Saltwater Setup, Need Advice

[tmoney20]

Hi
I need some advice with my saltwater setup,
So far i have

-Juwel rio 180 (180 Litre)
-around 50kg of live rock
-T5 lighting
-Juwel internal heater and filter thats comes with the juwel rio 180
-Eheim 2026 external filter

I have been running my tank for around 6 weeks with just
the juwel internal filter and was wondering if it is a good idea to add the eheim 2026 that i have.
What should i put in the eheim external filter.

What else would i need to add to my setup to make it a good setup?

 

[Truck]

i
I need some advice with my saltwater setup,
So far i have

-Juwel rio 180 (180 Litre)
-around 50kg of live rock
-T5 lighting
-Juwel internal heater and filter thats comes with the juwel rio 180
-Eheim 2026 external filter

I have been running my tank for around 6 weeks with just
the juwel internal filter and was wondering if it is a good idea to add the eheim 2026 that i have.
What should i put in the eheim external filter.

What else would i need to add to my setup to make it a good setup?

you have WAY too much live rock you need about 20kg IMO. 2*T5's should be okay for softies (dependant on wattage).
get rid of the internal it will become a nitrate factory as you cant clean them well.
the external will be the same if not maintained weekly.

you will need
salted RO water
test kits for:
ammonia
nitrite
nitrate
PH
phosphate
and if you want corals other than softies...in order of importance
magnesium
calcium
alk/KH

Power heads that equate to 4500lph ish
a refractometer for salinity
a good quality reef salt for corals.
protein skimmer (TMC v2 600)
rowaphos
buckets
RO unit if you want to make your own
spare powerhead for mixing salt.
2 tank heaters 150watts each
a 25 watt for mixing salt.

if ive forgotten anything please fill in people

 

[bae1994]

ive heard good reviews about purigen if thats any help but i think truck covered it all pretty much

 

[TigerIssey]

Having tried a chepo phosphate remover, I would just like to stress the importance that Rowaphos is used.

Cheap substitutes allow alluminium oxide to leach in to the tank water, the result of this is that Clavularia and Pachyclavularia polyps do not open. To be honest, it seemed to have an effect on all the corals, since removing the cheap one on Sunday, my corals have improved immensly. Since adding rowaphos this afternoon I have also noticed a difference in the algae that had started to form already.

 

[ben1987]

V2 400 would be ample for that tank, i would be tempted to leave the old filter box in the side, completely empty it and then ghouse the heater and skimmer pump in there.

V2 400 does upto 400L and can be had on ebay for under £45

 

[Truck]

the only reason i advise against the juwel internal is it has spots which get no flow and detritus builds up in them and they cant be cleaned, thus causing nitrates etc. and they look crap too. IMO

 

[seffieuk]

I agree on several points:

Slighty too much LR, hope you have left lots of holes or you are going to have dead spots.

the usual rule for lr is between 1 lb to 1.75 lbs per gallon, so you have 39 gallons, I would say the least amount you should have is 39 1bs or approx 20 kg, the most would be approx 80 lbs so approx. 40 kgs or slightly less - you could use some of the excess for a sump tank or maybe even sell it on

Leave the internal housing in, put your heater and skimmer in there, you could use the little juwel pump to move the water into the tank - will hide most of the gubbins (except for your power heads) instead of having them in the display tank. Just ensure you have good aquascaping to conceal it also ensure that when you do water changes pour a lot of the fresh water in the housing

As for corals, all the sofites and most defo. Euphylias, I would get one of each, frogspawn, hammer and torch , when your tank is mature (the euphylias)

seffie x

 

[tmoney20]

Do you think it is better to use a sump instead of the internal and external

i
I need some advice with my saltwater setup,
So far i have

-Juwel rio 180 (180 Litre)
-around 50kg of live rock
-T5 lighting
-Juwel internal heater and filter thats comes with the juwel rio 180
-Eheim 2026 external filter

I have been running my tank for around 6 weeks with just
the juwel internal filter and was wondering if it is a good idea to add the eheim 2026 that i have.
What should i put in the eheim external filter.

What else would i need to add to my setup to make it a good setup?

you have WAY too much live rock you need about 20kg IMO. 2*T5's should be okay for softies (dependant on wattage).
get rid of the internal it will become a nitrate factory as you cant clean them well.
the external will be the same if not maintained weekly.

you will need
salted RO water
test kits for:
ammonia
nitrite
nitrate
PH
phosphate
and if you want corals other than softies...in order of importance
magnesium
calcium
alk/KH

Power heads that equate to 4500lph ish
a refractometer for salinity
a good quality reef salt for corals.
protein skimmer (TMC v2 600)
rowaphos
buckets
RO unit if you want to make your own
spare powerhead for mixing salt.
2 tank heaters 150watts each
a 25 watt for mixing salt.

if ive forgotten anything please fill in people

 

[Truck]

Do you think it is better to use a sump instead of the internal and external

i
I need some advice with my saltwater setup,
So far i have

-Juwel rio 180 (180 Litre)
-around 50kg of live rock
-T5 lighting
-Juwel internal heater and filter thats comes with the juwel rio 180
-Eheim 2026 external filter

I have been running my tank for around 6 weeks with just
the juwel internal filter and was wondering if it is a good idea to add the eheim 2026 that i have.
What should i put in the eheim external filter.

What else would i need to add to my setup to make it a good setup?

you have WAY too much live rock you need about 20kg IMO. 2*T5's should be okay for softies (dependant on wattage).
get rid of the internal it will become a nitrate factory as you cant clean them well.
the external will be the same if not maintained weekly.

you will need
salted RO water
test kits for:
ammonia
nitrite
nitrate
PH
phosphate
and if you want corals other than softies...in order of importance
magnesium
calcium
alk/KH

Power heads that equate to 4500lph ish
a refractometer for salinity
a good quality reef salt for corals.
protein skimmer (TMC v2 600)
rowaphos
buckets
RO unit if you want to make your own
spare powerhead for mixing salt.
2 tank heaters 150watts each
a 25 watt for mixing salt.

if ive forgotten anything please fill in people

a sump can be helpful. but an external can be just as good if easily maintained

 

[tmoney20]

What are the best test kits brand

Hi
I need some advice with my saltwater setup,
So far i have

-Juwel rio 180 (180 Litre)
-around 50kg of live rock
-T5 lighting
-Juwel internal heater and filter thats comes with the juwel rio 180
-Eheim 2026 external filter

I have been running my tank for around 6 weeks with just
the juwel internal filter and was wondering if it is a good idea to add the eheim 2026 that i have.
What should i put in the eheim external filter.

What else would i need to add to my setup to make it a good setup?

 

[Truck]

saliferts for everything apart from phosphate, D+D PO4 test kit is the most accurate and costs £36 but is worth every penny