Several sponsors do in home service. Being in Auburn, you might want to check with Classic City Aquariums if you are interested. @adamdaniel210 is their rep here on the site.
Getting back in the water after 30 years
- Thread starter NanCrab
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Best thing to do is look at the parameters for each salt and try to match it with what you plan at keeping your reef at. There really isnt a bad salt on the market anymore. Some mix cleaner, some faster etc. BRS did a video on this. I personally use Fritz blue box and I have seen great results.
To piggyback on what @ActiveAngel said about placing rock, its' very important that you place to rock on a stable platform. I made the mistake of placing the rocks on top of the sand when I setup my first tank and the rocks started falling. I felt uneasy about placing the rock directly on the glass due to stress points so I used eggcrates suspended on 1" high pvc pipes. Im glad I did this since I got some gobies that like to dig tunnels underneath.
Haha. I’ve been asked that before. I don’t at the moment. I’m so busy lately that if I did, I’d have to charge a little bit. And I prefer just helping for free.
I’m sorry if I contributed to the feeling of being overwhelmed. Rest assured; I have complete confidence that you’ll do great, even if you didn’t have our help. It comes across in your writing.
My advice is just take things 1 step at a time. A lot of this process is waiting. Use that time to keep reading and watching videos. There’s also a lot of conflicting information out there, and oftentimes in a conflict, both sides can be correct. So feel free to shoot us questions. we’ll be happy to connect the dots to help everything make sense!
All the advice you've gotten here has been great. The one thing that hasn't been mentioned it going to a fish store and looking at how their systems are set up. Some of the best for this would be Classic City, Atlanta Aquarium and Pure Reef. These are also in order of distance from you and you can find info and locations for them in the sponsor area of the forums. The last one is a bit of a drive for you but they have several setups for sale on their floor. Looking at them and getting an understanding of the way things have changed since you were last in the hobby would be very helpful. There are several other great stores but these probably have the best opportunity to see both running systems and setups on the floor for sale that you can put your eyes on and touch.
You can also ask here on the forums for those members that are close to you to see if you can go see their systems. Most reefers love to show off their tanks and welcome other hobbyists into their homes. I always recommend this because it not only gives you a chance to see some really cool aquariums but it gives you the opportunity to ask questions. What do they like about their setup? What don't they like and wish they'd done different? How do these creatures get along? How do they handle water changes?
You can learn a great deal from all the tons of videos on YouTube. But seeing things in person has some great advantages as well. You'll also find there's probably several people more than willing to come give you a hand too. By in large, the reefing community is one of the more friendly groups you'll run across.
I also would recommend that you start looking at RODI systems and where you want to place it now. You'll need to plan out where and how you're going to make and mix the water. Figuring these things out sooner rather than later is going to be a big help down the road. It's also among the plethora of things you can learn from seeing members setups. I have a feeling you and your husband aren't going to be wanting to lift a lot of water. Changing water is important and if it's a PITA for you two it's likely yo get put off longer than it should.
Always remember, nothing fast happens in reef tanks other than death. You're already saying your going to take things slow and that's the absolute best way to get started with saltwater.
You can also ask here on the forums for those members that are close to you to see if you can go see their systems. Most reefers love to show off their tanks and welcome other hobbyists into their homes. I always recommend this because it not only gives you a chance to see some really cool aquariums but it gives you the opportunity to ask questions. What do they like about their setup? What don't they like and wish they'd done different? How do these creatures get along? How do they handle water changes?
You can learn a great deal from all the tons of videos on YouTube. But seeing things in person has some great advantages as well. You'll also find there's probably several people more than willing to come give you a hand too. By in large, the reefing community is one of the more friendly groups you'll run across.
I also would recommend that you start looking at RODI systems and where you want to place it now. You'll need to plan out where and how you're going to make and mix the water. Figuring these things out sooner rather than later is going to be a big help down the road. It's also among the plethora of things you can learn from seeing members setups. I have a feeling you and your husband aren't going to be wanting to lift a lot of water. Changing water is important and if it's a PITA for you two it's likely yo get put off longer than it should.
Always remember, nothing fast happens in reef tanks other than death. You're already saying your going to take things slow and that's the absolute best way to get started with saltwater.
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Welcome to the community and back to the hobby! I bet you didn't expect to get plowed with so much useful information. 
