kinnadian

Best cost effective is DIY. Coral-box or K4 (now K5 it seems, K4 is outdated) from fish-street are reasonable cost effective, growth is not proven. I like the look of the K5 more than the Coral-box, the 90cm one should be good enough for your tank at $510 + shipping.

Those are almost always filled to the brim, so in reality water volume will be less.

If you want 1.025, yep! I prefer 1.026 Is 55L the exact tank water volume, or water volume excluding the top inch of void space at the top of the aquarium? You're using RODI water, right? Not tap water?

http://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/ResultingSalinity.php

If you plan on keeping softies and easy LPS, you can get away with an API test kit for Ca, kH and phosphate in my opinion. If you ever want to get SPS, you will need to dose Ca (and hence kH), and you will need to use phosphate removers (GFO or purigen) so you will also need a good tests. So it is up to you, really. There is always the risk of your API test kit going off and you crashing your tank, costing you hundreds or thousands. There is theoretically also a risk using Salifert as well. API is generally in the same ballpark as Salifert tests, you just might get up to 20pppm discrepancy for Ca or 1/2 alkalinity difference. You also have to think how often you are actually going to test your parameters. If you have the best intentions initially and move to monthly testing (or not at all), well there probably isn't all that much use in getting Salifert. Either way, buy overseas test kits as they are like 1/2 the price of NZ ones (incl shipping). I'm sure we've been through this exact discussion before in your thread...

Yep, API is fine for those parameters. Magnesium test kit is only worth it if you intend on dosing, otherwise you will sustain the appropriate level through regular water changes.

Ammonia will spike, fall away, nitrite will spike, fall away, nitrates will start to build up. Occasionally add a bit of fish food to keep the ammonia->nitrite bacteria alive, say weekly. Increase this towards the end of your cycle. Once all ammonia and nitrites have gone (roughly 4-8 weeks with an unseeded tank), try adding another small piece of frozen shrimp and your ammonia and nitrite spikes should last only hours, then you know you have a decently cycled tank. Using "cycle" can't hurt I don't think but it also may not do anything. I personally used it. Don't do water changes in the first few weeks, and only later if nitrates get above 80ppm. You don't need light but you do need flow and heat. You can add local invertebrates from the rock pools after a few weeks, if you want some activity in your tank. Once you are ready to stock, add 1 fish at a time. You can start with softies (xenia, zoas, mushrooms, etc) after the 4-8 week cycle period, but you will still get algae blooms etc. I would stay on top of phosphates at the start by running GFO in a media bag or reactor, or purigen, as soon as you start stocking. You'll thank yourself later for having no excessive algae growth.

A single piece of frozen shrimp will barely give off any smell at all. I used 3 pieces in a 60L tank and couldn't notice any smell unless I put my face directly over the water, and even then it is quite minor. It won't be any worse than when your tank is running normally (smelling like the sea). I wouldn't believe any bacteria seeding product's instructions, 7 days for fish and 21 days for corals is absolute rubbish. There is probably an asterisk on that claim saying it is for 1 fish in a 1000L tank or something silly.

Interesting video, totally douchey presenter though. 40ppm is still chocked full of minerals though, can't imagine it does any harm. If you were especially worried you could leave your water in the sun for a week until some if it had evaporated to increase the mineral concentration (or just boil some off, but this is time consuming and costs money).

Suggest using imgur.com in the future; quicker, no ads, easier to upload, don't delete your photos.

http://www.wonderworldpetcentre.co.nz/ Had 2 a couple months back, I would try them.

Except cold water marine isn't anywhere near as interesting as tropical unless you can dive out deep to find decent fish/corals. 125L is a decent starting tank, not THAT small really, however 50cm depth will require a decent light. If you are sensible with your stocking, flow, lighting and water changes and you have diligent husbandry you should be able to have a 125L relatively easily. A sump is ALWAYS recommended, if you have the patience and ability to make one. It increases your water volume and allows you to hide equipment that you normally couldn't fit in your display (reactors, skimmers, etc). An external filter is a definite no-no, they do more harm than good in a marine tank. If you went this route you could put some media such as phosphate removers or carbon in, but you don't put any traditional freshwater media in (bioballs, ceramics, floss, etc) because they trap debris and become nitrate factories (nitrate is much more toxic to marine fish than freshwater because of the near-perfect conditions the sea provides). You most definitely need a powerhead, marine need very high flow rates to simulate their natural environment. For a 50cm cube I would recommend two RW-4 from Fish-street.com Some will say skimmers are essential, but they aren't. If you have a lower bioload (roughly 8" of grown fish in that tank) you can get away without one, but you will probably have ugly algae everywhere and your corals will suffer (if you have any). You can attempt to combat this with aggressive water changes (15% weekly) but it is not guaranteed to work. In the end you will wish you had just bought a protein skimmer in the first place, once algae is everywhere. If you are trying to do a "cheap" marine tank you will probably be dissatisfied with your results, unless you go with a native coldwater marine tank or a FOWLR (fish only with live rock). This is an expensive hobby (even more so in NZ) and you have to accept that before you get in to it. If you try to take shortcuts and buy cheaper equipment you will probably either be unhappy with your results (algae everywhere, no growth, corals/fish dying) or you will end up replacing the equipment with decent stuff down the track anyway, wasting your initial investment.

Looks like this will be interesting. Will everything be contained inside a single mobile cabinet? Or will they need to move equipment as well as the cabinet?

API is fine for ammonia, nitrite, pH. If you are doing softies only, you can get away with just Salifert nitrate and alkalinity. If you are doing LPS or SPS, you'll need Calcium and magnesium too. If you plan to use any phosphate remover (phosban, rowaphos, purigen, etc) you should probably get a decent phosphate test kit too.

