Help with wishlist items for a 9 gallon eheim reef, possibly overkill?

[Bryce Mazloum]

Mystery salt from the chem prof wouldn't be my first choice.

It's not mystery, the bag is labeled because we were doing a project on ocean acidification, I just can't remember the brand name, it might be caribsea salt

 

[Bryce Mazloum]

They are pricey but the Hanna checkers are legit. I love mine so far. I have salinity and copper atm. I will get Alk, and phosphate. I would get some test kits and an ATO. Everything else would be fine with just doing simple 20-30% water changes weekly.

I'd probably get a salinity and phosphate checker for myself, I don't think I really need to worry to heavily about everything else, and I'd probably stop dosing with the kents marine stuff haha

 

[Bryce Mazloum]

Mystery salt from the chem prof wouldn't be my first choice.

wait wait no, I just asked her what it was and it was instant ocean, not caribsea

 

[Tyler Bullock]

This is the ATO I would recommend for a small tank.

https://www.amazon.com/Smart-ATO-Mi...rds=smart+ato&qid=1557856021&s=gateway&sr=8-3

Get you some test kits.

Get that wave maker also. You can never have to much flow.

 

[Bryce Mazloum]

This is the ATO I would recommend for a small tank.

https://www.amazon.com/Smart-ATO-Mi...rds=smart+ato&qid=1557856021&s=gateway&sr=8-3

Get you some test kits.

Get that wave maker also. You can never have to much flow.

so you're saying get the ATO and a powerhead?

 

[W1ngz]

That's decent salt. To use it though, you'll need an RODI unit which might alter your budget a little.
For a nano you could easily get one of the small portable sink connected ones, which you could later use at college.

wait wait no, I just asked her what it was and it was instant ocean, not caribsea

 

[Tyler Bullock]

so you're saying get the ATO and a powerhead?

That is what I would do. I would get a wave maker and and ATO.

 

[Jon Fishman]

Being at college, you will be in/out ALL THE TIME..... I would keep however many gallons of RODI and a cup there, and just draw a water-fill-line on the tank with a china-marker. Just top off a little every day.... ATO seems unnecessary...... For me, I may be gone for a few days, not check the sump level etc.... but this thing is gonna probably be next to your bed! It's college after-all......

 

[Tamberav]

On a 9g mixed reef, I would just get a good RODI machine (if you want, you can also just buy distilled for such a small tank) and ATO. Perhaps get a hanna alk checker since alk is the most important thing and you do have some LPS/SPS. A good Refractometer and calibration solution if you don't have one. The salinity checker, just because it is more expensive, doesn't mean it is more reliable.

Your coral will suffer if you strip too much out so I wouldn't be eager to add a skimmer, ect on 9g. It also makes noise, meh.

A controller for your heater is a life saver if your heater gets stuck 'on'. Pinpoint, apex jr, ect.

For splurging, I like MP10's on small tanks. small footprint, great flow, but totally not necessary.

I would consider flow and lighting more important than fuge/skimmer on a 9g. For lighting, I love nano-box, seem to pull the best colors out of coral with them. Cheap options grow coral too though.

 

[BestMomEver]

got it, that's what someone over on nano-reef said, but I think I'm probably going to spend about half of that price for a few upgrades just so I can get comfortable with this stuff, and then when I get to college I'll get a bigger tank.

Makes sense.... something to thing about... nanos are more difficult than larger tanks. Reason being, a 1 ml overage on calcium, let’s say, has a more ch bigger effect in 9 gallons than in 40 gallons. So, if you can do the nano, you can do just about anything!

 

[Bryce Mazloum]

I mean this is a picture of my reef from about april, and from what I can see things looks alright, I did move around some zoas yesterday though.

Makes sense.... something to thing about... nanos are more difficult than larger tanks. Reason being, a 1 ml overage on calcium, let’s say, has a more ch bigger effect in 9 gallons than in 40 gallons. So, if you can do the nano, you can do just about anything!

 

[Bryce Mazloum]

I mean this is a picture of my reef from about april, and from what I can see things looks alright, I did move around some zoas yesterday though.

Actually that was probably from about march, before I had to quarantine the clowns, and before the male died x.x

 

[Bryce Mazloum]

also @BestMomEver
someone did offer to give me the exact skimmer I was looking at for free, should I take it just to see how it works? and if I have to give it away then I guess I can do just that.

 

[BestMomEver]

also @BestMomEver
someone did offer to give me the exact skimmer I was looking at for free, should I take it just to see how it works? and if I have to give it away then I guess I can do just that.

Take anything free... If it doesn’t work or you just don’t like it, you haven’t lost money!

 

[BestMomEver]

I mean this is a picture of my reef from about april, and from what I can see things looks alright, I did move around some zoas yesterday though.

It looks great! Whatever your doing, keep doing it. You can add stuff as you need it. If I were to make a recommendation... get the Tunze Nano auto top off. If you don’t have a RO/DI unit, you can probably buy some from the LFS or just use distilled with some Prime tossed in. I promise that the ATO will be some of the best money you ever spend. Your tank will be a lot more stable and easier to keep.

 

[Bryce Mazloum]

Take anything free... If it doesn’t work or you just don’t like it, you haven’t lost money!

It looks great! Whatever your doing, keep doing it. You can add stuff as you need it. If I were to make a recommendation... get the Tunze Nano auto top off. If you don’t have a RO/DI unit, you can probably buy some from the LFS or just use distilled with some Prime tossed in. I promise that the ATO will be some of the best money you ever spend. Your tank will be a lot more stable and easier to keep.

Thanks! And I'll definitely look into getting an ATO, is the one by Tunze hard to set up/maintain?

 

[Tyler Bullock]

.... ATO seems unnecessary

I 100% dissagree with this statement. I think my ATO was one of the best investments for my 13.5g.

 

[Bryce Mazloum]

It looks great! Whatever your doing, keep doing it. You can add stuff as you need it. If I were to make a recommendation... get the Tunze Nano auto top off. If you don’t have a RO/DI unit, you can probably buy some from the LFS or just use distilled with some Prime tossed in. I promise that the ATO will be some of the best money you ever spend. Your tank will be a lot more stable and easier to keep.

Also, what exactly do you mean by Prime?

 

[Bryce Mazloum]

I 100% dissagree with this statement. I think my ATO was one of the best investments for my 13.5g.

my salinity is constantly swinging, I'm definitely going to be getting an ATO

 

[BestMomEver]

Also, what exactly do you mean by Prime?

Prime is a product by Seachem that conditions the water. It is a chlorine remover but, more than that, it’s just a good conditioner. I occasionally put it in my RO water if I’m doing a big water change.

Thanks! And I'll definitely look into getting an ATO, is the one by Tunze hard to set up/maintain?

The Tunze is easy. Put the wires on (easy instructions), drop the pump into your top off bucket, put the sensor in at the level you want to maintain and plug it in. The sensor is easy to set and the pump fits through the mouth of a small bucket. I used the Tunze nano ATO on my 60 cube... worked well even in such a big tank.