What this should tell you is the fact that this is an active community with a membership willing to share it's collective knowledge. I won't add to the wealth of info that has already been shared but agree with most of what has been said. You will find that everyone has their own choices when it comes to equipment. Some of this stuff has crazy high price tags. But on the lower end of the cost spectrum you can find suitable products that are effective in accomplishing the job. Where I have had good luck with Ecotech Radion lights, someone else has had success with much less expensive led lighting. I would suggest that keeping an eye on the for sale forum here will enable you to find good equipment at a reasonable cost. FWIW I'll be posting a well priced BRS RO/DI system sometime this week. Good luck, great reefing and I look forward to meeting both of you!
What this should tell you is the fact that this is an active community with a membership willing to share it's collective knowledge. I won't add to the wealth of info that has already been shared but agree with most of what has been said. You will find that everyone has their own choices when it comes to equipment. Some of this stuff has crazy high price tags. But on the lower end of the cost spectrum you can find suitable products that are effective in accomplishing the job. Where I have had good luck with Ecotech Radion lights, someone else has had success with much less expensive led lighting. I would suggest that keeping an eye on the for sale forum here will enable you to find good equipment at a reasonable cost. FWIW I'll be posting a well priced BRS RO/DI system sometime this week. Good luck, great reefing and I look forward to meeting both of you!
Awesome advice. Thank you! Everyone has already been so amazing and it's our first post! My husband is really handy, actually has his own business, so he will be able to make a sump tank from scratch. We have learned so much already from videos and people here and reading other threads. We already have to change the placement because the weight would be too much and the noises were parallel not perpendicular. I never would have thought of that had I not watched the brs videos. Getting am electrician to install a sub panel box on the exterior wall next to where the tank will be so we can have dedicated circuits for the equipment. I a little worried about the space requirements, none of this equipment was used 30 yrs ago outside the tank so there's a real learning curve. I dont have the budget to spend 10k on a custom setup so I will need to buy one component at a time before I can even think about putting water in the tank. Buying the tank was step 1 after much research. I would have gone for a smaller tank but decided the biggest we could manage was better. That is how I ended up with the 125 tank but now that I have it it seems huge and overwhelming but we will get there. This is something we've wanted literally for decades, since we had to dismantle ours when we moved here from Chicago 29 yrs ago. We've waited this long so if it takes time to get it right, so be it
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Welcome back
RonS
Well-Known Member
Welcome to the Club, and welcome back to the hobby!!
I, too, was out for a while and came back, so I understand how everything has changed!!
I haven't scrutinized every word of what's come before, so forgive me if I repeat anything. Here's my $0.02, FWIW...
Regarding power, I can't see where you'd need an entire new subpanel just for the tank. As others have noted, the industry has moved to LED lighting, which draws only a fraction of the power of previous solutions. That also means less heat, so a chiller usually isn't needed, either. If you could have a single dedicated outlet installed, that could be useful... make it a 20 amp just to be safe, but an entire panel is probably overkill.
Regarding the tank, getting the largest you think you can handle (and then the next size bigger is still the way to go. The small/nano tanks are cool, and I bought one... and immediately regretted it. I am now upgrading to a larger tank, and kicking myself for not going even larger. You'll begin thinking what you have is small, soon... as others have noted, they are actually growing corals now, not just waiting for them to slowly die like we did in the 90s!
As for the sump... I agree that bigger would be better, But, what you have is nice. One option (possibly too complicated to mess with, I understand!) would be to get a second plastic/acrylic container and just plumbing the two together. That would give you the water volume and elbow room you'll need, work around that center divider, and reduce cost (probably. Just be sure to save room under there for other gear, especially a fresh water top-off reservoir!
My suggestion on lighting is Kessil. If your previous experience was with metal halide and/or fluorescent, trust me - you won't be happy with the light coming from other LED brands. Kessil has their own light elements made for them, and they put the different colored lights very close together. This results in a smooth, consistent light hitting your reef. Other brands use larger LEDs and try to blend them using a lens. It doesn't work. What you get is a multi-colored dappled/rainbow light. It looks awful to me... try googling "aquarium light disco ball effect" and you'll see what I'm talking about. The Kessils are expensive (though not the most expensive option out there), but well worth it, IMO. One thing that hasn't changed is that it doesn't pay to skimp on lighting!!
Another place that it's worth spending money is on a DC (rather than AC) return pump. The are quiet (nearly silent) and offer much better flow control. I tried it and will never go back!
Heaters... people will recommend getting a controller, and running "dumb' heaters with external temperature sensors. Many consider this to be more accurate/reliable. I am a big fan of the Cobalt brand heaters... BRS has a video on this as well, and the Cobalt with onboard temperature sensor was the best performer of the test. They are also resin-filled and basically unbreakable. And should cost less than a separated system
Speaking of controllers.... that's definitely a place where you can save some money. Do the research and decide if you really need one or not. If you don't have a problem with manually testing and adjusting things, then go without. You can easily start without one. But if you think you might get one down the road, keep compatibility in mind when buying individual subsystems. Controllers are one area you'll definitely want to research/ask about early on so you'll have a direction for the future.
OK, sorry to be so long-winded!! I am only a novice compared to those who have commented before me here, but I wanted to give you the perspective of someone who recently came back to the hobby. They will surely correct me if I'm steering you wrong : D
Enjoy!!
--Ron
I, too, was out for a while and came back, so I understand how everything has changed!!
I haven't scrutinized every word of what's come before, so forgive me if I repeat anything. Here's my $0.02, FWIW...
Regarding power, I can't see where you'd need an entire new subpanel just for the tank. As others have noted, the industry has moved to LED lighting, which draws only a fraction of the power of previous solutions. That also means less heat, so a chiller usually isn't needed, either. If you could have a single dedicated outlet installed, that could be useful... make it a 20 amp just to be safe, but an entire panel is probably overkill.
Regarding the tank, getting the largest you think you can handle (and then the next size bigger
is still the way to go. The small/nano tanks are cool, and I bought one... and immediately regretted it. I am now upgrading to a larger tank, and kicking myself for not going even larger. You'll begin thinking what you have is small, soon... as others have noted, they are actually growing corals now, not just waiting for them to slowly die like we did in the 90s!As for the sump... I agree that bigger would be better, But, what you have is nice. One option (possibly too complicated to mess with, I understand!) would be to get a second plastic/acrylic container and just plumbing the two together. That would give you the water volume and elbow room you'll need, work around that center divider, and reduce cost (probably
. Just be sure to save room under there for other gear, especially a fresh water top-off reservoir!My suggestion on lighting is Kessil. If your previous experience was with metal halide and/or fluorescent, trust me - you won't be happy with the light coming from other LED brands. Kessil has their own light elements made for them, and they put the different colored lights very close together. This results in a smooth, consistent light hitting your reef. Other brands use larger LEDs and try to blend them using a lens. It doesn't work. What you get is a multi-colored dappled/rainbow light. It looks awful to me... try googling "aquarium light disco ball effect" and you'll see what I'm talking about. The Kessils are expensive (though not the most expensive option out there), but well worth it, IMO. One thing that hasn't changed is that it doesn't pay to skimp on lighting!!
Another place that it's worth spending money is on a DC (rather than AC) return pump. The are quiet (nearly silent) and offer much better flow control. I tried it and will never go back!
Heaters... people will recommend getting a controller, and running "dumb' heaters with external temperature sensors. Many consider this to be more accurate/reliable. I am a big fan of the Cobalt brand heaters... BRS has a video on this as well, and the Cobalt with onboard temperature sensor was the best performer of the test. They are also resin-filled and basically unbreakable. And should cost less than a separated system
Speaking of controllers.... that's definitely a place where you can save some money. Do the research and decide if you really need one or not. If you don't have a problem with manually testing and adjusting things, then go without. You can easily start without one. But if you think you might get one down the road, keep compatibility in mind when buying individual subsystems. Controllers are one area you'll definitely want to research/ask about early on so you'll have a direction for the future.
OK, sorry to be so long-winded!! I am only a novice compared to those who have commented before me here, but I wanted to give you the perspective of someone who recently came back to the hobby. They will surely correct me if I'm steering you wrong : D
Enjoy!!
--Ron
Hey Ron, great post! I agree with most everything you said. The one area I think you may have confused what others have recommended is with the Heaters. Most don't recommend getting a "dumb" heater to us with a controller of some kind. It's to use controller in conjunction with a "smart" heater, one that has it's own thermostat like the Cobalt you mentioned.
Heaters fail. And when the thermostat or contacts inside the unit fail it usually ends up with the heater being stuck on. With a controller you set it's range for on/off a degree higher and lower than the temp you set on the heater. If/when the heater fails it will cut the power to the heater when the temp rises so your tank doesn't get cooked. The display on the controller also offers you a quick way to see the temp of the system.
You can use a relatively cheap controller like a $35 Inkbird or something a little higher cost. Like a Ranco or JBJ True Temp all the way up to the most expensive in an aquarium controller, Apex, GHL...
It's all about having redundancy to protect the system.
Thank you for posting. I still have an empty tank and have already made a couple of errors in what I’ve purchased. Fortunately it’s not too late as all is returnable and unused thus far. I just cannot afford the best of everything. I got a highly rated Jebao DC return pump but perhaps went too cheap on the lights. I am considering getting another tank to attach to the sump for more space. Or I may be looking at removing that divider and bracing the tank center with lumber so I can put in a larger sump. It may have to be a diy sump because the ready made ones are outrageously priced.
