Lighting, Skimmer & Chiller for 5 ft tank

[eDen]

I am thinking of setting up a 5 ft marine tank and was told that the 3 most important pieces of equipment is 1) proper lighting 2) good skimmer 3) chiller. Would appreciate feedback (or show me the link) on the brands / type / cost of these 3 equipments!

1. Lighting - metal headlight vs T5? Which is better? How much is the cost? What is needed for a 5 ft? Is brand important?

2. Skimmer - which brand is better? What is the cost?

3. Chiller - which brand is better? What is the cost?

Thanks.

[southpaw23]

Before we can answer some of your questions, perhaps you can answer a few of these questions first in order for us to provide you better advise.

1. What types of corals do you intend to keep? Or are you lookin at a fish only with live rocks (FOWLR) tank?

2. What kinda dimensions are you lookin at for your 5 ft tank? That'll determine the water volume. Theres a big diff between a 5x2x2 tank and a 5x3x2.5..that's almost double the water volume.

3. What kinda budget are you looking at?

4. Do you intend to upgrade in the future (thus cater for oversized equipment..this is also dependent on your budget)

For a start, here are a couple of generic advise i can give you based on the limited knowledge i have of your requirements.

1. Go with T5s if you're not going for SPS. It transfers less heat to your tank and thus doesn't put too much of a strain on your intended chiller. Even if you intend on SPS, there are a number of T5s that are capable of allowing you to do so. But i will qualify that this is just my preference, there are others who prefer MH for the "effect" as well as the intensity. Again, it really boils down to what you're wanting to keep.

2. There are so many choices for skimmers out there and ranging from a couple of hundred bucks to a couple of thousand. My advise is establish a budget for yourself first, then find the best skimmer within that range. IMO Deltec's have a very good reputation and is always a safe bet if you can afford it. Nonetheless, there's plenty of other viable skimmers out there as well.

3. Again, boils down to your budget. Resun chillers are known to be cost effective while Arctica's are known for their efficiency and run pretty silent. Note that all chillers will produce heat, more so the higher the horsepower so decide on chiller placement early on in your planning.

Well...hope that gives you some idea. I know i haven't really given you firm answers...and that's probably not gonna be possible cos everyones got individual preferences. So take what you can and provide more specific details so's we can help ya better.

cheers

[Underwater]

l think having a good reliable return pump is also very important.

[kareen]

Hi. I do not know what you are looking for but I guess this probably serve some of the purpose for your return pump, lighting, chiller consideration.

http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=60079

[tineng]

for ligthin it really depends on what you would be keeping....personally i think the good brand T5 would be good enough even for SPS....the ATI power module is a good one..providing very very bright lights as compared to others in the market,lights is one thing i learn where brand makes a different - don't beleive it when people start claiming that they use the same german ballast as ATI - the way i see it, no T5 currently match the Power module in intensity....

For skimmer, i like the raw power of Beckket. Those good brand needlewheel are also good, but my personal preference is still beckket because of the throughrate. Its also cheaper then the good brand needlewheel (forget the china made ones).

For chiller, go for those air-con compressor type and have them pipe the unit outdoors (the heater exhcanger can stay near the tanks so you don't have to run the water a long distant)....they are essentially noiseless and when piped outside transmit 0 heat to the room....but very important is to get an air-con man you can trust. Expereince counts.

[eDen]

Before we can answer some of your questions, perhaps you can answer a few of these questions first in order for us to provide you better advise.

1. What types of corals do you intend to keep? Or are you lookin at a fish only with live rocks (FOWLR) tank?

2. What kinda dimensions are you lookin at for your 5 ft tank? That'll determine the water volume. Theres a big diff between a 5x2x2 tank and a 5x3x2.5..that's almost double the water volume.

3. What kinda budget are you looking at?

4. Do you intend to upgrade in the future (thus cater for oversized equipment..this is also dependent on your budget)

For a start, here are a couple of generic advise i can give you based on the limited knowledge i have of your requirements.

1. Go with T5s if you're not going for SPS. It transfers less heat to your tank and thus doesn't put too much of a strain on your intended chiller. Even if you intend on SPS, there are a number of T5s that are capable of allowing you to do so. But i will qualify that this is just my preference, there are others who prefer MH for the "effect" as well as the intensity. Again, it really boils down to what you're wanting to keep.

2. There are so many choices for skimmers out there and ranging from a couple of hundred bucks to a couple of thousand. My advise is establish a budget for yourself first, then find the best skimmer within that range. IMO Deltec's have a very good reputation and is always a safe bet if you can afford it. Nonetheless, there's plenty of other viable skimmers out there as well.

3. Again, boils down to your budget. Resun chillers are known to be cost effective while Arctica's are known for their efficiency and run pretty silent. Note that all chillers will produce heat, more so the higher the horsepower so decide on chiller placement early on in your planning.

Well...hope that gives you some idea. I know i haven't really given you firm answers...and that's probably not gonna be possible cos everyones got individual preferences. So take what you can and provide more specific details so's we can help ya better.

cheers

Thanks for all the contributions. Here is a few more details to my tank:

1. Size of tank: 5 x 2 x 2.5

2. Residents: I haven't quite decided yet, but mostly likely to go for fish + soft corals. Was told that hard coral is very challenging and not advisable for amatuers like me. I am also going for something relatively easier to maintain as I travel quite often for work.

3. Budget - lower the better, but have been warned that I probably need to be ready to spent about $2-3k for the 3 equipments. This amount is probably what I am looking for.

4. Planning to upgrade? Do you mean getting an even bigger tank, not likely if that is the question.

Additional questions:

What is SPS?

Any recommendation for on return pump? How much would that cost?

Thanks.