Hello all. Noob here looking for advice

Big Smelly fish · Aug 20, 2022

jsker · Aug 20, 2022

Hello and welcome to R2R!!

Plenty of great advise, I am leaving this one alone

CoralB · Aug 20, 2022

Welcome !!!

BetterJake · Aug 20, 2022

iTriton said:
Hello everyone, thanks for having me. I have a 90 gallon tank and 30 gallon tank to be used as a sump. I have had small fresh water tanks in years past but finally am making the jump into salt. I would love some recommendations on equipment or protein skimmer, filter, heater etc…. Trying to research which is best is giving me a headache! I do eventually want to move into corals so would rather find equipment now that will be good for when I get to that point. Thanks in advance guys and gals!!

Hi!

I'm a new reefer as well, I found this 5-minute guide series from BRS really helpful to get started. Not all of it was applicable to me as I have a totally different setup and so do you, but for a noob like me, I think it's great!

BRStv: 5 min Saltwater Aquarium Guide

CoralB · Aug 20, 2022

CoralB said:
Welcome !!!

vetteguy53081 · Aug 20, 2022

iTriton said:
No lights yet. I’m still at the very beginning stage here, literally just have the tank and stand.

Take a look at:

Two Ai Hydra 26 or 32hd

Two-three Orphek OR3120 (sky blue and blue Plus)

shakacuz · Aug 20, 2022

welcome aboard the r2r board!

tharbin · Aug 20, 2022

Welcome to R2R! The best advice I can give is to go slow and add equipment as you find it necessary. Too many new reefers buy everything under the sun so that they won't fail and then fail because of the complexity of their system. A reef tank does not need to be complex. The rock in the tank provides the majority of your filtration. Practically speaking, a tank with cured rock, saltwater, a way to control temperature, water flow and light sufficient for the inhabitants are all that is required. A sump is nice because you don't have most of the support equipment in the tank. The downside is that plumping a sump to be quiet takes a certain amount of patience and tuning. I would get a baffle kit for your 30 gallon tank and work out your plumbing first. Add a good heater (the recommendations that @vetteguy53081 have been giving you are first rate) and a good return pump. Get your rock in place and then work out flow patterns to help you choose appropriate flow pumps.

In the sump I would start with a sock or fleece roller for mechanical filtration and a skimmer, which you won't really need for several months but it is good to plan it into the sump design. Unless you are home a lot, you will probably want an ATO of some kind eventually. Lighting for a mixed reef is just as demanding as for an SPS reef so go with more rather than less. There are quite few good vendors for the lighting. I won't hazard a recommendation. Good luck and ask questions as you go but don't go down the rabbit hole of 'best'. Best is different for every tank, and every reefer, out there.

Jeffcb · Aug 20, 2022

Welcome to Reef2Reef!!!

Jimbhoy13 · Aug 20, 2022

Welcome to R2R and the salty world. Lots of good advice already given. you are right plan ahead and take things slowly. Lots of people, myself included have spent considerable time cleaning filter socks. We have modified our tanks (taken out sections of glass) so we can have rollers such as Red Sea Reef Mat instead of filter socks. You have the opportunity to do modifications before water input begins. Lots of knowledgeable and helpful people here who will support and advise you when needed.

iTriton · Aug 20, 2022

Jimbhoy13 said:
Welcome to R2R and the salty world. Lots of good advice already given. you are right plan ahead and take things slowly. Lots of people, myself included have spent considerable time cleaning filter socks. We have modified our tanks (taken out sections of glass) so we can have rollers such as Red Sea Reef Mat instead of filter socks. You have the opportunity to do modifications before water input begins. Lots of knowledgeable and helpful people here who will support and advise you when needed.

That reef mat interesting. I was looking at breaking my sump into 3 compartments, protein skimmer in first, refuge in 2nd and heaters/pump in 3rd. I haven’t looked at all the sizes on these things yet, but am wondering about the mat fitting in with skimmer? Would that take too much space away from the other compartments?

RichReef · Aug 20, 2022

Welcome!

Jimbhoy13 · Aug 20, 2022

iTriton said:
That reef mat interesting. I was looking at breaking my sump into 3 compartments, protein skimmer in first, refuge in 2nd and heaters/pump in 3rd. I haven’t looked at all the sizes on these things yet, but am wondering about the mat fitting in with skimmer? Would that take too much space away from the other compartments?

