Equipment for my 240 gallon

G

guitareefs

Premium Member
Need priorities here as I am not able financially to buy all this equipment at once. But here's what I'm scouting out for right now, and please add your thoughts to each piece of equipment (why you would or would not buy, or change it to another make/model

1. I've got a couple hydor powerheads but will be getting 2 vortech MP40ws
2. Still debating on whether I want to go all out and buy ca reactor or just stick with kalk reactor or dosing pumps
3. Been wondering about long term cost on lighting. LEDs, to me, are the better choice but pricey! So I may go MH with t5s or strictly LEDs
4. Controller. Pretty set on Apex Lite. Wanna be able to control via phone/ipad. And wanna monitor/control pH and temp

So priority wise, I need a little help deciding what's important first, second, third etc. I don't plan to keep coral in until we have wall completed for inwall. it will be liverock only for a short period (even after cycling)

This is a 240 gallon tank which measures 8ft long. So I'm sure I'll be ok with 2 vortechs and I guess I can keep my other powerheads in if needed.

Hey, thanks in advance for any thoughts and opinions yall have on what yall would change or not change and what not
 
I would say this much dont just get the lite APEX. I bought the lite and wish I had bought the full one. Now I am buying all the extras that the full one came with. Also, first on list should be this, that way you can program as you go along. Now on lighting I would say LEDs, I feel that they have about same growth and color as MH or T5s. I could help you build a DIY kit you wanted. CA reactor I would put last out of those items. On a 240 gallon tank have you thought about going with Tunze? They offer same just a little cheaper and I feel they are better over all. Also, the MP40s seem kinda small for a 240 gallon tank, I think MP60s would be better for that big of a tank. I am running 2 tunze 6095s on a corner 90 gallon and still want a third one. Light would only need to come once you are ready for corals, just put a plain light over the tank till you get cycled and are ready for corals to enter. Hope this helps you get started on what you were thinking about doing.
 
Yea, thanks. I was wondering about MP60s.

So what exactly are the extras you are buying for your lite that come with the full?

And, yea I have VHO lighting on the tank now. Def don't wanna keep the VHOs on. Might keep them as supplement to MH if I go MH, but I like T5s better. But yes, I may end up going LED. I've seen first hand LEDs are capable of giving a shimmer effect. I love the shimmer!
 
If you plan on running a Ca reactor I'd go with a full Apex as you'll want that second pH port. The variable speed ports could be used for DIY LED control as well if you go that route.

Upgraded power heads and lighting would be lower on my list if you'll be waiting a bit before getting corals.

In terms of cost, LED's will most likely save you money in the long run as you won't have to spend money on bulb changes, they use less electricity, and generate less heat so you may not need a chiller (another added cost) and the higher electrical cost from running a chiller. Of course, the reverse happens in cooler months. I have a pair of 300w heaters and a pair of Mag 12 return pumps that is barely enough to keep the tank heated if our house is at 65 - 68 degrees as I get no heat from the LED lights.

You could also start with something like a Bubble Magus triple doser if you have a light Ca/Alk/Mg load (i.e. not a lot of corals or other things that do not require large amounts of Ca/Alk/Mg) and then change out to something else as needed or when you make your decision on how you want to supplement.

There are a lot of good ATO's out there. I'm still just running a JBJ with aqualifter. I do, however, tie it into my Apex to take care of any reset and timeout issues, have multiple back-up float switches tied through a break out box going to the Apex, and a salinity probe going through the Apex as redundancy to keep the ATO from dumping too much top off into the tank.
 
Like Mike said, you get the extra PH port, I wish I had that :(, also you get the variable speed ports. I bought a VDM and will be buying a second VDM soon. I need 2 of the ports for my tunze pumps to control wave flows at different times of the day. Like 8am to 12pm I keep them at 30%-50% pulse, daytime hours I put them at 50%-80% pulse with a couple hours of rest with no flow and feed timers kick on. Then randomly I have storms in the day time which cause a title wave action for about a min cleaning behind my rocks, running pumps at 30% to 100%. The other 2 ports are controlling my LEDS, but I have 5 drivers that need to be controlled. To get the full sun rise sunset effect I need a couple more Vdms to control them each on there own.
 
Purchase your filtration and flow items first. (skimmer?) They are the hardest to change after everything else is added.
Really like my MH's with LED supplement. Purchase that after flow or LR. Retro LED's for acitinics are just about the same price as T5's.
Don't need the lighting up front but in an inwall it's easier to get it installed prior to adding livestock. disregard if you are buying a fixture.

Live rock next
Controller
Corals, fish.
Calcium reactor is difficult to get established while changing your calcium usage often so I place it lower on my list, just figure out its spacig requirement now. Once your calcium usage goes up then get the reactor. Kalk works fine for most non SPS dominated tanks.
ATO is unneccessary the first few months you spend so much time on the tank anyway it's not a big deal. get it when you are pressed for time. Most work fine, I like ATO.com as it's much cheaper than some other versions. Lots of people have success with a DIY ATO go with two switches minimum.

what type of tank are you considering mixed or SPS?
 
Itll be mixed

I have a Euroreef cs8-2 skimmer. About 150 lbs of rock and I plan to add at least 100 to 150 lbs more

Thanks for the responses!
 
For my 280g, I used three Mp40s and was very happy with the flow. Two on one end and one on the opposite end. Mathematically, I think you'd come out about the same versus two Mp60s.

Agree with others you want the Apex, not the lite version.

You can manually dose additives initially, and later decide if you want to get a reactor. When you first set up the tank, the alk & ca demand won't be to great, so you've got time to save up for that next big purchase.
 
Kalk reactor will work but have it separate from topoff use a dosing pump to supply the mall reactor


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Its been a while. Tank is finally plumbed and ready for water. Getting an rodi unit and buying reef crystals. Been debating on an ato. Been eyeing this one... http://www.marinedepot.com/JBJ_Automatic_Top_Off_%28A.T.O.%29_System_Water_Level_Controller_Electric_Powered_Dosing_Pumps_Top_Off_Plug_In_Units-JBJ_Lighting-JB5111-FIDPETPU-vi.html

Thoughts?
 
I've been running those on various setups for a while with an aqualifter pump. Open it up when you get it and set the timeout to the max setting (instructions on JBJ's website, blue potentiometer on the inside IIRC). The aqualifter pumps sometimes do not draw enough current so you'll want to put it on a timer or run it through an Apex to reset it every few hours. I've also got mine setup with backup float switches and a salinity probe to switch it off should something fail catastrophically.
 
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