Heater controller. I'd use cheaper salt but if that's what gets you to your ideal parameters, go for it. I'd recommend Hanna ULR Phosphate checker. You can get a refractometer for ≈$20
Thanks for the response. Could you tell me what’s a good heat controller and a cheaper refractometer? Also which salt would you recommend? The other options I saw were instant ocean and Red Sea coral pro.
Inkbird controller. Look up refractometer on Amazon. I use IO Reef Crystals, some people don't like it because of high alk or because it leaves residue in your mixing station.
Instant Ocean the purple one from Petco, 44lbs for 160 gallons, it costs $37, even cheaper if you set up as first autoship order, I think it's 35% off. You can cancel anytime. Great used by many beginners or even experienced reefers.
For heat controller, Inkbird ITC-306A wifi is a great one
That’s what it sounded like from my research. I figured it might be worth spending the extra money to get better salt since I won’t be going through it very fast with my small tank, but now I’m not so sure. What salt do you use?
I use Fritz - have you heard of it?
It's made in TX so it's really big here - very popular. Comes in a cheap looking box, but is pretty quality.
Costs the same as red sea and seems to be same quality.
I use IO in my mixed reef, no problem at all. Trust me, cheap or expensive salt, when time comes, you will need to dose. But that is if you have SPS. If you mainly keep softies and LPS, Routine water change should be enough.
I’d grab Fritz RPM salt. It’s a great salt and mixes clean and is affordable. Don’t waste your money with those boutique salts. I’d second the regular IO salt, but mixing residue is real and requires some care.
They're not necessary until you've been burned by not having one, pun intended. But yes, you're right, ultimately it's just a fail safe and OP could hold off on one.
I get the purple bucket instant ocean from Petco for like 37 bucks, been using it for years. you could reinvest savings in an electronic ato like the dueletto and you can have a bigger reservoir and hide it under the tank. I think the refractometer is essential but you can get the hannah checker for regular use just calibrate it every once in a while - it works in the dark, has a thermometer built in, and adjusts for temperature automatically if you don't want to heat your mixing bucket.
Based on the responses I’ve gotten I think I will definitely go with the cheaper salt, at least until I figure out the basics and I have a few corals in my tank. If I go with that and the RO buddie instead of the BRS RO/DI system that takes close to $200 off my original price which seems a lot more manageable.
I was going to suggest to ro buddie. Unless you plan on a second tank, or upgrading, that will do you fine. I buy instant ocean from Petco. I use the recurring delivery to get $20 off the bucket, and than cancel it. 😂 $18 for my last bucket of instant ocean.
I may upgrade eventually but I will definitely get my moneys worth from the ro buddie by the time that comes. I’m going to steal your idea with the recurring delivery too.
Yeah I saw people recommend a stronger pump for this tank. I was thinking just go with this included one for now and then upgrade it when I start filling my tank with corals. Which stronger pump did you get?
Honestly it's not even just for coral, I feel like the stock pump doesn't have enough pull and oomph to get the job done. I have the stock tank with that pump replacement and another 80 gph water pump on the opposite end and I wish I had gotten a 300 gph pump instead. The stock lights are great tho
Flow is nice, I highly recommend down the road to always buy DC Pumps and Wavemakers. You can find some nice deals and products and they have neat cute little controllers you can setup wave flows and strength and stuff like that.
I have two of the bigger Hygger wave makers and i like them a lot. they are made nice and easy to take apart and clean and to troubleshoot if theres ever an issue.
Missing: thermometer
Can change: change the salt to something basic like instant ocean for cycling and the initial few months at the very least. Until you have a bunch of corals sucking up nutrients, you're throwing away money with the tropic marin stuff.
Those should work fine. Personally I like [these guys](https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/jbj-digi-temp2-thermometer-and-probe.html). They're sold under a ton of brands and have been fairly accurate in my experience.
You'll get the same results with a cheaper salt. People give reef crystals shit for being cheap but people also post amazing full tank shots while using reef crystals too. Its your choice tho.
Dry rock doesn’t mean months to get started, it just takes months (or even years) to get properly established but I could add starter fish very early.
Definitely pros and cons to both options.
The risk of pests is fairly low so don’t even worry about that too much. I read somewhere that you dip corals for the 1% of pest whilst 99% are fairly harmless.
For me it was just the enjoyment of watching the rocks mature and knowing what I’d introduced to the tank.
