A couple hints for someone getting into a new system:
- Always plan for worse case scenarios.
- Try to do it in a basement. Temperature control is so much simpler when you're not dealing with a muggy upstairs atmosphere (most homes).
- Leave a space between the sump and the wall that you can reach behind. Sometimes fish jump, tools or frags drop, or cords need to be fished out. That space gives you the play you need to get in behind the sump to retrieve these items.
- When choosing a pump, go external unless you absolutely cannot afford it or find space for it. They run with less heat transfer, have better pipe diameters right from the volute (most brands) and, IME, run quieter with less maintanance than internals.
- Try to get a temperature controller/computer to regulate your heater. It makes no sense to invest thousands of dollars into a system then cheap out on the component MOST LIKELY to kill everything. Ranco controllers are very well regarded as they are an industrial utility component.
- Give yourself a good height on the stand. Your back will thank you and it will give you access to MUCH better skimmers and other equipment down the road.
- Go straight to Metal Halide or HO T5's. Everything else is just going to need an upgrade once you get bored of Xenia, Frogspawn and Mushrooms.
That's it for now.
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This and that.
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