The Best?

So what is the best? Lets start with lighting. Most people would say the mh lights are the best lighting you can get. I will not say that anything is the best. It comes down to your system and how you take care of it. I have nems thriving under pc lighting and in another tank doing just as good with T5 and MH lights. They seam to enjoy the T5s over the MH as they open more and are more colorful undeer the T5s. So what is the best, in my opinion the best is simply a well built quality light. As long as it is sized to your tank, you would not want a 24 watt PC on a 125 gallon tank of course.
 Filtration. Wow this is a big topic. I have seen awesome tanks that use a simple hang on back filter and skimmer. I have also seen awesome tanks that use multiple sump tanks and fuges with extreme skimmers and all sorts of reactors and controllers running everything like the system is on life support in the ICU. Well once again it comes down to what you want. You can have your system as simple or as complex as you want.
 What I was thinking when  I sat down to write this was what I was told when I started out, 1 year ago. I was told to avoid PC lighting. I was told I had to have a name brand high dollar skimmer. I was told I needed a sump that was at least 50% of my display. That is just the tip of what all I was told when I started. In fact before I even had water in the tank I almost gave up.
 Well luckily I found this site and someone in person that had a tank and new what I really needed to begin. I went with a HOB skimmer, retro T5 setup and a large HOB filter. What an adventure. Now here I am thinking about all I was told and the route that I took. It all comes down to what is really the best stuff. I do not believe that any setup is the best, just the best for that inpaticular reefkeeper. Reefs are adaptable. They get used to how one person cares for them and will learn to thrive in those conditions, as long as the reefer does the basics. So what is the best I ask.
 The best for me is keep it simple. MH pendants, T5 main lighting, a home made sump, some korolla power heads, and  a basic return pump. It all works well for me. I have seen many tanks a LOT more complicated than min and a few that were simpler. But next time you start thinking about all you have to have to have a good systwem think about the nano tanks, like the RSM, JBJ and the ever popular Biocube.
 Now this is just some of my thoughts and I could go on for several pages on this topic but to keep this short I will say just one more bit. You do not have to have "Top of the line " stuff. I found middle of the road works real well. They are better in price and usualy constructed with a decent amount of quality. There you go, my 2 cents woth. Shaun