My first venture into the SW world.

4

426Hemi

New member
Always wanted one but never went through with it until yesterday.

Innovative Marine Nuvo mini 38. It is one of the all in one designs, very well constructed from what I can see thus far. Got the Innovative Marine 92 watt tablet light as part of a package deal they were running. Very bright, still seeing spots from when I turned it on to test the first time.

40lbs of aragonite sand and about 18lbs of Fiji live rock. Instant Ocean salt.

Got it all set up in one location then decided to move it and ended up rearranging the entire living room. Got it filled up the second time and let it stay there.

Still need to order an ATO, skimmer and heater. Any recomendations would be appreciated.

Empty with moon lights, tablet has day, moon and sunrise/set lighting options.

IMG_20120928_201917.jpg


Empty with day lights on. Hard to capture how bright this is with a cell phone. Was too lazy to break out the DSLR.

IMG_20120928_202341.jpg


New location with salt, sand and LR in it before it clears up.

IMG_20120929_001007.jpg


This morning after it had cleared.

IMG_20120929_083350.jpg


IMG_20120929_083423.jpg


Only inhabitant is a hermit crab that hitched a ride on one of the rocks, hopefully the little guy will make it.

Did lots of reading, and still have questions, but it is exciting and can't wait to see little signs of life on the rock.
 
Great looking tank you've got there! I hope you come back and post more pics when there's fish inside. :)

I'm not sure what skimmer would be right for a tank that size, but for heaters check out the Ebo Jager products. Many people here have been using them for years, myself included. They're very dependable.

EDIT: When choosing a skimmer, it helps to know what you're planning to keep in the tank. Fish-only tanks have much lower requirements than sps tanks, and softy/lps tanks are somewhere in the middle.
 
Zappo said:
Great looking tank you've got there! I hope you come back and post more pics when there's fish inside. :)

I'm not sure what skimmer would be right for a tank that size, but for heaters check out the Ebo Jager products. Many people here have been using them for years, myself included. They're very dependable.

EDIT: When choosing a skimmer, it helps to know what you're planning to keep in the tank. Fish-only tanks have much lower requirements than sps tanks, and softy/lps tanks are somewhere in the middle.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I plan on it.

Edit: See below for plans.
 
downbeach said:
Nice looking system. What are you planning to keep in it?
Click to expand...

Haven't really given too much thought to fish yet, I want to make sure the tank is 100% before I put anything in it. I will want some zoas, soft corals (don't know the technical name) mushrooms and things like that. I won't be doing any of the hard corals for some time, I need to learn more before going there. Of course a CUC, maybe some inverts. Like I said, haven't given too much thought to livestock yet since I want to go slow and do it right.
 
BTW, I've considered an ATO. Not sure that I'll ever do it. I mean, when you're first getting into it, you're getting hit with costs left and right. If I can put a few off, that is ideal for me.

For me personally, the ATO would just be one more thing I need to maintain. I would recommend that you invest in a RO/DI unit instead.

I bought 3 5 gallon buckets with lids from Lowe's. I use one to catch my RO/DI water in my utility sink. Then I use one to mix the water with salt in. The night before I do a water change, I toss a water heater into the bucket to get it the right temp and make sure the salt is mixed.

Then I use the third bucket to siphon tank water in.

I do a 5 gallon water change every weekend. That's roughly a 10% change. So my water is always ready to go.

Also, make sure you have test kits. I wasn't supplementing calcium, and when I figured out what was going on, it was at 320. You can gradually increase it.

Oh yeah, another reason I don't do ATO. If I want to slowly raise the salinity in my tank, I replace the evaporated water with more saltwater. If I want to maintain it, I use RO/DI water. There is not a huge amount of water that evaporates from my tank, so it's not a big deal to grab a pitcher and put it in every other day or so, as needed.

That's just me, but I think the ATO and skimmer can wait just a tad.
 
oh yeah, and other far more experienced people will chime in, but I think you're light on the rocks. I thought it was supposed to be 1 lb. per gallon. If you're counting on using the filtration system that comes with the tank, I suppose that's something different?

Personally, I use both. I've got 40 lbs of rock in mine. Probably don't need the filter boxes in the back.

Once you get a skimmer, the skimmer will take the place of the media box on one side, so you'll move both to one side and have the skimmer in that place on the other.
 
SaltyWenStirred said:
BTW, I've considered an ATO. Not sure that I'll ever do it. I mean, when you're first getting into it, you're getting hit with costs left and right. If I can put a few off, that is ideal for me.

For me personally, the ATO would just be one more thing I need to maintain. I would recommend that you invest in a RO/DI unit instead.

