I ordered my Red Sea Reefer 525XL last night & want to see if my equipment list looks reasonable. I am brand new to reef aquariums, so this is all still somewhat Greek to me! Feel free to point out where my attempt at logic may have failed already
Equipment List
-Tank: Red Sea Reefer 525xL - white
-Lighting: Radion XR30W Pro G4 (x 3?)
-Return Pump: EcoTech Vectra M1 (or is this not a great choice as you can't link it to a Neptune controller?)
-Powerheads: EcoTech MP40wQD (x2)
-Wave Box: Tunze Comline 6208 (or is this unnecessary given the 2 powerheads? Or good to provide different types of movement in the tank?)
-Skimmer: Reef Octopus 150SSS
-Heaters: Cobalt Neo-Therm 300W (x2)
-ATO: Tunze Osmolator 3155
-Cover: Artfully Acrylic mesh cover
-Rock: ARC Reef or Tampa Bay Saltwater (any pros/cons of these 2? Other suggestions?)
-Substrate: Tropic Eden Live Reef Flakes? Caribsea Florida Crushed Coral? Is crushed coral ever used anymore?
-RO/DI: SpectraPure? Or are the Bulk Reef Supply or Marine Depot brands as good? 4 stage vs. 5?)
-Salt: Red Sea Coral Pro Salt Mix
Holding off for now ( I want to get the tank up & running first, or are these things it would be bad to wait on?)
-Reactor: Aquamax? Korallin?
-Dosing: looking at Neptune DOS & maybe DDR?
-Controller: haven’t seen many people using anything other than Neptunes? Are there other popular ones or is this pretty much the crowd favorite?
Any ridiculous choices, overkill in terms of size, or missing items, etc. to get the tank up & running water (not adding any type of fish/coral -- just literally moving water)?
Thank you for any advice!
Amanda
Equipment List
-Tank: Red Sea Reefer 525xL - white
-Lighting: Radion XR30W Pro G4 (x 3?)
-Return Pump: EcoTech Vectra M1 (or is this not a great choice as you can't link it to a Neptune controller?)
-Powerheads: EcoTech MP40wQD (x2)
-Wave Box: Tunze Comline 6208 (or is this unnecessary given the 2 powerheads? Or good to provide different types of movement in the tank?)
-Skimmer: Reef Octopus 150SSS
-Heaters: Cobalt Neo-Therm 300W (x2)
-ATO: Tunze Osmolator 3155
-Cover: Artfully Acrylic mesh cover
-Rock: ARC Reef or Tampa Bay Saltwater (any pros/cons of these 2? Other suggestions?)
-Substrate: Tropic Eden Live Reef Flakes? Caribsea Florida Crushed Coral? Is crushed coral ever used anymore?
-RO/DI: SpectraPure? Or are the Bulk Reef Supply or Marine Depot brands as good? 4 stage vs. 5?)
-Salt: Red Sea Coral Pro Salt Mix
Holding off for now ( I want to get the tank up & running first, or are these things it would be bad to wait on?)
-Reactor: Aquamax? Korallin?
-Dosing: looking at Neptune DOS & maybe DDR?
-Controller: haven’t seen many people using anything other than Neptunes? Are there other popular ones or is this pretty much the crowd favorite?
Any ridiculous choices, overkill in terms of size, or missing items, etc. to get the tank up & running water (not adding any type of fish/coral -- just literally moving water)?
Thank you for any advice!
Amanda