Kipp's Corals
Active Member
I am a 28 year old paramedic. I have about 10 years on the job. I have a difficult time with coping with my daily stresses and finally jumped into the hobby of marine fish & reef keeping. I have had freshwater tanks in the past, intermittently. Since day 1; I have found that building my tank & learning about marine life has decreased some of that stress, although it has already caused some new stress, its good different kind of stress.
My love for water, started in my early 20's. I went to the ocean for the first time as an executive functioning adult and really started to observe what the ocean was showing me at the time, new type of fish, invertebrates, corals, alien like creatures, ya know the normal things. So, I booked a snorkeling trip and the tour guide showed us the devastation of the reefs bleaching between early 2000's to current time. He showed up comparison photographs and it was heart breaking. After that trip, I knew I wanted to dive deeper into learning about the ocean and went and got my advanced open water scuba diving certification. I have been diving in a couple different countries including the United States Key West ; World WWII, Vandenburg 100ft dive & A Coral Reef Tour. I have also dove in Mexico, Punta Cana, and Jamaica. I have participated in Walt Disney worlds EPCOT dive opportunity as well, which I highly recommend.
I purchased a 60G aquarium about a year ago and started my research and QUICKLY realized that I have a lot to learn. I have done well on being patient and waiting put up the tank and now that day has come that I think I am, somewhat financially ready and have enough education to start my process. Throughout the year I have purchased both new and used equipment.
Follow me on my journey. I will be showing both successes & failures. I will try to post everything that I do. Even if I end up making a mistake. I will document it here
I look forward to chatting with all of you. Forgive me if I made this under the wrong forum tab :'P
Special thanks to " REEF SHOWCASE - 00W AIO Smorgasbord" ; @00W, @Katrina71, @Reef Devils, @tbrown @fishguy242 @ESABOE and many others for getting me to this point.
below is my aquarium profile, I will update things as I go along under my original post as well as updating the forum when I purchase anything.
What type of saltwater aquarium is this? Will start out as LPS / softie then will upgrade to SPS
Total Water Volume: About 70 Gallons ($200.00, FB MARKETPLACE )
Aquarium Age: tank was filled on 03/13/2024
Aquarium Material: Glass
Aquarium Length: 36''
Aquarium Width 18''
Aquarium Height: 25''
Aquarium Overflow: Eshopps PF-800 ($90.00 EBAY)
Aquarium Sump: ADV-100 3rd Generation ($125.00, FB MARKETPLACE)
Sump Water Volume: 20G
Aquarium Stand Wood
Aquarium Controller: None
Protein Skimmer: Reef Octopus SS-110 ($100.00, fb marketplace)
Aquarium Reactors: Dual Reactor purchased but not running yet (PRN) ($50.00 fb marketplace)
Return Pump: amazon brand, POPOSOAP 1600GPH, 45W ; ($74.99) bought a redundancy pump recently and will install when this pump starts to act up, jerboa DCP 3500 sine wave pump 3500 ($64.99)
Wavemaker/Powerheads: Current Wave makers x 2, (1) 1600GPH, (1) 2500GPH <-- flow is too strong for current sand, have to add more and reduce flow strength (I paid $200.00 for a bunch of random things so this one was hard to price)
Lighting Equipment List: Basic Marineland top light ($ included with tank) , will upgrade when introducing corals.
Heaters: AquaMiracle aquarium heater 500W ($39.99x3 = 119.97) will buy redundancy heater, the extras are for QT tank and Mixing station)
Water temperature: Currently it's at 74 degrees, might increase need to do more research.
RODI SYSTEM: BRS 4 STAGE VALUE PLUS: $200.00
RODI BOOSTER KIT: YES, Aquatech 8800 ($100.00, dig deep for a better price then average posted $120-$150.00, found on eBay on like page 8 for the price I paid)
MIXING STATION: Yes, DIY collapsible (2) 26G water storage bins ($81.00/each or 162.00 for both, AMAZON, (honestly, just use a brute I tried to get two fancy with this lol)
MIXING STATION CIRCULATION PUMP: CANT REMEMBER MODEL, WILL UPDATE SORRY (around $100.00)
Livestock Quarantine Tank: will be performing a 2 - 3 week observation, if signs of sickness will begin QT procedure (will be posted)
Auto Feeder: N/A
Hard plumbed or soft plumbed: (breaking down for those who don't know how to plumb yet lol) Hard plumbed 1 inch PVC (RED SCHEDULE 80) Pump - Female thread - PVC - union - pvc to 45degree - PVC - 45degree - PVC - Ball valve - PVC - 90 - PVC - check valve - PVC - union - PVC - union (to remove return from tank easier I put two unions in), 90degree - 90 degree to sit into tank as return, will add mesh and rubber band to secure and protect fish from entering return) (Plumbing PVC and fittings costs: this gets hairy cause im not a plumber and had to run back and forth to the hardware store, ill estimate my costs to be between $100.00 - $200 or so for the fancy PVC through BRS, much cheaper going with white but depends on your budget, also the schedule 80 ball valve's and unions add up quickly but are ESSENTIAL for maintenance, this does include DIY mixing station, that plumbing was cheap)
pH Level: needs to be tested
Specific Gravity 1.025 / 35ppt
Nitrate or NO319: needs to be tested
Phosphate or PO: 0.25
Calcium: needs to be tested
Alkalinity: needs to be tested
Magnesium: needs to be tested
Salt Brand: Coral Pro Salt Mix 200 Gallon Sack - RedSea ($84.99)
Substrate Level: 1 inch, want to add more (+1 inch) before adding fish (have 2 bags of expired live sand that I will rinse out and place (additional $50.00 1 year ago)
Live Rock: bought: 90lbs of dry rock, paid ($90.00+shipping)
Nutrient Export: Protein Skimmer, Refugium (not purchased yet)
Carbon: No
Ceramic rings: yes
Bio balls: yes
Water Changes: Yes
Water Change Details: 10% every Monday or 5 gallons
Top off: 62oz every 2 days RODI into sump return, marked.
