1st Timer for Reef, Need your thoughts...

yeah i wouldnt bother with damsels, although they are pretty and are fun to watch, with a 150 you have a much larger selection of fish to choose from. if you are looking for small cheap colorfull fish to add to your tank, look into different types of gobies.

how much live rock were you planning on adding?
 
Just a couple of thoughts concerning your original post.....

Since you live in PA, look at your local Wal-Mart for sand. Our Wal-Mart sells Southdown under the Wal-Mart label. Check out the the distribution address.

I use an extra maxi-jet powerhead for water changes. I just drop it in the tank I want to pump water out of and its done with little mess.

I used base rock with live rock on top. In a month, you couldn't tell the difference.

Good luck!
 
1st picture of tank, just set up on Sunday

Here's a pic of the beauty in it's infintile stage...
Should be going to get some LR tonight...and the lamp upgrade should be arriving very shortly...got the orbit 72" kit which has 4 96W VHO's and 6 moon lamps.

I found only 3 bags of southdown, so I put that on the top with a base of 4 bags of regular sand...you can see the layers in the sand base.

There's a remora pro skimmer on the left with the skimmer adapter that sits in the tank, and an aquaclear 500 on the right, a 901 powerhead on the right,
along with the digital thermometer, and a Via Aqua titanium heater.

The skimmer foamed up some milky stuff from the sand in the water the first day, but really hasn't drawn anything else out of the tank since. Just not much foam yet. I'm not sure if that's normal or not...?

I love the heater with the control above the tank...no more getting my hand wet to make a simple temp adjustment...

I'll post more pics as I progress with this fun project.

RM

tank1.jpg
 
i would turn the skimmer off for a while. mine didnt pick anything up for a long time, especially since you dont have any fish in there. looks great though, keep posting those pictures :)
 
option for Background on my 150gt

This 150g tank is 29" high, difficult to find any places local that have a background for the tank.

Is there any advantage to the health of the reef inhabitants with a blue vs a black background...or this doesn't matter?
Cost ? probably $25

One store told me they could order the paper background which comes in the standard black background, or flip it for the blue gradient version.

I am considering an alterior idea...The store manager where I purchased my LR showed me that he can order black plexi-glass panels and have them cut to fit the rear of the tank. he showed me a sample, it looks like opaque black acrylic. I could get one sheet of this for my tank, and glue it to the tank.
Cost $45 It is a little glossy, and I don't want any kind of mirror effects.
I think this may be the way to go, but I have never had anything like this on any of my tanks.

Any comments from the experts here? pros / cons?
 
New Picture, not 1 week old yet...

I got some live rock...what I could afford for now...
It needs more for sure...but it's starting to show potential for beauty...

Notice the change from the first pic I sent.
You'll see the new orbit 72" light kit, and I added another 901 pwrhd.
(besides about 65 more lbs of rock.)

The moonlight is so awesome at night...the little ripple of light on the bottom...

I also did a prelimenary water test to see how things are going...
things seem a bit out of whack...my ph is off the scale...the color purple isn't even on my test kit...lol...everything else seems about right for a tank in the prelim cycle...ammonia was about .2 and starting to spike...

The skimmer had a revitalization and collected a bunch of stuff yesterday...

I'll keep you posted as this baby matures...gotta go spend some time with the mrs now...

tank_92504.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom