Good Brands For Sw Equipment

[Alexone]

Hello fishlore. Small time lurker finally created an account.

I am looking to build my first Saltwater tank and I am looking for brand recommendations (for quality) for various equipment..

Tanks, protein skimmers, heaters, lighting, power heads, return pumps, test kits etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

 

[Tony_097]

Any budget restraints or price ranges ?

 

[Jesterrace]

Hello fishlore. Small time lurker finally created an account.

I am looking to build my first Saltwater tank and I am looking for brand recommendations (for quality) for various equipment..

Tanks, protein skimmers, heaters, lighting, power heads, return pumps, test kits etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

Honestly there are many variables with this. What size tank? Are you going HOB (Hang On Back) or Sump for filtration (Generally under 50-55 gallons most do HOB and over that size you do sump)? What is your budget? What space do you have available for a tank and equipment?

For Test kits, probably the best bang for buck all in one starter kit is the Red Sea Marine Care Test Kit. Some people consider API fine for cycling (technically you can use the Freshwater Kit for Saltwater, just print out the Saltwater or Reef Color chart) but I don't recommend them at all since I feel they have too many shortcomings (ie False Positives for Ammonia and too wide of a range of interpretation for nitrate levels).

 

[ryanr]

Hi, welcome to Fishlore

Budget is definitely a consideration when recommending brands. My setup was what I'd call a medium range, high quality setup.

Tanks; a tank is a tank really, mine was custom built. Though if you want the best experience, starphire/starfire glass will give the best viewing quality (but be aware, it does scratch real easy)

Protein skimmers; Deltec, Bubble Magus are top of the line. Reef Octopus and Tunze are great mid-range. My Tunze was very good.

Heaters; I use Eheim Jager, but any heater really. Depending on tank size, consider using two.

Lighting; if you want a price shock, Giesemann, EcoTech Radion, I used Maxspect R420r and was really happy.

Power heads; EcoTech Vortech, Tunze, Sicce are all nice. I used Tunze 6055 on a multi-controller.

Return pumps; Eheim, Sicce. They're all pretty good, I used Eheim.

Test kits; API, Hanna, Red Sea, Salifert, Seachem
- Ammonia, nitrite, the API is fine (once you're cycled, you won't use them again)
- I used Red Sea for NO3, PO4, Mg, Alk, Ca.
- Phosphate, the Hanna Checker.
- Refractometer; any of them really, I think mine was Reef Octupus
sidenote: Hanna make digital testers for just about everything, and are highly regarded, and easy to use.

Supplements; depends how you go about it. I used Red Sea and Seachem AquaVitro. But there's plenty of them out there.

Salt Mix; Instant Ocean (or IO Reef Crystals), Seachem AquaVitro Salinity (loved this one)

General stuff: Two Little Fishies for reactors, cheap and effective.

 

[McRib]

For return pumps and power heads, you can always go with Jebao. They’re super cheap and perform fairly well.

 

[Jesterrace]

For return pumps and power heads, you can always go with Jebao. They’re super cheap and perform fairly well.

Agreed. The DC Series return pumps by Jebao are really tough to beat for the money. I run an older DC8000T model on my 90 gallon and 40% power provides good, strong flow. I tried it on 50-60% once for a minute or two and it turned my tank into a whirlpool.

 

[Alexone]

Thanks for the replies guys, some very helpful info

For tank I have been looking at the Red Sea Reefer 350 and would like to create a fuge within the sump.

Lighting I was looking at the AI Hydra 26/52 but I do not know if these are really required? Plus they're very pricey, are lights worth the long term expensive investment?

 

[ryanr]

The lights are included in the Red Sea system aren't they? Or are you not looking at the Deluxe system?

