snodine
Premium Member
I have been spending the last few days reading every post on this forum and almost every post has reinforced my conviction to purchase LR from TBS. The enthusiastic remarks and the fantastic pictures have been very entertaining and enlightening.
If you would spare me a few moments to give an overview of my proposed system, I would appreciate it. Please shoot as many holes in this as you possibly can. I want to do this right the first time and any and all input is greatly appreciated.
I purchased a used a 130 gallon tank that was primarily used for FW but had been fishless for ~3 years and waterless for ~6 months. The tank was a mess â€"œ full of green and purple algae, lime deposits, and other really nasty dried gook (I believe “gook†is the technical term, but I may be mistaken). The tank is not drilled so I also purchased a HOB overflow from CPR Aquatics (CS90 â€"œ 600 GPH) to feed a 55 gallon tank that will be used as a sump and refugium. I also researched skimmers and purchased an EV-180 from AquaC.
After much thought and research, I have decided to have this tank as an in-wall installation (might as well increase the cost as much as possible!). The tank will go in a wall and be viewable just from just the front. All the other “stuff†(another technical term â€"œ “stuffâ€Â) will be in another room that is currently a large storage room. I have plenty of space for just about anything I want to put in there as there are already the accumulated items for a family of 5 in there. I’m working on planning the rooms and the stands.
I have also purchased ~50 lbs of dry, base rock and will supplement that with am order from TBS in the near future. Here comes the first question â€"œ do I need to cycle the dry rock before adding it to the tank when I get part 1 of the TBS rock or can I add it all at the same time?
I am looking to stock soft corals and a few fish. The specific stocking plan is still up in the air so suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. As you all know, the lighting system is another major expense so I am planning and saving for that also. The lighting and the plumbing are the main reasons I decided to go in-wall. I wanted to be able to get to the lights easily and not be forced to limit my plumbing to the relatively small area under a stand.
OK, sorry to run on. Any suggestions, comments, and sanity checks are greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your time.
Steve
If you would spare me a few moments to give an overview of my proposed system, I would appreciate it. Please shoot as many holes in this as you possibly can. I want to do this right the first time and any and all input is greatly appreciated.
I purchased a used a 130 gallon tank that was primarily used for FW but had been fishless for ~3 years and waterless for ~6 months. The tank was a mess â€"œ full of green and purple algae, lime deposits, and other really nasty dried gook (I believe “gook†is the technical term, but I may be mistaken). The tank is not drilled so I also purchased a HOB overflow from CPR Aquatics (CS90 â€"œ 600 GPH) to feed a 55 gallon tank that will be used as a sump and refugium. I also researched skimmers and purchased an EV-180 from AquaC.
After much thought and research, I have decided to have this tank as an in-wall installation (might as well increase the cost as much as possible!). The tank will go in a wall and be viewable just from just the front. All the other “stuff†(another technical term â€"œ “stuffâ€Â) will be in another room that is currently a large storage room. I have plenty of space for just about anything I want to put in there as there are already the accumulated items for a family of 5 in there. I’m working on planning the rooms and the stands.
I have also purchased ~50 lbs of dry, base rock and will supplement that with am order from TBS in the near future. Here comes the first question â€"œ do I need to cycle the dry rock before adding it to the tank when I get part 1 of the TBS rock or can I add it all at the same time?
I am looking to stock soft corals and a few fish. The specific stocking plan is still up in the air so suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. As you all know, the lighting system is another major expense so I am planning and saving for that also. The lighting and the plumbing are the main reasons I decided to go in-wall. I wanted to be able to get to the lights easily and not be forced to limit my plumbing to the relatively small area under a stand.
OK, sorry to run on. Any suggestions, comments, and sanity checks are greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your time.
Steve
