1st time trying saltwater

[epatters05]

Well heres the start to my qst ever saltwater build, ill try to keep this updated as i get parts coming in and set up. 55 gallon glass with a 29 gallon glass baffled sump. Just picked up some ai sol blues, still not sure if thise were a good purchase or not. This will be a slow build just because im not technically suppose to have anything over 30 gallon in my apartment. Any input is appreciated im trying to let me brain absorb as much as possible at this point.

 

[kschweer]

Looks like a great start! Best of luck with it!

 

[epatters05]

Decided to black out the back panel of the 55 tonight.

 

[steelheader.262]

Good luck with the build!!!

 

[Ryan15236]

Looks like a great start to me! 55 gallon can be a tricky size tank to aquascape but it's also a good starter tank as well. I found one of the best things I did for myself when I started my tank was giving myself the maximum water volume I could. So much easier to keep everything stable and swings minimal. 75-80ish gallons gives you a decent amount of water volume.

Another thing that really helped out as well was getting a good, properly sized, and reliable skimmer. I went with the aquamaxx em200 which is rated for 240 gallons. I would say that number is very generous at best. Anyway I kinda wish I would have even went larger with the em300. Point is get a good new/used skimmer! Good luck!

 

[epatters05]

 

[epatters05]

Been doing a little work, heres my stand ive been working on. Its built to hold a 4' 120, 48 1/2 x 24 1/2 x 40 tall. The 55g sump should look good in the bottom. Need to get a couple pieces for the top &bottom cut then i can seal it. Plan on eventually wrapping it with some oak sheeting.

 

[melypr1985]

Great start! Looking forward to seeing some water in that thing

 

[epatters05]

Bought some heaters today, any opinions? Also wondering ifanyone has had issues mounting these horizontally. Instructions say verticle but i dont have enough depth with my 29g sump

 

[epatters05]

Finally got my stand together. Didnt turn out bad at all, sould work well with the 120 later.