My 100g reef tank with no sump. One year on in H.D.
Reef tank 10 years ago 22,678 views
A lot has chamged in one year!!. The big difference is every thing has grown, and so has my knowledge!!. If you want to make things simple then just hang a skimmer on the back, and put some T.5 lights over head.Not the best reef on youtube, but given the low cost when compared to some, and the fact that 2 out of 3 people fail in the hobby, I can't complain. .
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Happy reefing.
Not sure about the lights. Many LED won't grow coral. A high powered LED unit should use about 60+ watts of power.
Jebao don't always last. I have heard a lot of good and bad things about them. I would stick with them for now.
You need 20-30 times your tank volume per hour for flow.
Start with a new dry sand bed. The old one could be full of waste and phosphates. You could if you really wanted to just use the top layer.
Red sea are not that expensive compared to buying all the stuff separately. But if you buy everything separately you can choose what you want. One thing Red Sea don't tell you, is that you will need a chiller with most red sea max tanks. This can add £400 ($600) to the start up cost. as long as you have enough flow, and the right lighting, I would stick with what you have already. See my vid how to build a reef tank part 13 or 14, on reef tank setup, and build cost.
I couldn't live with out then now, but for any newbe I would wait, till you have some corals in your tank. A first you may only need to dose once a week, so it is easy. only when you need to dose every day will you need dosing pumps.
I think water chemistry is the last of your worries. Dosing pumps cost £100- 300 ($150-450 USD) Find out if you can keep fish and a few easy corals first!!!!.
I have a whole 15 part video series on how to build a reef. Miss out part 4. Read parts 10/11 further down the line when you want to add corals. You have a lot of reading and learning to do!!!.
10. comment for My 100g reef tank with no sump. One year on in H.D.
A sump will give you a bit of extra water volume, and make things neater, but it is not a must have, to have a great looking tank.
In your case you would need to drill the tank with a hole for the overflow, and have the right space under the tank for the sump. Add the cost of sump + return pump ect......
You wont need the air pumps, and canister fillters are not that good for salt water tanks. (see part 8 of how to build a reef tank). Phosban/carbon reactors are better. You do not need any dosing pumps at the moment. You will need some live or dry rock, a good refractomiter to chek the salinity, and of cause some salt.
The best advice is to start off with a fish only tank, then add corals later.
You probably have some lights already. You don't need any speial lights for a fish only tank. Once you are confident at keeping fish, doing water changes and keeping phosphates below 0.03, then get some lighting and corals!!!.
20. comment for My 100g reef tank with no sump. One year on in H.D.