With a small mod they can be completely silent (and I am VERY discerning when it comes to noises, trust me...): Bottom pipe drains under full siphon so no noise, top pipe is emergency drain.

That's actually blue and not royal blue. They're just on the "LED" drop-down menu. http://www.rapidled.com/warm-white/ http://www.rapidled.com/cool-white/ http://www.rapidled.com/royal-blue-and-blue-leds/ http://www.rapidled.com/violet-uv-leds/

Same as my other comments, cool white only is just bad design. IMO the blue:white ratio is just wrong, you want at least 3:2 if not 2:1. Blue is for growth, white is for coral coloration and for our own viewing pleasure. Too little blue and you get no growth, there are more non-blue diodes than blue diodes. You could build a perfect DIY unit for much less. I did a quick google, see http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2329647.

They have good reviews but I've personally never used one. I would just DIY one myself if it was me, just use a normal gravel vac, stick a filter sock inside the vac, recirc the water back into the tank. When you are done cleaning, left the entrance (sucky end) out of the water so the remaining water drains out of the recirc tube, stick filter sock in the washing machine.

A porous extremely fine mesh bag.

This is an ideal freshwater sump. I'd recommend around 100 litres for your sump, but larger is always better. That triple baffle is called a "bubble trap", basically after an overflow small bubbles are often formed and the bubble traps prevent bubbles from passing through the sump and into the return pump. They work because water has to flow deep under the surface to get to the next chamber, and bubbles float up so generally do not go to the next chamber. As the image shows, you first want filter floss, then you want coarse media such as bio balls, and finally you want fine media such as ceramic noodles. Final chamber has return pump and heaters. Alternatively instead of filter floss you can use filter socks on the drain. When designing it, keep in mind the ease of cleaning the media (recommended to do every 6 months or less). For draining, you can either drill or use an overflow. Drilling is harder but safer, overflow is easy but can fail. These overflows are very good if you don't mind the cost: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=18358. With some minor modifications it can be very silent. An extremely good return pump for you will be the Eheim 1260. Heaters, you will need at least 2x 300W, maybe 3 depending on how cold it gets.

Yeah good point, to clarify the water level in the sump needs to be X volume below the maximum volume of the sump, where X is the maximum volume that can drain through the display tank overflow if the return pump fails.

The minimum size will be dictated by what you want to put in it. Sumps can contain: Filter socks Media (carbon, GFO, etc) Heaters Skimmers Refugium RO top-up containers Auto Top Offs Algae turf scrubbers The biggest item will be your skimmer. Some decent skimmers can be very large, so you need to research what you consider to be a good skimmer in your price range. You need to decide if you want a refugium, what you will be putting in it, and subsequently how large it needs to be. Will you have multiple media chambers? etc The idea is to go larger than you think you need so that you have room in the future to upgrade, and also so that you have a bigger buffer zone for any fluctuations in toxins/minerals. I think if you went any smaller than an 80L sump you would struggle to fit everything in. You could go 60L if you plan on only doing basic media, skimmer, ATO and heaters, but it will limit what size skimmer you can put in it.

Yeah looks good mate. It might be worthwhile to buy a few extra color LEDs, then build up your unit and try a variety until you get the color you like. LEDs are pretty cheap after all, just don't thermal paste them on (double sided tape will hold temporarily). My research has shown that UV will get drowned out by the rest of the colors, the only reason to have them is if you run them on their own for "moonlighting".

If you use a standard drinking water filter (like BRITA), these typically eliminate 99% of chlorine but remove SOME minerals and hardness.

I still recommend the API test kit for the basic parameters (ammonia/nitrite/nitrate/ph), and it is cheap from the USA. I can't speak for the Tunze, but I know for a fact that the WP-10 is DEAD silent, and I have a VERY discerning ear and typically buy reef stuff just based on how quiet it is. Your fans and all-in-one return pump will be louder. My flatmate has the RW-4 (basically the new model of the WP-10) and it has been quite loud so far, but these pumps often need a couple weeks to settle in. Yeah those filters are fine, I'd recommend 1 micron carbon filters too. If you top up with tap water, the biggest impact will be lots of phosphates encouraging lots of algae growth, and your algae cycling phase will last longer. You can definitely do it, just consider that you will end up with more algae from your cycle than normal. I would advise buying "Puredew" RO water from the supermarket, it is about $6 per 10L, and if you keep a lid on your tank while cycling, evaporation shouldn't be any more than 1L a week (so about $0.60/week for Puredew). How are you going to attach all those heatsinks together? For 22x22mm you won't want more than 1 LED per heatsink. Make sure you get a quiet fan or your family could be annoyed from this too. Most fans are actually quite loud and shitty. After hours of research, I got some GELID SILENT 8 fans and they are quite quiet for the price. http://www.ebay.com/itm/GELID-SILENT-8-cm-80mm-Low-Noise-Silence-Rubber-Mount-PC-Case-Fan-FN-SX08-16-/160772893060?ssPageName=ADME:L:COSI:US:1123 Regarding the LED colors, you may want to get out there on the internet and do your own research. That is just the combination that appeals to me, I find colored LEDs (red/green) quite pointless and the lack of warmer whites a bit archaic, but some wouldn't agree with me. As with anything, always good to come to your own conclusion rather than listening to the first/loudest person. However, you're fortunate with DIY in that replacing your LEDs is not a big deal as you don't have to worry about trying to conform to a manufacturers design, or having to remove thermal epoxy from a heatsink