Fishy 1
The Reefer From Downunder
Ok so here we are again.......didn't think I'd be getting a decent reef setup quite this soon but sometimes things are meant to be hahahaha.
The Fishy Backstory
I've been interested in fish and aquatic life for as long as I can remember and have been fishing since I could hold a rod, so ever since then I've been mesmerized by the world beneath the water.
So as soon as my dear mother thought I was responsible enough to take care of my own fish tank, she bought me one and we then stocked it with the usual bread and butter tropical fish.
I'm originally South African but my family and I have now move to Australia so that my sister and I could have a safe place to grow up.
So the first tank stayed setup for a number of years and did quite well until the time to move came and we had to sell the fish, I pleaded that we keep the fish tank and set it up when we moved over and that is what we did.
So fast forward a few years and a few tanks later the inevitable urge to move onto newer and more exciting things happened. That's when my interest shifted to marine tanks.
So I started researching all I could about the and started buying equipment for it. I was earning the massive sum of $50 a week from working on the weekend and as you can imagine it too a bit of saving to get the basic gear like heaters and powerheads. I got everything I needed to setup a 30G FOWLR tank and bought a single clownfish to start with and then I got a second one so they could be a pair, I still have both of them to this day
.
So I then progressed to a bigger 65G tank that I kept my first coral in, a green hammer which I also still have. Build thread for that tank if you're interested: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2407090
I then setup a 42G shallow tank that did alright but it was nothing special. I took that tank down and replaced it with a 90G tropical tank and down graded the reef to a 40G breeder to house all the corals and fish. Build thread for the 42G if you're interested: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2424966
I then setup a 10G nano that did pretty well for the last year but the corals were never 100% happy because I couldn't keep things as stable as I would have liked.
That brings us to the setup at hand!! My AquaOne Regency 220. I work at a pet supply shop and manage all the fish we have there which is cool as I get to look at fish all day hahaha. So we got in four of these Regency's (two white and two black) and they sat there for a good few months so they were reduced by a substantial amount to try and sell them and it was very tempting to buy one but I really didn't need a bigger tank so I put that idea off.
We sold three of them and there was one left in white and at this stage I was really starting to miss not having a bigger reef tank to play with so I checked how much the tank was with my staff discount and when the figure came up I bought it then and there!! I had just impulse buyed my first brand new big setup, I was so excited with this fine purchase :lolspin:.
Ok so now that the boring back story is over and done with we can get onto the good stuff!!
Equipment
Tank: AquaOne Regency 220
Stand: Regency Stand
Skimmer: Still to Be Decided
Heater: AquaOne 300 Watt Thermosafe
Sump: Included 17G Sump
Return Pump: AquaOne Moray 3600 (Will probably upgrade it to something quieter!!)
Lighting: Undecided at this point but I have to options at hand LED and T5 HO. The LED I have is a Aquasun 36x3w with CREE LEDs and the T5 units are two 3x39w HOs, I may end up doing a test with both of those options but I'm leaning towards the T5's at this stage (need to get new globes for them).
Let The Build Begin!!
So once I got the tank home I began customizing it to suit the purpose of being a reef tank.
With the help of my housemate we made a bracket and bolted it to the back of the tank so that we could mount the light stands to hang the lights. We used a bit of timber and drilled for holes through it and the stand and bolted it to the back using stainless bolts, we used saddle clamps to hold the stands. The stands were then painted matt black.
I used a bit of silicon to seal around the top of the tank so that dust and salt don't get between the glass and the trim.
We then siliconed the return and the outlet pipes in place to guarantee there were no leaks, all was well until we cracked one of the fittings from over tightening it so off to the hardware store we went to get a replacement.
We let it dry over night and did a leak test, it passed with flying colours. So the tank was drained of the tapwater and left it overnight till we could fill it the next day with RO water. We mounted the light stands and then filled the tank, we let it run and heat up and it was time to add the salt.
The plan for this tank will be to have a thriving slice of reef, I would like for it to be SPS dominant eventually.
I need to get some live rock and that will probably be happening later this week. I'm dosing SeaChem Stability to get the system rocking in the right direction. I need to work out what skimmer I want to run on this tank as well.
