Cutting Corners-where NOT to cheap out

AZDesertRat · Sep 7, 2015

RO/DI. Water is the single largest ingredient in a reef system and everything depends on its quality and its stability. Spectrapure is by far the best choice with about 30 years in the industry and in this hobby, If you could lay your hands on some old FAMA magazines (Freshwater and Marine Aquarium) from the 1980's you would find their ads in there and they have sponsored many reef forums for decades. Don't forget a good handheld TDS meter to monitor the RO/DI systems condition.

fuzzylogic · Sep 7, 2015

Great tips guys. Ro filtet just moved to the top of my list.

fuzzylogic · Sep 7, 2015

Filter*

Waters · Sep 8, 2015

I agree with the posters that said lighting. I got burned twice by buying cheap LEDs :-(

kuba · Sep 8, 2015

In my opinion I would set a budget of x amount (1000 got me up and running not counting the tank) I would recommend sticking to good brands reef octopus,tunze,cobalt,eheim and possibly jebao

fuzzylogic · Sep 8, 2015

Kuba, this is pretty much my strategy except my budget is a few hundred shorter at this time since I am not factoring in fish and coral costs. I'm also not buying everything up front and getting a piece at a time as the tank cycles.

BfishLpond78 · Sep 8, 2015

Like others have posted...do your research. I bought small and worked my way up over the years vs. just doing it right the first time. Now granted in the beginning I didn't know anything and didn't know which brands were considered the best quality and performance. Took me awhile but my last go around I bought the best equipment I could afford because I knew my interest in the hobby is high and I see myself having my reef for quite some time. In the beginning its hard to gauge your level of interest...or obsession.

Many people are going to have an opinion on what is the most important item in their reef. In my opinion the most important piece of equipment is yourself, maintain interest in the hobby, have a schedule of maintenance (filters socks, carbon, GFO, water, and bulbs wont change themselves) and stay actively engaged in the community.

Breadman03 · Sep 8, 2015

Quality and price may correlate, but may not. I'd not get caught up in the latest and greatest, but stick to tried and true gear.

If I had to choose one piece of high end gear for my tank and keep the rest low end, I'd get an Apex. Much of the draw of higher end gear is the controllability of it. The Apex can add much of that functionality to lower end gear.

ReefMadScientist · Sep 8, 2015

I would say "cutting corners" on anything is a bad idea. Been there and done that. I end up just buying the quality part or item later on anyways.

KDawg0623 · Sep 8, 2015

I am about to upgrade, and all of the things I have foe my current tank are out of date. But are still working and maintaining my tank. I am fortunate in this regard but for my next build I am going to start collecting the things I will need for en even larger system, just in case my wife allows me to have a tank room

But I am glad that you asked this question so we can all learn and get things right, hopefully quicker.

Diving Dan · Sep 9, 2015

Lights. It's that simple.. I can't count the number of times I went to a lfs and wonder why my tank didn't look as clear and bright as there's. I now invested in kessil's. And mine is just as good.

jsker · Sep 9, 2015

Reefing is like the old saying , and this a family Enviromental so I am going to cut it short " everyone has an option". Some options are good some are bad, but a least you asked. If you want to cut comers and cheap out, reefing will not be your thing. If you have some expendable income or do a bunch of research you can build a reef tank fairly inexpensive, but not cheap.

Reef2zach · Sep 9, 2015

A skimmer and a sump will go far. Reef Octopus makes really good skimmers. RO/DI water as well. you could easily cut corners on rock. Some people will spend a fortune on some crazy expensive fiji live rock. when you can get twice as much dead rock for the same price without all the nasty hitchhikers your bound to get when buying live rock. It may not be that bright purple that everyone loves right away. But it will get there with time. Lighting wise, a lot of people use the cheap Chinese LEDs that you can find on ebay with success. I like t5s personally, cause you can build your own fixture or buy a cheaper fixture and fit it with high end bulbs and get nice results. cheaper t5 fixtures wont give you all the different time settings but should be somewhat programmable and in my experience grow coral just fine. End of the day tho, there's quite literally an endless list of things you can do or buy for your tank to make it "better", like everyone else has said take your time and don't rush anything. like the old saying goes. "Reef fast you crash, Reef Slow you grow"

oh and test kits get a decent water test kit lol

fuzzylogic · Sep 10, 2015

oh you bring up a great point. What kit is everyone using? I know in the FW world it's typically API master kits or nothing

Harold Green · Sep 10, 2015

OK here's the opposing view. Start with water quality. That means an ro filter. You'll find it's one of the cheapest things you purchase for your tank so get one with enough volume to meet your needs. Unless you have 50psi or higher on your water supply you're not going to get the advertised flow. Buy some good quality test kits. If you're going for a reef tank buy the seifert or Hanna kits. Most name brand skimmers will work well but they have to have the right water height in the sump to work properly. Size the skimmer for close to double your tank volume. The advertised skimmer sizing is for light tank loads. I've bought several bubble magus skimmers and they have worked well to be one of the lowest cost skimmers I could find. I'd get a quality heater and spend a little more for a heater controller as insurance against stuck on heaters. For lighting I'd go by how much time and money you have to maintain the lighting. If you don't have time and money to change lamps frequently and ballasts occasionally then go with the led's. The black box units are sufficient enough for most beginners but where some go wrong is to not get enough units to provide the intensity needed for the tank. As most will say you can't judge light output by the watts used. That said a ballpark of 5 watts per gallon should be close to the needs of most sps corals. Tank water flow is critical for corals and fish. At one time I used two powerheads on a relay so they'd alternate but now I use one wp40 that moves water back and forth in the tank keeping everything in motion. I like filter socks in the sump. Felt if you don't mind cleaning every other day. Mesh if you want to go several days longer at a time. Get a big enough return pump to match your max overflow rate at the head height of the tank. I've used several varieties of pumps and none have given me any problems. Basic pumps are eheims and mag pumps. If you want to spend more buy a dc pump that you can adjust flow but if you size the basic pump properly you really shouldn't need to adjust flow much. Size your sump(I feel a sump is critical equipment for any marine tank) as large as you can manage. From minimum of 40% of your dt volume up to several times the size of the dt. A refusium with macro algae and gravel or rock rubble will remove nitrates and phosphates from your water at next to no cost. A simple clamp light with a 65K cfl lamp will suffice in most cases to light it. If you want more water treatment there are low cost gfo/carbon reactors that will do quite a bit of water processing and if your return pump has enough capacity you can tap off a line to feed the reactors. What I'm trying to say is there's nothing wrong with buying top of the line but for the average hobbyist it's more important that what you buy is rated to handle more than the tank you install it in.

fuzzylogic · Sep 10, 2015

Great read Harold. thank you for investing the time to share your opinion. it's certainly not falling on deaf ears. I am a fish keeper for life. just sponging up all the information I can before jumping into salt to determine my game plan.

Harold Green · Sep 10, 2015

You're always going to get lots of different opinions and that's what's great about this forum but I think we'll all agree on the fact that water quality is rule one for success. Good luck with your build and let us know how it progresses.

fuzzylogic · Sep 10, 2015

I will. Will probably start a thread this weekend when I can snap some pics. I have a few more areas I want to research before I feel comfortable. My method has always been listen to everyone and then try to apply what makes the most sense to me. We all certainly have our own ways of doing things but the science usually remains constant. I think if I side with science then I will have great success.