Hey everyone! Long time lurker, first time poster.

seaofbytes · May 6, 2022

Hey R2R,

Just wanted to make a quick post to introduce myself, and say hi from the Netherlands!

I have been a long time lurker on this forum, and have finally decided to get my first reef tank after trying to soak in as much information as I can.

I got a 22g ( 2*1.35*1.35 ) to start with, since my current situation does not allow to go much bigger, but the future is looking bright haha. Also got all of my other stuff (rock, sand, tests, salt, salinity meter, TDS meter, bacteria, RO/DI unit etc).

The only things I am missing to start cycling are a heater, a powerhead and a HOB filter. That's where (hopefully

) you guys come in.

I would like some advice on the following:

1. HOB filter - I was looking at the Fluval Tidal 55, but honestly have no idea what to get, or even what media to put inside.
2. Powerhead/wavemaker - Would something like Jecod SLW-20 be sufficient for my tank? Do I want two?
3. Heater - DoI get one with a external controller? And if so, could you please recommend some.

Happy to be here !!! Cheers!!!

glb · May 6, 2022

seaofbytes said:
Hey R2R,

Just wanted to make a quick post to introduce myself, and say hi from the Netherlands!

I have been a long time lurker on this forum, and have finally decided to get my first reef tank after trying to soak in as much information as I can.

I got a 22g ( 2*1.35*1.35 ) to start with, since my current situation does not allow to go much bigger, but the future is looking bright haha. Also got all of my other stuff (rock, sand, tests, salt, salinity meter, TDS meter, bacteria, RO/DI unit etc).

The only things I am missing to start cycling are a heater, a powerhead and a HOB filter. That's where (hopefully ) you guys come in.

I would like some advice on the following:

1. HOB filter - I was looking at the Fluval Tidal 55, but honestly have no idea what to get, or even what media to put inside.
2. Powerhead/wavemaker - Would something like Jecod SLW-20 be sufficient for my tank? Do I want two?
3. Heater - DoI get one with a external controller? And if so, could you please recommend some.

Happy to be here !!! Cheers!!!

Welcome! You’ll learn a lot here! As far as the heater, yes I’d have some sort of external controller as a backup to the internal thermostat. Heaters fail, and often in the on position. And external controller can save your tank.

seaofbytes · May 6, 2022

Welcome! You’ll learn a lot here! As far as the heater, yes I’d have some sort of external controller as a backup to the internal thermostat. Heaters fail, and often in the on position. And external controller can save your tank.

Thank you! Yeah I was thinking the same. Will get one for sure. Do you maybe have any recommendations for a tank my size? There's just too many options for a newbie haha.

RickLRMS · May 6, 2022

Welcome aboard! I’m new to the hobby so can offer no expert advice and have not used the equipment mentioned but I’ll share my short-term experience.

1. I have had a AquaClear filter running for about a year on my 20g long quarantine tank with no issues though you might want to move up a size from the one I bought.

2. I’ve been running a Uniclife powerhead on a 20g long for same period, again no issues.

3. I currently have six Bulk Reef Supply heaters running (three in display tank, one each in invertebrate quarantine tank, fish quarantine tank, and salt water mix tank) on Inkbird controllers. I have had two failures of the heaters (keep a spare) but Bulk Reef Supply replaced under warranty.

Good luck!

dedragon · May 6, 2022

idk if you got it yet but either a refractometer and calibration solution or tropic marin hydrometer are needed.
aquaclear and seachem tidal are both good, i think the seachem tidal may need less modifications than the tidal does though to run it the same way and make it easier to get filter floss changed.
Inkbird temp controller works well for cheap and peace of mind

dedragon · May 6, 2022

I like the jebao slw pumps as they look similar to nero and people havent really posted too many issues with them to my knowledge

seaofbytes · May 6, 2022

Thank you! Yeah I was thinking the same. Will get one for sure. Do you maybe have any recommendations for a tank my size? There's just too many options for a newbie haha.

RickLRMS said:
Welcome aboard! I’m new to the hobby so can offer no expert advice and have not used the equipment mentioned but I’ll share my short-term experience.

1. I have had a AquaClear filter running for about a year on my 20g long quarantine tank with no issues though you might want to move up a size from the one I bought.

2. I’ve been running a Uniclife powerhead on a 20g long for same period, again no issues.

3. I currently have six Bulk Reef Supply heaters running (three in display tank, one each in invertebrate quarantine tank, fish quarantine tank, and salt water mix tank) on Inkbird controllers. I have had two failures of the heaters (keep a spare) but Bulk Reef Supply replaced under warranty.

Good luck!

Thanks for the response and the recommendations, it is much appreciated! Will look into the powerhead and the controllers.

seaofbytes · May 6, 2022

dedragon said:
idk if you got it yet but either a refractometer and calibration solution or tropic marin hydrometer are needed.
aquaclear and seachem tidal are both good, i think the seachem tidal may need less modifications than the tidal does though to run it the same way and make it easier to get filter floss changed.
Inkbird temp controller works well for cheap and peace of mind

I like the jebao slw pumps as they look similar to nero and people havent really posted too many issues with them to my knowledge

I actually got that same hydrometer! (Tropic Marin hydrometer).
Good to hear about the SLW20 pumps. Might just go with that if no one has any better recommendations.

Thank you for your response.