I bought 3 5 gallon buckets with lids from Lowe's. I use one to catch my RO/DI water in my utility sink. Then I use one to mix the water with salt in. The night before I do a water change, I toss a water heater into the bucket to get it the right temp and make sure the salt is mixed.

Then I use the third bucket to siphon tank water in.

I do a 5 gallon water change every weekend. That's roughly a 10% change. So my water is always ready to go.

Also, make sure you have test kits. I wasn't supplementing calcium, and when I figured out what was going on, it was at 320. You can gradually increase it.

Oh yeah, another reason I don't do ATO. If I want to slowly raise the salinity in my tank, I replace the evaporated water with more saltwater. If I want to maintain it, I use RO/DI water. There is not a huge amount of water that evaporates from my tank, so it's not a big deal to grab a pitcher and put it in every other day or so, as needed.

That's just me, but I think the ATO and skimmer can wait just a tad.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, and I see what you are saying. I will wait on the skimmer for sure, since it will be a long time till I have livestock in the tank.

Good points on the ATO, I will certainly take into account your advice.

Which RO/DI unit do you use?
 
SaltyWenStirred said:
oh yeah, and other far more experienced people will chime in, but I think you're light on the rocks. I thought it was supposed to be 1 lb. per gallon. If you're counting on using the filtration system that comes with the tank, I suppose that's something different?

Personally, I use both. I've got 40 lbs of rock in mine. Probably don't need the filter boxes in the back.

Once you get a skimmer, the skimmer will take the place of the media box on one side, so you'll move both to one side and have the skimmer in that place on the other.
Click to expand...

I know I'm light on the rocks. I underestimated the size of the tank. The rocks looked huge until I put them in the tank. I will be getting more.

Any pics of your tank? I'd like to see how they look populated.
 
You can wait on the ATO, but I think the skimmer would be a priority, not just to help export unwanted nutrients, but also for aeration(gas exchange), especially with a lid on the DT. Where did you get the water to fill the tank with? An RO/DI unit would be another priority. A basic four stage would be fine. You could go to BRS, Spectrapure, Buckeye Field Supply...all have good units. I would also add a good refractometer and calibration fluid to your wish list, if you don't already have one.
 
downbeach said:
You can wait on the ATO, but I think the skimmer would be a priority, not just to help export unwanted nutrients, but also for aeration(gas exchange), especially with a lid on the DT. Where did you get the water to fill the tank with? An RO/DI unit would be another priority. A basic four stage would be fine. You could go to BRS, Spectrapure, Buckeye Field Supply...all have good units. I would also add a good refractometer and calibration fluid to your wish list, if you don't already have one.
Click to expand...

Looking at this setup now.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-5-stage-ro-di-drinking-water-and-reef-system-75gpd.html
 
Also, be care if you decide to put damsels in. They can harass your other fish. My local fish store guy recommended that I put them in. They are super fast and next to impossible to catch. I was able to trap 2, but had to take all of my rock out to catch the last two.

I have a Spectrapure RO/DI. The refurbished units are around $120. If you want to run it through your sink faucet, you can get a hose/faucet adapter for about $4 at Home Depot.

My tank is usually clearer than it is in this picture, but I just did my water change about an hour ago.

SeptTank.jpg
 
Just placed and order for all this;

ReefKeeper Lite Basic - Digital Aquatics $114.99
300W - Finnex Deluxe Titatium Heating Tube $34.99
Aqua Lifter Vacuum Pump $16.99
Single Bracket ReefKeeper Float Switch Kit - Digital Aquatics $24.99
BRS 5 Stage Drinking & Reef PLUS RO/DI System - 75GPD 259.99


Should do me for a bit.
 
SaltyWenStirred said:
Also, be care if you decide to put damsels in. They can harass your other fish. My local fish store guy recommended that I put them in. They are super fast and next to impossible to catch. I was able to trap 2, but had to take all of my rock out to catch the last two.

I have a Spectrapure RO/DI. The refurbished units are around $120. If you want to run it through your sink faucet, you can get a hose/faucet adapter for about $4 at Home Depot.

My tank is usually clearer than it is in this picture, but I just did my water change about an hour ago.

SeptTank.jpg
Click to expand...

Very nice, I like it. Good scaping, lots of holes and hiding places. Love the softies too, those are some of the ones I want to get.
 
I started noticing stuff after about three days. I had ball anenomes everywhere and also aptasia. Peanut worms tripped me out the first time I saw them. It just depends on the rock and the care they went through before they got to you
 
Thanks. The white was the wife's choice, she likes the modern look it gives the tank. I'm sure I will be doing major ID searching soon trying to figure out what everything is.
 
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