IMHO - yes, that lighting system is worth the money. programmable, Cree LEDs, good nano spectrum (aka actinic). The money you pay now will be saved by not having to replace tubes, plus the electricity savings (over T5HO that is). Only thing that strikes me is the 80 degree lenses.... 120 would be better, but I haven't looked at how closely spaced they are.
Hydra HD Series » AquaIllumination

A system like that, I wouldn't look to change it unless you need to. I'm a huge fan of Red Sea systems, they're well spec'd, customisable and look great.

I wouldn't bother with trying to put a fuge on it, I prefer bio-pellets myself, but that's individual preference.

 

[Alexone]

The lights are included in the Red Sea system aren't they? Or are you not looking at the Deluxe system?

IMHO - yes, that lighting system is worth the money. programmable, Cree LEDs, good nano spectrum (aka actinic). The money you pay now will be saved by not having to replace tubes, plus the electricity savings (over T5HO that is). Only thing that strikes me is the 80 degree lenses.... 120 would be better, but I haven't looked at how closely spaced they are.
Hydra HD Series » AquaIllumination

A system like that, I wouldn't look to change it unless you need to. I'm a huge fan of Red Sea systems, they're well spec'd, customisable and look great.

I wouldn't bother with trying to put a fuge on it, I prefer bio-pellets myself, but that's individual preference.

I wasn't looking at the Deluxe however if I do finalize on getting AI Hydra lighting then I may as well go ahead and get the Deluxe version.

For what reason would yo not bother trying to put a fuge on it? I have not looked in to these bio-pellets, what are the pros/cons of them over a fuge?

Also I am looking at RO/DI filters. BRS one seem great from fishlore users however I do not think I can get one here in the UK.

I have found this 100 GPD 4 Stage Aquarium Reverse Osmosis any thoughts?

 

[Jesterrace]

Thanks for the replies guys, some very helpful info

For tank I have been looking at the Red Sea Reefer 350 and would like to create a fuge within the sump.

Lighting I was looking at the AI Hydra 26/52 but I do not know if these are really required? Plus they're very pricey, are lights worth the long term expensive investment?

Honestly, Red Sea Reefer Kits are very complete and nice, but here in the US there are better options for the money IMHO. Given that you are in the UK, if you are looking at an all in one system it might be your best bet since options and selection there are pretty limited. As for the AI Hydra 26/52HDs. Here is what I can tell you, unless you are looking to grow the most difficult/light demanding corals in the hobby don't waste your money on the Hydra52 lights as a pair of them would be super spendy and overkill on a 73 gallon tank. That said, the Hydra 26HD lights are an incredible value for the money, even though they are a bit on the spendy side. I run a pair of them rail mounted over my standard 90 gallon tank and they do a great job and will grow a wide variety of coral. In addition to getting a powerful and well built light you are also getting a light that offers arguably the most customizable/programmable settings of any out there. It goes way beyond just simply having a built in timer to turn on and off your lights, you can do a nice easy ramp up/ramp down (simulates sunrise and sunset), follow the lunar cycle and far beyond (even simulate a lightning storm, although I don't recommend it because it freaks out the fish). The thing I appreciate most is that any time I kill the power or have a power outage the lights will resync within a minute or two and continue to follow the pre-programmed schedule as if nothing has happened. Adding further to their resume, the company that makes them (AI) is currently owned by Ecotech Marine, who produces the Gold Standard Radion LEDs, so they incorporate much of the same technology into the AI lights (at a significantly reduced cost). Here is a review of mine and you can see them in action over my 90 gallon:

One final thing on the lights, as cool as it is to have a Phone or Tablet app to program them with, it's actually much more stable and easier to program them via desktop/laptop on the myaI website. I had all kinds of stability and programming problems with the app, switched to the website and programmed it the way I wanted several months ago and haven't had a problem since. I actually deleted the phone app and haven't looked back.

Also I am looking at RO/DI filters. BRS one seem great from fishlore users however I do not think I can get one here in the UK.

I have found this 100 GPD 4 Stage Aquarium Reverse Osmosis any thoughts?