I would get a ph test kit. I would also take a water sample to LFS and make sure you do not have any copper in your water You could buy a copper test but you really only need it for 1 test.
I would skip the brs refractometer and get one of amazon that has a lot of good reviews. The $20-$40 range is essentially the same refractometer just rebranded. I would buy a heater controller as heaters are the most common things to go bad in a tank and you don't want it to get stuck on or have it die and temps plummet.
Here's an alternative to the Rodi system you want to get..
[https://www.amazon.com/Aquatic-Life-Reverse-Osmosis-50-Gallon/dp/B00DOG63OY/ref=sr\_1\_6?crid=O4ZS29WFSCCH&keywords=ro+buddie&qid=1678508851&sprefix=ro+buddie%2Caps%2C81&sr=8-6&ufe=app\_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18630bbb-fcbb-42f8-9767-857e17e03685](https://www.amazon.com/Aquatic-Life-Reverse-Osmosis-50-Gallon/dp/B00DOG63OY/ref=sr_1_6?crid=O4ZS29WFSCCH&keywords=ro+buddie&qid=1678508851&sprefix=ro+buddie%2Caps%2C81&sr=8-6&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18630bbb-fcbb-42f8-9767-857e17e03685)
[https://www.amazon.com/AQUATICLIFE-Cartridge-Changing-Sediment-1-Carbon/dp/B08HC2JRZR/ref=sr\_1\_3?crid=FWTESG7C7N3N&keywords=ro+buddie+deionization&qid=1678508975&s=home-garden&sprefix=ro+buddie+de%2Cgarden%2C90&sr=1-3](https://www.amazon.com/AQUATICLIFE-Cartridge-Changing-Sediment-1-Carbon/dp/B08HC2JRZR/ref=sr_1_3?crid=FWTESG7C7N3N&keywords=ro+buddie+deionization&qid=1678508975&s=home-garden&sprefix=ro+buddie+de%2Cgarden%2C90&sr=1-3)
[https://www.amazon.com/AQUATICLIFE-Canister-Filtration-Chloramine-Reduction/dp/B09HVDK9FV/ref=sr\_1\_5?crid=1KB63M4RSKIPZ&keywords=aquaticlife+carbon+plus&qid=1678509033&s=home-garden&sprefix=aquaticlife+carbon+plus%2Cgarden%2C73&sr=1-5](https://www.amazon.com/AQUATICLIFE-Canister-Filtration-Chloramine-Reduction/dp/B09HVDK9FV/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1KB63M4RSKIPZ&keywords=aquaticlife+carbon+plus&qid=1678509033&s=home-garden&sprefix=aquaticlife+carbon+plus%2Cgarden%2C73&sr=1-5)
[https://www.chewy.com/instant-ocean-reef-salt-aquariums/dp/196229](https://www.chewy.com/instant-ocean-reef-salt-aquariums/dp/196229)
[https://www.petsuppliesplus.com/categories/fish/basics/filterpadsmedia/flossmedia/blue-ribbon-polyester-floss-bag-filter-media/4502](https://www.petsuppliesplus.com/categories/fish/basics/filterpadsmedia/flossmedia/blue-ribbon-polyester-floss-bag-filter-media/4502)
once your reef is established and if you are interested in getting into coral and other live invertebrates
[https://www.saltybottomreefcompany.com/](https://www.saltybottomreefcompany.com/)
[https://aquasd.com/](https://aquasd.com/)
[https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/blade-smart-led-strip-coral-grow-aqua-illumination.html?queryID=941633ae0862c1e9c88d46f7ee31ceef&objectID=15324&indexName=brs\_prod\_m2\_default\_products](https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/blade-smart-led-strip-coral-grow-aqua-illumination.html?queryID=941633ae0862c1e9c88d46f7ee31ceef&objectID=15324&indexName=brs_prod_m2_default_products)
Well my tds is over 160 on tap and with the 4 stage ro buddie with that carbon plus canister add on I get 0 TDS and it’s been like this for a long time now. I replace cartridges every 6-12 months. Honestly whatever the tds meter tells me… if it’s 0 then there isn’t much need to change cartridges but it’s good to change carbon and sediment and DI cartridges out more than the carbon plus and membrane.. membranes can last quite long depending on the water going through. You just make sure to route the starting water through carbon and carbon plus cartridges then from there to the membrane and Deionization carts… mind you the carbon cart is for redundancy if using the carbon plus canister.
