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CheeseHeadReefer

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Am venturing into this hobby and am in the final planning stage

Equipment & Supplies:

* Fluval Saltwater Flex 32.5 Gallon Aquarium from Saltwater Aquarium
* M 150 Watt Submersible Glass Heater (up to 45 Gallons) - Fluval
* PS1 Protein Skimmer, up to 45 US Gal (170 L) - Fluval
* Instant Ocean Sea Salt for Marine Aquariums, Nitrate & Phosphate-Free
* CaribSea Arag-Alive 20-Pound Fiji Pink Sand
* MarcoRocks Reef Saver Premium Rock
* AQUATICLIFE Aquatic Life RO Buddie Plus DI Four Stage Reverse
Osmosis Deionization Unit 50 GPD
* Coral RX Dip - (8 oz) - Thrive Aquatics
* Instant Ocean SeaTest Hydrometer
* Hanna Instruments - Calcium, Phosphate, Alkalinity, & Nitrate Testers

Corals from Aquarium Specialty

Name & Placement

  • Goblins on Fire Zoa -Bottom
  • ASL Lava Flow Blasto - Corner low light
  • Blue Trumpet Coral - Mid
  • Orange Yuma Mushroom - Anywhere
  • Green Torch Coral

Possible Inhabitants:

  • Clownfish
  • Cardinalfisn
  • Goby’s
  • Blenny
  • Angelfish
  • Cleaner Crew - Snails, Crabs, & Peppermint Shrimp

Setup plan on using the timeline from: LiveAquria.com
Week 1: Assemble the Aquarium and Cure the Live Rock

  1. Pour the sand into the aquarium.
  2. Prepare saltwater in a mixing container so that the specific gravity measures 1.025.
  3. Carefully fill the aquarium with the prepared saltwater.
  4. Gently rinse live rock in a small bucket of prepared saltwater. Remove loose organic debris and examine carefully for unwanted hitchhikers. Arrange the live rock in your aquarium as desired.
  5. Install aquarium equipment per manufacturer's instructions. Run the protein skimmer and main filtration system to make sure there is constant water movement. However, keep the lighting system off during the cycling period in order to reduce the likelihood of undesirable algae growth.
  6. For the next 4 weeks, perform a 50% water change each week to properly cure your live rock. During your water change, siphon out any loose organic matter. Test for ammonia and nitrite and make sure these levels are zero. Also, test the pH and adjust as needed to achieve the desired level of 8.1-8.4.
STEP 2

Week 4: Add your First Inhabitants
You will need:

  • 30 gallon Cleaner Crew
    1. Acclimate and release your new inhabitants into the aquarium per acclimation guide.
    2. Use the timer to set the lights to go on and off in 12-hour increments.
    3. Wait 2 weeks.
STEP 3

Week 6: Add your First Corals


  1. Perform a 25% water change.
  2. Acclimate the corals per acclimation guide. Place the corals onto the live rock.
  3. Wait 2 weeks.


STEP 4
Weeks 8 and 10: Add Fish


Perform a 2 5% water change.

  • Acclimate the fish per acclimation guide and add them to your aquarium.
  • Wait 2 weeks.
  • Perform a 25% water change.
Plus I would love to win this to help reduce costs!! I have heard the saying “ I used to have $$$ now I have an aquarium.”

#Reef2Reef #HannaInstruments #GIVEAWAY

Thanks in advance

Tim D.
 

Jekyl

GSP is the devil and clowns are bad pets
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Also you didn't list the type of coral you'd like to keep or the lighting you've been checking out. We can be helpful finding you the right one
 

Mr. Mojo Rising

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Looks great. But you forgot to add the wife to the list, if you have one. She will need lots of pacifying because of money spent, because of water spilling and ruining the floorboards, for the future outings you will cut short to get home to check your tank, etc.... I don’t see it mentioned too often here but I can’t be the only one that gets in **** all the time.

