Need help with what return pump and lights to get ??

[denise willenborg]

Hi-
I have a 93 gallon cube that has been running for a few months. Everyone inside seems to be doing well. However, my return pump is a magdrive 12 and super loud and my lights suck because you have to adjust lighting manually. With that being said I am looking for some lights and a return pump. I really dont understand the whole Apex and controller thing . I had a reef tank 10 plus years ago and things have changed a lot for sure. It is much more complicated than it used to be. Which is fine, I will adjust but I am open to suggestions for lights and return pump. Since I only have 2 holes in the bottom of my tank I have one as return and other as drain. I know I will be screwed if something gets stuck in the drain. I think I read about some pumps that sense if something is stuck and stops the pump or ones that send alert to your phone. Maybe that is the way to go?? I look online for pumps and lights and get confused because I really am not sure what i should get. I dont want to spend thousands but I am not trying to get the cheapest option. Any suggestions would be awesome.
Thanks,
Denise

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

Hi-
I have a 93 gallon cube that has been running for a few months. Everyone inside seems to be doing well. However, my return pump is a magdrive 12 and super loud and my lights suck because you have to adjust lighting manually. With that being said I am looking for some lights and a return pump. I really dont understand the whole Apex and controller thing . I had a reef tank 10 plus years ago and things have changed a lot for sure. It is much more complicated than it used to be. Which is fine, I will adjust but I am open to suggestions for lights and return pump. Since I only have 2 holes in the bottom of my tank I have one as return and other as drain. I know I will be screwed if something gets stuck in the drain. I think I read about some pumps that sense if something is stuck and stops the pump or ones that send alert to your phone. Maybe that is the way to go?? I look online for pumps and lights and get confused because I really am not sure what i should get. I dont want to spend thousands but I am not trying to get the cheapest option. Any suggestions would be awesome.
Thanks,
Denise

look into a sicce pump. there are a plethora of light options. the big ones being aquaillumination and ecotech. neither need an apex to operate.

 

[Reef-junky]

Herbie overflow with return over the top. As for a pump eheim or syncra.

 

[rockskimmerflow]

Fluval SP4 is a great swap for a mag 12 in terms of similar flow and solid reliability. Fluval is just a lot quieter and uses less energy. Eheim 1262 is a less powerful, but equally reliable choice for your size of tank. Good luck

 

[Retro Reefer]

You will get a million opinions whenever you ask a question like this but I agree both Sicce and Eheim are great choices.. most of the new DC pumps have auto shut off if your return pump section in your sump runs dry because of a blocked drain line or you can set up a sensor to shut down A/C pumps in the event of a failure.

 

[mfinn]

I agree Sicce, Eheim, Fluval are great pumps.
I'll add one more, checkout Reef Octopus VarioS ( maybe a 4).

As far as lights, there are a ton of programmable fixtures out there.
I happen to like Radions.

 

[mfinn]

Herbie overflow with return over the top. .

This^^^

 

[denise willenborg]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am not sure how i would change the overflow at this point since everything is already plumbed?? I was thinking about the aquaillumination prime or hydra26 but not sure if I need two of them. Since the tank is 30 x30x24 most light fixtures say 24 x 24 coverage . As far as the return pump goes I was looking at the ecotech marine vectra m1. Thinking I could change my set up to a closed loop and then I can set it for different modes like waves, feeding but not sure if a closed loop system is a good or bad thing?

 

[mfinn]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am not sure how i would change the overflow at this point since everything is already plumbed?? I was thinking about the aquaillumination prime or hydra26 but not sure if I need two of them. Since the tank is 30 x30x24 most light fixtures say 24 x 24 coverage . As far as the return pump goes I was looking at the ecotech marine vectra m1. Thinking I could change my set up to a closed loop and then I can set it for different modes like waves, feeding but not sure if a closed loop system is a good or bad thing?

I get pretty good coverage on 30" wide tank with a Radion XR30 gen 3 with the wide angle lens kit.
I should have mentioned the Vectra M1 as a possible replacement.
I loved my M1 when I had it.
Awesome quiet pump. Worked great.

 

[eggplantparrot]

Jebao DCP series work great, super silent and ridiculously easy to take apart and clean. Low price so you could buy a couple and have backups