Confusion!

[SpongeBob Paul]

Hi,

Firstly, let me explain that while I'm not
a newbie, I do not profess to know all that
I would like to know.

I have successfully managed to maintain a
29 gallon reef tank for just over a year, until about 2 weeks ago when my heater decided to stay on while I was at work and I returned to a dead tank with a temperature of 106 degrees (shame on me for trusting the manufacturer and not purchasing a chiller).

I have decided to go for a 125L gal tank, but am confused with all the CHOICES on the market.

I would be very grateful if you could recomend what, in your experience, is the best equipement for the tank. My questions are as follows:

1) which wet/dry filter?
2) which skimmer?
3) Are the titanium heaters a good choice?
4) Lights - will 3 MH @ 175W + 2 CFs be enough?
5) Is the SCWD a good choice for a wave maker or is it just another gimmick.

I'm not interested in buying the cheapest to save money, or the most expensive because of the myth that it must be good, I just want the gear that works the best.

Thanks for your time.

[Buzz_Hog]

When it comes to heaters, use multiple under powered heaters...

When heaters fail, 99% of the time, they fail in the ON position... If you have multiple underpowered heaters and one fails in the on position, it will have trouble heating the tank quickly enough to do major damage... You should have enough time to remedy it before it kills off your tank...

Ebo Jager heaters are by far the best heaters on the market... They have 2mm thick Pyrex glass and are very accurate in maintaining temp...

[Harpo]

1rst of all welcome to TRT.
With a reef you will not need, or want a wet-dry filter. Wet-dry is more for fresh water. As far as skimmers go, I recomend a Euroreef (can search marinedepot.com) I personally run these in both my tanks and can't say enough good things about them. Depending where you live, you may not even need a heater, keeping in mind the MH's will heat your water. But if the heater is needed, I agree with Buzz-hog and use a few in your sump. Titaniums are a good choice. 3/175 watts not a bad choice, we run 2/400watts in our 125gal. reef. The light from your center light may be some what blocked by your center brace though. I am sure plenty of others will share info here, good luck, once again welcome to TRT.


Bill

[tdwyatt]

What type of biotope do you wish to emulate, and what creatures do you want to cultivate the most?