Joel's 1st Marine Build

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joel.uejio

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Jun 1, 2009
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Joel
New thread for the actual tank I'm setting up :D -- here's my current status:

~ Tank ~
40g regular non-drilled glass tank (36"x14.5"x16.5" -- so more like 37g actually)

~ Plan ~
FOWLR initially, probably will upgrade to reef eventually
Stocking entirely TBD -- maybe clowns, cardinals, chromis, gobies, hawks...who knows!
Will start with K.I.S.S. approach and buy additional equipment as needed

~ Assets ~
20W 50/50 bulb --> Will upgrade for corals
API Saltwater Master Test Kit
Hydrometer --> Will upgrade to refractometer if needed
AC 50 Powerhead (270 gph) --> Will upgrade / add if more flow needed
50 lbs Caribsea Aragonite sand
25 lb black lace base rock
Oceanic salt mix

~ Next Steps ~
Get a heater (I think I got one and lost it somewhere ... doh.)
Assemble components
Get pure water --> plan to start out with RO grocery store water (not sure if I can find RO/DI) and get a RO/DI unit if that makes sense
Start up tank and add live rock

Here's a pic of the tank with rock and light, but no water:
f40 start.JPG

f40 start.JPG
 

greech

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May 13, 2009
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No turning back now :). Nice start! Is that rock live?
 

joel.uejio

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Thanks guys -- yup, no more "plan b"'s :) -- I am a "GO" for salt water. :thumbsup:

No, that's not live rock -- just some dry, base rock that I'm going to use as a foundation. Once I get saltwater, sand, and equipment ready I'll go back to the LFS and get some live rock to sit on top of the base structure.....at least that's the plan for now...:grinno:
 

Phatboydime

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Dec 22, 2008
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IT HAS BEGUN!!!!

google.com for forums in your area, and keep tabs on the classified section for ro/di units. they pop up all the time from people getting out.
 

Fishfriend1

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joel.uejio

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Joel
Wow, those of you recommending a RO/DI unit are not just whistling dixie...:duh:

I just made a water run to the local grocery store and it was a pain: 15x filling a 1-gallon jug to fill 3x 5-gallon buckets, then schlepping the buckets home and dumping into my tank...and the thing is, I'm only halfway done, so I'll have to do the whole thing again!

One mistake I've made -- forgot to wash my base rock so I now have a bunch of crud in the tank even without having added sand yet. So I think I'll pick up an AquaClear 30 to clear up the water. I can then also use the AC30 down the road as a QT filter.

Thanks for the support, folks!
 

joel.uejio

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Joel
Ok, here's my progress:

+ [Played lunch-time Ultimate Frisbee game :grinno:]
+ Finished filling tank with grocery store RO water (left a gap at the top to account for the volume of sand and LR to be added)
+ Installed AC 50 power head
+ Installed Marineland 100 W heater
+ Installed AC 50 filter to clear up the water
+ Added 13 cups of Oceanic sea salt mix (should be too low I think, but will be easier to add more salt than reduce salinity)
+ Added API tap water conditioner (wasn't 100% sure about whether RO water contains chlorine / chloramines)

See pic below -- not too impressive so far though...

~ Next Steps ~
++ Wash Aragonite sand
++ Maybe manually stir tank to help salt dissolve
++ Test for salinity

pet0002.JPG

pet0002.JPG
 

joel.uejio

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Joel
After only a few hours, tank is looking much better. No more salt on the bottom and cloudiness is almost gone. I was going to test the salinity, but then realized my hydrometer requires 24 hours to calibrate.

In the meantime I'm washing sand and might add later tonight if I can get it clean enough. I'm also trying to get the temp up -- right now it's at a frigid 68F. I added a 50W heater to kick things up a notch.

Here's an updated pic:
pet0004.JPG

pet0004.JPG
 

joel.uejio

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I added the first batch of sand this morning and it made a big cloudy mess. I was hoping it would clear up by the time I got home, but no: still a sand storm. The second batch I have is the kind that comes pre-washed with liquid. So I added that -- looks like I'll have a nice 1.5" sand bed once things clear.

As far as the water params go:
Temp was 80F, so I turned off the 50W heater (so now only the 100W active)
Specific Gravity was about 1.0205 so I added another cup of salt mix (so 14 cups total have been added)

I'm going to let things settle and then test again tomorrow -- will also test pH to see if I'm ready for some live rock. As far as that goes I'm thinking maybe I'll get some of the LFS Fiji pieces and also a tonga branch...??...will depend how they look I guess.

Thanks for any comments or suggestions!
 
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