sps keeping questions

[greg123123]

okay i have had to reefs in the past one 29 gallon and a 40 breeder both softies. i have been looking at the photos on the sps forms and fell in love with sps reeef tanks. i am planning on setting one up and was hopping that you guys could give me some help with the equipment that i need.

i know i need
t5 or mh
protein skimmer
sump/refugium
pump/power heads
what else am i missing do i need a calcium reactor or anything else like that?
thanks

[reefyourself]

Hey Greg,

Welcome to world of sps! Depending on what size of tank, you can either go MH or T5 but I would go with a combination of both to get the optimal lighting conditions. As for the protein skimmer, trust me on this one, get something affordable but make it a long term investment. A skimmer is the most valuable asset you have for the success of your reef. Make sure you have a sump and also some good powerheads to get some random flow in your tank. As for the refugium...I dont know how much it would actually help...Ive had one with chaeto in it and it never really grew...but then agian my nitrates are always below 1. I wouldnt recommend a calcium reactor on smaller tanks under 100 gallons and even then you can always use 2 dosing pumps to dose your calcium and alkalinity.

I am pretty sure there are others who can add to this!

[sasharotty]

Use RODI and a good reef salt! Im just getting into the sps world too.I agree 2 part dosing is good for the smaller tanks but could get quite expensive on larger tanks.I will be running a calcium reactor but have heard some negatives about those too.So we will see in due time. Should be a fun ride, good luck!!