Hello

[Joe69]

I wanted to say hi, I didn't know this forum existed on RC. I never really post here, but I do post on a another board from time to time.

I was in Seascape Auquatics last night picking up my light fixture when I met a very nice guy and he suggested I introduce myself to the group here. I don't remember his name (sorry), but it was a lot of fun talking to him, so I figured this was a great bunch.

I have been into freshwater planted tanks for years and last year, bought a Nano DX to see if I like SW. Long story short, 55g planted tank went to nephew and 125g SW tank for me. I just got it started last week.

I hope everyone here likes pics because I have a few to share.

Here is the tank and equipment

Here is the stand my friend built for me. $125 worth of materials at Home Depot.

I ended up cutting larger holes for the overflow plumbing in the stand and put on an oak finish.

And here are some pics of my Nano

All photography shot with Rebel XT, macros shot with Canon EF 100 f/2.8 Macro

If there's anyone in the area who wants some Xenia, I've got more than enough to spare. I live in Pueblo so it might take a little drive to get here.

 

[Deuce67]

Welcome to the club! Nice looking nano you got there! We have an active member at your neck of the woods. His name is Todd aka racer69. Hopefully you can attend some of our monthly meetings and get to know some fellow reefers and share some knowledge and experience.

 

[murfman]

Very nice stand, did you build it yourself? Racer69 is down there with you, in Pueblo. I must have just missed you last night, I was there looking at my Sargassum Trigger. Did the guy have a little boy with him?

 

[Joe69]

Thanks Deuce, the nano has been really fun. I would love to come to one of the monthly meetings, that would be fun.


Thanks Murf, my friend built the stand for me, he lives here in Pueblo too and is thinking about opening a wood shop, he does nice work. I'm guessing I saw you at some point last night, I was there from 5:45pm to 7:25pm putting the Coralife fixutre together. At least four different people helped out unpacking it at one time or another. The guy I talked to did not have a kid with him. He said he just sold all his SPS and was waiting to move to setup his 70 or 75. Very nice, he even helped me load the light and the ballasts into my car.

 

[Crit21]

Hmm. If the kid was a blonde toddler, that might be CoReefer (Eric).

Nice stand. The end doors will come in handy. Are you able to get the sump in and out through the front or end doors? A lot of people find out too late that the only way to get a large sump out is through the back (which is against the wall, or out the top (which is under a ton of glass, rock and water). Find this out before it's too late to return it for one you can fit through an accessible opening. It really sucks getting a leak or wanting to do maintenance to the sump or stand and finding out that you'll be doing it under the stand.

 

[COreefer]

Very nice pics...welcome aboard, hope to see you at the meetings.

 

[Crit21]

wait...waiting to move to set up his bugger tank...If he had a beard that's probably avs21 (Robert).

What kind of lighting are you going to be using, and what kinds of hard/soft corals do you plan to put in the tank?

 

[Crit21]

bugger = bigger. oops

 

[racer69]

Joe, welcome to the club. It is nice to see someone in my neck of the woods here on RC. We will have to get together sometime. I go to all the meetings, and am more than willing to carpool if you want to ride up with me and my wife. We are hosting the May meeting and are looking for a good turn out. When you get that tank up and running, maybe I can help you out with a few frags.

 

[murfman]

Lets see, if you start the cycle in your tank today......It might be ready for some frags (lps/softies) by the time Russ has his meeting in late April. Check out the sticky at the top. Let us know and we can bring some frags for you.

 

[Joe69]

Crit: I am just able to remove the sump from the front, it's not easy, but it barely fits. The Coralife fixture has 3 - 250w MH 10k, 4 - 96w PC Actinics, and 4 moonlights. I would like to try my hand at SPS (Acropora mostly) and clams, I also love zoas and few select softies that don't overgrow the tank.

racer69: I am glad that I am not the only one in Pueblo in the hobby. I live out in the county, on the Mesa and work downtown. If your close maybe we can get together.

murfman: That sounds great, I started the cycle in my tank last Thursday, the lights just arrived this week. I've got about 200lbs. of lr, I'm still trying to aquascape though. The 125 is a little narrower than I would have liked, but it's still not too bad. I would love to go to the meeting in April too.

 

[Crit21]

I used eggcrate against the glass on the bottom and behind the rocks. It prevents scratches from rocks resting against the glass, and can prevent glass breakage from dropped rocks or rock piles falling over--it spreads the weight or impact over a large area. It also gives you something to secure the rocks to on the back, if necessary. Once the rocks are in place, you can trim the exposed eggcrate on the back and cover the bottom eggcrate with a little sand. I would probably trim the bottom layer of eggcrate so it doesn't dig into the silicone seals.

 

[murfman]

you can also drill the rock and use zip ties to hold it in place or dowels of acrylic or pvc.

 

[murfman]

you can also drill the rock and use zip ties to hold it in place or dowels of acrylic or pvc.

 

[Joe69]

Thanks Crit and Murf for the tips, this is what I have so far.

I was hoping for more of an overhang and valley look and ended up with a pile of rocks look

Oh, btw, does the light look low enough? It's 8 inches from the top of the water, which I thought was good, seems high for some reason.

 

[Leopard Wrasse]

Joe,

Glad to see you found the forum. Setup looks great.

 

[murfman]

i think the rocks look great. you can check out my gallery and see my "rock pile" with the covers on the lights, you might be able to lower it some. mine are 6" off the deck with no cover and I run 250W MH and actinics

 

[racer69]

I think they all start out as a pile of rocks, but as things are added, they start to take on the beauty of a reef. You will still be able to move things around as you add corals. I like the two seperate structures. So will your fish. Are you leaning your rocks to the back wall, or are the free standing?

 

[Crit21]

whatever you do, DON'T put the rocks on top of the sand. Aragonite sand dissolves over time, and all sand shifts. Put the rocks on something solid.

 

[Joe69]

Thanks everyone, I put most of the rocks on the bottom of the tank and moved the sand around them, they are not really leaning against the back glass but they are leaning on the overflows.

I may redo it all and use eggcrate or dowels. I have a few weeks left to decide before I start adding a cleanup crew. Where can I get eggcrate and plastic dowels from if I choose to try these methods? If I use one or both of these methods, how easy is it to change my aquascape after? ( I doubt I will, but you never know)