New Reefer in the making.

[.Zion]

Hi All,

New to the world of Marine, do currently have 2 tropical, once heavily planted with great growth rates, in fact a bit too much growth. The other is simpler and nothing to complex about it.

I have always wanted a marine tank and hoping to achieve this this year.

I am looking at buying a Red Sea Max E 170, however, I need to add a chiller, while I am in the UK so temperature is not as high, the room it is going in has high fluctuations in temperature. Does anyone have any recommendations on a suitable sized chiller and pump for this?

I am also ideally wanting to add a UV filter and possibly a reactor, but unsure on how best to do this. I do not wish to add the additional sump, there are a number of reasons for this, so this would require a more creative approach I feel? So any advice is very much welcome.

I will adding a ATO and have someone who can make a nice container which will sit beside the chiller.

My last question is, I really like the Apex controller, but what I like is the monitoring aspect, I am not so fussed about the control aspect. Is there anything on the market that offers this facility without the control side?

I am aware of the Seneye and do use it currently and while it works well on a tropical I don't feel it gives me as much data as the Apex would.

Anyone that can shed any light on the above please step forward.

I would also welcome feedback from those who have or have used the Max E 170 and preferably without the additional sump.

Regards,

Zion

 

[Coralreefer1]

Hello and welcome to R2R!
Best of luck to you in trying your luck at saltwater!
I want to be frank in stating that what you are looking to do is going to be pretty pricey both in terms of the equipment and your electric bill!
Just make sure you do your homework and check out the individual pieces of equipment you desire and whether or not you really need it, can afford it and have contemplated and exhausted all other options.
Being new to the hobby, I feel you have too much on your plate and should just focus on the basics...tank, skimmer, sump, refugium, lights, water flow, water parameters, live stock options.
Read, research and go slow!

 

[Gonebad395]

Welcome to r2r great group here

 

[.Zion]

Hi Coralreefer,

Thanks for your reply, I am fully aware of the costs involved and have provisions for this, perhaps I should state I am not going to be rushing out and buying today. It has taken me many months to decide on the tank I want after extensive research. The whole point of being on this forum is to gain a better understanding before I start.

As mentioned before I have a couple of tropical tanks and have learned a lot from these. The difference between the two is highly noticeable in most ways. I set up my first tank which is a fluval flex 15G and as my understanding and knowledge expanded I realised there were a number of ways I could improve things, I attempted to do this but the tank was far too restrictive and it started to look like some kind of Frankenstein experiment.

So with my new found knowledge I set up a new tank a Juwel Lido 120 and immediately stripped out the supplied filter, leaving just a perfect blank canvas for me. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with this tank and was able to plough a lot of energy, research and money into this to produce the best tank possible and while there are still things I can do to improve this like a PH controller etc this tank is far superior to my flex and plant growth is excelling at a faster rate than I can keep up with.

This was only achieved through extensive research into technology, science as well as better understanding my eco-systems need and requirements. This has been a long journey to produce a tank I am really pleased with, it has a couple of issues currently but I have these in hand and should be cleared up shortly.

The journey I am on currently is to eliminate for the most part the mistakes I made first time, I tried to stick to a budget which went completely out of the window very quickly as I had underestimated exactly what I needed to achieve the tank I wanted and ultimately ended up buying the wrong tank. My initial budget was to have it fully set up for around £350 - £400, which most people couldn't understand as they lacked knowledge. Of course so did I but I at least had a more realistic budget to work with. However, this was not enough because I wanted a more advanced set up.

My Lido the tank with stand ready to plug and play comes in around £350, to date, while I have not kept tally of my spending on it currently... a job for a rainy day! I would estimate I have spent somewhere between £1500 - £2000 on top of that for this tank.

As you can I am prepared to spend money to produce the desired look and feel I am wanting and have a very generous budget for my marine tank, which I feel will have this fully set up for the long term ready to then be stocked.

I do not want to find myself in 6 - 12 months time thinking I should of done something differently. The tank I have selected is ideal for me it provides everything I need, it gives me options to add a sump long term, this is not something I can do currently and won't be able to do for some time in the future due to structural issues, but I am aware of the heat fluctuations in my property and and will be looking to add a chiller to both of my other tanks for this summer. So while yes this gives me the option to upgrade and improve this in the future, I am looking at the immediate picture and wish to ensure I have the perfect set up from the start.

So any advice on the above questions would be warmly welcomed.

Gonebad, many thanks for your warm welcome.

Regards,

Zion

 

[Coralreefer1]

I’m glad that you are prepared and have the necessary skills and desire to succeed! I didn’t want you to think I was being cocky or now it all or I knew your financials...lol
I just want to offer you advice incase you didn’t know and so you could be successful moving forward!
Cheers, best of luck and post some pictur s when you get it up and running.
What type of tank are you thinking of setting up? What kinds of fish, inverts and corals?

 

[reef lover]

#Welcometor2r !!

 

[hdsoftail1065]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[DSC reef]

 

[.Zion]

I didn't take any offence to it so need to worry. I'm not sure currently what I will be stocking with, I will select those most suitable for the tank once it's set up. My first tank was very much set up around wanting a Betta, were as my second one was set up with no regard for stocking. All I knew was I wanted a highly advanced filtering system and for it to be heavily planted. I now have a wonderful range of fish in there and more to come and these were selected based on the tank and I feel that I prefer this approach as everything works well and complements each other.

I will certainly be having a number of corals but right now my focus is on ensuring I have the right set up and then will tailor my stocking to this. The only fish I think I do want is Clownfish and these should work well with the set up I am looking to create, anything aside from that will be up to discussion with my LFS who have always guided me well.

Regards,

Zion

 

[Dsnakes]

Welcome to R2R Thanks for joining us!

 

[.Zion]

Thank you for everyone else for your warm welcome.

 

[lapin]

Howdy.
You say you have a very high temp swing in the room? Can you explain why. Maybe there is another solution not involving a chiller.
Since you do not want or can have a sump, the equipment such as UV and reactor will have to be plumbed directly to the tank, via some sort of pump. Perhaps connected to the chiller.

 

[CJS80]

Welcome to R2R.

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

 

[dbl]

Welcome to R2R and your new reefing family.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

Welcome to R2R! . It sounds like you have the right idea with regards to your tank. I really can't help you with your questions regarding UV filters and chillers, but there are many here that are willing to help.

 

[Billldg]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[.Zion]

Hi Lapin,

Firstly to address the temperature issue, the room the tank will be located is situated right next to the main central heating boiler for the whole property as well an airing cupboard in the same room. The average room temperature sits between 26c - 29c depending on the outside temperature. In the summer of 2018 the temperature spent many weeks being 30c+. The property retains heat and as is very difficult to get rid of and being on the top floor this is amplified.

I did intend to plumb onto the chiller but was unsure on how best to achieve this and the best equipment for the job. I want quality and reliability over price point. As the saying goes buy cheap buy twice.

I was thinking something like the below: picture 2, but then I thought maybe it would be better to have a connection and run them on separate loops: picture 1