After over a decade away it's time to get back into the hobby. A few days ago I set out on a journey to find a good deal on a drilled tank in the 75-120G range. I was open to used or new as well. I had a fallback plan of a 75g and drilling it myself. I knew I would run a sump and a refugium in this build but I had not narrowed down specifically what size sump, protein skimmer, etc. I checked around my area and nothing really worked. I had a few options that would be great setups but they did not speak to me. On New Years eve I had decided to drive to Columbia, SC after a quick phone call informed me of a place that had 6-7 drilled options within my size requirements. My wife decided to go with me on this trip and that is where it all went sideways. I had planned to build my own stand and sump. She had different ideas. In this instance she upsold me. This is what I brought home.
This is a Red Sea Reefer XL 525. Up until the last minute this was not even an option. Before this trip I was informed sternly that we would be having a canopy on the tank and that no lights would be looked at. i.e. no open top. At the last minute after seeing a open top setup with two Red Sea lights mounted on a display tank she came around. I am not kidding about last minute either. I had to grab the 3 shop employees that had taken down a drilled 90g tall and had already secured a canopy to a stand and had been wheeling it out to my trailer to inform them that I had made a decision to switch choices. Yes, I rented a 4x9 U-Haul and bought a 4x8 piece of foam just in case I was going to bring something home. I was pretty confident something was coming back with me.
This also resolved my tank and sump choices since this was a package deal. Tank, Stand, Sump and ATO.
This is going to be a slow startup. I am planning first fish to be out of QT and into this setup in April. I might make it quicker, but I am not in a hurry. I would rather slowly establish the setup vice hurry and fight with issues I could have prevented.
I have also started shopping for other supplies and equipment. Part of my timeline is due to planning to select items that are discounted, or on sale. Case in point, I found both QT tanks for $20 discount at a Petsmart sale yesterday and decided to resolve that part of my list. My QT setup is mostly complete for $100. I will have a 10G for copper treatment and after that into a 20G for another few weeks of isolation and any other treatments needed. This location is behind a french door in my exercise room so it was dead space or my "toss stuff there to worry about later" space. The back and sides of both tanks will be blacked out and the window has mirror tint and the blinds never open so I am not concerned about this placement.
This is a Red Sea Reefer XL 525. Up until the last minute this was not even an option. Before this trip I was informed sternly that we would be having a canopy on the tank and that no lights would be looked at. i.e. no open top. At the last minute after seeing a open top setup with two Red Sea lights mounted on a display tank she came around. I am not kidding about last minute either. I had to grab the 3 shop employees that had taken down a drilled 90g tall and had already secured a canopy to a stand and had been wheeling it out to my trailer to inform them that I had made a decision to switch choices. Yes, I rented a 4x9 U-Haul and bought a 4x8 piece of foam just in case I was going to bring something home. I was pretty confident something was coming back with me.
This also resolved my tank and sump choices since this was a package deal. Tank, Stand, Sump and ATO.
This is going to be a slow startup. I am planning first fish to be out of QT and into this setup in April. I might make it quicker, but I am not in a hurry. I would rather slowly establish the setup vice hurry and fight with issues I could have prevented.
I have also started shopping for other supplies and equipment. Part of my timeline is due to planning to select items that are discounted, or on sale. Case in point, I found both QT tanks for $20 discount at a Petsmart sale yesterday and decided to resolve that part of my list. My QT setup is mostly complete for $100. I will have a 10G for copper treatment and after that into a 20G for another few weeks of isolation and any other treatments needed. This location is behind a french door in my exercise room so it was dead space or my "toss stuff there to worry about later" space. The back and sides of both tanks will be blacked out and the window has mirror tint and the blinds never open so I am not concerned about this placement.
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