Starting reef tank (equipment needed)

[fish master]

Thinking about starting reef tank. There is so much equipment for reef tanks. I need someone to explain to me what i need and dont need. I have a 90 gallon tank. Going with a 55 gallon sump with refugium. Going with a protien skimmer. Will have good lights. Have 110 pounds of live rock and deep sand bed. Have 2 powerheads pushing 900 gph. Sump pump pushing about 1200 gph. heaters. Is that enough to start reef tank. I see so many other things out there but dont know if i need them, like calcium reactor, dosing equipment, ive seen other reactors, dont know what they are for. Will the things i mention work for most things for reef tank

 

[snazzywhiskers]

No, you do not need all the reactors Water changes will replenish most of the minerals that those reactors are pumping into your tank. Also, you'd really only need those if you were using an insane amount of... lets say calcium, but because you are just starting out you wont be using up enough to have depleted your water of it before the next water change.
I personally think a deep sand bad is going to be a lot more work than it's worth later on, but there are many different opinions on that subject so it really is personal preference.

 

[snakeblitz33]

An in-tank deep sand bed is no longer recommeded by me, at least. I much rather then as remote deep sand beds, or at least in a refugium that you can take off line every couple of years to clean.
Here's a link to some guides I typed up - it will give you a pretty solid start so that you can make some good decisions for your tank. https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/388776/guides-for-new-hobbyists
As the previous poster stated, all the reactors and what-not are not really needed for new tanks. For a 75g, good water movement, good strong lighting, a couple of medium sized heaters set on 78F, a filter to catch particles and a skimmer in six months rated for twice your tank volume is a good start. For water movement, I like koralias - but I am considering investing in either tunze or vortech since I have had the cash to spend lately.
It's all a matter of personal preferences, opinions and experience on reactors, really. You should be monitoring your pH, calcium, and alkalinity levels pretty regularly and see if they are dropping any between your 20% water changes. If they are, then you may need to supplement with those chemicals. Things like a Ca Reactor are for tanks that require a TON of calcium, alkalinity and magnesium because they are loaded with corals that demand it - more than water changes can provide.
Phosphate reactors are great for controlling hair algae growth - and can be doubled over as carbon reactors which is what I use my phosphate reactor for.
It all just depends on how complex you want to be. I know a 110g reef tank that has been going with two emperor 400's, a 4" deep crushed coral substrate, three maxijet 1200 powerheads, 100# of rock and 30% monthly water changes for about a decade now.