Hardware
First of all I just want to start out by saying that the Seaclone(Left) is an ok skimmer for a reef. But if you can afford it get a better one, like the Aqua-C Remora, Urchin, or EV series!Aqua-C
. I had a EV-90(Upper Right) but upgraded to a EV-150!(Lower Left) Also (Lower Middle) is the EV-150 after being set up for only 24hrs! (Lower Right) A close up of the dry skimmate!
The Penguin 550 powerhead is nice. I like it because it can easily be moved to mix up new salt water. It's great because you never hear them, you can only see them.
Tronic Heaters are nice they are great for small applications. And have a nice temp. setting on the top. So temp. is easily controlled. For larger set ups I would recommend Ebo Jager heaters. They have thick glass side walls (I broke one of my Tronic heaters so that is nice) and like the Tronic Heaters they have a temp controller too.
As for the lighting system the Perfecto Dual Light strip is good for fish only or fresh water tanks. Same goes for the Corallife Bulbs. So when it comes to reefs these are worthless. The ballast of the strip lights are on top of the light strip and give off a lot of heat into the tank. The bulbs being only 30watts are worth putting onto a reef tank.
I then moved to Power Compacts from AH supply They are much brighter than 3 NO bulbs. And have even less heat.
But now I am currently running an IceCap 430 Ballast and 3 VHO bulbs. I think for this small of a tank it is the perfect setup, No Heat, Easy to Install, and very bright!!
Testing Kits
For the test kits I like the Salifert test kits the best. The dry tabs are nice for a quik check but for accurate testing the Saliferts are great when you want to be exact. But both are easy to use and take under 2 min. to complete.
Additives
Instant Ocean is cheap and disolves easily (don't have to wait hours for it to disolve).
I no longer use any of these additives. I now use C-Balance by Two Little Fishies, which has all of these in one.
This is the way I used to have my sump set up, with two Mag Drive 500's, one for the skimmer and the other for a return pump, but now I have a Mag Drive 700 running the EV-150!
The Penguin 550 powerhead is nice. I like it because it can easily be moved to mix up new salt water. It's great because you never hear them, you can only see them.
Tronic Heaters are nice they are great for small applications. And have a nice temp. setting on the top. So temp. is easily controlled. For larger set ups I would recommend Ebo Jager heaters. They have thick glass side walls (I broke one of my Tronic heaters so that is nice) and like the Tronic Heaters they have a temp controller too.
As for the lighting system the Perfecto Dual Light strip is good for fish only or fresh water tanks. Same goes for the Corallife Bulbs. So when it comes to reefs these are worthless. The ballast of the strip lights are on top of the light strip and give off a lot of heat into the tank. The bulbs being only 30watts are worth putting onto a reef tank.
I then moved to Power Compacts from AH supply They are much brighter than 3 NO bulbs. And have even less heat.
Testing Kits
For the test kits I like the Salifert test kits the best. The dry tabs are nice for a quik check but for accurate testing the Saliferts are great when you want to be exact. But both are easy to use and take under 2 min. to complete.
Additives
Instant Ocean is cheap and disolves easily (don't have to wait hours for it to disolve).
I no longer use any of these additives. I now use C-Balance by Two Little Fishies, which has all of these in one.
This is the way I used to have my sump set up, with two Mag Drive 500's, one for the skimmer and the other for a return pump, but now I have a Mag Drive 700 running the EV-150!