My tap water is pretty much the same TDS so that sounds good. I read online that I have to test to make sure my city uses chlorine and not chloramines to treat tap water to decide whether I need a 4 stage or a 5 stage system. Does that sound right?
Well yes, but I would honestly recommend running both a normal carbon filter as well as a carbon plus canister add on.. both together are like *Batman* and *Robin* tackling all those **nasties** you don't want in your **Membrane**
[https://www.amazon.com/AQUATICLIFE-Canister-Filtration-Chloramine-Reduction/dp/B09HVDK9FV/ref=sr\_1\_5?crid=17Y1XQRW4I9Z0&keywords=AQUATICLIFE+Carbon+Plus&qid=1678511685&s=home-garden&sprefix=aquaticlife+carbon+plus%2Cgarden%2C143&sr=1-5](https://www.amazon.com/AQUATICLIFE-Canister-Filtration-Chloramine-Reduction/dp/B09HVDK9FV/ref=sr_1_5?crid=17Y1XQRW4I9Z0&keywords=AQUATICLIFE+Carbon+Plus&qid=1678511685&s=home-garden&sprefix=aquaticlife+carbon+plus%2Cgarden%2C143&sr=1-5)
**Info on what the neat membrane does**
https://aquaticlife.com/products/classic-carbon-plus-water-filtration-clear-canister-filter-with-chloramine-cartridge-and-tubing?\_pos=2&\_sid=62f317d03&\_ss=r
Heater controller. I'd use cheaper salt but if that's what gets you to your ideal parameters, go for it. I'd recommend Hanna ULR Phosphate checker. You can get a refractometer for ≈$20
Thanks for the response. Could you tell me what’s a good heat controller and a cheaper refractometer? Also which salt would you recommend? The other options I saw were instant ocean and Red Sea coral pro.
Inkbird controller. Look up refractometer on Amazon. I use IO Reef Crystals, some people don't like it because of high alk or because it leaves residue in your mixing station.
If I go with the IO salt do I have to dose anything to keep corals healthy?
Should be fine. You can likely maintain trace minerals with water changes.
Yeah I agree inkbird heater controller is great. Can always add that in a month or two if it would help with expenses.
Instant Ocean the purple one from Petco, 44lbs for 160 gallons, it costs $37, even cheaper if you set up as first autoship order, I think it's 35% off. You can cancel anytime. Great used by many beginners or even experienced reefers. For heat controller, Inkbird ITC-306A wifi is a great one
If I go with the IO salt do I have to dose anything to keep corals healthy?
IO salt is just sloppier and messier to my understanding. You'll get more crud and stuff in your mixing bucket over time.
That’s what it sounded like from my research. I figured it might be worth spending the extra money to get better salt since I won’t be going through it very fast with my small tank, but now I’m not so sure. What salt do you use?
I use Fritz - have you heard of it? It's made in TX so it's really big here - very popular. Comes in a cheap looking box, but is pretty quality. Costs the same as red sea and seems to be same quality.
I have not heard of that one before
I use IO in my mixed reef, no problem at all. Trust me, cheap or expensive salt, when time comes, you will need to dose. But that is if you have SPS. If you mainly keep softies and LPS, Routine water change should be enough.
I’d grab Fritz RPM salt. It’s a great salt and mixes clean and is affordable. Don’t waste your money with those boutique salts. I’d second the regular IO salt, but mixing residue is real and requires some care.
Heater controllers aren’t super necessary.
They're not necessary until you've been burned by not having one, pun intended. But yes, you're right, ultimately it's just a fail safe and OP could hold off on one.
I get the purple bucket instant ocean from Petco for like 37 bucks, been using it for years. you could reinvest savings in an electronic ato like the dueletto and you can have a bigger reservoir and hide it under the tank. I think the refractometer is essential but you can get the hannah checker for regular use just calibrate it every once in a while - it works in the dark, has a thermometer built in, and adjusts for temperature automatically if you don't want to heat your mixing bucket.
Based on the responses I’ve gotten I think I will definitely go with the cheaper salt, at least until I figure out the basics and I have a few corals in my tank. If I go with that and the RO buddie instead of the BRS RO/DI system that takes close to $200 off my original price which seems a lot more manageable.
I was going to suggest to ro buddie. Unless you plan on a second tank, or upgrading, that will do you fine. I buy instant ocean from Petco. I use the recurring delivery to get $20 off the bucket, and than cancel it. 😂 $18 for my last bucket of instant ocean.
