The start of my 180g journey

[dlp211]

Hey everyone,

So I have been lurking for a long while reading everything I can almost everyday and recently became a member. So I just wanted to introduce myself more then I did in the intro thread and see if I can't get some insight into my future tank. I plan to have the tank running towards the end of the summer.

So i decided that if I was going to do this I was going to go big, and I did, I went and got a 180g tank.

So here is a list of everything I have:
180g 72x24x24 Aqueon tank
DIY RocketEngineer stand 72x24x40 (still needs trim and stain)
3 x Finnex 300w heaters
29g Aquarium (purpose undefined: possible Refugium or QT)
Plumbing for BeanAnimal Overflow
And "Conscientious Marine Aquarium" which hasn't arrived from Amazon yet.

This week I am buying:
BRS 5 Stage RO/DI unit
100+# Pukani Rock (will cycle out of tank)
3 1" bulkheads and Diamond tip hole drill (to install BeanAnimal)

Things I still need to buy:
Salt(haven't made a decision on which salt to use)
Live Rock(need to find a good LFS or maybe get it from MarcoRocks)
SRO 3000 Protein skimmer(hopefully will find one used)
40g Breeder for sump(currently in talks to get a used one)
Rubbermade Brute Garbage cans or Rubbermade storage containers(will the roughnecks work?)
Glass and silcone for internal coast to coast overflow
Egg Crate(for just about everything)
More plumbing
Live sand(?????) I plan on doing a SSB and a RDSB
Danner Mag-Drive 18 for my return pump
Powerheads(prolly get 2xKoralia evo 1400 and 2x Koralia 6's)
More base rock
2 x Glass-Holes returns
And finally DIY LED lighting

So that is where I am at right now. Obviously I would love to get a pair of vortechs instead of the Koralia's but I have to keep costs down somewhere. I also am waiting to see what the Apex Jr can do next month when it comes out as I have a laptop that I can dedicate to interfacing with it.

For salt I am trying to decide between Instant Ocean Reef Crystals and Red Sea Coral Pro.

I also had a question about my live rock, can I put it in my refugium and will that be good enough to seed the pukani?

Do I have any glaring missing items?

My overall plan is to start as a FOWLR with 2 clowns which will be QT'd before going in. And then add about 1 fish type every 6 weeks after that(all going through QT). I don't have my defined fish list as I am still researching compatibility but I know I will be putting in two blue hippo tangs, a yellow tang, and a kole tang(as long as everything is compatible). I am also looking for something that will school and is reef safe.

I want to eventually go mixed reef and will admit that I have done little in the way of researching coral at this point, but would love to have a bunch of sps and lps in my tank.

So thanks again to ReefCentral for this great resource and to all the members here. Hopefully I will finish the stand this week and start getting some pictures up.

-DLP211

 

[aleonn]

Looks like you're headed on the right path, how exciting! I'm not sure if two blue hippo tangs would be a good idea, as they may fight (even in this big tank). IMO I'd rather have a yellow or sailfin tang in its place for more diversity. I had the Evo 1400 Koralias before, but they had restart issues for some reason. Went with Vortech MP40s and haven't looked back. Much more costly, but well worth it. You can always purchase just one for now, and get the second one later down the line to more effectively budget.

When I first started I placed live rock both in the DT as well as refugium. Marco Rocks or BRS would be great options.

I'd avoid the Roughnecks. Although they're significantly cheaper than the other Brute, they're more flimsy and more prone to ripping apart when full. The Brute is very sturdy, and you can move the trash can using a dolly without worrying about structural integrity. Plus I don't think the Roughnecks are NSF-certified compared to the Brute containers.

GL with your build!

 

[dlp211]

Hey,

Yea, I am going to get 2 or 3 brute Garbage cans for water storage but I wondering about for curing my rock, I know the Pukani needs to be cured and I don't want to cure it in my tank, well not at first at least. I need to get past the smelly part, then I'll drop them in the tank.

Oh and when putting rock in the tank, is everyone putting it on egg crate or are they just putting it on the sand? And are you guys using anything to hold it together or just stacking? I have an idea of what I want, but I have never aquascaped before.

 

[IndianFeather]

Live rock most of the time on crate, but base rock just right in the sand. Keeping it stable is important too, you dont want it to fall. I personally just stack the rock. I have seen some very impressive setups though. I wish that I had taken more time at the beginning and designed it out. Some people are drilling and putting plastic rods and expoxy putty stuff to create columns and arches. Take a look at the build threads around to get a better feel for what is possible.

 

[dlp211]

Alright everyone,

I still owe some pictures, but I just about have everything that I need to get started and I have been working on my stocking list.

So before you read the list know that I do not plan to have all these fish as I don't believe my tank is big enough, and therein lies the dilemma. I don't know how many fish my tank can actually handle, so I am looking for compatibility recommendations as well as limit recommendations.

The only fish that are must haves for me are the 2 Ocellaris and since my tank won't support the Hippos, the Powder Blue, which will most likely be the last fish that I add.

So here is my list, please have at it.

B&W Amphiprion Ocellaris (Clownfish)
Zebrasoma flaviscens (Yellow Tang)
Acanthurus leucosternon*(Powder Blue Tang)
Acanthurus olivaceous*(Orange Shoulder Tang)
Ctenochaetus strigosus (Yellow Eye Kole Tang)
Synchiropus splendidus (Green Mandarin)
Amblyeleotris randalli (Orange Stripe Prawn Goby)
Xanthicthys mento (Crosshatch Trigger)
Opistognathus aurifrons (Pearly Jawfish)
Pterapogon kauderni (Kaudern's Cardinal)
Pseudanthias bartlettorum (Bartlett's Anthias)
Gramma loreto (Royal Gramma Basslet)
Ecsenius midas (Midas Blenny)
Chromis viridis (Blue/Green Reef Chromis)
Cirrhilabrus solorensis (Red Head Solon Fairy Wrasse)

Also please looking to find out if certain fishes do better in groups or individually.

Thanks for the input and advice again.

-DLP211

 

[purge43]

3 1" bulkheads and Diamond tip hole drill (to install BeanAnimal)<<<< Im not sure what your going to drill, but is that 180g tank tempered glass and can you drill it without it breaking?

 

[dlp211]

I am drilling the backside of the tank, and no the glass is not tempered. I also practiced drilling some glass the other day, wasn't so bad. The hard part is just getting started, but after about 5 holes, I figured it out.