Well that is everything that has happened so far with this build and congratulations if you made it this far :lolspin:
The Fishy Backstory
I've been interested in fish and aquatic life for as long as I can remember and have been fishing since I could hold a rod, so ever since then I've been mesmerized by the world beneath the water.
So as soon as my dear mother thought I was responsible enough to take care of my own fish tank, she bought me one and we then stocked it with the usual bread and butter tropical fish.
I'm originally South African but my family and I have now move to Australia so that my sister and I could have a safe place to grow up.
So the first tank stayed setup for a number of years and did quite well until the time to move came and we had to sell the fish, I pleaded that we keep the fish tank and set it up when we moved over and that is what we did.
So fast forward a few years and a few tanks later the inevitable urge to move onto newer and more exciting things happened. That's when my interest shifted to marine tanks.
So I started researching all I could about the and started buying equipment for it. I was earning the massive sum of $50 a week from working on the weekend and as you can imagine it too a bit of saving to get the basic gear like heaters and powerheads. I got everything I needed to setup a 30G FOWLR tank and bought a single clownfish to start with and then I got a second one so they could be a pair, I still have both of them to this day
. So I then progressed to a bigger 65G tank that I kept my first coral in, a green hammer which I also still have. Build thread for that tank if you're interested: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2407090
I then setup a 42G shallow tank that did alright but it was nothing special. I took that tank down and replaced it with a 90G tropical tank and down graded the reef to a 40G breeder to house all the corals and fish. Build thread for the 42G if you're interested: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2424966
I then setup a 10G nano that did pretty well for the last year but the corals were never 100% happy because I couldn't keep things as stable as I would have liked.
That brings us to the setup at hand!! My AquaOne Regency 220. I work at a pet supply shop and manage all the fish we have there which is cool as I get to look at fish all day hahaha. So we got in four of these Regency's (two white and two black) and they sat there for a good few months so they were reduced by a substantial amount to try and sell them and it was very tempting to buy one but I really didn't need a bigger tank so I put that idea off.
We sold three of them and there was one left in white and at this stage I was really starting to miss not having a bigger reef tank to play with so I checked how much the tank was with my staff discount and when the figure came up I bought it then and there!! I had just impulse buyed my first brand new big setup, I was so excited with this fine purchase :lolspin:.
Ok so now that the boring back story is over and done with we can get onto the good stuff!!
Equipment
Tank: AquaOne Regency 220
Stand: Regency Stand
Skimmer: Still to Be Decided
Heater: AquaOne 300 Watt Thermosafe
Sump: Included 17G Sump
Return Pump: AquaOne Moray 3600 (Will probably upgrade it to something quieter!!)
Lighting: Undecided at this point but I have to options at hand LED and T5 HO. The LED I have is a Aquasun 36x3w with CREE LEDs and the T5 units are two 3x39w HOs, I may end up doing a test with both of those options but I'm leaning towards the T5's at this stage (need to get new globes for them).
Let The Build Begin!!
So once I got the tank home I began customizing it to suit the purpose of being a reef tank.
With the help of my housemate we made a bracket and bolted it to the back of the tank so that we could mount the light stands to hang the lights. We used a bit of timber and drilled for holes through it and the stand and bolted it to the back using stainless bolts, we used saddle clamps to hold the stands. The stands were then painted matt black.
I used a bit of silicon to seal around the top of the tank so that dust and salt don't get between the glass and the trim.
We then siliconed the return and the outlet pipes in place to guarantee there were no leaks, all was well until we cracked one of the fittings from over tightening it so off to the hardware store we went to get a replacement.
We let it dry over night and did a leak test, it passed with flying colours. So the tank was drained of the tapwater and left it overnight till we could fill it the next day with RO water. We mounted the light stands and then filled the tank, we let it run and heat up and it was time to add the salt.
The plan for this tank will be to have a thriving slice of reef, I would like for it to be SPS dominant eventually.
I need to get some live rock and that will probably be happening later this week. I'm dosing SeaChem Stability to get the system rocking in the right direction. I need to work out what skimmer I want to run on this tank as well.
Well that is everything that has happened so far with this build and congratulations if you made it this far :lolspin:
