40g breeder setup

[Reefsurfing]

I was thinking that equipment wise this might be a good place to start! Any feedback and/or guidance from you more experienced reefers would be awesome!
Keep in mind I plan on keeping mostly corals and if a fish or two finds its way into the tank; so be it!
Tank-40G breeder
Light - ATI sunpower 4x39 or 6x39
Protein skimmer -Octopus' NWB 150 (This is from my 90 gallon) I will be getting the 160 extreme for the 90
Sump Refugium- 20g Long with three compartments ( i need some advice on baffle set up, lighting for macro algea etc.)
Return Pump- I currently have a mag 5 collecting dust but I have seen up to a 9.5 on a 40 galon before; which size is best?
Flow- Undecided - I am thinking of an mp10 MAYBE
Also, any plumbing tips or tricks would be awesome folks. My previous experience is with reef ready tanks and one hob overflow which I want to stay away from.

Tank $40
Light w/bulbs $420
Pro skm $269
Refugium $20
rtn pump FREE (Maybe)
flow Undecided
Misc exp. $100(sand, salt, etc)
Stand $50
-------------------------
Roughly $900 and this is before the flow is decided on

 

[nixer]

420$ for lighting heck that would almost put you into led

ive also got a few new 40 breeders to setup. im considering led a serious option

 

[Reefsurfing]

LEd is like triple the cost

 

[nixer]

LEd is like triple the cost

no way dude look around the sponsors

 

[clowns101]

I think you can set it up cheaper IMO.

 

[Reefsurfing]

I think you can set it up cheaper IMO.

Im all ears... eyes I guess would be more appropriate. Saving money means more can go in the tank!

 

[Mr E Wrasse]

I'm guessing you took advantage of the Petco aquarium sale like i did

 

[Mr E Wrasse]

check out this fixture... I am going to drill my 40breeder and I might go with this light, pretty good bang for your buck. As far as your pump goes you could go with either a mag 7 or 9. Are you drilling the tank or going to do an overflow? I checked the Aqueon website and it says that there 40 breeder is not made with tempered glass, the sides or the bottom. As far as the refugium goes (and others will disagree) i would scrap that idea and just go with a reactor or two, carbon and maybe NP pellets or there's the new ecoBak from Warner Marine (which i just ordered). Those will help control your nitrates and phosphates with a little more precision than a fuge. MP10 might be too small for a 40, might want the mp40 (borderline)

 

[Reefsurfing]

AMAZING sale!

I like the light fixture for the price! Thats mounted, splashguard and everything. The only negative I saw was there seemed to be no way to phase out lights to get a moon/sun phase. AS far as the MP40 it would break the bank so I dont have the option.

 

[Mr E Wrasse]

AMAZING sale!

I like the light fixture for the price! Thats mounted, splashguard and everything. The only negative I saw was there seemed to be no way to phase out lights to get a moon/sun phase. AS far as the MP40 it would break the bank so I dont have the option.

there are 3 switches, each switch controls 2 bulbs. So you could certainly set it up to have only 2 bulbs come on early/late. I understand about the MP40, those suckers are pricey!

 

[Mr E Wrasse]

these are pretty cheap fixtures too

 

[swannyson7]

AMAZING sale!

I like the light fixture for the price! Thats mounted, splashguard and everything. The only negative I saw was there seemed to be no way to phase out lights to get a moon/sun phase. AS far as the MP40 it would break the bank so I dont have the option.

That fixture appears to have only one cord so you wouldn't be able to automate the lighting, but you could do it manually if you want to do some budget reefing. I did it for a couple years on my 55 because I found a fixture cheap.

 

[clowns101]

That fixture appears to have only one cord so you wouldn't be able to automate the lighting, but you could do it manually if you want to do some budget reefing. I did it for a couple years on my 55 because I found a fixture cheap.

But if you look at the side of the fixture,there are switches that might,and probobly are used to shut certian lights on and off.


Reefsurfing-I think you could let it up for like way below $900 I dont know what you really want to keep/do with this system but their ar emanythings that you could do to keep this cheaper.

