Hey all, figured I would finally start a build thread to track the progress and share where I am with everyone.
For a little background, my first tank was probably 12 years ago - started with a 55g reef tank that my dad got me as a gift. I had 0 clue what I was doing and fell in love with the hobby. When I was a kid I always toyed with the idea of getting into marine biology (love the ocean) but that changed a bit since there aren't many oceans near Philly lol. Since then I've owned a bunch of tanks and kept all sorts of corals. Met a bunch of great people along the way and just love the hobby in general (even had the fun time of being at MACNA back with an awesome group of people who started a forum).
Anyway, long story short I got out of the hobby around 5 years ago. I was in the process of getting ready to move/buy a house and I knew we wouldn't have been able to sell a house when I had all sorts of fish tanks plumbed to a basement and had 4 other frag tanks. I literally gave my entire setup away to a friend who was a clown fish breeder. My original pair of clowns is still alive and well - even laying eggs.
This was my old tank
(83g custom rimless tank with a 75g tank along with a few frag tanks plumbed in - everyone likes looking at tank pics lol).
Alright, so all that being said - here is my new tank currently -_- It is very empty at the moment so please bear with me.
Equipment List:
The post on Craigslist and what I paid for it lol -
Where the tank was going to go and some of my paintings (you can tell I never left the hobby:
The tank when I picked it up:
The tank when I cleaned it up in front of my house:
The tank in place to see what it would look like:
The tank with the lights on to get a feel for how it'd look:
The sump/plumbing sketches and hard plumb:
My first 3D printed parts that made my reef easier lol:
Wire organization:
Aquascaping:
FINALLY... FTS:
Some current inhabitants:
Sooooo... you made it this far... There are still plenty of things to do and improvements to be made. This is very much a work in progress and I am still trying to remember things from back when I was in the hobby. I hope to be leaning on all of you to figure things out as I go along and hopefully help some others along the way to avoid any mistakes I've made lol.
Looking forward to being a part of this community.
For a little background, my first tank was probably 12 years ago - started with a 55g reef tank that my dad got me as a gift. I had 0 clue what I was doing and fell in love with the hobby. When I was a kid I always toyed with the idea of getting into marine biology (love the ocean) but that changed a bit since there aren't many oceans near Philly lol. Since then I've owned a bunch of tanks and kept all sorts of corals. Met a bunch of great people along the way and just love the hobby in general (even had the fun time of being at MACNA back with an awesome group of people who started a forum).
Anyway, long story short I got out of the hobby around 5 years ago. I was in the process of getting ready to move/buy a house and I knew we wouldn't have been able to sell a house when I had all sorts of fish tanks plumbed to a basement and had 4 other frag tanks. I literally gave my entire setup away to a friend who was a clown fish breeder. My original pair of clowns is still alive and well - even laying eggs.
This was my old tank
(83g custom rimless tank with a 75g tank along with a few frag tanks plumbed in - everyone likes looking at tank pics lol).
Alright, so all that being said - here is my new tank currently -_- It is very empty at the moment so please bear with me.
Equipment List:
- Tank/Stand - Micro 30L External Overflow Aquarium - NUVO-EXT 30 Gallons - Innovative Marine Dims: 36"x15"x13" - Ext. Overflow Dims: 7.9"x3.5"x5.9"
- Light - PopBloom 36" 3ft Marine Led Aquarium Light Led Reef Light Fish Tank Lights For Aquarium MJ7BP1
- Skimmer - Sc Aquariums SCA-301 (currently offline, might go skimmerless)
- Powerhead - Vortech Mp10
- Return Pump - MD18 Danner Model 18B Utility Pump (1800gph)
- Heater/Temp Controller - Inkbird ITC-308S and Aqueon 150w
- Sump, uh I forget atm lol.
The post on Craigslist and what I paid for it lol -
Where the tank was going to go and some of my paintings (you can tell I never left the hobby:
The tank when I picked it up:
The tank when I cleaned it up in front of my house:
The tank in place to see what it would look like:
The tank with the lights on to get a feel for how it'd look:
The sump/plumbing sketches and hard plumb:
My first 3D printed parts that made my reef easier lol:
Wire organization:
Aquascaping:
FINALLY... FTS:
Some current inhabitants:
Sooooo... you made it this far... There are still plenty of things to do and improvements to be made. This is very much a work in progress and I am still trying to remember things from back when I was in the hobby. I hope to be leaning on all of you to figure things out as I go along and hopefully help some others along the way to avoid any mistakes I've made lol.
Looking forward to being a part of this community.