My skimmer and reefmat are now in the same section. There was no way I could fit it without stripping out the sock area glass. Not as easy to do when the tank is up and running. Buying the reef mat sump modification kit helped a lot and reasonably priced.

CoralB · Aug 20, 2022

Welcome !!!

Uncle99 · Aug 20, 2022

iTriton said:
Hello everyone, thanks for having me. I have a 90 gallon tank and 30 gallon tank to be used as a sump. I have had small fresh water tanks in years past but finally am making the jump into salt. I would love some recommendations on equipment or protein skimmer, filter, heater etc…. Trying to research which is best is giving me a headache! I do eventually want to move into corals so would rather find equipment now that will be good for when I get to that point. Thanks in advance guys and gals!!

Welcome to R2R!
You need an ATO to keep salinity pinned.
I’d do two 100-150 watt heaters on an Inkbird controller. Saves frying everyone.
I use all Jebao stuff, return pumps, wave makers, gyres running 5 years now, silent, easy to clean, very reasonable price.
Some say they are cheap and don’t last long but not for me. I can buy 3 Jebao for every brand name.

Make sure everything near and in your water is plugged into a GFCI outlet so you don’t fry yourself.

Have Fun.

tbrown · Aug 20, 2022

iTriton said:
Hello everyone, thanks for having me. I have a 90 gallon tank and 30 gallon tank to be used as a sump. I have had small fresh water tanks in years past but finally am making the jump into salt. I would love some recommendations on equipment or protein skimmer, filter, heater etc…. Trying to research which is best is giving me a headache! I do eventually want to move into corals so would rather find equipment now that will be good for when I get to that point. Thanks in advance guys and gals!!

Welcome! I hope everything goes good for you. This is an awesome place to get some info.

Fish Think Pink · Aug 22, 2022

iTriton said:
Hello everyone, thanks for having me. I have a 90 gallon tank and 30 gallon tank to be used as a sump. I have had small fresh water tanks in years past but finally am making the jump into salt. I would love some recommendations on equipment or protein skimmer, filter, heater etc…. Trying to research which is best is giving me a headache! I do eventually want to move into corals so would rather find equipment now that will be good for when I get to that point. Thanks in advance guys and gals!!

Welcome! Glad you joined. I'll defer to others as agree equipment can get overwhelming. Likely you'll find good posts in other R2R Forum area and don't overlook BRS 'best of' video series that provides pros/cons on various items.

Have you considered starting your build thread? I found its a great place to document my tank's evolution for myself. I started tank first then joined, so I'm still finding myself going back collecting pictures & updating historically as well as current state. Once you create your first post in your thread and link it to your account, they will give you build badge (look left, under my ID)

This might help you find people local to you:

Local Reef Club Discussion

Looking for some locals to share frags and info with? This is the place! Find a local club that meets in your area! If you want to add your club just contact us.

www.reef2reef.com

This is a good reference book type online article I still review:

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

This article was sponsored by @MarineDepot at www.marinedepot.com. Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean, but it is no...

www.reef2reef.com

iTriton · Aug 23, 2022

Fish Think Pink said:
Welcome! Glad you joined. I'll defer to others as agree equipment can get overwhelming. Likely you'll find good posts in other R2R Forum area and don't overlook BRS 'best of' video series that provides pros/cons on various items.

Have you considered starting your build thread? I found its a great place to document my tank's evolution for myself. I started tank first then joined, so I'm still finding myself going back collecting pictures & updating historically as well as current state. Once you create your first post in your thread and link it to your account, they will give you build badge (look left, under my ID)

This might help you find people local to you:

Local Reef Club Discussion

Looking for some locals to share frags and info with? This is the place! Find a local club that meets in your area! If you want to add your club just contact us.

www.reef2reef.com

This is a good reference book type online article I still review:

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

This article was sponsored by @MarineDepot at www.marinedepot.com. Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean, but it is no...

www.reef2reef.com

Thanks for links! I will start a build link for sure. This is going to be a very slow process for me as we are remodeling the room it’s going to be in. Can’t do much till that is done.