New tank build

68Wreefer · Jun 30, 2018

Hey R2R community! I'm not new to reef or sw aquariums but I am facing some new challenges. I have previously had a 90gal mixed reef predominantly sps. So here's my situation. I'm currently at fort Sam Huston in Texas graduating 68W (combat medic) school next month. Reefing is a huge passion of mine and I can't bare the thought of living without a tank for 4+ years. So I'm looking for advice on how to deal with keeping a tank while being in the army. I'm thinking about a 50gal cube setup with all the bells and whistles to make maintenance easier. I use to spend 20+ hrs on my tank every week which just isn't an option anymore. So my big questions I have right now are what do y'all use to make maintenance easier? I've never used dosers, ATO, auto feeders, timers, advanced refugiums, protein skimmers, or really anything to make my life easier.

Like I said I'm looking at about 50 gal here so what are some suggestions on tech to help me keep this reef running? with less time on my hands but no budget on this tank?

Dsnakes · Jun 30, 2018

Welcome to R2R

I’m not running much for controllers or tech on my tank. The only input I have is that an ATO is an amazing thing to have. Long gone are the days of pouring in water morning and night!

Plenty of good people with great advice on this forum!
#welcometor2r

dbl · Jun 30, 2018

First, thank you for your service. Secondly, welcome to R2R and your new reefing family.

Some of the items you've already mentioned will make your life easier. The ATO and dosing pumps probably the most so in my opinion. The auto feeder is obviously needed if you don't have someone to help feed.

Others will chime in but it can be done, but it won't be easy. You would need someone to check in on things if you'll be away from the tank for longer periods of time. Either a friend or a LFS may be able to help with that.

Good luck and Godspeed.

Crabs McJones · Jun 30, 2018

Welcome to R2R! A controller is definitely a must. I didnt have one for years and recently picked one up. If you have the time I would also suggest checking out bulk reef supply's videos on ULM (ultra low maintenance) tanks. So much information there on all kinds of tanks whether it be a softie, Lps or sps tank.

Fudsey · Jun 30, 2018

Welcome to R2R ! ! !

Looks like you have a lot of good advice already. Nothing I can really add

68Wreefer · Jun 30, 2018

Crabs Mcjones said:
Welcome to R2R! A controller is definitely a must. I didnt have one for years and recently picked one up. If you have the time I would also suggest checking out bulk reef supply's videos on ULM (ultra low maintenance) tanks. So much information there on all kinds of tanks whether it be a softie, Lps or sps tank.

Any recommendations on what to look for in a good controller?

Crabs McJones · Jun 30, 2018

68Wreefer said:
Any recommendations on what to look for in a good controller?

The apex seems to be the gold standard. Itll email and text alert you with any issues, and has failsafes that can be put into place to correct problems. There is also the Reefkeeper, which is another good controller, but the company is going through some changes so customer service is hard to get ahold of st the moment. Or theres the GHL Profilux which I have no experience with but have heard good things

68Wreefer · Jun 30, 2018

dbl said:
First, thank you for your service. Secondly, welcome to R2R and your new reefing family.

Some of the items you've already mentioned will make your life easier. The ATO and dosing pumps probably the most so in my opinion. The auto feeder is obviously needed if you don't have someone to help feed.

Others will chime in but it can be done, but it won't be easy. You would need someone to check in on things if you'll be away from the tank for longer periods of time. Either a friend or a LFS may be able to help with that.

Good luck and Godspeed.

I kept reef tanks all through highschool so I'm thinking on any deployment I'm just going to move the tank to my parents house as they have kept aquariums for me for 2+ months in the past. I will be at fort Benning in Georgia and parents are in Wilmington NC so it's a manageable move imo. As far as the ATO and dosing pumps go any suggestions on those? Obviously reliability is a must here. Also what are some fail safe messures I can put in place to alert whoever is watching a tank for me that the levels of essential elements in the tank are off?

68Wreefer · Jun 30, 2018

Crabs Mcjones said:
The apex seems to be the gold standard. Itll email and text alert you with any issues, and has failsafes that can be put into place to correct problems. There is also the Reefkeeper, which is another good controller, but the company is going through some changes so customer service is hard to get ahold of st the moment. Or theres the GHL Profilux which I have no experience with but have heard good things

That's what I'm looking for. Text alerts would be amazing. I've seen the different Apex systems available but never looked into them as I never needed one in the past. Are the text alerts real time?

hdsoftail1065 · Jun 30, 2018

Welcome to R2R!!! My tanks are all low tech right now so I can't help much. You have some great people chimming in though! What I can offer is a ginormous Thank you for your service!!!

Crabs McJones · Jun 30, 2018

68Wreefer said:
That's what I'm looking for. Text alerts would be amazing. I've seen the different Apex systems available but never looked into them as I never needed one in the past. Are the text alerts real time?

Yes, the latest version of the apex has this capability (the $799 version) I believe the classic does as well but you have to have a network connection to it via ethernet cable whereas the new one runs on wifi

68Wreefer · Jun 30, 2018

Crabs Mcjones said:
Yes, the latest version of the apex has this capability (the $799 version) I believe the classic does as well but you have to have a network connection to it via ethernet cable whereas the new one runs on wifi

That definitely sounds like something I'm looking for. I've seen an app in there ads? Do you have any experience with this?

Crabs McJones · Jun 30, 2018

68Wreefer said:
That definitely sounds like something I'm looking for. I've seen an app in there ads? Do you have any experience with this?

Yes there is an android and apple app you can control your apex from anywhere in the world

68Wreefer · Jun 30, 2018

Crabs Mcjones said:
Yes there is an android and apple app you can control your apex from anywhere in the world

Very impressive. Can you make adjustments from the app?

Crabs McJones · Jun 30, 2018

68Wreefer said:
Very impressive. Can you make adjustments from the app?

Yes, I believe you have full control

dbl · Jun 30, 2018

Just to add on...with Fusion, you can monitor, control, do just about anything with an Apex. You can even tie in a web cam and see that as well. They also sell an auto feeder which was brought up earlier.

As to ATO's, I would highly recommend the Tunze Osmolator 3155. It's considered by many to be the best and most reliable, which I have found to be the case. When it comes to dosing pumps, and if you end up getting the Apex, you could look in to their DOS units. Although I have an Apex, I actually use the GHL dosing pumps. There are other options as well.