disabled aquarisist needs advice

[cak119]

I am disable and in a chair. I am starting a 125 saltwater tank, going to have soft corals and fish. im trying to find the easiest way for me to go about doing things because doing lots of water changes is hard for me, and so is cleaning up big messes if someting overflows. whats the best option for me?? I have been told i should use a canister filter that way i wont have to worry about something overflowing. please give me suggestions.this is the canister suggested for me http://aquatop.com/CF500-UV_Canister_Filter.html

 

[zeroc]

Obviously I don't know what your specific limitations are but if you design the system around you then you can probably make it work. You may have to come up with some creative ways to move water from point A to point B. Maybe putting the sump next to the tank instead of under the tank so it can be elevated to where you need it. You could setup some way to drain off the amount you want to change out of the sump and then pump the new water from your mixing station into your sump. I would setup some way so you can have a tank that gets filled and holds RO/DI then a way to move that to a mixing tank (gravity with a ball valve?), then be able to drain a measured amount of water from you aquarium system directly to your sink or where every you want waste water to go then pump in your new saltwater. You'll also need a way to move RO/DI water to your aquarium for top off water. Sorry, not totally a solution but just things to think about.
As far as filtration for a reef I would skip the canister filter and go with a sump with a good protein skimmer and a bio-pellet reactor. A setup like this might be perfect for you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLhmI8vtnfw Pretty much cleaning the protein skimmer, adjusting the bio pellet flow and water changes would be the bulk of the major maintenance. Obviously you'd have to make sure you check your parameters often to make sure you don't completely strip the water of ALL nutrients.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Cak,
I would talk to Reefraff and see how it does it himself, first. If you can get an idea of his setup because of his limitations, he might be better able to fill you in on certain details that the rest of us are unaware of.
If I were you, I would have a live fish store service come in and take care of all of the equipment and water changes for you. Usually, these kinds of services generally cost about $1 per gallon, and they may discount you depending on how much you can talk them out of.
It can be done by yourself, and there are a lot of people on the boards who can help you get it all set up right and fully automated, but it takes work, time and dedication. Decide now whether you want to take on the responsibility of maintaining your reef, or take an easy route such as having a service come and do it for you, and we will go from there.