RummynoseToReef's 1st Reef Tank

[RummynoseToReef]

Hi all!

Welcome to the build thread for my 40B tank, my first foray into the saltwater hobby. I don't plan to really begin the build until mid-January due to a vacation (to Costa Rica, if anyone has any activity suggestions?!) but I thought it would be best to document everything, in the event you all have any suggestions on how to make this process more fluid.

Bad jokes aside, here's the plan as it current stands:

40 Breeder Equipment

Filtration (sump-less)​

• CPR Aquatics Aquafuge2 (HOB refugium - medium - 3.7g)
  - I plan to use chaeto or perhaps dragon's breath, using AlgaeBarn's starter kit.
  - Heater will (hopefully) be placed inside this refugium, suction cupped below the macro, but above the bottom.
• Tunze Comline DOC Skimmer 9004 (sleek, in-tank skimmer)

Lighting​

• (2) AI Prime 16HDs

Heating​

• 125w Eheim (w/ temperature controller)

Water Circulation​

• EITHER
  - Red Sea Reefwave 25
  OR
  - Jebao CP-90 Cross Wave

General Equipment​

• BRS 5-Stage 100GPD RO-DI system
  (more on RO-DI later, as it's my biggest concern about this whole process)
  
  
• Tunze Osmolator 3155
  - Will pull freshwater from on old 10gal tank I will have inside the stand.
  
  
• Real Reef Rock (55 lbs, mixed sizes)
  
  
• Carib-Sea Arag-Alive Special Grade Reef Sand

40 Breeder Stocking

Fish​

• (2) Oscellaris Clowns
• (1) Yellow Watchman Goby
• (1) Coral Beauty Angelfish
• (1) Orchid dottyback
• TBD?

CUC
- Added gradually with algae appearance post-cycle​

• (1) Tuxedo Urchin
• (1) Emerald Crab
• Copepods
• (2) Blue-legged hermit crabs

Corals​

• A multi-color colony of hammers and frogspawn - I love the density/color/movement you get from these.
• Pulsing Xenia (on an island)
• Duncan
• Kenya Tree
• Green Star Polyps
• Alveopora

40 Breeder Setup

Day 1: Build a new stand, as I'd like something more living room friendly than the utilitarian shelving.​

​

Day TBD: Add Rocks, Substrate, Water, Pumps​

​

Day TBD 2: Start Fishless, Lightless Cycle​

- Dose w/ Brightwell MicroBacter Start XLM + QuickCycl​

​

Week 2 (post-cycle): Add 2 clowns, continue lightless bacteria building period​

​

Month 2: Lights on, add first coral​

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The rest TBD.​

​

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Questions I have:
First and foremost, I plan to research these independently - but any input here is greatly appreciated as well! Some notes for perspective:
- I'm willing to spend the right amount of money to get all of this up and running, but I don't want to go into debt to do so. $800 pieces of equipment are just not in my wheelhouse for the first tank.
- I live in a very moderately-sized NYC apartment. Space is a concern, so I'm trying to be creative in how to do this in a painless way, while not overloading myself with excess gear.

1. RO-DI Water - I plan to get that 5-stage system, but I have concerns about the time it will take to make it for the initial fill. I also don't know that I want to transport 45g of water from a store to my home. So I'm thinking of transporting the raw RO-DI water to my tank, with the rock and sand in place. Would that kill off the bacteria I'm bringing in with the ReefRock and Live sand? The plan would be to add salt after filling is complete.
   
   
2. Salt - Any strong recommendations for a salt brand?
   
   
3. Saltwater Storage - An idea for making my maintenance life easier is storing a Brute trash can of mixed saltwater outside, covered by a tarp (to keep critters out/block any light). I would drop a heater/pump in there to get it ready to add to the tank in the winter months. Anyone have any experience with this sort of setup?
   

Looking forward to any input you all might have - and can't wait to get started!

- Rummy2Reef

 

[boacvh]

First of all welcome! You'll find plenty of help here.
It looks like a great plan so far. The more you plan ahead the better you will do IMO.
As far as your questions: (take with grain of salt, I am not an expert by any means)

1 not sure I understand the question fully. If your idea is to mix the salt in the tank I would advice against it.
But it shouldn't take that long to make your Rodi water. A few hrs maybe. Mix in a brute and then add to tank.
2 I would pick any salt that matches the alk you want to keep on your tank. Everyone here debates this one or that one but I think just pick one that matches the alk that you want and that's easily available to you and you are good to go.
3 I keep my Rodi and saltwater mix outside on an outdoor cabinet. You can check my build thread for ideas.

Build Thread - CV's 75g noobie tank and now upgrade to 240g

Well, lesson learned. Do not keep more than one Chromis. They will slowly bully each other until only one is left. Had read in here this behavior could happen but they looked so pretty swimming together I chose to ignore the warning and had gotten 3 green Chromis and 2 blue Chromis. Now I only...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[boacvh]

Tagging @ReefSquad so you get some further help and more contacts for questions

 

[RummynoseToReef]

First of all welcome! You'll find plenty of help here.
It looks like a great plan so far. The more you plan ahead the better you will do IMO.
As far as your questions: (take with grain of salt, I am not an expert by any means)

1 not sure I understand the question fully. If your idea is to mix the salt in the tank I would advice against it.
But it shouldn't take that long to make your Rodi water. A few hrs maybe. Mix in a brute and then add to tank.
2 I would pick any salt that matches the alk you want to keep on your tank. Everyone here debates this one or that one but I think just pick one that matches the alk that you want and that's easily available to you and you are good to go.
3 I keep my Rodi and saltwater mix outside on an outdoor cabinet. You can check my build thread for ideas.

