It's so close, I can almost taste it!!

[SallyWho]

I just had to share this somewhere, and none of my family or friends would get it, you know? I've been wanting a reef tank for nearly 8 years, and I'm finally within a month or so of it happening!!! Next week, an electrician is going to put in a new dedicated circuit and install a few GFCI outlets. Then I paint the living room (killz-ing the wall where the tank will go), and get a friend to help me install the RODI unit. Afterwards, I build a little drip tray sort of thing for my water mixing station to protect the floors, then the stand and canopy. Assuming I don't do anything real stupid, I could get all those things built in a long weekend- I'm only a very amateur carpenter after all, and I work full time on night shift, making projects more difficult because I can't be using a mitre saw or power drill at 2am on my nights off. Once the skeleton of the stand and canopy are built, I'll order the display tank and start cycling the QT, while I work on skinning and making pretty the stand, installing the sump and control panel, installing the lights in the canopy, etc, etc, etc...

TL:DR I'm really close to finally realizing an 8 year old dream and I'M SO MOTHER-FRANCIS EXCITED ABOUT IT. :D:D;Woot:p;Joyful

 

[reef lover]

Yay!!!

 

[addo]

It took me 10 years before I could set up my first reef, so I know the feeling exactly. Don't move to fast once you get going, and you'll do great!

 

[SallyWho]

It took me 10 years before I could set up my first reef, so I know the feeling exactly. Don't move to fast once you get going, and you'll do great!

That's going to be the hard part! I've been dreaming about this for so long, I'm going to want to rush to the fun parts (stocking with fish and coral). There's going to be a lot of deep breathing and "sloooooooooooow it down, Sally. Paaaaaaatience." :D

 

[Crabs McJones]

It took me 10 years before I could set up my first reef, so I know the feeling exactly. Don't move to fast once you get going, and you'll do great!

Agreed. Slow and steady wins the race :)

 

[SallyWho]

Agreed. Slow and steady wins the race :)

Luckily, I'll have to go slowly- I'm going to try to quarantine everything wet. So, probably before I even buy the display tank, I'm going to set up a QT tank, buy a piece of live rock from a local well-established tank, and get some CUC in there. I figure if I use enough light and feed it a bit, the live rock will grow some algae for the CUC to feed on, and I'll supplement with a few meaty pieces and things like blanched lettuce and algae wafers. By the time my display is set up and cycled, I'll have inverts and a piece of quarantined live rock ready to go!

 

[Redleg]

It may be a better idea to buy your tank first, then build your stand. That way you can get the actual dimensions of you tank as different manufacturers are all slightly different sizes. I'm also a night shift guy and understand your building struggles. I'm basically only able to build anything on my days off. But that has been beneficial in slowing me down.

 

[FredsNJReef]

Congrats @SallyWho !!

What are your plans for the tank set up? Size/Mixed reef/inhabitants etc?

Share away with us, we all get it! ;)

 

[SallyWho]

It may be a better idea to buy your tank first, then build your stand. That way you can get the actual dimensions of you tank as different manufacturers are all slightly different sizes. I'm also a night shift guy and understand your building struggles. I'm basically only able to build anything on my days off. But that has been beneficial in slowing me down.

That's a good idea- does that follow even if I'm buying a standard tank and the dimensions should be known?

Congrats @SallyWho !!

What are your plans for the tank set up? Size/Mixed reef/inhabitants etc?

Share away with us, we all get it! ;)

It's going to be a 4x2x2' 120g mixed reef! When I first started dreaming this up, I thought I might start with a 60g....then a 90g...then I realized I was already planning to upgrade within a year or so to a 120, so I decided to cut out all the middle men to save money. :D As I've been buying up used equipment, I've tried to get things that could still work when/if I am able to upgrade again in the few years, maybe to a 180 or 220. That should save me some $$ in the long run.

 

[FredsNJReef]

that is awesome!! Great set up, cant wait to see pics!

 

[davocean]

Nice, sounds like you've had a lot of time to think things out for a proper build!

I have a 120g as well, it's a great footprint for scaping, and easy to gear up.

Make sure to do a build thread, and congrats!

 

[Redleg]

That's a good idea- does that follow even if I'm buying a standard tank and the dimensions should be known?



It's going to be a 4x2x2' 120g mixed reef! When I first started dreaming this up, I thought I might start with a 60g....then a 90g...then I realized I was already planning to upgrade within a year or so to a 120, so I decided to cut out all the middle men to save money. :D As I've been buying up used equipment, I've tried to get things that could still work when/if I am able to upgrade again in the few years, maybe to a 180 or 220. That should save me some $$ in the long run.

As long as you know what manufacturers tank you can get the actual dimensions from their website.