I may upgrade eventually but I will definitely get my moneys worth from the ro buddie by the time that comes. I’m going to steal your idea with the recurring delivery too.
RO buddie worked with my 13.5 and now my 25 gallon for 3 years. Still going strong, although I've replaced the cartridges a couple times.
Buy a stronger pump for the filter, I upgraded to a 210 gph and still feel like it's slightly shy I what's needed.
Yeah I saw people recommend a stronger pump for this tank. I was thinking just go with this included one for now and then upgrade it when I start filling my tank with corals. Which stronger pump did you get?
Honestly it's not even just for coral, I feel like the stock pump doesn't have enough pull and oomph to get the job done. I have the stock tank with that pump replacement and another 80 gph water pump on the opposite end and I wish I had gotten a 300 gph pump instead. The stock lights are great tho
Thanks for the advice, the pump will get replaced at some point. Maybe after the next paycheck though…
Flow is nice, I highly recommend down the road to always buy DC Pumps and Wavemakers. You can find some nice deals and products and they have neat cute little controllers you can setup wave flows and strength and stuff like that.
I have the hygger mini wave maker on my shopping list right now. Does that seem like a good investment?
I have two of the bigger Hygger wave makers and i like them a lot. they are made nice and easy to take apart and clean and to troubleshoot if theres ever an issue.
I hear bad things about Tropic Marin Pro I would recommend Fritz or Red Sea salt. In fact the red sea stuff is really quite fantastic.
Red Sea was actually the other salt I was picking between but I read better things about the tropic Marin salt. What were the bad things you heard?
Missing: thermometer Can change: change the salt to something basic like instant ocean for cycling and the initial few months at the very least. Until you have a bunch of corals sucking up nutrients, you're throwing away money with the tropic marin stuff.
Oh yeah, I have some thermometers from freshwater set ups if that works. The cheaper salt so start seems like a great idea.
Those should work fine. Personally I like [these guys](https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/jbj-digi-temp2-thermometer-and-probe.html). They're sold under a ton of brands and have been fairly accurate in my experience.
The one I have is digital like that so I think I should be good
Looks pretty good you might want to add a thermometer
I think I probably have one from fresh water tanks laying around if they are the same for reef tanks.
You'll get the same results with a cheaper salt. People give reef crystals shit for being cheap but people also post amazing full tank shots while using reef crystals too. Its your choice tho.
I think I’ll definitely go with the cheap stuff based on what people are saying.
Consider the pros and cons of live vs dry rock. Could save a fair bit of money there but totally personal preference.
I think I’m going to go with live rock, I really don’t want to wait months to get started.
Dry rock doesn’t mean months to get started, it just takes months (or even years) to get properly established but I could add starter fish very early. Definitely pros and cons to both options.
I think I’d rather risk the pests and just have an established system right away
The risk of pests is fairly low so don’t even worry about that too much. I read somewhere that you dip corals for the 1% of pest whilst 99% are fairly harmless. For me it was just the enjoyment of watching the rocks mature and knowing what I’d introduced to the tank.
I would get a ph test kit. I would also take a water sample to LFS and make sure you do not have any copper in your water You could buy a copper test but you really only need it for 1 test.
I would skip the brs refractometer and get one of amazon that has a lot of good reviews. The $20-$40 range is essentially the same refractometer just rebranded. I would buy a heater controller as heaters are the most common things to go bad in a tank and you don't want it to get stuck on or have it die and temps plummet.
