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Originally Posted by KenMedic  Greetings!! This is my first visit to this site and first real attempt to helping my lovely, marine experienced wife set up a reef tank. We have had marine fish tanks in the past, but nothing really to this extent. Let me first set up the situation. |  to TR Ken. You have a plus going on there with your better half having some marine experience as it will give you a better understanding of water chemistry and set up.
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I'm building matching his/her built-in enclosures in our bedroom on opposite side of the room (for balance). These will be approximately 54" wide and 36"deep. In mine goes the computer and my radio hobby. In hers, we are setting up a 70G reef aquarium at eye level. For the purpose of this discussion, and forum, I'm sticking to her hobby.
| The matching enclosures sound like a great idea. Were these 2 mini rooms going to have bi/tri fold doors? If so, that could cut down on the "noise factor" if that might be an issue for a sleeping area. Like Poppin mentioned, it will not be quiet. Also, had you thought about tiling the floor in those 2 sections. It could prevent some water mishaps or be easier to keep clean around the tank. (Just a few thoughts.)
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So far, the RR tank is ordered and will be picked up on Saturday. It's dimensions are approximately 36" wide, 24" high, and 18" front to back. The stand will be custom-built and open on all 4 sides.
| What you can do as far as a sump/fuge will be dictated by the inside measurements of the tank stand where it will be kept. I had a sump/fuge built for my DT and I did not take into consideration the overhead that would be needed for the plumbing. I had to build another stand because of it. Mistakes cost extra money. 
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We have decided to go with a sump/refugium system rather than a sump alone. I'm not thrilled with what is available at my LFS. $269 for an acrylic combo seems like I'm dumping a bunch of money into a brand name rather than function and filtration. I'd rather custom build my sump/refugium and add volume to the system. Sterilite containers would be fine or even another tank underneath the stand and subdivide it into compartments.
| If you are a DIY kind of guy, this can save you some greenbacks. If you can find the right size tank w/ correct size WxDxH, you can go to Lowes or HD and they will cut plexiglass to your measurements, or you can cut it yourself. Find an appropriate build plan and make the sump/fuge yourself. And you can save alot doing the plumbing yourself also.
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A protien skimmer is certainly a must as well as the pumps to move the water, lights to 1)encourage growth of microorganisms and 2) be able to see the wonderful creation that sits in our bedroom, and the rest of the hardware to make everything work.
| | The skimmer, LR and SB is going to be the stabalizing factor to the whole system. Lighting, water movement, and water quality will dictate the health of your system. Reef Keeper mentioned the Korellas, if you can, they are an excellent choice and use the lowest wattage of any pump that I know of. Energy efficient hardware will save you bucks on your electric bill. Amphibious did have the Korellas and he is a TR sponsor. I don't know if he's sold all that he had in stock or not.
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The whole point of this thread is a request for help. I admit I have very little knowledge in setting up a reef system. In order of importance and to get water in the system and moving, what equipment type/brand do you recommend to get things going? Please keep in mind budget constraints as we go through this.
| Thanks in advance for all the help. I'll post pictures as things move along.
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Like Amphibious stated.... research, research, research. If you have more time than money and patience, you will come out much better in the long run. Being impulsive can lead to problems and poor choices. The only thing that happens fast in this hobby is a disaster. There are many ways to save some money. Local reefer clubs are a great place to find used equipment, and anything else related to a marine tank. The news paper, craigslist and E-bay and use your computer to surf the web using bizrate, price grabber and any other comparative shopping. Also most businesses have a "price match" which can save big bucks for something you want. And just make yourself a list of what you need and are looking for and hang tight. Start purchasing those things when they present themselves. In the meantime you can be deciding on how you want to aquascape the tank, what type of
LR you want to use, corals you want to keep and fish. Lots of decisions will have to be made, that's why this hobby is fascinating and never a dull moment.
And like others have said, TR is a valuable tool, the forums, podcasts, tank journals.
You are with friends now! "Reefers School Together"
