New Reefer.... Sort of!

[Seanybaggs123]

Hey All,

I have decided to go off the deep end and switch from freshwater to saltwater.
I am in the process of selling my FW planted tanks and their stock.

I bought a 135 gallon tank with a hood and stand last night, and plan to drill holes for an eclipse-L overflow as soon as I have the overflow.
From there, I'm considering the following equipment:
AquaC EV 180 Skimmer
DIY Sump
Chaeto for the fuge
Braided line plumbing (maybe hard, not sure)
Hydor Koralia circ pumps
aquaculture dry rock
Live sand
Maybe a UV sterilizer
BRS 5 stage RODI

And lighting is currently making my head spin. Have considered everything from Mars Aqua 165W black boxes to 4 Kessil A360W Tuna Blues haha (feel free to chime in).


Needless to say this will be a sloowwww and carefully planned build that will work towards having a successful reef with LPS and softies and moderate stocking.

I mainly joined this forum to scope out used equipment as it gets posted, but will have curiosities I'm sure!

Thanks for having me!

 

[Retro Reefer]

Welcome

 

[Crabs McJones]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[Peace River]

Welcome to R2R!!! Congratulations on the new adventure!

 

[Blitheran]

Welcome! Happy, glad to see you joined the dark side

 

[KJ]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[Coralreefer1]

To R2R!
Best of luck with your new tank.
You will enjoy it here!

 

[dbl]

Welcome to R2R and your new reefing family and welcome to the salty side.

 

[Billldg]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[Jdubyo]

Welcome to R2R!!! Great size for a new tank. I wish you the best of luck!

 

[hdsoftail1065]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[jsker]

Welcome to R2R and saltwater reefing. Nice setup to start with

Thank you for your service.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

Hello and welcome to R2R!

 

[Seanybaggs123]

Welcome to R2R and saltwater reefing. Nice setup to start with

Thank you for your service.

Thank you!

If there was one thing I learned through my freshwater aquariums, it was to quit doing and buying things twice. I figure for the sake of the fish during my inevitable learning curve and for growth as my interests change..... better to just buy the biggest I could find haha.

 

[Antics]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[jsker]

I learned through my freshwater aquariums, it was to quit doing and buying things twice.

Some of us still have not learned that ;Hilarious

Patients and asking/research are two keys that will help you more than anything else. Please feel free to ask away and you will find that members here on R2R will help you in a positive journey.

I had Three fresh water tanks back In the day.

 

[Rjukan]

Welcome to R2R!

I had a AquaC EV180 but swapped it out after several months. I didn't like how it was working (or not working at all most times), but in hindsight I think I had it too deep, if you end up getting one try and boost it on a shelf to less than the depth the specs call for. Another issue I had was the overall size, it takes up a ton of space! I ended up with a Bubble Magus Curve 5 and I'm very happy with it now that I have it dialed in.

I would vote for something other than the Kessils based on my experience as well. While 4 of them might work out fine, I would lean towards something more cost effective, but that's just my personal preference.

Enjoy the build process!

 

[Seanybaggs123]

Some of us still have not learned that ;Hilarious

Patients and asking/research are two keys that will help you more than anything else. Please feel free to ask away and you will find that members here on R2R will help you in a positive journey.

I had Three fresh water tanks back In the day.

Freshwater tanks are great, but once I got into CO2 injection and monitoring my planted tank I just didn't see the point. Reefs are prettier, have wayyy more organisms to observe... just flat out wanted one. Asked a few questions about the differences between fw/sw.... did a month or two of research... and here I am! haha.

I will DEFINITELY be asking questions

 

[Seanybaggs123]

Welcome to R2R!

I had a AquaC EV180 but swapped it out after several months. I didn't like how it was working (or not working at all most times), but in hindsight I think I had it too deep, if you end up getting one try and boost it on a shelf to less than the depth the specs call for. Another issue I had was the overall size, it takes up a ton of space! I ended up with a Bubble Magus Curve 5 and I'm very happy with it now that I have it dialed in.

I would vote for something other than the Kessils based on my experience as well. While 4 of them might work out fine, I would lean towards something more cost effective, but that's just my personal preference.

Enjoy the build process!

Thanks for the input!
It's funny... I was leaning towards the EV180 because the technology looked like it would call for much less maintenance and I couldn't find any negative reviews. I'll be looking for them now though since I've heard your experience.

Bubble Magus was actually my second choice. How often do you have to clean the collection cup? How often do you have to tear it apart?

I'm inclined to take a more cost effective approach to lighting too, I just can decide which light would be right. I know the Kessils will get the job done. I have a big "?" on literally everything else I've looked into. Whether it be based on price, UL designation, or effective coral growth.... ugghhhhh

 

[Emarley]

Welcome to R2R!!!