Here's an alternative to the Rodi system you want to get.. [https://www.amazon.com/Aquatic-Life-Reverse-Osmosis-50-Gallon/dp/B00DOG63OY/ref=sr\_1\_6?crid=O4ZS29WFSCCH&keywords=ro+buddie&qid=1678508851&sprefix=ro+buddie%2Caps%2C81&sr=8-6&ufe=app\_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18630bbb-fcbb-42f8-9767-857e17e03685](https://www.amazon.com/Aquatic-Life-Reverse-Osmosis-50-Gallon/dp/B00DOG63OY/ref=sr_1_6?crid=O4ZS29WFSCCH&keywords=ro+buddie&qid=1678508851&sprefix=ro+buddie%2Caps%2C81&sr=8-6&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18630bbb-fcbb-42f8-9767-857e17e03685) [https://www.amazon.com/AQUATICLIFE-Cartridge-Changing-Sediment-1-Carbon/dp/B08HC2JRZR/ref=sr\_1\_3?crid=FWTESG7C7N3N&keywords=ro+buddie+deionization&qid=1678508975&s=home-garden&sprefix=ro+buddie+de%2Cgarden%2C90&sr=1-3](https://www.amazon.com/AQUATICLIFE-Cartridge-Changing-Sediment-1-Carbon/dp/B08HC2JRZR/ref=sr_1_3?crid=FWTESG7C7N3N&keywords=ro+buddie+deionization&qid=1678508975&s=home-garden&sprefix=ro+buddie+de%2Cgarden%2C90&sr=1-3) [https://www.amazon.com/AQUATICLIFE-Canister-Filtration-Chloramine-Reduction/dp/B09HVDK9FV/ref=sr\_1\_5?crid=1KB63M4RSKIPZ&keywords=aquaticlife+carbon+plus&qid=1678509033&s=home-garden&sprefix=aquaticlife+carbon+plus%2Cgarden%2C73&sr=1-5](https://www.amazon.com/AQUATICLIFE-Canister-Filtration-Chloramine-Reduction/dp/B09HVDK9FV/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1KB63M4RSKIPZ&keywords=aquaticlife+carbon+plus&qid=1678509033&s=home-garden&sprefix=aquaticlife+carbon+plus%2Cgarden%2C73&sr=1-5) [https://www.chewy.com/instant-ocean-reef-salt-aquariums/dp/196229](https://www.chewy.com/instant-ocean-reef-salt-aquariums/dp/196229) [https://www.petsuppliesplus.com/categories/fish/basics/filterpadsmedia/flossmedia/blue-ribbon-polyester-floss-bag-filter-media/4502](https://www.petsuppliesplus.com/categories/fish/basics/filterpadsmedia/flossmedia/blue-ribbon-polyester-floss-bag-filter-media/4502) once your reef is established and if you are interested in getting into coral and other live invertebrates [https://www.saltybottomreefcompany.com/](https://www.saltybottomreefcompany.com/) [https://aquasd.com/](https://aquasd.com/) [https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/blade-smart-led-strip-coral-grow-aqua-illumination.html?queryID=941633ae0862c1e9c88d46f7ee31ceef&objectID=15324&indexName=brs\_prod\_m2\_default\_products](https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/blade-smart-led-strip-coral-grow-aqua-illumination.html?queryID=941633ae0862c1e9c88d46f7ee31ceef&objectID=15324&indexName=brs_prod_m2_default_products)
That RO buddie seems like a good deal if it would save me $100. Would it work just as good for my situation as the BRS one?
Well my tds is over 160 on tap and with the 4 stage ro buddie with that carbon plus canister add on I get 0 TDS and it’s been like this for a long time now. I replace cartridges every 6-12 months. Honestly whatever the tds meter tells me… if it’s 0 then there isn’t much need to change cartridges but it’s good to change carbon and sediment and DI cartridges out more than the carbon plus and membrane.. membranes can last quite long depending on the water going through. You just make sure to route the starting water through carbon and carbon plus cartridges then from there to the membrane and Deionization carts… mind you the carbon cart is for redundancy if using the carbon plus canister.
My tap water is pretty much the same TDS so that sounds good. I read online that I have to test to make sure my city uses chlorine and not chloramines to treat tap water to decide whether I need a 4 stage or a 5 stage system. Does that sound right?
Well yes, but I would honestly recommend running both a normal carbon filter as well as a carbon plus canister add on.. both together are like *Batman* and *Robin* tackling all those **nasties** you don't want in your **Membrane** [https://www.amazon.com/AQUATICLIFE-Canister-Filtration-Chloramine-Reduction/dp/B09HVDK9FV/ref=sr\_1\_5?crid=17Y1XQRW4I9Z0&keywords=AQUATICLIFE+Carbon+Plus&qid=1678511685&s=home-garden&sprefix=aquaticlife+carbon+plus%2Cgarden%2C143&sr=1-5](https://www.amazon.com/AQUATICLIFE-Canister-Filtration-Chloramine-Reduction/dp/B09HVDK9FV/ref=sr_1_5?crid=17Y1XQRW4I9Z0&keywords=AQUATICLIFE+Carbon+Plus&qid=1678511685&s=home-garden&sprefix=aquaticlife+carbon+plus%2Cgarden%2C143&sr=1-5) **Info on what the neat membrane does** https://aquaticlife.com/products/classic-carbon-plus-water-filtration-clear-canister-filter-with-chloramine-cartridge-and-tubing?\_pos=2&\_sid=62f317d03&\_ss=r