Help me with my priorities PLEASE!!

[bdacamel]

Hello everyone!!
So I have a twenty gall long tank and am getting ready to purchase some more gear. Right now I have a emperor power filter, 30 lbs of live rock, 20 live sand and 20lbs of crushed coral/shell aggregate. I tried to make a protein skimmer but my air pump was not powerful enough so I threw that out!
My question is.. Should I buy an overflow box and wet/dry system, a in tank protein skimmer (tunze9002), or a ro/di unit? Eventually I would like all of the above but I am lost as far as priorities!! I just want as stable a tank as I can get because I'm learning quickly how crazy these small tanks can be. Ive had mine in operation for around 4 months and have one lm blenny and a green chromis + cuc. I'm battling algae right now bc I was using tap water.

 

[mr. limpid]

I believe you have answered you own question. Get the RO/DI unit first to stop the battle. Second I would add an protein skimmer are you adding corals?

 

[bdacamel]

yes I would like to add corals. Originally I wanted this to be a reef tank. I think I see where you are going with this. Should I do... RO/DI unit, protein skimmer, and wet/dry if I want to add corals? This makes sense to me now. Thank you Mr. Limpid. Do you by chance happen to know any names of portable RO/DI units that I can research? MAN I WISH I HAD A FEW THOUSAND I COULD GET EVERYTHING TODAY!!!!!

 

[sweatervest13]

If you are planning on buying an overflow box and using a sump or wet/dry (go traditional sump with a fuge vs the wet/dry). I would get the RO/DI first, than the overflow box and sump. If you do that then you can get an in sump skimmer and not a HOB. JMO.
BRS has some good choices for RO/DI's as well as airwaterice (I think that is the name). glassholesdotcom is a good option for drilled overflow kits. You can DIY a sump.

 

[bdacamel]

ok so i am looking at a factory refurbished spectrapure rodi-90. i think ill have to call them though and find out how I can hook this up to my faucet, im in an apt and dont want to start messing with the plumbing if I can help it! What do you think? Good system? Its on sale right now. http://www.spectrapure.com/index.htm

 

[bdacamel]

Quote:
Originally Posted by sweatervest13 http:///t/394600/help-me-with-my-priorities-please#post_3512161
If you are planning on buying an overflow box and using a sump or wet/dry (go traditional sump with a fuge vs the wet/dry). I would get the RO/DI first, than the overflow box and sump. If you do that then you can get an in sump skimmer and not a HOB. JMO.
BRS has some good choices for RO/DI's as well as airwaterice (I think that is the name). glassholesdotcom is a good option for drilled overflow kits. You can DIY a sump.
Right on. Now I do live in an apt. do any one the above companies have hook ups for faucets or do you happen to know where or what I need to buy to make it happen?
I think I will actually go for a hob overflow.. and I probably have the time for the diy sump. It looks like this project is gonna be a while lol.

 

[sweatervest13]

Quote:
Originally Posted by bdacamel http:///t/394600/help-me-with-my-priorities-please#post_3512164
Right on. Now I do live in an apt. do any one the above companies have hook ups for faucets or do you happen to know where or what I need to buy to make it happen?
I think I will actually go for a hob overflow.. and I probably have the time for the diy sump. It looks like this project is gonna be a while lol.
BRS RO/DI come with just about every hook up option you can think of. I have the 5 stage Plus system and it came with 7 or 8 different hook ups. They may be on the more expensive side but its a pretty solid product.

 

[bdacamel]

man the BRS 4 stage is VERY affordable! I think Ill study up on this and possibly pick one up! Thanks for the help guys!!!

 

[snakeblitz33]

If you want a temporary wet/dry system -
Build a PVC overflow. You can look the plans up online. I'd recommend using some flexi-pvc connected at the bottom of the overflow so that the overflow can sit evenly. You can buy a couple of food grade plastic totes (#5 grade). One of them is the main body of the sump and the smaller one will have holes drilled in the bottom of it and can sit on the rim of the larger tote towards one side. The smaller tote acts as a filter box - because you will stuff it with something like quilters batting (20ft x 2ft = ~$5.) You can put a skimmer beside it and make the output dump into the filter box if you wish. (cut a hole). For a 20g tank, a dialed down Mag Drive 3 is a good pump to use.
Honestly, if you don't have it already (besides the RO/DI Unit) some maintenance supplies should also be in order. A ten gallon aquarium would be a good quarantine tank. Another 10g tank could be a good saltwater mixing container. A small pump like a maxijet 1200 is only $20 and is a good saltwater mixer. Do yourself a favor and buy one of those small gravel siphons from the store. I'd also suggest about 7 foot of 5/8 ID vinyl tubing to do very quick water changes. A couple of 5g utility containers and a few 1gallon distilled water jugs also comes in handy. A good salt to use is Instant Ocean or Reef Crystals. Buying it in bulk can save a lot of money (The 5g buckets) and once you get done with the salt, you can keep the container for other aquarium related stuff or just round the house use. (Think storing home made cleaners, extra food, using it to clean your car, etc. etc.) I'd also recommend getting a Koralia powerhead in your tank. A Nano 440 seems to do well in those kinds of tanks. They are also relatively cheap for a good powerhead. I think Aqueon also has a good cheap powerhead in the same style for smaller tanks. There's a lot that you can get on a small budget.
Overall, I would be looking at a $200 - $250 investment with everything that I have listed in this thread.
THEN AGAIN, if you have the funds to actually buy a pre-made sump or build your own and buy an Eshopps overflow (~$40) then that is the way I would go.