Well better late than never. I started this build January 15, 2019 and I am just now starting this journal so I will try to give a time line with pics as best I can.
Tank is a 120 gallon standard that we got used from the LFS with the stand. 48"x24"x24".
Heater is an Eheim. Sorry I don't remember the watt.
We started it with a Fluval FX6 canister filter. And one large live rock to get the cycle going. Also we used 120lbs of live sand as we wanted a deep sand bed.
We started with a light my husband found from Japan I think that was marketed as a coral light and seemed to work well but just wasn't right. It was called a DSunY. It came in three units with four lighting channels. ONe of the units went bad after about six months. I do not recommend it at all.
Anyway, we set it up and it took about 10 days for the sand to settle. I dosed with Dr Tims and tried the rotting shrimp method for cycling. That was taking too long so I then did the dosing with ammonia. I did put in about 70 lbs more live rock at the end of January. (my husband was not happy with the 600 bucks I shelled out for that)
The LFS convinced me that I was ready for fish way too soon so I got three green chromis and 2 damsels and with in about two days there was one of each left so I took them back to the store and stopped getting advice from them and switched stores for my reefing needs. After that I learned patience would be critical to this whole endeavor so I cycled the way I have always cycled freshwater and that did the trick in about six weeks.
Tank is a 120 gallon standard that we got used from the LFS with the stand. 48"x24"x24".
Heater is an Eheim. Sorry I don't remember the watt.
We started it with a Fluval FX6 canister filter. And one large live rock to get the cycle going. Also we used 120lbs of live sand as we wanted a deep sand bed.
We started with a light my husband found from Japan I think that was marketed as a coral light and seemed to work well but just wasn't right. It was called a DSunY. It came in three units with four lighting channels. ONe of the units went bad after about six months. I do not recommend it at all.
Anyway, we set it up and it took about 10 days for the sand to settle. I dosed with Dr Tims and tried the rotting shrimp method for cycling. That was taking too long so I then did the dosing with ammonia. I did put in about 70 lbs more live rock at the end of January. (my husband was not happy with the 600 bucks I shelled out for that)
The LFS convinced me that I was ready for fish way too soon so I got three green chromis and 2 damsels and with in about two days there was one of each left so I took them back to the store and stopped getting advice from them and switched stores for my reefing needs. After that I learned patience would be critical to this whole endeavor so I cycled the way I have always cycled freshwater and that did the trick in about six weeks.