RonS
Well-Known Member
Sorry to be overly specific on the heater issue!! Of course, you can use either type of heater with an external controller. My point was that if you buy a high quality heater, you can better “risk” not shelling out for the extra controller. I’ve only ever had cheap glass heaters die... the Cobalt units (and other “digital” heaters), I believe, use a thermistor rather than a bi-metal thermostat, which “should” be more reliable.
Which is just a long way of saying that I bought what I feel are high quality heaters and skipped the added cost of a stand-alone controller. But one can always be added later.
Also.... I’m sure it was said before, but the items being sold on these forums are a great way to get good quality stuff at very reasonable prices. I always check here first before buying new!!
Enjoy!!!
—Ron
Which is just a long way of saying that I bought what I feel are high quality heaters and skipped the added cost of a stand-alone controller. But one can always be added later.
Also.... I’m sure it was said before, but the items being sold on these forums are a great way to get good quality stuff at very reasonable prices. I always check here first before buying new!!
Enjoy!!!
—Ron
For the sump you can always look on here to see if someone is selling one or on Reef2reef.
Also some companies sell conversion kits that turn a regular sized aquarium that you can get from petco or petsmart into a sump. Here is some that are on EBAY.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr....TRC2.A0.H0.Xsump.TRS0&_nkw=sump+kit&_sacat=0
Here is another place to look at
https://www.exoticmarinesystems.com/collections/sump-kits
Another option, is to see what pricing @tonytran509 can get you for a sump. He runs a shop that builds stuff out of acrylic.
This would be a great option. You don't necessarily need a big fancy sump that costs 1000s of dollars. A well made acrylic box with a few baffles can work just fine. My sump on my 120 is just that and works just fine for me.
tonytran509
Well-Known Member
yea it all depends on how big you want the sump... im not even close to price to online at all... have done a few members sumps here so far and everyone is happy with the quality and price... or i think they are lol... but yea let me know what you want in size and baffles and i can work out a quote for you...
Thank you. If I draw a picture of my proposed setup and upload it do you think I'd get some feedback?
Yeah of course we will give you some feedback. We want you to succeed.
First, please don't judge! Haven't begun to think about cleaning this yet.
Basic (probably stupid) question...does the water flow from the tank into the larger end section or the smaller end section? I'm thinking there's some kind of rhyme or reason to the drilled holes and heights of the separators.
My thoughts if this is all I use are inflow, filtering agents/devices (not sure what goes in the smaller sections), refugium, and protein skimmer/return pump in final section.
If I plumb another tank to it through the separator in the cabinet that cannot be removed, or probably should not be removed, I would put the protein skimmer and return pump in the attached tank on the other side?
Obviously we really are so new to this I have no idea but from the gazillion videos we've watched we're getting an idea that evidently there are multiple ways to set up a sump system.
Several here have said this sump is too small but when I look online these same or smaller measurements are what are being sold for up to 200 gallons and my tank is 120. I didnt take a picture of the height but it is 14". Also, thoughts on algae scrubber? In lieu of refugium? I heard about them on one of the videos but I'm kind of delirious from information overload at this point.
Anyway, comment away!
Basic (probably stupid) question...does the water flow from the tank into the larger end section or the smaller end section? I'm thinking there's some kind of rhyme or reason to the drilled holes and heights of the separators.
My thoughts if this is all I use are inflow, filtering agents/devices (not sure what goes in the smaller sections), refugium, and protein skimmer/return pump in final section.
If I plumb another tank to it through the separator in the cabinet that cannot be removed, or probably should not be removed, I would put the protein skimmer and return pump in the attached tank on the other side?
Obviously we really are so new to this I have no idea but from the gazillion videos we've watched we're getting an idea that evidently there are multiple ways to set up a sump system.
Several here have said this sump is too small but when I look online these same or smaller measurements are what are being sold for up to 200 gallons and my tank is 120. I didnt take a picture of the height but it is 14". Also, thoughts on algae scrubber? In lieu of refugium? I heard about them on one of the videos but I'm kind of delirious from information overload at this point.
Anyway, comment away!
I really cannot tell how this sump is supposed to work. The baffles and the drilled holes are throwing me off. I try to imagine water going into either one of the outside compartments and where the water would flow but then get all discombobulated. Lol
You need to first figure out your return pump- as it is in the last section. So, where does it fit? That will help you in figuring out your flow and direction.
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