Generally with the nicer units they go with 5 or 6 stage, but unless you have very high TDS water that 4 stage should be fine. It would be a good investment to see if you can find a TDS Meter to see where your tap water is at. I think you can find one on the Amazon UK site if you can't find one anywhere else. Truth be told you really only need a 50 gallon per day unit unless you have a really big tank, so if you can find something similar for less money in the 50GPD variety go for it. Your weekly demands will be about 10 gallons to be mixed with salt for partial water changes and about 2-3 gallons of regular RODI for top up. Based on that you could get more than 3 weeks worth of water demands out of one full day of use of the 50GPD unit and I don't recommend storing water for much longer than that (particularly the saltwater) as it turns nasty if it sits too long.

 

[Alexone]

Generally with the nicer units they go with 5 or 6 stage, but unless you have very high TDS water that 4 stage should be fine. Truth be told you really only need a 50 gallon per day unit unless you have a really big tank, so if you can find something similar for less money in the 50GPD variety go for it. Your weekly demands will be about 10 gallons to be mixed with salt for partial water changes and about 2-3 gallons of regular RODI for top up. Based on that you could get 3 weeks worth of water demands out of one full day of use of the 50GPD unit.

Thank you for your advice on both of my questions. I'll look for a 50GPD 4 stage.
Another question I have is calculating the flow rage for my aquarium, I understand I need a 30x turnover of my tank. The tank I am looking at is 350L (275L DT, 70L Sump and 18L RO reservoir)

To calculate the flow rate would it be 350*30? Or 275*30?

Also I have read my sump needs 5x the turnover, is this turnover achieved from just the return pump? Or is my skimmer included in this also?

 

[Jesterrace]

Thank you for your advice on both of my questions. I'll look for a 50GPD 4 stage.
Another question I have is calculating the flow rage for my aquarium, I understand I need a 30x turnover of my tank. The tank I am looking at is 350L (275L DT, 70L Sump and 18L RO reservoir)

To calculate the flow rate would it be 350*30? Or 275*30?

Also I have read my sump needs 5x the turnover, is this turnover achieved from just the return pump? Or is my skimmer included in this also?

I would do the flow with total water volume (aka sump included). The Skimmer produces flow but IMHO it's not anywhere near the same league as as what a return pump creates, so I would go based strictly on the return pump.

 

[ryanr]

For what reason would yo not bother trying to put a fuge on it? I have not looked in to these bio-pellets, what are the pros/cons of them over a fuge?

Hi,
To me, a fuge just adds another aspect to maintain. Depends whether you want the fuge as a grow out tank for frags, or for nutrient export (e.g. Macro algaes). If it's nutrient export, then I'd go bio-pellets, to me, it's a much simpler easier method. Plus you don't need another light.

Also I have read my sump needs 5x the turnover, is this turnover achieved from just the return pump? Or is my skimmer included in this also?

I go on the 5 x through the sump. Not sure where I got that recommendation, but it would been a general consensus when I was researching mine. One thing I'd do though, is make sure the skimmer runs at or above the rate of the return pump. That way (theoretically at least), the skimmer is processing all water going through the sump.
When calculating flow through the tank, you can include the skimmer, but as Jester has suggested, it's more the return pump, combined with the flow rates of your powerheads.

 

[Jesterrace]

I agree with RyanR. If it weren't for the fact that my sump gives me a simple solution refugium, I probably wouldn't have one and would just use something like a GFO (Granulated Ferric Oxide) media bag in my HOB filter. That's what I did on my sumpless 36 gallon and it seemed to work pretty well.

With the sump all I had to do was:

1) Get some Chaeto from my LFS and attach it to a piece of Live Rock in my Sump
2) Add a cheap LED Grow light and timer
3) TrI'm excess Chaeto Growth and donate it to my LFS about once a month

I didn't have to modify an HOB Filter and worry about attaching a light or giving up any space in my display tank for one.