After many years of freshwater fish-keeping, I was recently inspired to start a saltwater tank. I picked up a used 12 gallon aquapod on craigslist. I came with a pretty ratty stand that I refurbished (it's still pretty bad).
Current specs:
Lighting: stock fluorescent white and blue
Pump: 210 gph inline pump that I rigged to work as a return pump
Heater: 50 W Hitauing heater
Substrate: 10 lb Arag-Alive special grade (I think)
Filtration: one, huge large pore sponge
Water: Fritz RPM Blue Box mixed in tap
My water has mixed to,
Sg: 1.024-1.0245 w/ a hydrometer calibrated to 60 deg F, this should be about 1.026 at 78 deg F
pH: 8.0
kH: 8.6-8.9
Ca: 400
Mg: 1290-1320
Not bad!
The tank looks really bare right now but at least it has water which is an improvement over the last 2 months where it sat completely empty.
The next step is to get an ICP to see if there are any metals and to calibrate my test kits (especially the hydrometer), and to add some bio-filtration media. I ordered 10lbs of KP Aquatics live rock which I'm super stoked about. It should ship next week. I just need to make sure the water is good before it arrives.
After that I plan on swapping the blue sponge for a little fuge. Because of the strange overflow design in the aquapod, I don't plan on running any mechanical filtration on this tank. Of course, if I start having problems with nutrients, I might have to change that.
I think I will also upgrade the lighting sometime soon. I don't particularly like the look of the hood anyway. I was thinking a 30 or 50 watt amazon light. This Nicrew 30 watt is particularly appealing. I'll probably just be keeping softies and easy LPS as this is my first reef tank so I shouldn't need really intense PAR.
There's a really nice looking Duncan at my LFS for $15. Although I should start with a softie, I might have to get it.
Current specs:
Lighting: stock fluorescent white and blue
Pump: 210 gph inline pump that I rigged to work as a return pump
Heater: 50 W Hitauing heater
Substrate: 10 lb Arag-Alive special grade (I think)
Filtration: one, huge large pore sponge
Water: Fritz RPM Blue Box mixed in tap
My water has mixed to,
Sg: 1.024-1.0245 w/ a hydrometer calibrated to 60 deg F, this should be about 1.026 at 78 deg F
pH: 8.0
kH: 8.6-8.9
Ca: 400
Mg: 1290-1320
Not bad!
The tank looks really bare right now but at least it has water which is an improvement over the last 2 months where it sat completely empty.
The next step is to get an ICP to see if there are any metals and to calibrate my test kits (especially the hydrometer), and to add some bio-filtration media. I ordered 10lbs of KP Aquatics live rock which I'm super stoked about. It should ship next week. I just need to make sure the water is good before it arrives.
After that I plan on swapping the blue sponge for a little fuge. Because of the strange overflow design in the aquapod, I don't plan on running any mechanical filtration on this tank. Of course, if I start having problems with nutrients, I might have to change that.
I think I will also upgrade the lighting sometime soon. I don't particularly like the look of the hood anyway. I was thinking a 30 or 50 watt amazon light. This Nicrew 30 watt is particularly appealing. I'll probably just be keeping softies and easy LPS as this is my first reef tank so I shouldn't need really intense PAR.
There's a really nice looking Duncan at my LFS for $15. Although I should start with a softie, I might have to get it.