Total Fish: 0
Coral List: NONE ESTABLISHING
Total Corals: 0
Total Inverts 0
Livestock detail: to be updated
Livestock Quarantine: none currently
Coral Feeding Frequency: to be updated
Fish and Coral Feeding: to be updated
OTHER EQUIPMENT PURCHASED MOSTLY ON IMPULSE BUT IN INVENTORY
DR. FRITZ - COPPER TREATMENT = ($7.99 Petco)
DR. TIMS WASTE AWAY= ($14.00)
QT TANK 20G = (27.50 PETCO SALE 1/2 OFF)
QT FILTER = MarineLand Penguin 200 Power Filter, 200GPH (28.00 AMAZON)
SPARE RODI PARTS, SPARE WAVEMAKER COVERS (included in the $200.00 buy)
HANNA COPPER: ($45.00 EBAY)
HANNA ALK: ($50.00 EBAY)
HANNA CALCIUM: ($50.00 NEEDS NEW REAGENT)
WATER CHANGE SIPHON = ($17.99 LFS)
(2) circulation pumps for easy water changes ($45.00 AMAZON)
API QUICK START 16oz : (13.00 PETCO)
API REEF MASTER TEST KIT = ($34.99 AMAZON)
TOTAL ROUGH COSTS TO DATE: $2,309.00
()
My love for water, started in my early 20's. I went to the ocean for the first time as an executive functioning adult and really started to observe what the ocean was showing me at the time, new type of fish, invertebrates, corals, alien like creatures, ya know the normal things. So, I booked a snorkeling trip and the tour guide showed us the devastation of the reefs bleaching between early 2000's to current time. He showed up comparison photographs and it was heart breaking. After that trip, I knew I wanted to dive deeper into learning about the ocean and went and got my advanced open water scuba diving certification. I have been diving in a couple different countries including the United States Key West ; World WWII, Vandenburg 100ft dive & A Coral Reef Tour. I have also dove in Mexico, Punta Cana, and Jamaica. I have participated in Walt Disney worlds EPCOT dive opportunity as well, which I highly recommend.
I purchased a 60G aquarium about a year ago and started my research and QUICKLY realized that I have a lot to learn. I have done well on being patient and waiting put up the tank and now that day has come that I think I am, somewhat financially ready and have enough education to start my process. Throughout the year I have purchased both new and used equipment.
Follow me on my journey. I will be showing both successes & failures. I will try to post everything that I do. Even if I end up making a mistake. I will document it here
I look forward to chatting with all of you. Forgive me if I made this under the wrong forum tab :'PSpecial thanks to " REEF SHOWCASE - 00W AIO Smorgasbord" ; @00W, @Katrina71, @Reef Devils, @tbrown @fishguy242 @ESABOE and many others for getting me to this point.
below is my aquarium profile, I will update things as I go along under my original post as well as updating the forum when I purchase anything.
Aquarium Profile and Equipment - I included my prices with some estimates for a realistic expectation for the fellow new hobbyist following along.
What type of saltwater aquarium is this? Will start out as LPS / softie then will upgrade to SPS
Total Water Volume: About 70 Gallons ($200.00, FB MARKETPLACE )
Aquarium Age: tank was filled on 03/13/2024
Aquarium Material: Glass
Aquarium Length: 36''
Aquarium Width 18''
Aquarium Height: 25''
Aquarium Overflow: Eshopps PF-800 ($90.00 EBAY)
Aquarium Sump: ADV-100 3rd Generation ($125.00, FB MARKETPLACE)
Sump Water Volume: 20G
Aquarium Stand Wood
Aquarium Controller: None
Protein Skimmer: Reef Octopus SS-110 ($100.00, fb marketplace)
Aquarium Reactors: Dual Reactor purchased but not running yet (PRN) ($50.00 fb marketplace)
Return Pump: amazon brand, POPOSOAP 1600GPH, 45W ; ($74.99) bought a redundancy pump recently and will install when this pump starts to act up, jerboa DCP 3500 sine wave pump 3500 ($64.99)
Wavemaker/Powerheads: Current Wave makers x 2, (1) 1600GPH, (1) 2500GPH <-- flow is too strong for current sand, have to add more and reduce flow strength (I paid $200.00 for a bunch of random things so this one was hard to price)
Lighting Equipment List: Basic Marineland top light ($ included with tank) , will upgrade when introducing corals.
