Thirty Gallon Build!!!

[needmorecowbell]

I have just bought some things from amazon for my 30 gal. I bought a saltwater test kit, hydrometer, and digital thermometer. I know it's not much, but its a start. I am going to buy salt soon and base rock when i start the cycle. It's going to be a fowlr in the beginning and transition into a reef. I was told by my lfs that instead of the sump I built, I should use a filter called CPR. It looked like it would be efficient but im not sure. Has anyone used this? And any startup suggestions? Thanks!

 

[crister13]

I would get a couple pounds of LR to seed the base rock and help u out alot in your cycle. You could run the sumpa and the cpr? Never heard of CPR but Im not sure there is anything better than a sump. . Good Luck!!!!!!!!

 

[needmorecowbell]

Thanks and the reason I don't want the sump is that it was super noisy ( as it's him homemade by a fourteen year old lol), it's a ten gallon so its not going to help much, and it doesnt fit all too well. It does work though. It was much better than my emperor 400 filter ( made by marineland) but it was compromised by the cons posted above. And for the live rock, is was also going to buy maybe 5 pounds of rock? Not sure if that is too little. Here us what I bought, I think it was priced decently as I have seen test kits go for a lot more...

 

[needmorecowbell]

Test kits came in today.. Making me more excited of starting up the aquarium. I reads ammo, nitrite, nitrate, and ph. Enough for now or do I need master kit?

 

[carey]

Is it high range ph? Thst what you need for sw.....

 

[lbannie]

CPR is a brand of sump. I have one, also the part that sits into the tank and pulls the water down to the sump is made by cpr..... I love it! I started out with a 30 gallon and a canister filter.... the sump is much better and easier (IMO) Also it gives you more water volume which makes the parameters easier to keep

 

[needmorecowbell]

It is high ph and I dont think we have the same thing ibannie. I saw a pic of it and it is definitely an HOB. The one I will be getting is called CPR bakpack 2 reefready +2 I think. I will find a pic soon. It's on amazon and marinedepot.com

 

[needmorecowbell]

Heres some pics...

 

[lbannie]

yup different...sorry!

 

[needmorecowbell]

Lol no problem! from the reviews I read, the only cons of it are micro bubbles and noise. It will be in my basement so noise isn't a problem and there are bubble traps specifically made for it.

On a side note, my hydrometer came in... Nothing special lol

 

[needmorecowbell]

UPDATE!
I got all of my stuff in and am moving the animal in it to a very reliable pet store (not a chain store lol). I wanted to give it to my bio teacher but she wouldn't take it :/. What should I buy next??

 

[needmorecowbell]

Another update
Bought sone more stuff... Sand (reg arag), IO salt, and a powerhead for mixing it... All I need now is the CPR bakpak and im ready to cycle right?

 

[melosu58]

Go ahead and start the cycle. I might have missed it but you have the rock also, right? That way you can cycle the tank and cure the rock at the same time. When cycling all you need to check is your ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. All other test will be off due to high ammonia in the tank.

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

congrats!! have been waiting to hear about this for a while now
i cant wait for pics, glad ur parents are letting u haha! xx

 

[needmorecowbell]

Haha thanks! I font have the rock yet though

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

where can u get hold of it? lfs or online order?

 

[needmorecowbell]

You can find it at a pretty decent lfs (not a chain usually), or buy online there are some pretty good prices online bit it will only be base or live rock that will have a lot of die off

 

[needmorecowbell]

I decided not to cycle it just yet. I'm going to paint the back because I'm tired of the crappy black backgrounds that always fall off. Right now I'm cleaning it. And will I need to have an ammonia source if I have live rock, or will I have enough die off to suffice? I am going with the fishless method so i will be buying ammonia if it isn't enough.. Were will I find scentless ammonia? I've heard it's cheap..

 

[SwimsWithFish]

Woo hoo!!! Another young aquarist like me!!! Haha I'm setting up a 30 gallon reef too... I'll have to look into the CPR.

 

[needmorecowbell]

Great!!! Are you on a budget too? It's pretty hard for me to buy this stuff, it's been about a year of planning lol. The CPR sounds pretty good but a sump is much better if it is available for you. Good luck! Also, mine will be a reef by maybe Christmas... Or later, right now just a fowlr.


On a side note...
Im going to be buying base Rock soon. I'm going to do about 3/4 br, and 1/4 lr... Where can I find good base rock? My lfs is too overpriced.