Hello everyone!
So I've had freshwater tanks for as long as I can remember, and have wanted to have a saltwater tank for about as long. I came close to pulling the trigger 15 years ago but didn't have adequate space to house one. We moved to a bigger house 2 years ago and about 5 months ago I started looking into getting my toes wet in saltwater! I found Reef2Reef a few months ago and have been ingesting data daily. Reefing has invaded my nightly dreams! Everything I do needs to meet the WAF (Wife Approval Factor) standards and I can't jump into a $10K reef system (nor would I want to on my first go) without proving I can maintain a clean and appealing tank.
I started going to all the nearby local fish stores, and I'm in an area where I have about 3 options, one of those being PetCo. Now I've seen several threads about not buying livestock from them, and after visiting their store I agree after seeing the tanks. Anyways a lot of the gear I'm wanting to use is at PetCo, so I signed up for their loyalty program to save even more. I picked up a 40G Breeder when they went on sale again. I plan on doing a sump-less setup with a HOB filter and a HOB refugium.
Alright enough backstory, let's get into the build.
Gear
Tank: 40G Breader
Filter: 1 Aquaclear 110 (1 Aquaclear 70 with AQ50 pump, modded as a refugium)
Skimmer:Instant Ocean Seaclone 100 replaced with Eshopps PSK-100H
Powerhead:Fluval CP3 Replaced with Hygger Mini WaveMaker DC (1600GPH)
Heater: Eheim 200w
Rock: Caribsea Life Rock ~40lbs
Sand: Caribsea Arag-Alive Special Grade 40lbs
Lights:Corallife LED Seascape 35" Replaced with NooPsyche K7 Pro3
Planned Livestock
Darwin Misbar Clown pair
Tailspot Blenny
Blue/Green Chromis
Firefish
Bangai Cardinal fish
CUC
Fighting Conch
Mexican Turbo Snails
Tronchus Snails
Hemit Crabs
Here is most of the gear ready to go:
Last week I decided to get everything set up as much as possible.
I decided to paint the back wall of the tank black and used some standard gloss black Rustoleum enamel. 2 coats did it well. I took pictures of the process but lost them somehow .
I built the stand and leveled it using the leveling feet and a spirit level. I'll check again once water is in there in case the flooring settles.
I'm using the Aqueon class cover, but I may end up going with a mesh kit at some point. With the filters in place there is a small gap. I don't have my second Aquaclear yet, but I think once I install it, the gap should be small enough to avoid any jumpers.
I started working on the Aquascaping and used some reef epoxy to hold the rocks together.
Top View
Sand Added
I added the Water and set up the powerhead as well. Tested the lights, but I am leaving them off to let the TurboStart 900 do it's thing.
If test levels still look good, I plan on picking up the clownfish pair this weekend.
Thanks everyone in advance for looking and giving any insight and suggestions.
So I've had freshwater tanks for as long as I can remember, and have wanted to have a saltwater tank for about as long. I came close to pulling the trigger 15 years ago but didn't have adequate space to house one. We moved to a bigger house 2 years ago and about 5 months ago I started looking into getting my toes wet in saltwater! I found Reef2Reef a few months ago and have been ingesting data daily. Reefing has invaded my nightly dreams! Everything I do needs to meet the WAF (Wife Approval Factor) standards and I can't jump into a $10K reef system (nor would I want to on my first go) without proving I can maintain a clean and appealing tank.
I started going to all the nearby local fish stores, and I'm in an area where I have about 3 options, one of those being PetCo. Now I've seen several threads about not buying livestock from them, and after visiting their store I agree after seeing the tanks. Anyways a lot of the gear I'm wanting to use is at PetCo, so I signed up for their loyalty program to save even more. I picked up a 40G Breeder when they went on sale again. I plan on doing a sump-less setup with a HOB filter and a HOB refugium.
Alright enough backstory, let's get into the build.
Gear
Tank: 40G Breader
Filter: 1 Aquaclear 110 (1 Aquaclear 70 with AQ50 pump, modded as a refugium)
Skimmer:
Powerhead:
Heater: Eheim 200w
Rock: Caribsea Life Rock ~40lbs
Sand: Caribsea Arag-Alive Special Grade 40lbs
Lights:
Planned Livestock
Darwin Misbar Clown pair
Tailspot Blenny
Blue/Green Chromis
Firefish
Bangai Cardinal fish
CUC
Fighting Conch
Mexican Turbo Snails
Tronchus Snails
Hemit Crabs
Here is most of the gear ready to go:
Last week I decided to get everything set up as much as possible.
I decided to paint the back wall of the tank black and used some standard gloss black Rustoleum enamel. 2 coats did it well. I took pictures of the process but lost them somehow .
I built the stand and leveled it using the leveling feet and a spirit level. I'll check again once water is in there in case the flooring settles.
I'm using the Aqueon class cover, but I may end up going with a mesh kit at some point. With the filters in place there is a small gap. I don't have my second Aquaclear yet, but I think once I install it, the gap should be small enough to avoid any jumpers.
I started working on the Aquascaping and used some reef epoxy to hold the rocks together.
Top View
Sand Added
I added the Water and set up the powerhead as well. Tested the lights, but I am leaving them off to let the TurboStart 900 do it's thing.
If test levels still look good, I plan on picking up the clownfish pair this weekend.
Thanks everyone in advance for looking and giving any insight and suggestions.
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