Hello everyone, new here an new to reefing. Me an my dad had a fish only tank probably 25 years ago an I’ve wanted a reef setup ever since. Been doing some looking here an there last year or so and finally committed to it this past week.
So far I’ve got:
32g coralife bio cube with stand
Coralife V2 protein skimmer
Coralife algae cleaning magnet
Caribsea special grade reef sand (12lbs)
Aquarium pharmaceuticals reef master test kit
Two little fishes Accurasea1 artificial salt water mix (30 gal worth of salt mix)
Aquatic Life 4 stage RO/DI 50GPD system
Digital thermometer with probe
Seachem phosguard 100ml
Caribsea Liferock 40lbs
Instant ocean hydrometer
H2Pro 200w titanium heater w/controller
JBJ instant siphon gravel cleaner
How’s that look so far?
Been trying to do as much reading an research as I can in free time an trying to get my game plan on livestock and upgrades. I know I eventually want corals an will be looking into light upgrades an powerheads.
Also I’m in question about filtration upgrades, what’s a good starter setup to get me going?
I’ll be setting it up an aquascaping it over the weekend and filling it. Should I add something to get the cycle started? I looked at dr Tim’s and brightwell microbacter start.
Any suggestions on that or any other supplements/additives I need to have on hand?
I don’t plan on adding fish until I see it cycle an get everything in check. Then I plan on a pair of clowns to start. And then also looking at a good selection for clean up crew. I need to do some more looking at possible stocking I would like to make sure everyone is happy together.
How soon after introducing my pair of clowns should I wait before looking into corals that I can support on stock lighting? Any suggestions on good starter corals as well?
Thanks for any feedback an I will be getting pics of the setup this weekend an starting a build/ progression thread!
The time has come to set it all up, began by setting up my RO/DI system an flushing the cartridges then running a few 5 gallon buckets full to get ready to mix some seawater for filling after setup. While that was running I built the stand an unboxed all my other supplies.
Then I layed out my rock an drew on some cardboard the dimension of the tank an started messing with aquascape ideas…..let me tell ya. As a beginner this is no easy task. I spent a good 3 hours stacking an trying each piece a different way, looking at all angles of it to try it make it “perfect” then I relized I’m over thinking it an it should be natural looking. Did my best with the rock I got to create some caves/caverns and ledges that hopefully will lead to some good coral placement spots as well as some hiding spots an resting places for the livestock.
Also while I was playing with the rock layout I let the hose run in a bucket of my sand to rinse it to help with initial cloudy water.
After I thought I was well prepared with everything I placed my rock in the tank an loaded it with the reef sand and slowly added my water. Waiting for last few buckets of RODI water to fill to get it all the way topped off but so far so good an actually pretty clear so far.
I won’t be running any lights while it cycles an keeping up with daily testing. I’m guessing in weeks time I may be able to add my first live stock! But I’m in no rush and want to make sure all is good before that point!
On to the pics!
So far I’ve got:
32g coralife bio cube with stand
Coralife V2 protein skimmer
Coralife algae cleaning magnet
Caribsea special grade reef sand (12lbs)
Aquarium pharmaceuticals reef master test kit
Two little fishes Accurasea1 artificial salt water mix (30 gal worth of salt mix)
Aquatic Life 4 stage RO/DI 50GPD system
Digital thermometer with probe
Seachem phosguard 100ml
Caribsea Liferock 40lbs
Instant ocean hydrometer
H2Pro 200w titanium heater w/controller
JBJ instant siphon gravel cleaner
How’s that look so far?
Been trying to do as much reading an research as I can in free time an trying to get my game plan on livestock and upgrades. I know I eventually want corals an will be looking into light upgrades an powerheads.
Also I’m in question about filtration upgrades, what’s a good starter setup to get me going?
I’ll be setting it up an aquascaping it over the weekend and filling it. Should I add something to get the cycle started? I looked at dr Tim’s and brightwell microbacter start.
Any suggestions on that or any other supplements/additives I need to have on hand?
I don’t plan on adding fish until I see it cycle an get everything in check. Then I plan on a pair of clowns to start. And then also looking at a good selection for clean up crew. I need to do some more looking at possible stocking I would like to make sure everyone is happy together.
How soon after introducing my pair of clowns should I wait before looking into corals that I can support on stock lighting? Any suggestions on good starter corals as well?
Thanks for any feedback an I will be getting pics of the setup this weekend an starting a build/ progression thread!
The time has come to set it all up, began by setting up my RO/DI system an flushing the cartridges then running a few 5 gallon buckets full to get ready to mix some seawater for filling after setup. While that was running I built the stand an unboxed all my other supplies.
Then I layed out my rock an drew on some cardboard the dimension of the tank an started messing with aquascape ideas…..let me tell ya. As a beginner this is no easy task. I spent a good 3 hours stacking an trying each piece a different way, looking at all angles of it to try it make it “perfect” then I relized I’m over thinking it an it should be natural looking. Did my best with the rock I got to create some caves/caverns and ledges that hopefully will lead to some good coral placement spots as well as some hiding spots an resting places for the livestock.
Also while I was playing with the rock layout I let the hose run in a bucket of my sand to rinse it to help with initial cloudy water.
After I thought I was well prepared with everything I placed my rock in the tank an loaded it with the reef sand and slowly added my water. Waiting for last few buckets of RODI water to fill to get it all the way topped off but so far so good an actually pretty clear so far.
I won’t be running any lights while it cycles an keeping up with daily testing. I’m guessing in weeks time I may be able to add my first live stock! But I’m in no rush and want to make sure all is good before that point!
On to the pics!