Heaters: AquaMiracle aquarium heater 500W ($39.99x3 = 119.97) will buy redundancy heater, the extras are for QT tank and Mixing station)
Water temperature: Currently it's at 74 degrees, might increase need to do more research.
RODI SYSTEM: BRS 4 STAGE VALUE PLUS: $200.00
RODI BOOSTER KIT: YES, Aquatech 8800 ($100.00, dig deep for a better price then average posted $120-$150.00, found on eBay on like page 8 for the price I paid)
MIXING STATION: Yes, DIY collapsible (2) 26G water storage bins ($81.00/each or 162.00 for both, AMAZON, (honestly, just use a brute I tried to get two fancy with this lol)
MIXING STATION CIRCULATION PUMP: CANT REMEMBER MODEL, WILL UPDATE SORRY
(around $100.00)Livestock Quarantine Tank: will be performing a 2 - 3 week observation, if signs of sickness will begin QT procedure (will be posted)
Auto Feeder: N/A
Hard plumbed or soft plumbed: (breaking down for those who don't know how to plumb yet lol) Hard plumbed 1 inch PVC (RED SCHEDULE 80) Pump - Female thread - PVC - union - pvc to 45degree - PVC - 45degree - PVC - Ball valve - PVC - 90 - PVC - check valve - PVC - union - PVC - union (to remove return from tank easier I put two unions in), 90degree - 90 degree to sit into tank as return, will add mesh and rubber band to secure and protect fish from entering return) (Plumbing PVC and fittings costs: this gets hairy cause im not a plumber and had to run back and forth to the hardware store, ill estimate my costs to be between $100.00 - $200 or so for the fancy PVC through BRS, much cheaper going with white but depends on your budget, also the schedule 80 ball valve's and unions add up quickly but are ESSENTIAL for maintenance, this does include DIY mixing station, that plumbing was cheap)
Aquarium Water Chemistry and Parameters
3/13/2024 - STARTpH Level: needs to be tested
Specific Gravity 1.025 / 35ppt
Nitrate or NO319: needs to be tested
Phosphate or PO: 0.25
Calcium: needs to be tested
Alkalinity: needs to be tested
Magnesium: needs to be tested
Salt Brand: Coral Pro Salt Mix 200 Gallon Sack - RedSea ($84.99)
Aquarium Natural and Mechanical Filtration
Substrate: 20 lb. Special Grade Arag-Alive! Reef Sand - CaribSea ($24.32x2=$48.64, Bulk reef supply )Substrate Level: 1 inch, want to add more (+1 inch) before adding fish (have 2 bags of expired live sand that I will rinse out and place (additional $50.00 1 year ago)
Live Rock: bought: 90lbs of dry rock, paid ($90.00+shipping)
Nutrient Export: Protein Skimmer, Refugium (not purchased yet)
Carbon: No
Ceramic rings: yes
Bio balls: yes
Water Changes: Yes
Water Change Details: 10% every Monday or 5 gallons
Top off: 62oz every 2 days RODI into sump return, marked.
Aquarium Tank Inhabitants (fish, coral, invert etc.)
Fish List: CyclingTotal Fish: 0
Coral List: NONE ESTABLISHING
Total Corals: 0
Total Inverts 0
Livestock detail: to be updated
Livestock Quarantine: none currently
Aquarium Nutrition (fish, coral, invert etc. feeding)
Fish Feeding Frequency: to be updatedCoral Feeding Frequency: to be updated
Fish and Coral Feeding: to be updated
OTHER EQUIPMENT PURCHASED MOSTLY ON IMPULSE BUT IN INVENTORY
DR. FRITZ - COPPER TREATMENT = ($7.99 Petco)
DR. TIMS WASTE AWAY= ($14.00)
QT TANK 20G = (27.50 PETCO SALE 1/2 OFF)
QT FILTER = MarineLand Penguin 200 Power Filter, 200GPH (28.00 AMAZON)
SPARE RODI PARTS, SPARE WAVEMAKER COVERS (included in the $200.00 buy)
HANNA COPPER: ($45.00 EBAY)
HANNA ALK: ($50.00 EBAY)
HANNA CALCIUM: ($50.00 NEEDS NEW REAGENT)
WATER CHANGE SIPHON = ($17.99 LFS)
(2) circulation pumps for easy water changes ($45.00 AMAZON)
API QUICK START 16oz : (13.00 PETCO)
API REEF MASTER TEST KIT = ($34.99 AMAZON)
TOTAL ROUGH COSTS TO DATE: $2,309.00
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