The Good, the bad and the ugly

[Ichthy]

[not sure this is in the right area sorry]

I want to give my 75gal the best equipment I possible can.

What is the best[the good]; what is the ok[the bad]; and what is the worse[the ugly]
for everything, lights, filters, skimmer, etc.

[Europhyllia]

what kind of set up are you working on? I think that will really influence of what is best for your set up.
(Example: I don't do SPS. If I 'needed' MH lighting for SPS then I might also need a chiller and so on)

For me part of the goal is to impact the real reefs as little as possible and that includes stuff like energy consumption so for me this is what I consider best:
ATI T5 fixture
Sicce Syncra return pump
Vortech MP40w powerheads/wavemakers
I now have a ASM skimmer that I like but am considering a AquaC for the next set up to run with another syncra pump.

I had a generic T5 fixture and it wasn't nearly as good as the ATI. Worse of course would have been powercompacts
I have a mag pump and a rio hyperflow and both are okay but use more energy than the syncra.
I have had Korallia powerheads and didn't care much for them. I liked the Seios with controller better and would consider those okay. I hear Korallia has new ones out called Evo that would be okay too.

[txg8gxp]

I agree with karin, depends on what you want out of it. I'm now useing a tek 6x39 t5, tunze wavebox and a mag 7 return. I too would like a sicce return pump, but I'm very happy with the t5 fixture and wavebox. I'm using a reef octopus 110 skimmer and don't have any complaints with it. With alittle more info on what you want to keep, I'm sure you will get some good info/ideas.

[txg8gxp]

I moved your thread here for you. I think this is a better place for it.

[RayAllen]

Most of us in this hobby do not have the best out there because the best is very very expensive. You are talking thousands for lighting and skimmers. Id say I have and have always had midrange equipment and aquariums. German products seem to be highdollar but are built to last.

Id be more concerned with having good equipment that is built well and does the job well, versus having the best.

check out some threads on reefcentral. Some of the people on their go all out. Check out the large tank forum. A single tank will set some of them back $10-30k+ easy. You could buy a great car with that.

[Europhyllia]

yeah I was impressed with this one having to be moved in by crane:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1811725

[txg8gxp]

Wow, they paid more for the crane then I did for my tank I'm sure.

[RayAllen]

Obviously all the answers you get will be Opinions.

Lighting- MH PFO HQI Pendants for DE Bulbs- I prefer Ushio or Reeflux bulbs. T5s I have not owned but have heard good things about ATI
Ballast- I prefer ICECAP
Skimmers- Octopus are low-midrange skimmers and are awesome for the money.
Aquariums- now as far as the brand, I dont know, but mostly everyone wants Starfire glass.
return Pumps- I prefer Mag pumps. I have never had one crap out on me.
Powerheads- Vortech MPs and Tunze are considered the best, I use Koralias and they work great for me.

[Big_Pun]

like any hobby you get what you pay for. do a lil research and figure out what direction you want to go with your tank and then figure out what equipment you will need

[txav8r]

yeah I was impressed with this one having to be moved in by crane:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1811725

92 pages?! Thanks a lot, Karin... That's gonna take me the rest of the day to read! LOL

[Europhyllia]

Actually I sort of lost interest after the first few pages but I thought the crane was impressive ;)

[txav8r]

Okay. I cheated. I skipped to the end. It'sstill not finished but it will be impressive when it is.

[Ichthy]

Pretty much what i want is something that has worked for somebody else [ie a skimmer] that didn't die after a few months or a year.
I was told that Sea Clone is not a very good skimmer, it's ok but it's cheap.
A few people have told me that they have heard of Sea Clone but never used them cause good things weren said.
I want to give my tank the best that i can, given money.
I dont wanna spend like 10grand on a skimmer cause of the name brand but cause it will last a lifetime and the performance.
Mainly what i'm asking, if what's good to have and what's bad to have.
I'm asking for experience with certain items or name brands, like "i trust sea reef cause it's never crapped out on me and i like the performance i got with it"
or "i hate clone reef cause it crapped out after a few months"
I wanna know what works and what doesnt without getting me into debt.

[txg8gxp]

I have a reef octopus 110. It's been running almost 3 months, with no issues. Not a top shelf skimmer, but I really like it for the money.

[Europhyllia]

I've had the ASM G1-x for a year or so and it's been fantastic. Very easy to use. The Sedra pump that comes with it really makes great small bubbles.
I read that for tanks under 200 gallons pinwheel or needle wheel skimmers (like the ASM) are the way to go but that spray inject technology is better for bigger tanks.
If I wasn't upgrading from my 125g to a 215g I would have happily stayed with the ASM G1-X. I think that skimmer was just under $300 new. Torn between selling it or keeping it as a back up.
Not the cheapest, not the most expensive. I think the company has been around for 30 years or so so not a fly by night thing either.

[Double-O-Zilch]

92 pages?! Thanks a lot, Karin... That's gonna take me the rest of the day to read! LOL

I tried just scanning for pics and gave up. I did figure out it wasn't done yet!

[Europhyllia]

yes I really only needed 4 pages of this: picture of crane delivering, picture of putting it in, picture of tank with live rock, picture of fish room running, picture of equipment, picture of tank full, close ups, FTS, done. Too much yada yada... lol