Advice For New Setup
Hi everyone, my name is Rebecca and I am based in Sydney. I am excited to be making my first post on the Reefuge as I have read and learned so much on here and I hope one day I will be able to contribute! My partner Matt and I have recently caught the reefing bug and we are hoping to start a marine tank soon. We don’t have much experience in fish keeping, and we currently have a 40L freshwater tank.
However we have recently upsized and now have enough room for a large tank that we have always wanted. We want to eventually have a reef tank (with fish as well), but we are still in the research and planning phase, trying to read as much as we can about this on the internet/forums.
We have been looking at the Red Sea Max s-650 because of its design and simplicity where everything is set up and ready to go, we are ok with the price but do wonder if we can get more for our money going the custom route. We have also read/heard a lot about the stock equipment not being the best..
I would really appreciate any input on our equipment set up? We would like a 150cm+ length tank with sump, including all the equipment that can automate processes in maintaining and monitoring the tank because we work long hours so will not be able to monitor the tank for most of the day. Outside of working hours we are definitely committed to giving the necessary care for our tank!
Current equipment list that I think we will start with includes but is not limited to:
Tank and stand: Red Sea Reefer 525XL with built in ATO
Reef monitoring system: Neptune Apex system with temp, pH and salinity probes
Wavemaker/powerhead: Neptune Wav or Ecotech MP40 – appreciate any input in this? I read that the Neptune Wav can be noisy but I like the idea of an all in one controlled system as it can be connected to the Apex system.
Chiller/heater: Teco TK1000 Chiller heater
Lighting system: Aqua Illumination Hydra 52HD but open to suggestions, we prefer LEDs that we would not need to replace
Protein skimmer and return pump: Open to recommendations – probably something that is powerful enough for the size of the tank and/or is easy to clean
RODI system: open to recommendations
To give an idea of equipment suitability our stocking list so far includes –
Corals: probably staying away from SPS at the start, will be LPS and softy mix.
Fish: Clowns, blue tang, naso tang, diamond goby, blue chromis, six line wrasse (maybe, might be too nippy for the tangs), bannerfish (maybe), foxface, bicolor dottyback
Inverts: a hardy clean up crew, to be decided
Definitely open to any advice that you have, in regards to the equipment and also – would you go with the RSM S650 or the above setup that I have shortlisted? Is the custom setup going to be too much for a novice? The Reefer tanks are marketed towards “Advanced hobbyists”… We are also open to having the equipment installed by a professional if the plumbing/wiring does get too much.
In terms of budget, our biggest consideration is functionality and quality so we are happy to pay a bit more for equipment that we can trust for our tank.
I would really appreciate any comments/input that you have, and if you are reading this, it means you have got through the very long post and thank you very much for that!
However we have recently upsized and now have enough room for a large tank that we have always wanted. We want to eventually have a reef tank (with fish as well), but we are still in the research and planning phase, trying to read as much as we can about this on the internet/forums.
We have been looking at the Red Sea Max s-650 because of its design and simplicity where everything is set up and ready to go, we are ok with the price but do wonder if we can get more for our money going the custom route. We have also read/heard a lot about the stock equipment not being the best..
I would really appreciate any input on our equipment set up? We would like a 150cm+ length tank with sump, including all the equipment that can automate processes in maintaining and monitoring the tank because we work long hours so will not be able to monitor the tank for most of the day. Outside of working hours we are definitely committed to giving the necessary care for our tank!
Current equipment list that I think we will start with includes but is not limited to:
Tank and stand: Red Sea Reefer 525XL with built in ATO
Reef monitoring system: Neptune Apex system with temp, pH and salinity probes
Wavemaker/powerhead: Neptune Wav or Ecotech MP40 – appreciate any input in this? I read that the Neptune Wav can be noisy but I like the idea of an all in one controlled system as it can be connected to the Apex system.
Chiller/heater: Teco TK1000 Chiller heater
Lighting system: Aqua Illumination Hydra 52HD but open to suggestions, we prefer LEDs that we would not need to replace
Protein skimmer and return pump: Open to recommendations – probably something that is powerful enough for the size of the tank and/or is easy to clean
RODI system: open to recommendations
To give an idea of equipment suitability our stocking list so far includes –
Corals: probably staying away from SPS at the start, will be LPS and softy mix.
Fish: Clowns, blue tang, naso tang, diamond goby, blue chromis, six line wrasse (maybe, might be too nippy for the tangs), bannerfish (maybe), foxface, bicolor dottyback
Inverts: a hardy clean up crew, to be decided
Definitely open to any advice that you have, in regards to the equipment and also – would you go with the RSM S650 or the above setup that I have shortlisted? Is the custom setup going to be too much for a novice? The Reefer tanks are marketed towards “Advanced hobbyists”… We are also open to having the equipment installed by a professional if the plumbing/wiring does get too much.
In terms of budget, our biggest consideration is functionality and quality so we are happy to pay a bit more for equipment that we can trust for our tank.
I would really appreciate any comments/input that you have, and if you are reading this, it means you have got through the very long post and thank you very much for that!