tank equipment

[john]

I am setting up a 55g tank and was planning on getting the following equipment.

AquaC Remora w/ Maxijet 1200
Ebo Jagr 250W heater
3 Maxijet 900 powerheads w/ Corallife timer.

Does anyone have any experience with these items good or bad? I am planning on ordering from marinedepot.com- any experience with them? Thanks for the help!

[btacker]

I loved the AquaC. I had it on a 46 bowfront. I would recommend the bubble trag. I used it to hold my auto top off as well because if the water level gets to low the skimmer will not be effective. I think this is a good option, but I personally would get an overflow box / sump refugium combo. You will have more options for a skimmer and it will be a healthier tank.

I would not get Maxijet 900s... I would just get the 1200s. I think that it would be better to have all the pumps the same so you can trade parts and I don't think it will be too much flow (can you have too much flow :))

What are you going to do for lights?

Also, if you haven't bought the tank yet, you might consider some of the setups in the forsale section. Plus I would consider a 75. I had a 55 and it just seems too narrow to do a reef tank. You will really be happier with the 18" depth.

[john]

I have the tank already. Greg is going to get lights for me, either a 4 bulb t5 setup or possibly one 250W MH and 4 t5s. I know the Remora is a HOT, but can it hang on the sump if I go that way later? Also, what did you use for an auto top off, and how was it set up without a sump?

[btacker]

Does this tank have a center brace? I think I would try just the t-5s first. 4 of them should be a lot of light. On my 46, I had 2x96w PCs and I had really good growth with out all the heat of a halide. I even had pretty good SPS growth. Anyway, you could add halide later if you wanted.... and if you have a center brace, one will cast a shadow.

I would say that hanging it on a sump would be bad just because you can get more effective in sump skimmers for the same price or less. Also, you would have to have a really tall sump which would be harder to work in. You can do it, but I don't think I would do it.

I had a float switch that would turn on a maxijet to pump water into the tank. I got it from SamIAm. I don't know where he got it from, but it worked great. I just had it suspended in the surface skimmer/bubble trap of the aquac and whenever the water level got low, it would get topped off from a bucket I had beside the tank.

Also, I had a CPR hang on fuge. It was great. I would recommend it also if you are going sumpless.

But there are a lot of things you should consider. If you are going to have a high calcium demand, I would definately recommend a sump. It makes dripping kalk a lot easier and less risky because you have more water volume. If this tank is not setup yet, you could get it drilled to make the sump easier to do.

I'm just going to be honest with you. I have had both, and a sump / refugium makes EVERYTHING a lot easier. I had people telling me the same thing when I was telling them that I was going to do HOB. I didn't listen and ended up pay a lot more for equipment that I could not use on my next setup. Just think about the big picture and what you are going to have to do maintence wise with your tank.

Bryan

[Brett Wilson]

I agree with Bryan and Josh.
I'd use a remora if going hang on route.
For lighting I would go with 4 T5's. If you wanted to add MH later you might have issues with a place to put it or have to use a smaller than optimal reflector, 4 T5's will fill up the hood on their own I think.

Also, I experienced better skimming (though a few more bubbles at first) when using a MAG 5 on a remora pro instead of the Maxijet.
The caveats: MAGs produce more heat if mounted in the tank (they can be mounted externally) and you may see more bubbles out of the skimmer. also the mag pumps are large and can be an eye sore.

[Brett Wilson]

For autotop off I and many others on this board recommend the Tunze Osmoregulater. though not cheap, it has many safe guards to prefent flooding.

[Ram_Puppy]

JOhn, I see no issue with hanging a remora on a sump, you just need to lengthen the tube between the pump and the skimmer itself. I think comparing the remora to other types of skimmers is apples to oranges, it works differently, and it works well. I have a remora pro w/ Mag 5 on it running on a 110 right now and it produces Filthy Nasty horrible stinky skimate. they are good skimmers. Couple things:

And this is just me:

I would buy a remora Pro with a Mag 3 on it instead of a standard remora, this gives you room to grow if you decide to break down and move up to a larger tank, it also gives you a 'buffer' of protection if something in your tank crashes, you have a more powerful skimmer that can help stabilize things. I ran one on my 30 with no ill effects for many months.

Second, I would agree, go with a sump and put a powerful return pump on it, like a Mag 12 or 18, and buy a couple SCWDS, plumb the return with a T, then hit the SCWDS on either side of the T, and run in your returns, there would be four, you would get your wave action for sure, but you would drop from 4 more power sources to feed to 1 (granted, the Mags probably eat a lot more) but you get my point.

Remora's rock, I am keeping mine until I buy a Deltec skimmer.