40g breeder setup

[taahrii]

My wife has decided that she want to do a 40g reef tank. I have fish but know nothing about reef tanks so i have a few questions about equipment. I have some equipment laying around so I'm wondering if what i have will work. the following list is what i think would work based on what i have read and how i do things for my fresh water tanks.

40gallon breeder

Aqueon Optibright LED Light

2x Fluval 107 i like to run two filters so there is no system shock with if i have to change media. rotate the cleanings

Fluval Sea protein skimmer for 45g

Fluval m150 150watt heater

CaribSea special Grade Arag-Alive! Reef Sand

Caribsea live rock

That is what i'm thinking for the setup bu i am open to more ideas and any suggestions. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[shakacuz]

the light may not be enough. i do not have experience with it so i cannot comment further on that.

everything else seems like a decent start

 

[Mschmidt]

I ran a 40b on a 207 for a while. it worked well. you may want something for more flow, the 107 isn't huge, so a powerhead or wavemaker would help. I'd target about 80-100 pounds of material between the sand and rock.

don't know anything about the light. otherwise you look good for some

 

[taahrii]

I ran a 40b on a 207 for a while. it worked well. you may want something for more flow, the 107 isn't huge, so a powerhead or wavemaker would help. I'd target about 80-100 pounds of material between the sand and rock.

don't know anything about the light. otherwise you look good for some

that's one of the advantages of the 2x 107. 290 gallons per hour vs the 205 on one 207. and the advantage of rotating the cleaning schedule for media

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I doubt the light is strong enough, but might be able to keep mushrooms and other "low light" corals. My 40 breeder has a metal halide supplemented by 2 OR3 bars.

The biofilter of a salt tank is with the rocks and water flow, hardly any benefit from a hob filter. You should have 30-40 lbs of rock in a 40 breeder. (google 'the berlin method' for more info on how that works)

I don't see powerheads on your list, powerheads are vital to a salt tank. For a 40 breeder, would need at least 2 good powerheads (possible more), I have 2 gyres on my 40 breeder plus the return flow.

If you mean the fluval ps1 skimmer, I'm sorry but its useless, even more so for a big tank like 40 breeder. Get a better skimmer like an aquamaxx 1.5

I don't see test kits, try to get hanna, or something high quality, don't get the API master test kit.

An ATO is vital part of a salt tank, it should be on the list.

Salt water tanks are very different than fresh, its like a complete 180. Its much more expensive, and much more research and testing required.

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium This article was sponsored by @MarineDepot at www.marinedepot.com. Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[NCsalt]

Feel free to check out my 40 Breeder build. I started the tank this year after a long break from reefing. I consider my tank to be pretty low tech and budget minded.

I believe an ATO is a requirement and not optional. I have done with and without.
A RO/DI unit is a requirement as well imo.
40 Breeder is a really nice footprint and weekly 5 gallon water changes aren't too bad as far as maintenance goes.

 

[taahrii]

Feel free to check out my 40 Breeder build. I started the tank this year after a long break from reefing. I consider my tank to be pretty low tech and budget minded.

I believe an ATO is a requirement and not optional. I have done with and without.
A RO/DI unit is a requirement as well imo.
40 Breeder is a really nice footprint and weekly 5 gallon water changes aren't too bad as far as maintenance goes.

Thank you. My wife basically just bought everything on the list for your tank.

 

[NCsalt]

I have been pretty happy with most my equipment. The Tunze 9004 Skimmer is nice because you can surface skim with it without a sump. I only run it betwen 30 to 40 percent and I get a good bit of skimmate balance.

The Sicce SDC app is nice because you will know when you have a temp issue right away or if the power and/or wifi goes down and you are away from home. Important for me as my tank is at my office.

The shark pro does alright. I like the fact I can take out the chambers without detaching from the magnet. It is not the perfect filter for saltwater display but I needed an intank filter due to tank location. It is nice when you need more oxygen due to chemical treatments that you have to turn your skimmer off with, as you just us the ventri tube and bam infused bubbles/oxygen.

Good luck!! Go slow. Be patient. Do research. Do a build thread!

 

[ACW33]

Feel free to check out my 40 Breeder build. I started the tank this year after a long break from reefing. I consider my tank to be pretty low tech and budget minded.

I believe an ATO is a requirement and not optional. I have done with and without.
A RO/DI unit is a requirement as well imo.
40 Breeder is a really nice footprint and weekly 5 gallon water changes aren't too bad as far as maintenance goes.

ATO recommendation? That’s one of my next additions.

 

[NCsalt]

ATO recommendation? That’s one of my next additions.

My XTAqua Duetto 2 has worked really well. Especially considering that my sensor is directly in the display and not in a back chamber or sump. Its the newer one that has a square sensor. They had just come out when I got it.

 

[ACW33]

Thank you!!!!

 

[Idech]

that's one of the advantages of the 2x 107. 290 gallons per hour vs the 205 on one 207. and the advantage of rotating the cleaning schedule for media

The biomedia is in the rocks. You really don’t need to worry about cleaning any media. In fact, I wouldn’t even keep any biomedia in your filter, just filter floss and sponges, for water clarity.

Having two filters is also unnecessary. You could even run a reef tank without a filter. What’s more important is water flow and surface agitation, that you would achieve with power heads or wave makers.

Forget about all that biomedia stuff from freshwater. Saltwater is a different world.

 

[EricR]

My XTAqua Duetto 2 has worked really well. Especially considering that my sensor is directly in the display and not in a back chamber or sump. Its the newer one that has a square sensor. They had just come out when I got it.

I've been running Tunze Osmolator "Nano" 3152 for almost 2 years in a 40 breeder with no sump,,, so sensor directly in display.
No complaints here -- works great.

*I fried the circuit board once with a flood behind the tank and Tunze USA repaired for free and only charged me (minimal amount) for shipping.

 

[taahrii]

I have been pretty happy with most my equipment. The Tunze 9004 Skimmer is nice because you can surface skim with it without a sump. I only run it betwen 30 to 40 percent and I get a good bit of skimmate balance.

The Sicce SDC app is nice because you will know when you have a temp issue right away or if the power and/or wifi goes down and you are away from home. Important for me as my tank is at my office.

The shark pro does alright. I like the fact I can take out the chambers without detaching from the magnet. It is not the perfect filter for saltwater display but I needed an intank filter due to tank location. It is nice when you need more oxygen due to chemical treatments that you have to turn your skimmer off with, as you just us the ventri tube and bam infused bubbles/oxygen.

Good luck!! Go slow. Be patient. Do research. Do a build thread!

I started a build thread for her. she is interested in your opinion