Taking the plunge! Need advice

[reeftankpdx]

Hey guys!

My name is Jason, I have wanted a reef tank for as long as I can remember!

So I finally bought a Red Sea Max s500 LED. It arrived with a crack in the back of the tank so currently waiting for the replacement.

I have been doing research. But I figured I would come and get advice from the pros

Fish I would like to have:

a couple clowns(hopefully a BTA host)
fire fish
anthias(maybe lyretail)
wrasse
a tang
maybe a goby or two

Coral I like:

montripora cap.
some zoas
maybe a lather coral
and maybe as I get the hang of things some acros

Equipment I have:

red sea max s500 led
2 200watt cobalt neo-therm heaters
aquafx barracuda RO/DI

Equipment I think I should get and need advice on:

a controller(I'm thinking apex)
doser
chiller(probably wait and see what my temps are)


As for rock and sand I am thinking:

54# of carib sea special grade(thinking 1 inch of sand will be good)

I am torn between dry and wet live rock


Things I'm not sure of:

reactors
uv sterilizer
ozone


I want to take as much time as I need and set myself up for successful reefing(I know there will be some learning opportunities along the way)


Thanks!

 

[WWIII]

Welcome to R2R! Sorry to hear your new tank arrived with a crack. Sounds like you've got a good start! I feel a build thread coming.

 

[Maritimer]

Welcome aboard, Jason!

My quick thoughts on liverock ... Dry rock won't bring any mantis shrimp or Aiptasia (though you'll probably wind up with Aiptasia anyway, all on your own), but they also won't bring any sponges, mysid shrimp, copepods, amphipods, feather dusters, baby urchins, or any of a host of other fascinating critters you'd find on maricultured liverock from, for instance, Florida. I _love_ looking around my tank with a flashlight at night - even when I'm finding something I'll want to take out, like a polyclad flatworm.

You're about to step into a world of fascination!

~Bruce

 

[mjlash22]

Fish and corals are your personal preference so I wont comment there.

Equipment you have is obviously fine as most of it comes from the Max tank.

Equipment you think you should get:
controller is really personal preference and sometimes how paranoid you are about your tank. I have gone 10 years with doing it all manual and not having a controller. Keeping in mind, as much a controller is nice, it can get pretty costly pretty quick with all the additional gadgets you'll want to buy for it to monitor.

Doser is also personal preference though I do recommend dosing in general. I have dosed 2 part manually for most of the 10 years I've been in the hobby up until recently. I actually prefer it as it gets me to be around my tank and check on things I may not have checked that day if it was being done through a dosing pump. Just started using a dosing pump and am probably going back to the manual way.

Chiller depends on your houses situation. Where it's located and whether you consistently use AC/heat or not. I live in Michigan and have never had to cool my tank temp, so I don't own one. If you don't temperature your house or live in warmer areas and have your thermostat set high (above what you would have your tank temp set at), a chiller would be a good investment. Teco is a good brand, and most of their models both cool/heat the water.

Rock:
I prefer dry. It will eventually become live anyway, and who doesn't have patience in this hobby lol With live, you run into the possibilities of pest and aiptasia, which is not fun to deal with.

Reactors:
Highly recommend carbon and GFO. BRS sells a good dual reactor. At a minimum...carbon in a media bag somewhere in your sump. You could do the same with GFO, but it works better in a reactor. Alternative to GFO would be a refugium (some sort of nutrient export) or a supplement like NoPox.

Ozone/UV:
Never messed with in my 10 years so I cant provide much insight.

 

[Idoc]

Welcome to R2R... great info here. Definitely start a build thread for your new tank. I used dry Tropic Eden sand and dry pukani rock for my setup.

 

[Palyzoa]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[Kremis]

welcome! I noticed in your equipment list that you dont have a skimmer. a skimmer is probably one of the best filtration methods for a reef tank. I personally have a heavily stocked 180 gallon and have a skimmer, filter socks, chaeto, and do weekly water changes.
Your stock list looks good, you can definitely add more than what you included on your stock list. lyretail anthias are pretty and one of the cheaper anthias out there.

 

[reeftankpdx]

welcome! I noticed in your equipment list that you dont have a skimmer. a skimmer is probably one of the best filtration methods for a reef tank.

The tank I got is an all in one(came with lighting, skimmer, ect.)

Thank you guys for the replies! I will definitely make a build thread as soon as I get the replacement from Red Sea!

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

Welcome to R2R

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

Welcome to R2R! Be sure to start a build thread when you get your replacement tank in

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

Also, I've had two tanks, one with live rock and one with dry rock. My current tank is the one with dry rock and I must say it has been a better experience overall. The thought of finding hitchiking critters is always exciting but some of the hitchhiking algae that came with my live rock proved to be a big pain to deal with. The dry rock took a little longer to cycle, but ever since then it has been great and will look natural over time.

If you're wondering which dry rock to use, I highly recommend looking into BRS Reefsaver rock or Marco Rocks (my next tank will be built with Marco Rocks since they are a Florida company and I love supporting companies in my home state )