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My First Saltwater Tank

I’m very excited to be starting my adventure into this hobby. I have done hours of research, prepping, planning and it’s all starting to come together. My goal is DIY and do it well! Build the stand, rock scape and all the plumbing. Waiting on water!
I’m very excited to be starting my adventure into this hobby. I have done hours of research, prepping, planning and it’s all starting to come together. My goal is DIY and do it well! Build the stand, rock scape and all the plumbing. Waiting on water!

Aquarium Profile and Equipment

What type of saltwater aquarium is this?
Mixed Reef
Total Water Volume
95
When did you start this tank?
May 20, 2025
What is your aquarium made of?
Glass
Aquarium Length (inches)
48
Aquarium Width (inches)
18
Aquarium Height (inches)
20
Aquarium Overflow/Drain
External Overflow
Aquarium Sump
YES
Sump Water Volume
20
Aquarium Stand
Completely DIY, wood, Pine frame, red oak finish, white exterior paint inside, pecan stain and primer
Aquarium Controller
NO
Protein Skimmer
NO
Aquarium Reactors
  1. None
What types of equipment are you using for water flow and circulation?
  1. Powerhead
Aquarium Lighting
  1. LED
Auto Top Off or ATO
NO
Aquarium Heating and Cooling
  1. I am using a heater or heaters
Water Temperature
77

Aquarium Natural and Mechanical Filtration

Substrate
Sand
Substrate Level
Shallow
Live Rock
60
Live Rock Type
Marco rock
Nutrient Export
  1. Refugium
  2. Filter Sock
Water Changes
YES

Aquarium Tank Inhabitants (fish, coral, invert etc.)

Fish List
  1. None
Coral List
  1. Other
Invert List
  1. None

Aquarium Nutrition (fish, coral, invert etc. feeding)

Fish Feeding Frequency
Other
Coral Feeding Frequency
Other
Fish and Coral Feeding
  1. Other
Auto Feeder
Trips Only

AlyciaMarie

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Looking great! Also, your tank stand is beautiful. Looks like you're off to a great start!
 
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Baconbeast

Baconbeast

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So many updates!

To start my cycle I bought cycled bio balls from my LFS and added two small Picasso Clowns the next day!


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Lots of adjustments in the sump… I had a heater failure 5 days in… luckily I caught it and the temp only fell to 73, but I have made so many heater purchases in the last 2 weeks… adding redundancy and getting the right size and what not.

Added an ATO that is only allowed to turn on for 2 minutes each day, thanks to Alexa and WiFi sockets.

The kids have started yelling at Alexa with me because I set it up to turn off all my pumps for 10 minutes when I say “Alexa, it’s time to feed the fish!” My son loves it!

I even did a little addition to the rock work, and my clowns instantly swam into it.

It’s been a wild start but I am truly loving the process! Can’t wait to keep adding more!


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Baconbeast

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Oh, and I almost forgot perfecting the overflow so it was silent!

I went a couple days with a loud waterfall sound. I had a straw in the down spout to let air in to prevent the gurgling, only to find out that drastically reduced the flow of the overflow. (Over 50%!)

I needed to up my turn over so I had to figure out how to get closer the 450gph. By easing the emergency tube and added a little filter to prevent a vortex, it is totally silent!
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