Shnolby’s 150 Tall

[Shnolby]

My friend found a 150 tall + cheap stand on Craigslist for $100, so I scooped it up that day and decided to finally start my first saltwater tank. It’s going in the basement (my fish room) next to my freshwater tanks. I already have the setup to handle the water changes and a mixing station down there.

I purchased the tank back in April. I’ve been slowly acquiring equipment as its available, starting a reef during the coronavirus lockdown has been ungodly slow. The sump finally came in after a 2 month back order this weekend, and I got it slapped together. At first I was using some leftover silicone, but I didn’t realize it was Silicone II until I had 2 of the sump panes already set in place. So I had to strip everything of the silicone 2 best I could and restart with the Silicone I (which I had all along. I was just trying to use the leftover silicone first... so frustrating)

But finally the sump is set and the water test was perfect.
Back in May, I spent a week or so slowly scaping and cementing the dry rock together. I debated between a deep sand band but I’m renting and will be moving eventually (4-5 years) so I’m keeping ~2.5 inches of sand instead.

Once the sump was in place, I moved the rock into the tank and cemented the last of it together. I kept big chunks separate to make moving it into the tank easier, and just cemented the large chunks together in there.

Tomorrow I’ll be rinsing the sand and adding it. I’ll setup the plumbing some point soon, as the RO/DI system gets here on Tuesday. I’ll keep everyone updated!

 

[Peace River]

It looks like you are off to a good start to your tank and your build thread - thanks for all of the pictures! You may want to add a build thread banner (which doubles as a link to your thread) so people can find your thread more easily.

Here are the step-by-step instructions to add your build thread banner:

1. Copy your build thread URL
2. Click here to edit the link in your profile: https://www.reef2reef.com/account/account-details
3. Scroll down the page until you see "R2R Tank Thread Link" and paste your build thread link in box next to it and then select "save"
4. Your build thread banner will show up below your name in all of your posts!

 

[Shnolby]

After nearly 3 hours of rinsing and repeating the sand is in! RO unit arrives tomorrow, hopefully I’ll be able to fill it then too

 

[Shnolby]

Took a couple days to fill, but here she is. All the plumbing is good, but I do have to tinker with the return and try to eliminate some splashing. I threw a grocery store shrimp and some bottled bacteria, which came with the sand, in there to get the cycle going. Hopefully I’m not waiting too long before it’s safe to add fish!

 

[Shnolby]

Cycle is going well. Nitrites spiked a day or two ago and is now on the decline. Ammonia has also been declining for a couple of days. Almost time for fish! Once the water is testing 0 I'm adding a pair of clowns. Not exactly sure on the color morph yet, might go with Picassos or something similar to the snowflake. Depends on what the LFS has

 

[Shnolby]

Some stuff has happened since my last update. I went with a pair of black onyx clowns. Love all of the personality in a tiny fish, they splash and beg for food whenever I’m in front of the tank. A couple weeks layer my Reef Breeders light came in, and I pulled the trigger on some softies. Went with some kind of ricordia and a green hairy mushroom. Once I get nitrate and phosphate above 0 and get past the diatom stage, I’m going to grab a Duncan

 

[Shnolby]

The first of many zoas is in!

Also got a lawnmower blenny to help with the diatoms. His little attitude makes him a ton of fun to watch. I don’t mind the lip marks he leaves all over the place. They won’t be noticeable once he and the astrea snails clean up all this bloom