JOM20's 38g Reef Build

[JustOneMore20]

Thanks SM! One more question about the shrimp....how many would you suggest for a 38g?


*edit for pics*

Got my RO/DI filter hooked up today. I have the input tubing connected to a saddle valve on the cold water supply under my bathroom sink. I wasn't going to go in that direction (the saddle valve) but after talking it over with my mom, she was fine with it. We also had to drill a hole for the drain line and she was ok with that too!

RO/DI filter in action:

Saddle valve hook up:

Drain:

Inline TDS meter with tap reading:

TDS meter with ro/di water reading:

Water!!

And last but not least, the base rock!!

 

[fishmonkey]

one question, isnt it possible just to hook the RO/DI to the faucet? why didnt you do that if its possible?

 

[JustOneMore20]

Yes, it is possible, but I don't have any extra counter space to put it on when I need to use it. I'd rather keep it put up under the sink and just turn a valve to use it.

 

[fishmonkey]

so how do you get it from the faucet to the bucket? unless the bucket can fit in the sink (which i highly doubt seeing that it is 5 gallons)?

 

[JustOneMore20]

There is tubing going from the last canister of the filter (the DI part) to the bucket. Look at my pic of the unit above ^. The DI part is the single canister in front of the big part. The blue tubing is the purified water and it stretches to the bucket.

 

[fishmonkey]

oh that clarifies things, thanks

 

[fishmonkey]

anything new kristin?

 

[JustOneMore20]

Nope. Going to the lfs probably tomorrow for some live rock. Thinking about getting a wooden stand and not using the metal one. :/

I've been rethinking lighting...might get the 4x39w instead of the 6x39w. But the 6x39w isn't out of the question. I realized it was 12" wide and the tank is 12 1/2 inches wide, so that doesn't leave any room for my arms. If I get the 6x39w I'll hang it....which is one reason for a wooden stand! I've been thinking too much....can you tell?

I'll update with pics...planning on getting the tank setup probably tomorrow if I can find a stand that I can afford.

 

[fishmonkey]

cool i shall await the update

 

[JustOneMore20]

I bought a stand today. It is made of pine and was an ugly brown color, so I decided to paint it black to match the tank trim. Tomorrow I will put some polyurethane on it and hopefully tomorrow evening I will be able to put the tank on the stand and put the sand and base rock in...and water!

I checked out the live rock that my lfs has and I didn't like it. It had no coraline on it and I couldn't see any corals (though I didn't look THAT closely). So I'm going to order 20lbs of live rock from premiumaquatics.com. They had the cheapest shipping of the sites I was looking at. Hopefully their rock has some good critters on it. So if I order it tomorrow, it will ship 2nd day air and arrive on Friday.

Pics tomorrow for sure!

 

[fishmonkey]

cool!

 

[thincat]

So, I'll need something for an ammonia source to cycle the tank. That's where the shrimp comes in. And the part about the smell is from decomposing shrimp.


Thanks! Yeah, I'm not one for nasty smells, so I'll have the clothespin ready.

It depends on how deep your sand is. At the end of my cycle I just pushed the shrimp into the sand and let the bacteria finish it off. No smell!!!

 

[Zer0]

Why not just go to intmarinefish.com for LR? Its 3.95/lb for fiji LR and the shipping is free.. even if you only get 10lbs of it lol.

Well its evident thincat is a murdere.. just pushing dead bodies into the sand for the bacteria to finish it off. rofl j/k j/k

 

[InfernoST]

I used a filter media bag, when the tank cycled I just threw the bag away. It did smell pretty bad. You can use a clothes pin on your nose to combat the odor.

 

[thincat]

Well its evident thincat is a murdere.. just pushing dead bodies into the sand for the bacteria to finish it off. rofl j/k j/k

 

[Mitchell0605]

I wanna see how you set that rock up! Are you getting any live rock from LFS?

 

[Zer0]

Yeah i think she is trying to get 20lbs.

 

[notto2006]

Why do you need to remove the shrimp? I just let mine decompose and it worked like a charm but I let my tank cycle for 3-4 months. I've enjoyed following your build. Can't wait to see it complete.

 

[Zer0]

What?? Your tank cycled for 4 months? Do you mean 4 weeks? 4 months is a really REALLY long time for a tank to cycle. If it was that long, then i think you did something incorrectly lol.

 

[InfernoST]

Or being extremely cautious.