dgonci
Member
Well I am going to migrate part of my thread from the new hobbyists thread over to here since this is going to be a reef tank, and this is a more appropriate place for it.....
Well having finally gotten to a point in my military career where retirement is getting close, and I have fallen into an assignment where I should not be relocating any time soon, I decided to go ahead and dive into setting up an aquarium. After several books and countless posts read I decided to set up a 40 Gal Breeder tank with the long term goal to make it a reef tank. I also spoke to a couple of different LFS, one of which ended up refusing to sell anything to me because I wouldn't buy the whole package from him. I was looking to get the 40 Gal tank drilled so that I wouldn't have anything hanging on the back. He told me I wouldn't find prices cheaper anywhere else, so of course the first place I went when I got home was google. Anyhow, the bottom line was that all I wanted from him was the tank, stand, and top, with the tank drilled, and bulkheads installed. He refused to do it, so I learned of another place on the net, ordered the equipment and drilled it myself. BTW, drilling a tank for the 1st time is just a tad stressful as you listen to the bit grind through the glass. I ended up going with the following setup:
40 Gal Breeder Tank
2 Hydor Koralia 1's 800 gph total flow
Coralife Lunar Aqualight Deluxe Series-36" (2X96W) with 2- 3/4W Blue-Moon-Glow LED Lamps
Proflex 100 Refugium
2 100w Jaeger Heaters located in the sump
1 Gal Carib Sea Mineral Mud
40 Lbs of Carib Sea Reef Sand 1 - 1.7mm grain size
Supreme Mag 3 Return Pump 350gph
50 Lbs Walt Smith Permium Fiji Pre Cured Live Rock
Everything came in good order and allowed me to plumb it all together with PVC pipe and get it all up and running. Even the rock came exceptionally well with only a tiny amount of rubble in the box (I ended up making a small pile of it in the tank for some depth).
Back of the tank with plumbing
Pro Flex 100 Refugium
700gph Glass-holes overflow kit
The actual setup of the tank in the house went well, until I got it leveled and filled with water, and then my wife decided that the tank would be better off in another place. This of course was after I cemented the PVC pipe into place. More fun draining the tank, and then moving it on the stand with the sand still in it, some of the rock and a little bit of water. Anyhow here is the tank in its final resting place, filled and aquascaped...
Well the cycle came and went a bit faster than I had expected, but all of my levels are good, and I had algae growing pretty good. I figured now was a good time to go and start putting together a CUC. This is what I ended up with for the moment:
1 Scarlet Leg Hermit crab
2 Blue Leg hermit crabs
1 Mexican Turbo Snail
5 Astrea Snails
10-15 tiny ( about 1/4" for the largest one) Caribbean Cerith Snails
The Cerith snails the LFS threw in for free, since they must have bred in one of his tanks and he had a boatload of them in one of his tanks. They are doing a good job so far of cleaning off the rocks. The one area I need help on is the sand bed. The LFS did not have any Nasser snails, so my sand bed is starting to get a bit of brown algae on it. Monday I am going to pick up a fighting conch, and some nassarius snails to round out the package. I am also debating an emerald crab as well.
One of the tiny Cerith Snails I picked up
Once the clean up crew got under way I picked up an Occelaris Clown. He is still a bit skittish, and has not eaten much. Nibbled on a few brine shrimp, but hopefully he will get settled in the upcoming days so that he will eat. He mostly stays on the side of he tank, but occasionally will venture out and swim around.
Occelaris Clown out swimming around
Small Kenya Tree frag with some nice Coraline algae to boot
So after few weeks things are looking good in the tank. I should be getting some Chaeto for the refugium on Monday, as well as some snails or the sand bed algae.
Yay...Copy Paste complete!!!!
Well having finally gotten to a point in my military career where retirement is getting close, and I have fallen into an assignment where I should not be relocating any time soon, I decided to go ahead and dive into setting up an aquarium. After several books and countless posts read I decided to set up a 40 Gal Breeder tank with the long term goal to make it a reef tank. I also spoke to a couple of different LFS, one of which ended up refusing to sell anything to me because I wouldn't buy the whole package from him. I was looking to get the 40 Gal tank drilled so that I wouldn't have anything hanging on the back. He told me I wouldn't find prices cheaper anywhere else, so of course the first place I went when I got home was google. Anyhow, the bottom line was that all I wanted from him was the tank, stand, and top, with the tank drilled, and bulkheads installed. He refused to do it, so I learned of another place on the net, ordered the equipment and drilled it myself. BTW, drilling a tank for the 1st time is just a tad stressful as you listen to the bit grind through the glass. I ended up going with the following setup:
40 Gal Breeder Tank
2 Hydor Koralia 1's 800 gph total flow
Coralife Lunar Aqualight Deluxe Series-36" (2X96W) with 2- 3/4W Blue-Moon-Glow LED Lamps
Proflex 100 Refugium
2 100w Jaeger Heaters located in the sump
1 Gal Carib Sea Mineral Mud
40 Lbs of Carib Sea Reef Sand 1 - 1.7mm grain size
Supreme Mag 3 Return Pump 350gph
50 Lbs Walt Smith Permium Fiji Pre Cured Live Rock
Everything came in good order and allowed me to plumb it all together with PVC pipe and get it all up and running. Even the rock came exceptionally well with only a tiny amount of rubble in the box (I ended up making a small pile of it in the tank for some depth).
Back of the tank with plumbing
Pro Flex 100 Refugium
700gph Glass-holes overflow kit
The actual setup of the tank in the house went well, until I got it leveled and filled with water, and then my wife decided that the tank would be better off in another place. This of course was after I cemented the PVC pipe into place. More fun draining the tank, and then moving it on the stand with the sand still in it, some of the rock and a little bit of water. Anyhow here is the tank in its final resting place, filled and aquascaped...
Well the cycle came and went a bit faster than I had expected, but all of my levels are good, and I had algae growing pretty good. I figured now was a good time to go and start putting together a CUC. This is what I ended up with for the moment:
1 Scarlet Leg Hermit crab
2 Blue Leg hermit crabs
1 Mexican Turbo Snail
5 Astrea Snails
10-15 tiny ( about 1/4" for the largest one) Caribbean Cerith Snails
The Cerith snails the LFS threw in for free, since they must have bred in one of his tanks and he had a boatload of them in one of his tanks. They are doing a good job so far of cleaning off the rocks. The one area I need help on is the sand bed. The LFS did not have any Nasser snails, so my sand bed is starting to get a bit of brown algae on it. Monday I am going to pick up a fighting conch, and some nassarius snails to round out the package. I am also debating an emerald crab as well.
One of the tiny Cerith Snails I picked up
Once the clean up crew got under way I picked up an Occelaris Clown. He is still a bit skittish, and has not eaten much. Nibbled on a few brine shrimp, but hopefully he will get settled in the upcoming days so that he will eat. He mostly stays on the side of he tank, but occasionally will venture out and swim around.
Occelaris Clown out swimming around
Small Kenya Tree frag with some nice Coraline algae to boot
So after few weeks things are looking good in the tank. I should be getting some Chaeto for the refugium on Monday, as well as some snails or the sand bed algae.
Yay...Copy Paste complete!!!!
