Equipment recomendations

[Savant]

I am still in the planning phases of building my money pit...er I mean reef tank :wink: So I have some questions about the equipment I'm going to need. I want to say, I do believe in buying quality stuff but since I havnt hit the lottery I have to pick carefully how I spend in the value/quality arena. I have the ability to diy alot of stuff so for those I'll head to the Diy forum but as far as getting started with some basic equipment I'm hoping for solid advice in brands and/or price ranges.

Unfortunately I dont live close to any LFS, so much of what I will need to purchase will be online stuff so I'm hoping for a few good retailers as well.

what I have: tank is 73g rr BF
What I want: Shrooms/LPS/Zoa/Nem. Basement sump/fuge (gonna diy)

What I need:
I Start with these since I'll need this stuff to get going anyway

ro/di system for well water (once I get the tds meter Ill be able to post info to help with this)
Salt mix
TDS meter
Chemical test kit
Calcium tester--> Hanna?
refractometer
protein skimmer
power heads i.e. what kind of flo rate/how many

Sry for the long question.
73g bf rr

 

[Dan1789]

Skip the Hanna calcium checker it's a pita. The Hanna Alk and phosphate checkers are great though.

 

[ReeferBob]

Hydor Koralia powerheads x2. 750gph should be great. Best bang for the buck. I also suggest a reefkeeper light. It is a wavemaker for the powerheads as well as a light controller/timer and temp controller right out of the box. Best $115 you will spend.

ReefKeeper Lite Basic - Digital Aquatics - Bulk Reef Supply

Hydor Koralia Evolution - Bulk Reef Supply

 

[Savant]

Thanks! I see BRS name throughout the threads, are there any downsides to dealing with them? I saw the have their own brand name for RODI systems anybody have feedback on them? I also watched a bunch of their youtube stuff, seemed pretty informational.

 

[cymaster007]

Almost everything you need can be purchased from bulk reef supply. If you hop on a group buy you can save some money.

ro/di -Get from Bulk reef supply or air water & ice the typhoon 5 stage RODI
Salt mix- I know quite a few people that have good results with Red Sea coral proor tropic marin pro
TDS meter- I use an HM TDS meter
Chemical test kit - ??
Calcium tester--> Hanna? (I use the Hanna Alk checker not the Calcium one)
refractometer- generic
protein skimmer- Depends on your bioloadbut I recommend either a reef octopus skimmer or get a ASM body and mod it w/ a gate valve and bubble blaster pump
power heads - Hydor Koralia are affordable and fairly reliable. If you want a lot of flow look into the Jebo WP-40

 

[Savant]

Any thoughts on SCA-302 skimmers?

 

[GHill762]

hanna calcium testers are notorious for being inaccurate.. excellent PO4 checkers though..