Hi folks! Although I've been out of the hobby for over 30 years, I still harbored a hope to return one day. Well, this is the year! I took advantage of the shutdown to do a lot of research and plot my return. I thought I would take this opportunity to share my steps along the way.
PROLOGUE - Part 1
A) I started with aquascaping. It may be a bit odd to start here, but I wanted to see if I could give form to my vision. I knew I wanted to do a little more than just stack rocks. I ordered 80# of dry rock and started making little pieces out of big chunks. I taped out the dimensions of my planned tank and started building structures. I tried to keep in mind where I could ultimately place the corals I hope to get. A little trial and error yielded something that I think will fit the bill. I'm still a little concerned about the scale, but I can address that in the future. Any feedback is appreciated.
B) Ordered DT. I live in a second floor condo, so size was a consideration. Also placement. Load bearing walls necessitated a few locations in our home. My wife made the final call. Fortunately, the tank will be in our great room. I decided to go with the Innovative Marine INT 100. (https://www.innovative-marine.com/shop/INT-100-Aquarium-w-APS-Stand-White-p222355430). I was inclined to go shallow, but felt a 16" depth was not quite enough room for what I wanted this time around. The 20" depth of the INT 100 gave me a bit more room, without the additional weight a 24" would have meant. The tank is scheduled to ship in October.
C) Ordered Sump. I put together a spreadsheet of the sumps I was considering. One criteria I was firm on was the need for a refugium. There are so many great choices out there, narrowing it down was difficult. I ultimately went with the Eshopps Alpha-300. (https://www.eshopps.com/filters/alpha-fuge/af-300). I couldn't find much online feedback regarding that model, so this was a little bit of a flier. I'll be sure to review it when I start assembling everything.
So this is my start! I anticipate this thread to take a good 9-12 months to cover my start-up, so I wanted to get going with it now. (It's much easier to write a little bit at a time). Because of my long absence from the hobby, any feedback is welcome.
PROLOGUE - Part 1
A) I started with aquascaping. It may be a bit odd to start here, but I wanted to see if I could give form to my vision. I knew I wanted to do a little more than just stack rocks. I ordered 80# of dry rock and started making little pieces out of big chunks. I taped out the dimensions of my planned tank and started building structures. I tried to keep in mind where I could ultimately place the corals I hope to get. A little trial and error yielded something that I think will fit the bill. I'm still a little concerned about the scale, but I can address that in the future. Any feedback is appreciated.
B) Ordered DT. I live in a second floor condo, so size was a consideration. Also placement. Load bearing walls necessitated a few locations in our home. My wife made the final call. Fortunately, the tank will be in our great room. I decided to go with the Innovative Marine INT 100. (https://www.innovative-marine.com/shop/INT-100-Aquarium-w-APS-Stand-White-p222355430). I was inclined to go shallow, but felt a 16" depth was not quite enough room for what I wanted this time around. The 20" depth of the INT 100 gave me a bit more room, without the additional weight a 24" would have meant. The tank is scheduled to ship in October.
C) Ordered Sump. I put together a spreadsheet of the sumps I was considering. One criteria I was firm on was the need for a refugium. There are so many great choices out there, narrowing it down was difficult. I ultimately went with the Eshopps Alpha-300. (https://www.eshopps.com/filters/alpha-fuge/af-300). I couldn't find much online feedback regarding that model, so this was a little bit of a flier. I'll be sure to review it when I start assembling everything.
So this is my start! I anticipate this thread to take a good 9-12 months to cover my start-up, so I wanted to get going with it now. (It's much easier to write a little bit at a time). Because of my long absence from the hobby, any feedback is welcome.
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