Seeking Equipment Recommendations for a 300g Reef Build

revaltion131 · Jun 29, 2017

Hi everyone!

I've finally locked down a tank after a year of searching so it's time to get serious about getting the equipment list made and knocked out. I've done some research but in my experience, there's nothing better than getting individualized input from the experienced reefers out there. This will be a reef with a heavier bioload (one large angel, a sailfin and chocolate tang, rabbitfish, and a bunch of wrasses) with a mix of softies, LPS, and SPS. Would eventually like a BTA or LTA as well.

As it stands, I'll be looking at ~70 gallons of refugium and sump volume, all contained within the stand so no unusual head heights to worry about. I'd like to keep it to one return pump and am looking at a Reeflo with in the 3500gph range. Would this pump and sump volume be sufficient?

I know I'll need a skimmer and I'm seeing the Super Reef Octopus 5000 recommended a ton for reefs of this size. Will it work? Would you recommend others? Any key issues I need to look out for on this if I buy it used? I could also pick up the ASM G4+ the person I'm buying the tank from has for sale but I've seen many spotty reviews on it.

Lighting is the big item I'm not sure on. The tank is 96"x24"x31". I know I need to buy at least one additional unit if I decide to use what I have. I currently have 3 AI Vegas and I've liked them but they've been a real pain ever since my Director got bricked by a firmware update. Their manual mode barely works. As a result, I'm thinking to move away from these. I do want to stick with LEDs. I am open to suggestions for all brands, including AI as I have a Prime that I love.

I am also unsure on what to do about heaters. I have just one big Fluval handling the 125g tank this 300g is an upgrade for but I know that alone won't do the trick for the big one. Should I just buy some additional, good heaters until there are enough to get the job done?

Thanks so much!

Reefing Madness · Jul 2, 2017

mtraylor · Jul 2, 2017

Well first drop the Angel if you want LPS. I run the reef octopus elite 220 on my 255. Highly recommend it. I would recommend a Geo Calc Reactor as well. For lighting I have 4 mitras on my aquarium. If you like LED I would go mitras or radion's. I would go with 100 gallon sump volume with filter socks. For heaters you want to run redundancy with enough wattage to keep tank at right temp if one heater goes out.

revaltion131 · Jul 5, 2017

Thanks! I'll have to look into the Mitras as I had never heard of them before. I have always heard good things about the Radions and been quite interested, though. As for the angel and LPS, I've had the big guy/gal for 5-6 years so it's staying with me. If it eats LPS, I won't be having them in this tank.

mtraylor · Jul 6, 2017

Yeah that is a beautiful fish. Part of the family now. Your sps will be fine.
Np

Maacc · Jul 6, 2017

The geo calcium reactor is a great idea. For lights I would consider photon v2's as for the price you can pack them in more densely to eliminate shadowing without breaking the bank.
I would take a look at the deltec 2060 from Adam over a battlecorals. Can't beat the skimmer for effectiveness.
You may also want to consider a waterfall ATS from turbo aquatics. There is a waiting list that I am currently on for my 180 build but the quality of his units are unmatched out there.
As for the heater, I would go for 2 for safety and backup i.e. sticking on gives you more time before the tank fries and sticking off or failing gives you more time before temperatures plummet. With what you are going to invest in equipment and livestock I would highly recommend a controller. Either the apex or the GHL. Being able to remotely turn equipment on or off and have some monitoring of basic parameters can save you from a devastating crash.

revaltion131 · Jul 6, 2017

The Reef Breeder isn't a bad idea at all. I have a budget fixture from them from when they first started making them that did a fantastic job over a 20 gallon SPS-dominant tank. However, something for the blue channels died and I haven't had the time to figure out how to fix it so it's running a FW planted tank, lol.

I had not seen algae scrubbers until recently and I do like the idea. Thanks for the recommendation for the Deltec as well. I'll add them to the list of things to research.

I have an ApexJr already that I feel like I've barely scratched the surface on. I've also got the AWM for it but my Vegas (upgraded from Sols by the previous owner) are just not playing nice. Not that they were playing well with the Director that the AWM replaced. Which probes and modules do you recommend?

Maacc · Jul 6, 2017

For that sized tank probably an eb 8 minimum, then a couple of ph module, one for cal rx one for the tank, and a breakout box. Really the recommendation depends on how much automation you want and what you want to control. If you are thinking about a lot you may want to consider either the whole new apex or a used classic here on the sales forum. Unfortunately the jr is capped at 5 or 6 modules and each thing you plug in including eb counts as a module.