In the beginning...

[scuba_steve]

This is my first attempt to keep a salt water tank, 75 gal. Eventually, my goal is to keep soft corals. I've got the 48" Custom SeaLife (who conveniently just went out of business) PCs with moonlites. I have 85lbs LR on the way. Have 49-50lbs arag sand and 25lb live sand. A fuge is being attempted, but my pump (Mag 9.5) empties of the sump. I am going to get an overflow box that handles more flow to hopefully fix the prob. From the pump, I used 3/4" flex tubing "tee'd" by a mechanical wavemaker.

Other than that, I cannot proceed any farther till I get this pump thing worked out. Any suggestions?

 

[mutley29]

A Fuge is definitely a good idea, as for when you get your tank up and running, don't run the lights whilst the tank is cycling, are you going to cycle the tank with the live?
Buy the right equipment first time round, i bought cheap and then found i had to get the right equipment, good skimmer, ETSS, Aqua-C, Euroreef are just afew of the good quality brands, and don't waste time with a swing arm salinity tester, they are way off wack, mine was out by 5 points and required a radical and swift water change.

I have also found a deep sand bed is not required, just good lighting, MH or PC's, good skimmer and most of all PATIENCE to do it right first time read/read and read some more.

Please keep us posted

Anton

 

[scuba_steve]

Get this...

I took my same overflow that I could not get enough flow from, added another syphon and then realized that my original syphon was stuck to the bottom of the box and could not get any water to flow.

Dumb @#$

 

[Anonymous]

Post pix...even just posting equipment and so fort, til you start adding livestock...keep kinda a scrap log on this thread...its nice for all of us other reefers to see progress...

 

[scuba_steve]

must..purchase..digital...camera......

 

[Anonymous]

trust me it will help when you have ID questions...

 

[scuba_steve]

Here's a photographic update on my progress.

My tank cycled pretty quickly. I added a Lawnmower Blenny to combat the hair algae, but just today I received my final shipment of live rock. So I hope he survives if there's a small cycling. Fortunately, the rock is in real good shape so I don't think there will be too bad of a spike.

 

[Reef Guy11]

Nice tank Good luck with it. Once you get the Bug it is hard to give it up.

 

[Anonymous]

its always good to see the mag float in the pix...