Hi everyone, my name is Dane- my wife and I are both scuba divers with a passion for the ocean, and at one point in life we both strongly considered careers in marine biology. Instead, we followed our other passion to become veterinarians, where we met at the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!) and now have a 16 month old son. Our son, Sterling, loves the fish tank at his day care, and we hope to be able to bring a piece of the ocean to our home to be able to foster this love and respect for the ocean as he grows. Not to mention, it melted my heart to see his face light up when the moray eel at our LFS swam out, mouth open, to greet him!
All of that being said, we both have some experience in keeping freshwater tanks, but saltwater is a whole new world. We are excited to get started, and I wanted to be able to share that with all of you.
One day, we hope to have a truly expansive tank, but we got a great deal on a used set up which I have detailed below. It was all used to successfully run a mixed tank, and we felt that 75 gallons was a good starting point. We plan on learning a ton over the next year or two with this set up, and will likely replace many of the components as we learn what works, what doesn't, and what we want out of this hobby.
As you will see, I know some specifics on this equipment, but a lot of unknowns, so this will be interesting!
75 gallon drilled glass tank with overflow box and stand. DISCLAIMER: Everything needs to be cleaned, I plan on a vinegar soak next weekend.
Our first step will be refinishing the stand- we are going to sand down and repaint the exterior white, and apply a layer of killz to the interior.
It also has a 20 gallon sump and 10 gallon refugium that we are excited to explore the opportunities available with a refugium. That will be a future project though.
The pump is a Lifegard Quiet One 3000 that runs 758 gph. There is also a second Lifegard Quiet One 1200 that runs 317 gph. I'm not sure why there are two. Clearly a lot still to learn!
We have a CoraLife 125g Superskimmer.
For power heads, there are 2 Hydor Koralina power heads, I am unsure which exact one. And there is a third unknown powerhead.
For lighting, there are two Kessel A150w Ocean Blues, and one has 2 "moon lights" attached (whatever that is). Additionally, for the refugium is a Finnex red light, and an LED light
.
We have 3 Eheim heaters (which seems excessive)- a 200w, 150w, and 25w. I don't think I will need all three for the tank, so I will probably use one to heat water for water changes.
I think that covers all of the equipment! Once we get the stand painted, I'm going to have someone from the LFS come out and help me set it all up, to make sure we have all we need for the tank to function! I am interested in hearing anyone's opinions on what we've got. I already have heard that the lighting won't be sufficient for the long term, so I know I will need to make a change in the future, but hopefully this gets us started!
All of that being said, we both have some experience in keeping freshwater tanks, but saltwater is a whole new world. We are excited to get started, and I wanted to be able to share that with all of you.
One day, we hope to have a truly expansive tank, but we got a great deal on a used set up which I have detailed below. It was all used to successfully run a mixed tank, and we felt that 75 gallons was a good starting point. We plan on learning a ton over the next year or two with this set up, and will likely replace many of the components as we learn what works, what doesn't, and what we want out of this hobby.
As you will see, I know some specifics on this equipment, but a lot of unknowns, so this will be interesting!
75 gallon drilled glass tank with overflow box and stand. DISCLAIMER: Everything needs to be cleaned, I plan on a vinegar soak next weekend.
Our first step will be refinishing the stand- we are going to sand down and repaint the exterior white, and apply a layer of killz to the interior.
It also has a 20 gallon sump and 10 gallon refugium that we are excited to explore the opportunities available with a refugium. That will be a future project though.
The pump is a Lifegard Quiet One 3000 that runs 758 gph. There is also a second Lifegard Quiet One 1200 that runs 317 gph. I'm not sure why there are two. Clearly a lot still to learn!
We have a CoraLife 125g Superskimmer.
For power heads, there are 2 Hydor Koralina power heads, I am unsure which exact one. And there is a third unknown powerhead.
For lighting, there are two Kessel A150w Ocean Blues, and one has 2 "moon lights" attached (whatever that is). Additionally, for the refugium is a Finnex red light, and an LED light
We have 3 Eheim heaters (which seems excessive)- a 200w, 150w, and 25w. I don't think I will need all three for the tank, so I will probably use one to heat water for water changes.
I think that covers all of the equipment! Once we get the stand painted, I'm going to have someone from the LFS come out and help me set it all up, to make sure we have all we need for the tank to function! I am interested in hearing anyone's opinions on what we've got. I already have heard that the lighting won't be sufficient for the long term, so I know I will need to make a change in the future, but hopefully this gets us started!
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