A complete newbie who needs a way to start!

Guys, I need a recommendation on a good light with a holder. I also need to know what salt brand and how much I will need, and what company of sand.

Thanks.
 
I went with Instant Ocean salt. Seemed to have pretty good reviews.

Just need to decided on what brand of sand. Any you guys recommend?
 
I'll do just that, thanks.

I'm looking at this light.

12 LED PAR38 Bulb (Mixed Color with UV) - Rapid LED

or

12 LED PAR38 Bulb (Actinic) - Rapid LED

What do you guys think? I

The first one sounds good, but I'm guessing these don't dim out. I'm not sure if this works like freshwater aquariums but I do know they need to have their lights off for a certain amount of time. Does the same apply here, because I'm guessing corals need light so it would have to stay on. It seems like quite a strong light, too.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH7SrfhaVA4]Rapid Led Par38 Bulb - YouTube[/ame]

If not this one, any others that you guys would recommend?
 
Laz said:
I'll do just that, thanks.

I'm looking at this light.

12 LED PAR38 Bulb (Mixed Color with UV) - Rapid LED

or

12 LED PAR38 Bulb (Actinic) - Rapid LED

What do you guys think? I

The first one sounds good, but I'm guessing these don't dim out. I'm not sure if this works like freshwater aquariums but I do know they need to have their lights off for a certain amount of time. Does the same apply here, because I'm guessing corals need light so it would have to stay on. It seems like quite a strong light, too.

Rapid Led Par38 Bulb - YouTube

If not this one, any others that you guys would recommend?
Click to expand...


I don't know much about the LED bulbs, but I would guess that you want the mixed colored bulb.

Also the lights shouldnt be on all the time. 8-10 hours of light is plenty, there is a night time over the ocean too ;)
 
Thanks guys, I think I'm going to do with this one.

12 LED PAR38 Bulb (Mixed Color with UV) - Rapid LED

Now my situation is, do I pick one with a 60 degree lens width or a 80 degree lens width? The person in that video above has a 60 degree lens and I'm pretty sure that tank wise, we have pretty much the same size tanks (40x40x40). Edit: In that video, he says it's a 12x12 shockingly. Not quite sure how, it certainly looks like the one my size.

What do y'all think?
 
Last edited:
I have an earlier version of that bulb over my 10g tank, which is 20" wide and barely get full coverage. With a 40" wide tank I'd go with at least 2 of those bulbs to get adequate coverage, regardless of whether you get the 60 or 80 degree lens. The 80 degree lens will give you better spread but won't penetrate as deeply, so depending on how deep the tank is and what types of corals you want to be able to keep, I'd take that into consideration when deciding on which lens to go with. EDIT: And that bulb w/ the UVs in it is a very good choice by the way!
 
Oh, apologies, I meant in CM. The tank is 40x40x40 in CM, which is approx 15.5 inches on each side.
 
You should be good w/ 1 bulb then, and I'd go with the 80 degree lens so that you get full spread - that way you can hang it closer to the water (12" above) and easily penetrate to the bottom of the tank!
 
Just purchased the bulb, should get here on Saturday or Monday.

Now I need to worry about a fitting. I was looking at a gooseneck fitting that someone is using but the postage costs are way too much. I'm sure I can find one in the UK. My only concern is, do these bulbs have the potential to blow, or can I use a plug which has a fuse so it won't?

Just need to figure them things out.
 
Getting there. I've pretty much got everything besides the sand and RO ready.

Any particularly good brands of sand out there? Not sure how much I require for a 40x40cm cube tank. Preferably I want a 2" sand bed.

The built in sump has got the pump installed and the heater in place. For rock rubble (which will be in the section of the sump), does it have to be live or dry, and what would be the benefits of using that or the other when starting out?

Cheers guys.
 
Carib-sea puts out decent aragonite sand. Whatever you get, just make sure its aragonite, not the super-fine sugar sized particles, and not the larger crushed coral size that you'd find in freshwater. Other than that, either dry or "live" is fine - the "live stuff" is usually pretty dead anyway! Regardless of what you get, I'd dump it into a 5g bucket, then put it in your bathtub or sink and fill it with water, then leave the water running slowly and mix your hands through it to rinse out the dust.
 
Just dry aragonite sand will do, save your money and dont bother with the "live" stuff.

Dry rubble rock is cheaper, and will be come live in just a few weeks, so you are left with money for the cool stuff.
 
Thanks, you two.

I guess I'll go for CaribSea. I noticed the one's they're selling are 'Fiji Pink'. The sand isn't really pink, is it? Haha.

Any idea as to how much I'd need to get a 2" sand bed on a 40x40cm tank? A single bag seems to be 15lbs.

I think I'll definitely go with dry rubble rock for the back. My LFS actually sold some quite nice peices of live rock with coralline on them, but by no means were they cheap. $15 a KG - ouch, although it's not much considering how I've been spending on some other things, so I may just go for it.
 
Guys, what do you think of the ReefKeeper Lite systems?

I was thinking about buying a digital temperature reader and a PH monitor but these RKL systems seem to have it all.

Digital Aquatics

I did notice the substantial price difference between the different packages but I don't know what them differences are - could anyone elaborate?

And do these systems come with the probes or do you have to buy them seperately? Because I imagine the cost would be much more if you have to buy them seperately.
 
Laz, I just purchased the RKL for my setup and I really like it. However if you are going to use the ATO feature you have to purchase the float switch separately. It comes with the PH and Temp. probe and two power strips which gives you 8 plugs to work with. Once you get your head wrapped around the programming it's really quite handy. I love the ATO set up. I don't have to worry about evaporation issues it's all taken care of automatically. Definitely worth the investment IMHO.
 
I just ordered a rxl from marine depot. I didnt need 8 plugs but I do want to run a ato with it. The basic version from bulkreef is a 4 plug unit for 119 which I had ordered and ended up canceling because for a ato you need the SL1 module. The unit from marine depot is basically the basic plus the SL1 module and a free ph probe for 189. This just made more sense for me because my lights have a built in timer. If you need the 8 plugs go for the plus unit. Its 270 at bulk reef has the 2 ,4 plug units the SL1 with ph probe. (they all come with the temp unit) If you want to have it do your ato you will need the float switch which is 25 for the single switch or 45 for the double. Will still need a aqualifter pump to get the water over to the sump another $15. It all depends on what all you need it to control. For me the 4 plug unit made the most sense.
 
Thanks guys, it does look like a great peice of kit. Unfortunately, the company don't have ones which are compatible outside of US Voltage. They plan to sell in these in the future internationally but I guess I'll have to wait till then.

I have a question on sand.

I've read about Nature's Ocean Bio-Activ Live Aragonite Reef Sand and it seems to sound quite good from what I seen in reviews, but I'm a little stuck on whether to choose this or CaribSea Fiji Pink Aragonite sand.

There's not really many comparisons and I doubt there's a whole lot of difference, but would anyone put in some feedback before I commit to buying one of them?

Also, I was watching NewYorkSteelo's videos on YT and noticed he mentioned not to wash the sand so it's all beneficiaries that it contains does not get washed away. Apparently the silt is beneficial, too.

So, which sand and wash or no wash? Thanks!
 
If you get live sand, there's no need to rinse. If you get dry sand, rinse it. Either of the ones you mention are fine.
 
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