First Post

[hbrochs]

Hello, my name is Howard and I just started my first reef tank last week. I had been looking at the Innovative Marine SR-80 tank for awhile, and when I stopped by the lfs it was on major sale so I jumped in. Even though its supposed to be 80 gallons, it only took 55 gallons of water including the sump which is in the back of the tank. I put in about three inches of Fuji pink live sand, and 50 lbs of live rock. I was told that the rock (Marshal Island) was mostly mature, and I think that was true. I really only had a mini cycle over the last week. I was drawn to the safety (less chance of a flood) of the all in one tank. I also liked the long shallow aspect, that I hope will help me grow sps corals.

Specific Gravity 1.026
Nitrite 1.5 ppl
pH 8.0

There are two pumps that both have a Y connector to make four returns, and I have spinstreams on two of the returns. There are two sock filters that seem to be doing a nice job. I'm really surprised at how much evaporation I'm having. I think I've replaced about 5 gallons of top off water this week. I just got my RODI unit, but have not set it up yet.

My next big decision is lighting. I realize this is a hot topic from what I've been reading. The lfs guy was pushing me towards AI or radion LEDs, but after talking to a couple of people that grow corals for a living, I'm leaning towards the ATI powermodule that combines LED and T5.

Also really need to figure out an automatic top off system.

I've been enjoying everyone's posts, and will try to figure out how to add a photo.

Thanks,

Howard

 

[thegrun]

Welcome to Reef Central Howard! The general rule of thumb is to lose about a gallon a day of water to evaporation for every 100 gallons of tank size, so you are not far off the norm. For what it is worth I run an AI Hydra 52 over my 50 gallon mixed reef tank and I like that light a lot. Best of luck!
-Mike

 

[hbrochs]

 

[hbrochs]

This is the cloud storm after adding the sand. Took a full day for that to clear.

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After the Storm.

 

[Zer0.]

Welcome to the forum. There is alot of great info here (especially in the stickies) that really helped me get up and going on my first tank recently.

For ATO check this one out,
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/autoa...TLWSSkG50IgeAtmhKd4P2dn--VOhGS4M7QaAoRD8P8HAQ

Ive been really happy with it. Its a bit on the pricey side, but it uses optics so there are no moving parts (float sensors) to fail. Also comes with a nice little pump included.

On lights you will have a ton of choices especially with a shallow tank as you mentioned. The ones thegrun mentioned are nice. I personally went with cheaper chinese style leds, they lack some of the nice functionallities like remote control and ramp up/down dimming and only have a 1 dimmer for whites and 1 for blues,green and reds, but they are 3 watt leds still and work well (and were a third the price :beer

Good luck! Patience is key in this hobby. Hope you enjoy your new tank!

 

[choss]

wow - its amazing how far your tank has come! And I'm just now finding your first post. :beer:

 

[JUNBUG361]

Hello