New hobby is growing...

Yes an island, I wish I had put my GSPs on an island...and my zoas. They just keep growing and growing!

 

I can recommend both bulkreefsupply.com and airwaterice.com. You should be able to save some cash if you can find a used one. Just be prepared to swap out the prefilters and RO membrane. Note that there shouldn't be much of a difference between brands on the actual RO/DI systems... they are just canisters that hold filters. Some will have more prefilters than others or additional bells and whistles that may or may not be useful (such as TDS monitors built in).

I would also suggest getting a TDS meter. They are pretty cheap ($10 on Amazon). I believe Air, Water, and Ice still includes them with their systems.

 

That's a type of wet/dry filter. More commonly you'd see those with the blue bio-balls that have water trickling over them. Not a lot of people (reef keepers in particular) run these types of systems anymore. They are very effective at quickly converting ammonia into nitrite and nitrite into nitrate. So these are a good option for a fish only tank. However, in reef tanks we can rely on live rock for this. Additionally, wet/dry filters are known to result in an accumulation of nitrates.. again fine for a fish only tank where nitrates are relatively harmless until extreme levels. A more common sump set up for reef tanks is a combination of just filter socks and a protein skimmer and maybe a refugium with macro algaes. The primary sump designs today typically fall under the "berlin sump" or the triton sump.

Based on my experience I'd say you can get away with an extremely simple sump. I've been in the hobby around 10 years now and I just switched to a sump with baffles in it for the first time just last year. If you're going for a reef down the road and add some live rock, I'd suggest trying to remove the wet dry components from the sump if possible.

One question for you... is that an AquaC Remora skimmer in there? If so, that may be something to consider upgrading down the road. It's probably fine while the bioload is light, but once you get that tank stocked, a bigger skimmer could make things easier on you.

 

Here is a link to the RO/DI I bought recently. Way less than than $200, and I'm happy with it so far. It has a storage tank and separate outlets for aquarium and drinking water. I also bought a TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) meter and the aquarium water measures 0, which means totally pure.

REEF & HOME DRINKING RO+DI dual output REVERSE OSMOSIS PURE WATER FILTER SYSTEM | eBay

 

That's what I did. I put a T on the outlet, and ran one line to the drinking water faucet and the other to my ice maker. My wife loves it! I forgot to mention this package deal comes with 2 faucets, so you can have one for your DI aquarium water as well.

 

Might want to take a look at this:
For Sale - Equipment list

He's got a nice Air, Water, and Ice RO/DI unit available for a very reasonable price.

 

I would strongly recommend a refractometer AND calibration fluid. You CANNOT calibrate it to zero with fresh wateR/RODI.

 

@mrelaz I also recommend a refractometer or a hydrometer but I've always used RO/DI to calibrate my refractometer. The specific gravity is 1.000 of RO/DI. I'm ganna do some research to see if it's not recommended now Haha

 

Im not sure on that reading-but I do know it’s definitely NOT zero. From personal experience...haha


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It's probably fine for a clownfish. Heck you can bring most fish down to hyposalinity levels of 12 ppt without issues (natural saltwater is 35 ppt). I wouldn't put a coral or an invert in the tank until you get a refractometer though. And as others have said definitely get the calibration fluid. When I calibrate my refractometer with RO, my refractometer shows 35 ppt water to be 28 ppt. Not an expensive purchase and takes away a lot of variables for you. A refractometer can be found on Amazon for $20 and calibration fluid runs for $7 and will last you an extremely long time.

 

Lightning Maroon! I’ve got a pair. And they’re mean!!


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Inverts will be much more sensitive to salinity.. it varies between species though. Between 32 ppt and 36 ppt is where you'd want to be.