What is the best of the best, equipment wise?
 

Hey All,

I used to have a few reef tanks and predator tanks about 15 years ago and it seems that a lot has changed since then. I've got the itch and want to start a new tank for myself, but also for my little kids to start experiencing.

My question is, what is the best brand for each piece of equipment? Wave pumps, protein skimmers, lights, monitoring systems, etc? What would your ideal setup consist of?

I know I can skim a thousand posts on here but wanted to get a more direct idea of what is considered the top notch brands to try and go for.

Thanks in advance!

While as you said, you will have 100s of different responses, with everyone saying this or that equipment is top notch, I will go a bit different way and ask, why do you want top notch of everything?

There is some great equipment out there that isnt top notch, and that costs a lot less, but works just as good as much more expensive counterpart.

I'm not necessarily looking for the most expensive products. When I say top notch, I mean the best performing products. I want to know what products and brands everyone would want to own if they could.

This is something of a loaded question as you will get dozens of different answers and differing opinions on equipment As everybody has a different need or want and it varies as to what people have for fish, coral and inverts as they all have different requirements and no two tanks are the same

The question is what would we suggest for your tank setup? What do you plan on having in your tank, how big your tank is and what do you plan on stocking your tank with, big fish, small fish, a mixture of both and the same question applies to corals and inverts.

having recently started up again myself after a long hiatus id say break the problem down into smaller chunks. these chunks will be dictated by the set up process. if you want coral then you know you will want a tank a sump and a light for sure. from there your going to need to cycle. to do this you only really need to cover your bio filtration (lots of rock in the display less bio needed in sump, less rock in display more bio needed in sump) powerhead and a return pump. from here add equipment influenced by the decisions you make by adding things to your tank as it is ready. salt water as you know is a slow game and is expensive so only add gear when needed. this will also make it easier to ask for advice on the multiple stages of tank development.

lastly i know that there are people that will argue my statement above saying if you want coral youll need a sump and have tanks to prove it, no wrong way to do it if everything is happy in the tank! hope it helps cheers

Equipment aside, I'd renovate the home to install drainage, hot and cold water, and dedicated circuits with surge protection, in a 300sf room just for the hobby. A workbench safe with saltwater, cabinet storage, a fish quarantine and a Coral quarantine. Two water mixing stations sized at 20% of the system volume each. A huge sump. Extruded aluminum vslot with custom 3d printed hardware for the lighting. The list goes on.