Saltwater Christmas! 34 gal. Solana Cube

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spiffish

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Sep 14, 2004
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(pictures below)

After much research and window shopping, My wife and I decided that the 34 gallon current-USA Solana would be perfect. We didn't really have much space in our small living room, so this was the biggest that would fit well.

Well, last night I finally had a chance to set 'er up. I spent my evening working on the tank, while my wife decorated for christmas; a good time was had by all.

Earlier this week, I made a 2hr trip to That Pet Place in Lancaster, PA. They had an unused Solana on display for sale for $400 for the tank and stand. I thought that was a real good price, but upon further inspection, the stand had some serious scratches, and the tank was missing the instructions and packaging. Hmm.. Well, the folks there were kind enough to provide a 15% discount on the tank + Stand to make the sale. That of course, made me happy to make the purchase.


So, here's what I got:

34 gal solana
Stand
150 watt Sunpod
1 bag live sand
1 bag dead sand
19lbs live rock
17lbs dead rock
Mag-Float
50 gallon salt mix

Also, I had bought a huge rubbermaid box full of misc. Saltwater stuff from craigslist.
From that I got and used:

MJ1200 + Clear tubing to use to fill the tank and assist with water changes.
Powerstrip/Electronic timer.
Test kit.
Hydrometer/temperature


Back to That Pet Place... So there I was, cart load full of stuff, with a problem. How do I get the tank filled in time to keep the live rock.. uh. live? The folks there were kind enough to cover the LR in my rubbermaid tub with plenty of saltwater to keep em going. One problem solved.

For water, I went back home, and yesterday started shopping. I want to Order an RO or RO/DI, but until that time, I want to get the tank running so it can cycle. Well, at my first stop at my LFS, the guy had some nutri-seawater in big jugs/boxes he was trying to clear out. The dates on them were still good, and I got all of them for a steal. With a 5 gal. bucket of RO and salt mix, plus the nutri-water, I had enough to fill my tank. All of that was cheaper than the cost of buying enough five gallon buckets to mix my own!.

I took the tank and stand to my garage and filled it with freshwater to check for leaks, etc. I also checked over the stand, tightening bolts, etc. Everything checked out, so I emptied the tank, and set it up in our living room. I tested the light. Holy bawls that light is bright!

First, I emptied my 5 gallon bucket of saltwater into the tank. Then, I used it to rinse the dead sand. It was rather a pain to get the sand from the 5 gallon bucket and into the tank without making a huge mess. Next, in went the live sand. Then dead rock base, then the live rock. Finally, filled er up.

The MJ1200 and tubing was a great way to fill the tank without having to lift the huge and heavy water containers. Only problem is the tube slipped out while filling... whoops. I got a bit of saltwater on the carpet
But, I get things under control quickly.

The water started clearing up a bit, and by the morning, things were much more visible. Overall, the tank is pretty quiet, with exception to the air hose for the skimmer... maybe someone knows how to silence that?

Anyways, its cycling time, and my hope is that with the live rock, live sand, and live water, my cycle time will not be tooo long.

Finally, to the pics:

empty.jpg fillingFTS.jpg filling.jpg FTS.jpg front.jpg side.jpg
 

Sploke

resident boozehound
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Oct 20, 2005
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Nice setup. That tank, stand and light combo is a nice clean look. Although I'd be tempted to build a canopy to match the stand, but thats just me.
 

spiffish

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Sep 14, 2004
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UPDATE: Tank has now been running a week. Last night, I removed all the liverock, and removed some of the excess sand. I also added another 3lb piece of LR, and rescaped everything to include more caves, and a more dynamic layout. Anyhoo, the rocks are wiggled down, resting on the glass.

I am starting to see some coraline growth that looks pretty nice so far. Anyways, looking forward to seeing this thing with livestock sometime! It gets boring staring at rock, lol.

3-4 tank.jpg frontnew.jpg coraline.jpg coraline2.jpg
 

FeatherDuster

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Mar 24, 2007
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Thats a great tank. One of the nicer cube setups.
 

spiffish

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Sep 14, 2004
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thanks for the comments!

For stocking, I am thinking about:

Ocellaris Clownfish (is a pair necessary/desirable?)
Some kind of Blenny
Also, would a flame angel, or any other angel work in this setup?
Any other reccommendations on ideal stocking?, looking for nice coloration, fun to watch, etc.

For CUC about 14 snails, and 14 hermits (red and blues.. any others worth checking out?)

Corals:
I definately want some Zoanthids
Some Tooth coral:


Hammers:


Other than that, it depends what I find that works well as I get more into things. Maybe an SPS or too up top closer to the light later down the road.

Any other reccomendations?
I don't really care for alot of the mushrooms, but some with more color and interesting shapes I like, so maybe some of those.


Anyways, I was chatting on another forum, and someone suggested that only an MH light would burnout the livestock, and should only be on 4-5 hours a day? and that I needed some PC lights for the rest of the day? I haven't really heard anything about this, and I have a hard time believing that the 150watt sunpod is any brighter than... that actual sun..?
 

Grins

Girl Reefer...we do exist
May 1, 2007
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Oh boy, be careful of that tooth coral, also known as a galaxy or galaxea...it has LONG sweepers...can be 8" long if not longer when in flow. It has a very potent sting. I had a gorgeous colony of it in my 55g, my first coral and I was mistakingly told it was something else. When I got it home and was acclimating it I realized what it really was. I put it in the far front corner of my tank and know what? Every fish in the place huddled on the far opposite side of the tank. I sold it to another LFS who was looking for one for a giant tank and my fish went back to a peaceful happy life.

On the branching hammer, love mine. You'll want to keep an eye on it it as well, but I don't feel it's sweeper tentacles are anywhere near as long. Mine hardly even shows them off.

On the advice of the MHs, I disagree. I keep my 250s (10,000K) on for 10 hours a day in an 18" tank and have not seen any evidence of it being anything other than good for the corals.
 

Sploke

resident boozehound
Staff member
Oct 20, 2005
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South Windsor, CT
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Matt
Are sweepers the several longer tentacle things it sticks out? Like on my hammer, the tentacles are all pretty uniform but there are maybe 3 or 4 that are about 50% longer. What is their purpose?
 
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