But honestly don’t forget to have fun with all that planning
 

redfishbluefish

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Tim, first off, welcome to R2R! #WelcometoR2R

Fully agree with refractometer over hydrometer. The one other thing about equipment is that I prefer two heaters (in you case, 2 75W heaters) to having just one big one. The reason is that when one craps out....and it will....you'll at least have the other at least holding the temperature close to what you'd want.

As far as adding livestock, I wouldn't add a cleanup crew early on in a new tank.....there's nothing to clean up...nothing for them to eat. So no rush with clean up.

My last comment is that saltwater aquarium startup isn't simple project management. Throw those dates out the window and let your testing define when you'll do certain things. :cool:
 

vetteguy53081

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Your time lines wont be precise. . . reference estimates yes, but the cycling and testing progress will establish the intervals in which you can move forward. Think on terms of progress rather than timelines and buy the best equipment you cannot afford thereby buying it Once with reliability especially test kits, salt, heater, pumps and as mentioned refractometer.
Red Sea, BRS and ATC are some of the more reliable units and at a low cost.
You cant beat seeing a reading such as this below VS a hydrometer

1616630790409.png
 
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CheeseHeadReefer

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Looks great. But you forgot to add the wife to the list, if you have one. She will need lots of pacifying because of money spent, because of water spilling and ruining the floorboards, for the future outings you will cut short to get home to check your tank, etc.... I don’t see it mentioned too often here but I can’t be the only one that gets in **** all the time.

But honestly don’t forget to have fun with all that planning
LoL divorced I always thought it was easier to ask forgiveness than permission ... probably why divorced
 

redfishbluefish

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One more point with a refractometer.....if you decide to purchase one, make sure you get one that measures seawater.....aquarium saltwater. You don't want one that measures beer, wine, sugar, urine or plasma....did I leave any one out? Just saltwater around 1.026 d or 35 permille (per thousand) sign ‰.

That picture from @vetteguy53081 above is what you're looking for.
 
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CheeseHeadReefer

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Also you didn't list the type of coral you'd like to keep or the lighting you've been checking out. We can be helpful finding you the right one
The corals are on the original post and light that comes with tank is Marine 3.0 LED that offers total control over brilliant custom colors, multiple dynamic effects and a programmable 24-hour light timer.
 

Jekyl

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The corals are on the original post and light that comes with tank is Marine 3.0 LED that offers total control over brilliant custom colors, multiple dynamic effects and a programmable 24-hour light timer.
Yeah I see now. Others on here will know better but the lighting may need an upgrade. Usually the lights that come with the tanks are lacking.
 

davidcalgary29

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One more point with a refractometer.....if you decide to purchase one, make sure you get one that measures seawater.....aquarium saltwater. You don't want one that measures beer, wine, sugar, urine or plasma....did I leave any one out? Just saltwater around 1.026 d or 35 permille (per thousand) sign ‰.

That picture from @vetteguy53081 above is what you're looking for.
I can't let myself forget that I did this!

A refractometer is a must. You do have to calibrate it frequently, however. If you don't want to bother with that, get a glass refractometer from Tropic Marin. They look like a giant thermometer. They're huge and awkward to use and difficult to find...but they never need calibration.

You can cycle your tank with corals...but don't do that. If you do, you may well lose all of them, as they don't like new builds, and especially so if you're not using live rock. They'll also struggle with the inevitable ammonia spikes and weird pH variations you get during cycling, and you have to constantly monitor water quality if you want to keep them alive at all.

If you can, set up a small frag tank with adequate lighting and let them wait out the cycle in there. You can then use that frag tank for a quarantine when you get the rest of the tank's inhabitants. And yes, I would quarantine, especially in a new tank. The only living thing that I'd put in your display at this point is macroalgae...and they can also carry nasty hitchhikers. Some reefers suggest that the quarantine period for algae is sixteen days (others suggest that 45, or even 72 days is a must), so that will fall within your cycling period in any case.
 
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