Hey everyone!
This is not my first experience with saltwater, but this is my first build thread and I'm very excited!
A little bit about my background in the hobby...I started out about 3 years ago with a little standard 10 gallon. It was an AIO system with PC lighting. I had 2 clowns and ran it as a mixed reef. To be honest, I had didn't know what I was doing. I tried SPS before I even knew what it took to keep them healthy and alive...you all know what happened there. That tank was taken over my dinoflagellates and all sorts of Algae, so instead of battling that for months and months, I decided to upgrade to a 75 gallon. This was my baby for about a year and I learned a lot with this tank. It was a very much DIY tank. It didn't look the greatest (which is why I never put it on here), but I loved that tank. I went through a full tank crash, lost everything and decided to re-build it. It looked better than ever, but I began planning a study abroad in Asia and had to sell everything to get some money for my trip. It has been about a year and half since having a tank and I've been getting the itch to get back in it.
A few months ago I married the girl of my dreams and decided this would be a great opportunity to start up again. She she said I could have some money that we got from the wedding to start up a tank. I decided to keep it small and go with a Mr. Aqua 12 gallon long rimless...wasn't she nice? The dimensions are roughly 35"x9"x8" and it looks amazing!
So, I've had it up and running for a couple months now and here's where I'm at.
I'm running this peninsula style with no sump. I decided to go with a tunze 6025 off the back end for flow and the lighting is a rapidled DIY LED strip. I
do a 1 gallon water change every day or so to keep water parameters at decent levels.
Here are some pictures of its early days and the present.
The stand is at the perfect height to view it while sitting on the couch
I ordered a DIY LED kit from rapidLED. I ended up going with a 36" long heat sink with 18 3w CREE LEDs. I have a combination of royal blue, natural white, cool white and UV. I think it looks pretty good...might be a little too red, we'll see.
This is not my first experience with saltwater, but this is my first build thread and I'm very excited!
A little bit about my background in the hobby...I started out about 3 years ago with a little standard 10 gallon. It was an AIO system with PC lighting. I had 2 clowns and ran it as a mixed reef. To be honest, I had didn't know what I was doing. I tried SPS before I even knew what it took to keep them healthy and alive...you all know what happened there. That tank was taken over my dinoflagellates and all sorts of Algae, so instead of battling that for months and months, I decided to upgrade to a 75 gallon. This was my baby for about a year and I learned a lot with this tank. It was a very much DIY tank. It didn't look the greatest (which is why I never put it on here), but I loved that tank. I went through a full tank crash, lost everything and decided to re-build it. It looked better than ever, but I began planning a study abroad in Asia and had to sell everything to get some money for my trip. It has been about a year and half since having a tank and I've been getting the itch to get back in it.
A few months ago I married the girl of my dreams and decided this would be a great opportunity to start up again. She she said I could have some money that we got from the wedding to start up a tank. I decided to keep it small and go with a Mr. Aqua 12 gallon long rimless...wasn't she nice? The dimensions are roughly 35"x9"x8" and it looks amazing!
So, I've had it up and running for a couple months now and here's where I'm at.
I'm running this peninsula style with no sump. I decided to go with a tunze 6025 off the back end for flow and the lighting is a rapidled DIY LED strip. I
do a 1 gallon water change every day or so to keep water parameters at decent levels.
Here are some pictures of its early days and the present.
The stand is at the perfect height to view it while sitting on the couch
I ordered a DIY LED kit from rapidLED. I ended up going with a 36" long heat sink with 18 3w CREE LEDs. I have a combination of royal blue, natural white, cool white and UV. I think it looks pretty good...might be a little too red, we'll see.