Build Thread - CV's 75g noobie tank and now upgrade to 240g

Well, lesson learned. Do not keep more than one Chromis. They will slowly bully each other until only one is left. Had read in here this behavior could happen but they looked so pretty swimming together I chose to ignore the warning and had gotten 3 green Chromis and 2 blue Chromis. Now I only...

www.reef2reef.com

1. Yeah the more I consider it, the less I'm leaning towards it anyways.
2. Good info, thank you.
3. The build thread is very helpful, I'll read more into it.

Finally, thanks for the tag! Can't wait to get started.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Awesome! Excited to see this get going!! The #reefsquad folks are awesome and very helpful with questions!

 

[Reefahholic]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Definitely get the RODI as your first purchase. BRS or Spectra Pure are decent units. 6 stage is a great unit.

Instant Ocean salt is tried and true, but it’s best to get a salt that is close to the parameters your keeping especially Alkalinity. I like IO because it’s cheap too.

Brute cans are great water reservoirs. I’d definitely get a lid for them. You could still cover it with a tarp also. I use 32/G brutes on my 105/G tank. I try to get something where I can do a 20-30% water change (at least) if needed.

 

[Fudsey]

The only thing I can add is the Brute cans are great but also get the screw on dollies for them. It makes moving them around so much easier and I also recommend getting lids for them as well. I use 2 for mixing water in and can roll them from the RODI unit to the tank with little fuss.

 

[Reefahholic]

The only thing I can add is the Brute cans are great but also get the screw on dollies for them. It makes moving them around so much easier and I also recommend getting lids for them as well. I use 2 for mixing water in and can roll them from the RODI unit to the tank with little fuss.

Yes, forgot about the dollies. They are great!

One other thing I forgot to add for the brutes and it’s really a must have:

Reverse Osmosis Float Valve

Why does BRS recommend this? Float valves are simple to install and can save a lot of water from ending up on the floor. They can be installed in containers as small 1 gallon pails, sumps, and 200 plus gallon commercial storage containers to shut off the flow of water. Even if you do not have a...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[RummynoseToReef]

Back from vacation and leaning back into all of this. A couple of quick updates:

- I've decided to go with a used Kessil AP700 instead of the two AI Primes. I'm finding a good number of listings that put it at a pretty reasonable price point. The light seems pretty feature rich, I like the idea of one fixture as opposed to two, and the Kessil shimmer is appealing.​

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- In the plan I laid out in my original post, I felt like it was lacking a good option for additional water "polishing", so I'm going to run a Seachem Tidal 75 to give me some flexibility there.​

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- I'm now considering some different pump options, either some new Nero 3's or used MP10QD's. I don't want to dump money for pumps yet, but the market for used MPs seems to be pretty healthy and reasonable.​

Thank you for the suggestions about the Brute trash can! I'll definitely be getting some of that stuff as well. The dolly may not be necessary, only because my Brute will live outside, down a few stairs.

Will keep you all updated!

 

[RummynoseToReef]

Alright, the buying frenzy is in full swing. Here are my updates as they stand:

• Lucked into a great deal locally on a Kessil AP9X. Very excited about it, just want to make sure I get the lights dialed in. Since I'm planning to stick mostly to softies and Euphyllia, I don't want to bleach them out.
• Nero 5's were the winner for circulation pumps. I've got a pair of them, ready to go.
• You'll see the Tunze Refugium mounted in the tank. I'm still thinking I'll do a HOB refugium, but I do have an old 10gal under the tank that I'm considering turning into a DIY sump. Anyone have any experience with that? My biggest concern is spillage on the floor, since I've heard HOB overflows have a propensity to fail at some point.
• BRS 5-Stage RO/DI filter is hanging out in the tank - thinking about setting it up to "practice" before making a bunch of saltwater. lol

The big think slowing me down at this point is the stand build. Waiting on a few tools, and supplies. I'm anxious to get going!

 

[RummynoseToReef]

It's been almost two full months since this post. Wow. It's been a journey.

A couple of big updates:

- Rather than using the utility shelving my 40B was previously on, I decided to build my own stand. It was my first real experience with woodworking, so it involved many learning experiences. What I ended up with, I'm pretty proud of though:

I still plan to lower the top shelf an inch or two to make it a little more function, as well as add a single large door to the front.

- Second, I finally purchased my rocks! I decided to spring for Tropic Eden Morocca Reef Rock, as I thought the look was really special. Here's my first pass at the scape:

I'm feeling pretty good about it - the only thing I need to add is a shorter island or two in the front for some of the more weed-like corals I plan to add (i.e. Pulsing Xenia, GSP)

 

[RummynoseToReef]

Fill day!

It happened. Painstakingly over the course of two days I filled a brute trash can, mixed the salt, and then transferred the water over. It's been a journey.

The water cleared significantly overnight, but I'm going to give it a few more hours, then begin that cycle tonight! Can't wait for it.

 

[Dmase92]

how did the pair of Nero 5s work out for you?

 

[RummynoseToReef]

how did the pair of Nero 5s work out for you?

The Neros have been great! It's honestly a ton of flow for the tank, even on lower levels. It'll be great for future upgrades. I'm still trying to fine tune their position to get some detritus off the substrate, but otherwise, no complaints.