Hello, thought I would drop in and introduce myself as I'll likely troll these boards for years to come and ask many questions. I'm sure my wife is also getting tired of me talking about this stuff so here I am.
I am new to the hobby as I've not kept saltwater tanks to date. Only freshwater cichlid and oscar tanks as I grew up. I've been a long time fan of the reefing hobby and recently made the decision to jump in, with the wife's support of course .
I often told myself that I'd wait for retirement to start this hobby. Why did I start now? Well, I've been working from my home office for a little over a year as a result of the pandemic. I spend a vast majority of my day in our family's home office and do not see my position returning to the office full time. It's the one room in the house that's been neglected since moving in 10+ years ago. Stress runs high at times and I was thinking what would help... A NEW TANK.
The idea started out as a standard 40g breader, quickly ramped up to 100g+ in our basement, to running a display tank on my main level while all the equipment was in the basement. I settled on a 32g with matching stand. I'm happy with the all in one cabinet system. It fits our space and realistic for a first set up IMO.
Below are the items I've purchased. I've done some research and made purchase based on what I feel is worth the expense while knowing I can upgrade areas later.
I purchased a lot of my equipment locally to support my community. Living in MN gives me a unique opportunity to be close to so many great companies. For example, I purchase the 32g tank from Fiji Cube. Fiji Cube is a company based out of St. Paul, MN. The tank was personally delivered via someone in a hatchback. The majority of my equipment is coming from Bulk Reef Supply located in Golden Valley, MN. I've been watching their videos and had to check them out in person.
In reviewing the above list, what else should I be looking for in a brand new start up? What can I get away with purchasing later, what do I need now, etc.? So many questions that we'll eventually get through and trying to read through the wealth of knowledge here. Below is what I'm thinking about still:
Percula Clown
Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
Royal Gramma
Blue-Green Chromis
Bartlett's Anthias
Corals - Unknown at this time
Who is getting pumped? This guy! Below is a peak into the gear that started to arrive this past week. Every day seems like xmas. We have more cardboard in our garage than what I can stuff in the bins.
Current Goal:
Right now I'm focused on acquiring the proper equipment before I start thinking about adding water to my new tank. I'm a few weeks out on setting up the display tank as we are waiting for new carpet and myself to paint. Good motivation to get that done and also have time work on my sump and a few other projects to prep for this build.
I'm currently working on my "fish room" where I'll keep the RO/DI system, water storage, quarantine tank, and general storage to keep things clean and out of sight.
I'll keep everyone posted.
I am new to the hobby as I've not kept saltwater tanks to date. Only freshwater cichlid and oscar tanks as I grew up. I've been a long time fan of the reefing hobby and recently made the decision to jump in, with the wife's support of course .
I often told myself that I'd wait for retirement to start this hobby. Why did I start now? Well, I've been working from my home office for a little over a year as a result of the pandemic. I spend a vast majority of my day in our family's home office and do not see my position returning to the office full time. It's the one room in the house that's been neglected since moving in 10+ years ago. Stress runs high at times and I was thinking what would help... A NEW TANK.
The idea started out as a standard 40g breader, quickly ramped up to 100g+ in our basement, to running a display tank on my main level while all the equipment was in the basement. I settled on a 32g with matching stand. I'm happy with the all in one cabinet system. It fits our space and realistic for a first set up IMO.
Below are the items I've purchased. I've done some research and made purchase based on what I feel is worth the expense while knowing I can upgrade areas later.
Item | Description |
Display | 32G Fiji Cube Ext Overflow; Black Stand |
Sump | 9G Fiji-12; 6G Freshwater Auto Top Off Reservoir |
Heater | BRS 100W Titanium Heater w/ WiFi; Second, Backup Heater & Duel Probes |
Rock | MarcoRocks Dry Live Rock & Foundation Rock |
Sand | CaribSea Special Grade Arag Alive Reef Sand - 1-2mm |
Water | 7 Stage RO/DI System |
Water Storage | (2) 15 Gallon Freshwater/Saltwater Storage Barrels |
Lighting | (2) AI Prime 16 HD LED - Black Body & Mount |
Return Pump | Innovative Marine MightyJet (538 GPH) |
Protein Skimmer | Bubble Magus NAC 3.5 |
Powerheads | (2) Jabeo OW-10 Wavemaker 132-1057 GPH w/ Controller I had the VorTech powerheads in my shopping cart and they were promptly removed after seeing the price. Perhaps a Christmas present as an upgrade down the road. |
Salt | Red Sea Coral Pro Salt Mix |
Cleaning Equipment | Float Glass Scrubber; Python Siphon |
Test Kits | API (Ammonia, PH, Nitrite, Nitrate); Refractometer |
I purchased a lot of my equipment locally to support my community. Living in MN gives me a unique opportunity to be close to so many great companies. For example, I purchase the 32g tank from Fiji Cube. Fiji Cube is a company based out of St. Paul, MN. The tank was personally delivered via someone in a hatchback. The majority of my equipment is coming from Bulk Reef Supply located in Golden Valley, MN. I've been watching their videos and had to check them out in person.
In reviewing the above list, what else should I be looking for in a brand new start up? What can I get away with purchasing later, what do I need now, etc.? So many questions that we'll eventually get through and trying to read through the wealth of knowledge here. Below is what I'm thinking about still:
- Power Backup
- Test kits
- Lighting/PAR Meter
- I purchase API as they were available at the LFS. Open to other brands for comparison. Thinking I should go digital already...
- Automation/Redundancies/Water Alarms
- Other Cleaning Equipment and chemicals to keep things in order
- Refugium - will find a way to include in my current stand. Stand by...
- What else?
Percula Clown
Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
Royal Gramma
Blue-Green Chromis
Bartlett's Anthias
Corals - Unknown at this time
Who is getting pumped? This guy! Below is a peak into the gear that started to arrive this past week. Every day seems like xmas. We have more cardboard in our garage than what I can stuff in the bins.
Current Goal:
Right now I'm focused on acquiring the proper equipment before I start thinking about adding water to my new tank. I'm a few weeks out on setting up the display tank as we are waiting for new carpet and myself to paint. Good motivation to get that done and also have time work on my sump and a few other projects to prep for this build.
I'm currently working on my "fish room" where I'll keep the RO/DI system, water storage, quarantine tank, and general storage to keep things clean and out of sight.
I'll keep everyone posted.
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