. Since then, I've done a lot of research and have learned quite a bit. I now feel like I'm finally ready to pull the trigger on this thing. But before I spend thousands of dollars, I'm just looking for feedback and suggestions for my build, just to make sure I'm not doing something I'll regret.
Tank and Lighting: Reefer 350 Deluxe with Reef LED 90w x2
Return Pump: Reef Octo Varios-4 (1050 gph)
Skimmer: Red Sea RSK-300
Heater: 300W Titanium Element
Chiller: Arctica 1/10 HP
Temperature Controller: Ink Bird ITC-308SA
Reactor: Nyos Torq 1.0
Flow: Red Sea Reefwave 45 x2
Filtration Media: Purigen in a media cup and planning on running GFO and Carbon in the Torq.
Rock: 40 lbs of Real Reef Rock
Sand: Caribsea Arag-Alive Bahamas Oolite
Salt: Red Sea Coral Pro
Coral: Assorted beginner-friendly soft corals.
Fish: Blue-green Reef chromis x5, ocellaris clownfish x2, royal gramma basslet x1, yellow-eyed kole tang x1, carpenter's flasher wrasse x1
Inverts: Various crabs/snails for a cleanup crew along with two cleaner shrimp
Additives: Tropic Martin All for Reef, Tropic Martin Reef Actif
Some general thoughts I have,
I'm trying to keep things pretty simple since it's my first tank. I would like to add a dosing pump eventually, but I'm thinking of just holding off until Red Sea releases their dosing pump. I'm hoping with bi-weekly 20% water changes with the reef pro salt, and just adding All For Reef a few times a week, I can keep parameters in check for the coral. And I'm definitely going to be slow with adding coral.
I'd also like a Clarisea, but I don't think there is enough room for it unless I remove the filter sock compartment -- and I'm not really comfortable with doing that. I've read a lot of mixed reviews on the torq, but I do like being able to run multiple types of media in one reactor and it doesn't require any additional pumps or plumbing. Would I be better off just running Chemi-Pure Elite instead of both GFO and carbon?
I am on the fence about the chiller, it takes up a lot of room in the cabinet and is quite expensive. I don't have air conditioning where I live because it rarely surpasses 77 degrees fahrenheit in the house during the summer months, so I wonder if just fans would keep the aquarium cool enough.
But if anyone has any comments or suggestions on the build, I would really appreciate it. This has been a long time in the making and I'm very excited to finally get going on this. While I expect to have hiccups and make some beginner mistakes, I just want to be able to do the best job I can with it.
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