The one thing you WISH you had done...

[MLVA123]

I thought I would try out this thread in hopes of avoiding a mistake when I set up my new system. For all you experienced reefers out there:

What's the one thing you wish you had done or NOT done when setting up your new system? :?:

 

[Anonymous]

I wish I had put the sump in my basement

It is too noisy

Bryan

 

[liquid]

I wish I had put a sump on my system and had it drilled in 2 places for redundant standpipes. Currently I have a 38 gal tank w/ no sump and a hang-on skimmer. I'm convinced that if I had a sump I could make my system more stable than it is now because I could put a larger skimmer on the tank and increase the water volume. Having the sump in the basement would also be an excellent idea.

Shane

 

[Osama]

Over the past four years with my 180G reef tank. I have moved the sump to the basement, added a refugium section in the sump, put baffles in the sump to cut back on air bubbles returning to the tank, increased the size of my skimmer, added durio standpipes in the main tank returns to cut back on the noise, added a recirculation with 2 by 3/4" sea swirls to improve water movement after the corals grew in size, added more MH lighting, added Nielsen reactor & calcium reactor.... AND the expense keeps going on & on & onnnnnnn
I am in the process of replacing my sump with an even larger sump & larger skimmer and a larger return pump to further improve circulation. My corals love it and they must have made a deal with my equipment supplier to keep me going in this hobby. I spend a lot of time taking care and enjoying the tank..... Four years and still at it...

 

[fungia]

for my 29 gallon i wish i had gone reef ready, i really recommend you buy a tank with a built in overflow.

 

[Anonymous]

Like everybody else. Reef Ready tanks and Sump in the basement.

 

[EmilyB]

I wish I hadn't gone with a bowfront for the reef. Too narrow, and too hard to light.

I also wish I hadn't gotten lazy with the magnet and scratched the glass so many times... :x

 

[Lostmind]

I wish my original plumbing plans would have worked

I wish I bought a drilled tank (its just easier!)

I wish I had a better designed sump - I am going to have to replace this one soon.

I wish I had done more research on skimmers before I purchased the one I did... I am finding that bigger is quite possibly better...

 

[LauraH]

I'm gonna give you two because they kind of both backfired on me at the same time.

1. Wish I had properly leveled a former 135gal.
2. Wish I had had the equipment to said 135gal plugged into a proper ground fault outlet.

Bottom seal failed, big leak, near fire, glad we were home when it happened, it was not a pretty thing. I had to quickly transfer the contents of the tank to a spare 75gal. Not everyone took the emergency transfer well and I lost some livestock. It was a small tragedy that could've been a much bigger one. Lesson learned the hard way.

 

[liquid]

marked for archiving

 

[Anonymous]

I would have used a slightly larger grain-size sand for my DSB. Southdown drives me nuts.

 

[liquid]

What specifically don't you like about Southdown?

Shane

 

[Anonymous]

My guess is that the powerhead make a buzzard in the tank out of SD sand ??

 

[ChrisRD]

That would be my guess too DM (except I would have said blizzard, not buzzard :wink: ).

When I setup my next tank I'm considering a remote DSB so I can put a large surge device (or two) on the display tank and really crank up the flow without having to deal with sand blowing around.

 

[Anonymous]

When I setup my next tank I think I'm going to do a very large refugium in the basement and keep the DSB in that, instead of the main tank.

That's what I will do as well. The SD just doesn't stay in place. It gets kicked up, moved around, and is constantly creating mini sandstorms in the tank. The water column never looks very clear and I, being a perfectionist, can't handle it.

 

[liquid]

When I setup my next tank I'm considering a remote DSB so I can put a large surge device (or two) on the display tank and really crank up the flow without having to deal with sand blowing around.

Man a lot of us think alike. I was going to go with a very shallow sandbed in the main display using a little bit larger aragonite particle, run the tank exclusively with toilet flapper surges, and have a remote DSB in a side tank.

Shane

 

[Anonymous]

That would be my guess too DM (except I would have said blizzard, not buzzard :wink: ).

Well, next time edit my post and save me from the :wink: embrassments!

 

[Anonymous]

I'm with you guys in the remote DSB and a shallower, larger grain SB in the display. I think that is what I am going to do for my 300.

Buy a high quality skimmer and kick ass lights. Otherwise, you'll be replacing them later and kicking yourself like I did.

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

That would be my guess too DM (except I would have said blizzard, not buzzard ).

You should have just asked him if he was sure if the buzzard was reef safe. :lol:

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

read up on what I was getting myself into before I jumped in head first.
This site has helped me alot and I learn something new everyday. I still consider myself a noob and still adding things to my tank and its been running for almost a year now