Sanity check my shopping list

[wills]

Hey folks,

I've been out of the hobby for roughly 10-15 years, having cut my teeth with nano aquariums and working in a LFS for a few years. I've finally decided to get back into things and love how much everything has come along in the hobby- and especially the increased attention on sustainability, smart tech and the availability of quality equipment.

I'm looking to get my feet wet by getting a Red Sea Reefer G2+ 250 (from what I can see this is a classic entry-level midsized build!)

I'd love to get some sanity checks on my build- a couple of things that are a high priority for me;

1) Relatively plug and play, and low maintenance (I'm busy with work and don't have tonnes of space to do DIY)
2) Making things easy to monitor and control remotely (I travel frequently for business, and though my partner is happy to feed, I'd want to be able to check on everything remotely)

I'll be looking to have a mixed reef (LPS/ SPS mainly, with some zoas), and leaning heavily into interesting critters vs. fish.

Tank: Red Sea Reefer G2+ 250
Skimmer: Red Sea Reefer Skimmer 300
Return Pump: ReefRun 5500
Fleece roller: Red Sea ReefMat 250
Lighting: Ecotech Radion XR30w Pro G6 (I prefer 'whiter' lighting vs. blue)

RO: TMC V2Pure 100
Top off: Reef can 40 + Red Sea ATO
Salt: Red Sea Coral Pro 22kg
Testing: Refractometer and basic test kit (for now)

Rock: I'm going to kick things off with a 20lb box of Caribsea life rock, and do some additional seeding with a few kg of live rock

Dosing: I'm intending to start things off without any dosing. Whilst I might go for this later, really I think for now it's overkill... (plus my wallet is already screaming!!)
Misc: I know I'll need a mag float, a net (or two), some tubs, cheap mixing powerhead and a cheap heater, and likely some cabinet LEDs just for ease of seeing everything

Help needed:

• Powerheads: I'm thinking either 1 x Ecotech MP40, 2 x Ecotech MP10s, OR 2 x AI Nero 5's (suggestions very welcome!!)
• Heating: I'm seeing some mixed trains of thought RE heaters- I was originally just going to bung a simple one in, but now thinking I might do a D-D Dual temp controller with a D-D 250w titanium heater. Thoughts welcome!

If I've missed anything important or should consider something differently please let me know!

 

[1112-425XL]

Looks like you've done your homework. I keep two heaters in my sump in case one dies. They're connected to my Coralvue Hydros.
Once you have you're rockwork in place you'll have to figure out what works best for flow. You'll definitely want at least two powerheads of your choice. Good luck! Looking for to your Build Thread...

 

[wills]

Thanks!

I pulled the trigger- and ended up going with:

2 x MP 10s
A Reef factory thermo control temp controller (likely will add a pH monitor as well in due course)

I also sprung for a Red Sea Reef Dose 4

I'm going to figure out a way to make a low-effort water change system as well, but will do a propper build thread

​

 

[Jekyl]

Powerheads - Jebao from Amazon. 1/4 the cost of MP and can actually change the direction they face.

Heaters - eheim with an inkbird controller.

 

[tuscani]

My setup...

Red Sea Reefer 250 G2+ System (54 Gal Display, 11 Gal Sump)
Red Sea Reefmat 250
Red Sea RSK 300 Reefer Protein Skimmer
Ecotech Radion G6 XR15 (QTY 2)
Aqua Illumination Nero 5 Powerhead (QTY 2)
Caribsea 40lb Fiji Pink Sand
Sicce Syncra Silent 3.0 Pump
Eheim 150w Heater (QTY 2) On an Inkbird Controller
Kamoer X1 PRO-T Dosing Pump (Only dosing AFR)