Best bang for the buck.

[gar732]

I've seen a lot of questions about what equipment to buy. I know when I first started out I bought all the wrong stuff which ended up costing me twice as much when I had to replace it with the right stuff. So since most people start off with a tank that is around 55gal, post what equipment you think is the best bang for the buck for that sized tank.

 

[jordan3548]

I have to say the new odessya fixtures work great they must be trying to competenow the fixtures look nice and theyve included LED's on all the fixtures

 

[KyleP]

I can tell you what not to buy! Don't get talked into a seaclone skimmer. And for starting fish, go with the green chromis over the damsels.

 

[dougers31]

I have to say the new odessya fixtures work great they must be trying to competenow the fixtures look nice and theyve included LED's on all the fixtures

Are they starting to use better ballasts now? Before there were issues with a few of them only lasting for a short while. For a skimmer a good less expensive one would be either a bubble magus or vertex.

 

[Bugg_zy]

Ebo Jager heater, and an SWC 120 skimmer.

 

[justinm]

From my experience, get a sump. So either a) get it reef ready or b) get it drilled professionally for much cheaper or c) a nice HOB overflow works well too

just realized it doesn't describe any certain product, just a thought instead

 

[akabryanhall]

As far as MH bulbs go, the Phoenix seems like the best bang for the buck. 14K, but blue like 20K, and I believe most bulbs will be at 75% efficiency when they quit, so no die off as the bulb gets older.

 

[re-fin-away]

for equipment for that size tank I would recommend watching the for sale threads. There are people upgrading tobigger tanks all the time and you can find a good deal on some good used equipment. For fish make a list of the top ten you want to get and then find out which ones get along. dont skim on a skimmer I like the octo xp1000sss.

 

[gar732]

I can tell you what not to buy! Don't get talked into a seaclone skimmer. And for starting fish, go with the green chromis over the damsels.

I made both those mistakes along with overpriced pc lighting from one of my lfs. Another large mistake was using the meds they suggested for ich, yeah copper. They know I had a reef too.

 

[hawkfishman]

asm scimmers rock for the price

 

[Patrick2DX]

A h.o.t over flow box to a 20gal long sump with a Refugium, Skimmer, h.o.t magnum Canister Filter(in Sump)Heater, Return pump that's plumbed into the tank with a spry bar and i have a 304 fluval canister filter. This is my current 55gal reef tank setup.

 

[jordan3548]

Are they starting to use better ballasts now? Before there were issues with a few of them only lasting for a short while. For a skimmer a good less expensive one would be either a bubble magus or vertex.

Theyve completely redesigned everything including the ballasts. I must say i am pretty impressed so far