Hey R2R!
I've been mostly a lurker over the past year since I got into the hobby.
I bought a 29g Oceanic BioCube off of @xoleras on July 4th, 2018. Luckily he had already started the cycle. I stopped by Ace and grabbed a few 5g pails and transported everything back to my house. Luckily, he lived close! Since then I've gone through my ups and downs. I've made a lot of mistakes, especially during the beginning! As Rags2Riches would say, #honestyinreefing. Before I found R2R I found myself doing terrible things. One horrible example is, a water change that didn't have the correct salinity. Yes, I was that guy who added salt to my return pump to "bump it up."
Once I found R2R, I found my home. Not only for friendly people I could admire from a distance, but for excellent advice! Through here I found the @Bulk Reef Supply 52 Weeks of Reefing series. As well as many other insightful posts and articles.
After I finally figured out the hobby, as much as a novice as myself can, I decided what most reefers already know. I needed a larger tank!
As a father of two young kids (2 and 5), my budget is pretty tight. My wife (boss) gives me an allowance as I call it, and that's, that. Don't get me wrong. I can buy things as I please, but she got tired of me asking for permission all the time. I figured if I got an "allowance" aka discretionary fund, then I wouldn't feel guilty for spending money on myself.
Fast forward.
We went on vacation to visit some family in Canada in June. Before we got on the plane I noticed there was an amazing deal on a complete 75g setup on the outskirts of Phoenix. I showed my wife and she gave me the go ahead once we got back (as a fathers day present). As all of you already know, by the time we got back, someone snagged it. I was disappointed, but knew something would eventually come up.
Fast forward again.
A pricier 90g system came up for sale. I wasn't hopeful, but the boss gave the okay. She told me it could be my fathers day/birthday gift all rolled into one (I was born in July). Her and the kids were still asleep and I had that bad boy in the garage. Sorry for the bad pictures, but I figured if I didn't have any, people would riot!
Now that the first initial pictures are out of the way. On comes the build!
As of right now, all I have are what is pictured in the tank, and what I'm currently running on my BioCube.
Tunze Osmolator 3155 ATO (The pump died, but Tunze support is amazing and sent me a new one right away!)
Tunze 9001 Skimmer
I had initially created my own Chaeto reactor, but after a "father in-law" incident I took it offline.
20-30lbs of live rock that I'd like to transfer to the new build.
AI Prime HD
Dad patience (for those who are still reading)
Irrelevant, but an unused BRS fragging kit. Complete disclosure, I used the tweezers to get a plastic toy dog bone out of my daughters nose. If you'd like to see pictures let me know.
Things I need to order (which is why this is the slooooow allowance build):
I'd like to get an LED/T5 Hybrid
Skimmer
Sump. Most likely this will be DIY, unless a steal of a deal comes up locally.
Live rock/dry rock.
RO/DI system since I have Tucson water and it's terrible. As much as I'd love to continue buying water from the LFS, I really don't want to buy/haul the extra water to the tank.
Those are all of the necessities that I can think of right now. I'm sure there are many more.
What do y'all think? What else do I need? I would love any input/advice on this build since it'll most likely be awhile since it takes shape.
I've been mostly a lurker over the past year since I got into the hobby.
I bought a 29g Oceanic BioCube off of @xoleras on July 4th, 2018. Luckily he had already started the cycle. I stopped by Ace and grabbed a few 5g pails and transported everything back to my house. Luckily, he lived close! Since then I've gone through my ups and downs. I've made a lot of mistakes, especially during the beginning! As Rags2Riches would say, #honestyinreefing. Before I found R2R I found myself doing terrible things. One horrible example is, a water change that didn't have the correct salinity. Yes, I was that guy who added salt to my return pump to "bump it up."
Once I found R2R, I found my home. Not only for friendly people I could admire from a distance, but for excellent advice! Through here I found the @Bulk Reef Supply 52 Weeks of Reefing series. As well as many other insightful posts and articles.
After I finally figured out the hobby, as much as a novice as myself can, I decided what most reefers already know. I needed a larger tank!
As a father of two young kids (2 and 5), my budget is pretty tight. My wife (boss) gives me an allowance as I call it, and that's, that. Don't get me wrong. I can buy things as I please, but she got tired of me asking for permission all the time. I figured if I got an "allowance" aka discretionary fund, then I wouldn't feel guilty for spending money on myself.
Fast forward.
We went on vacation to visit some family in Canada in June. Before we got on the plane I noticed there was an amazing deal on a complete 75g setup on the outskirts of Phoenix. I showed my wife and she gave me the go ahead once we got back (as a fathers day present). As all of you already know, by the time we got back, someone snagged it. I was disappointed, but knew something would eventually come up.
Fast forward again.
A pricier 90g system came up for sale. I wasn't hopeful, but the boss gave the okay. She told me it could be my fathers day/birthday gift all rolled into one (I was born in July). Her and the kids were still asleep and I had that bad boy in the garage. Sorry for the bad pictures, but I figured if I didn't have any, people would riot!
Now that the first initial pictures are out of the way. On comes the build!
As of right now, all I have are what is pictured in the tank, and what I'm currently running on my BioCube.
Tunze Osmolator 3155 ATO (The pump died, but Tunze support is amazing and sent me a new one right away!)
Tunze 9001 Skimmer
I had initially created my own Chaeto reactor, but after a "father in-law" incident I took it offline.
20-30lbs of live rock that I'd like to transfer to the new build.
AI Prime HD
Dad patience (for those who are still reading)
Irrelevant, but an unused BRS fragging kit. Complete disclosure, I used the tweezers to get a plastic toy dog bone out of my daughters nose. If you'd like to see pictures let me know.
Things I need to order (which is why this is the slooooow allowance build):
I'd like to get an LED/T5 Hybrid
Skimmer
Sump. Most likely this will be DIY, unless a steal of a deal comes up locally.
Live rock/dry rock.
RO/DI system since I have Tucson water and it's terrible. As much as I'd love to continue buying water from the LFS, I really don't want to buy/haul the extra water to the tank.
Those are all of the necessities that I can think of right now. I'm sure there are many more.
What do y'all think? What else do I need? I would love any input/advice on this build since it'll most likely be awhile since it takes shape.