Hello new to the forum and just picking up the hobby.

Mikesonera

Mikesonera

New member
Hello to all,

I am very excited to start my first reef aquarium ,after endless months of reading ,and doing research I am very hopeful. I am amazed by the reefing community ,and the volumes of knowledge you all share. I have been taking slow steps ,throughout the process, picking up good deals along the way on certain items and not willing to sacrifice on others. I am far from over but I am starting to finally see progress. Thus far, I have acquired the following:

1. Deep Blue 75 Gallon Rimless with center drilled overflow and matching stand
2. Eshopps R100 Refugium
3. Dry Fiji Rock ( I have 30 LBS I need about another 40 LBS and rubble for the sump)
4. Hydor Evolutions and Hydor Smartwave Controller
5. All needed plumbing ,check valves, gate valves, etc...
6. Reef Crystals and two 32 gallon mixing containers
7. Eheim return pump, mixing station pump (off-brand)
8. Hand Held Refractometer
9. Master Reef Water Test Kit
10. 300 W Fluval Heater ( I will connect this to a relay that will be controlled by a Digital Fuji Temperature controller and K type thermocouple for auto cycling)
11. Tropic Eden Reef Flakes (40 LBS need another 40 LBS)
12. Still need many other components protein skimmer, RODI unit, lighting (maybe LED China made ebay specials)

Well enough with all that, I appreciate all your collective knowledge and will look forward to reading all your postings.


Thanks

Mike

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Niiiiiice tank to start with! Everything you have there looks good, but consider getting a controller from the get go, you won't regret it. Also you may want to get 2 150w heaters instead of one 300w for redundancy and may want to consider ditching the hydor smartwave/koralias for some Jebao DC pumps or some other DC powerheads. Those smartwaves just keep clicking the pumps on and off, its noisy and will break them sooner rather than later. They have a tendency to spin backwards when that happens.
 
Welcome Mike! That tank looks great, I love my 80 gallon deep blue. I agree with Ted, if you have the ability to return those Hydors and pick up a Jebao you won't regret it. I used Hydors at first, but the Jebao are so much nicer. I ordered mine from fishstreet (might cost a little more then the group buy, but they ship fast and honor their warranty). I also agree that having two heaters is a must, however I would add another 300w instead of buying two 150w. The electricity used will be the same either way, as if you have more heaters they will be on less, but use more electricity during that time frame and if you have less heaters they will take longer to heat the tank and so be on longer. Anyway, you are off to a great start. Don't hesitate to ask questions, maybe you won't end up with a pile of used dry goods you will never use again.
 
jm23 said:
I ordered mine from fishstreet (might cost a little more then the group buy, but they ship fast and honor their warranty). I also agree that having two heaters is a must, however I would add another 300w instead of buying two 150w.
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You can also order the pumps from Amazon.com which will be covered by their A-Z guarantee, they are the same price as fish street. New Fish in Chicago also carries them and may honor the warranty. The reason I said to go with 2x150w over 1x300w heaters is that in the event that one of them sticks on it won't cook the tank, but if one of the 300w heaters sticks on it will cook everything. Less of a problem with a controller, but always something I worry about (redundancy and safeties).
 
Thanks guys for all the tips and Ted you are correct I did notice one of the power heads running backwards . I thought it was a fluke and I'm also not liking the sound they make when they kick back on so back they go .
 
Nice set-up Miguel & Welcome to the Jungle ... I would definetly add another 300w instead of buying two of the 150 w.
Bob













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Mikesonera,

That's going to be a sweet tank. Love the design! Are you going to go peaceful reef or predator tank with it?

Jordan
 
Jordan,

Thanks , I'm planning on a peaceful tank set up ,as a newbie I think this would be my best/safest option.
 
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Looking great Mike. I suggest two things: Wait on the coral a bit. That tank is going to go all green with algae real soon, and eventually will turn purple when coralline out-competes. In my experience coral doesn't do well until after you're starting to purple. I'd also stay way away from sps coral at the beginning, they're tough to keep alive in a tank that isn't well-aged and perfected and they are generally more expensive than lps and softies. I'd also give you the same advice I give anyone doing a peaceful reef: get a conch, it's the best invert out there and your landscaping is perfect for one!
 
Tanks looking good, I love my reef flakes so I'm sure you will like them too.

did you get a controller?

what lighting did you choose?
 
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