 

[swannyson7]

But if you look at the side of the fixture,there are switches that might,and probobly are used to shut certian lights on and off.
Reefsurfing-I think you could let it up for like way below $900 I dont know what you really want to keep/do with this system but their ar emanythings that you could do to keep this cheaper.

With only one cord you won't be able to use any timers though. There were four switches.... one for the moonlights, and then the other three control 2 bulbs each. If you were willing to play electrician, you could probably rewire it to hook up each ballast on an independent cord so that you could use timers.

 

[Reefsurfing]

The lighting issues have changed Im going to make my wallet really hate me and just go with LED's! Maxspect (g2 170) has a reasonably priced unit boasting 170W of 3wLeds, no way to dim, but cmon its 3w LEDs. I agree I could do this setup significantly cheaper but I would not be satisfied with it imho. My other option was to not make my wallet hate me and get a 6 bulb tek and ride that out for a year until LED prices drop and quality goes up. I am kicking around both options, so, the only thing left is to hear from my fellow reefers.

700$ for a new led or drop 300$ for t5 and wait for more/better LED options for that same 700$ price tag!

 

[nixer]

The lighting issues have changed Im going to make my wallet really hate me and just go with LED's! Maxspect (g2 170) has a reasonably priced unit boasting 170W of 3wLeds, no way to dim, but cmon its 3w LEDs. I agree I could do this setup significantly cheaper but I would not be satisfied with it imho. My other option was to not make my wallet hate me and get a 6 bulb tek and ride that out for a year until LED prices drop and quality goes up. I am kicking around both options, so, the only thing left is to hear from my fellow reefers.

700$ for a new led or drop 300$ for t5 and wait for more/better LED options for that same 700$ price tag!

thats not bad. it sure beats the price in a year.
have you found someone that carrys that light?

 

[lazyreefer]

I've got the 6 bulb TEK on my 40, I really like the dusk to dawn effect. I went with a life reef HOB overflow, a 20L for my sump with a Euroreef 5-2 and a Marineland 3000 return. I've got a Tunze 45 from the back glass center pointing towards the front, along with the return agitating the surface and a 6025 down low pointing across the tank behind my rocks to keep things agitated.

A couple other pictures, they're all a year old or so now --- wow, where does time go. The fuge has an ATO and a skimmer nowadays......​

 

[jordan3548]

What part of Florida are you in? I know some may want everything brand new but if it doesnt matter to you check craigslist man. You could set that tank up for a fraction of the 900 you have anticipated. Theres reefers breaking down tanks all the time andneed money and you can pick up stuff really CHEAP. I have a 40 gallon breeder for my frag tank and ill list the prices I paid for comparison

Tank-40-craigslist
Stand-elbow grease lol free
sump-free-craigslist
overflow box-40
pump-10-craigslist
3 Koralia 1's 45-craigslist
36" coralife aqualight pro 1x150 mh 2x65 pc's 125-craigslist
seaclone 100 Pro Skimmer 20-craigslist

280 it cost me to put my whole tank together and have it running. You just have to look for deals

 

[nixer]

What part of Florida are you in? I know some may want everything brand new but if it doesnt matter to you check craigslist man. You could set that tank up for a fraction of the 900 you have anticipated. Theres reefers breaking down tanks all the time andneed money and you can pick up stuff really CHEAP. I have a 40 gallon breeder for my frag tank and ill list the prices I paid for comparison

Tank-40-craigslist
Stand-elbow grease lol free
sump-free-craigslist
overflow box-40
pump-10-craigslist
3 Koralia 1's 45-craigslist
36" coralife aqualight pro 1x150 mh 2x65 pc's 125-craigslist
seaclone 100 Pro Skimmer 20-craigslist

280 it cost me to put my whole tank together and have it running. You just have to look for deals

hes including going leds

 

[Reefsurfing]

Some really great ideas here. I have decided to break down my 90g AGA and part it out so I can just go nuts on my 40 gallon and really enjoy it! after all its not about having the best tank or the biggest tank but rather just the tank you want to have. Im thinking two AI 75watt modules 4" from each side leaving a 4" gap in the middle. I do want the mp 10 and im going to put a build thread up once I have parted out my 90gal so hope to see you all @ my build thread in a few months(unless it parts out faster)