joekpayne
Aquarium Advice Newbie
I am building my first sw tank. I am starting this thread to hopefully gain some knowledge from all of you along the way and share my experience with you as well. I really enjoy reading through other people's build thread but don't usually post. Hopefully with this thread I'll come out of my shell.
My plans have been to start with a FOWLR but progress towards a reef tank. I'd really like to have a good amount of fish but I am also fascinated by coral. I'd like to give myself the options of having reef but not planning dropping a ton in initially. I am trying to keep my fish options to reef friendly.
So heres what I'm working with currently.
-75 gal (drilled) tank
-Aqueon proflex model 3 sump
-Mag 7 return pump
-(2)Jager 150W heaters
-(2)Koralia evolution 1050 powerheads
-api saltwater master test kit
-Black wood stand
-RO/DI unit bought off ebay
What I still need
-Lighting- picking up Aquaticlife 4 lamp T5HO 48" this weekend- used from cl
-Live rock
-Substrate- need some help with that. I've been looking at marcorocks.com they seem to have good prices
-Protein Skimmer- not sure yet, but I think I'd like SWC 160-Opinions?
-Livestock- really want a manderin dragonet, percula clown, fairy wrasse, watchman goby, coral beauty, kole tang
-Inverts- havn't looked into enough to have prelim list.
I have gotten my tank setup with almost all of the plumbing complete. I have assembled the durso standpipe and really impressed how quiet everything is on my first (wet) run. The plumbing connecting the drain to the sump is where I am a little frustrated right now. I dont want to use all slip fittings and have everything glued perm. if I ever want to be able to move/adjust the sump. I have such a short run under the tank to the sump it just seemed to make the most sense. I'd like to squeeze a union in there if possible. I'll post pics tomorrow.
On the return pump I'm just using 3/4" flex line. It'll be easy enough to change in the future if I decide I'm not happy with that.
This seems to be a long initial post so I'll end it now. I will update as things progress. I will post lots of pics along the way as well.
My plans have been to start with a FOWLR but progress towards a reef tank. I'd really like to have a good amount of fish but I am also fascinated by coral. I'd like to give myself the options of having reef but not planning dropping a ton in initially. I am trying to keep my fish options to reef friendly.
So heres what I'm working with currently.
-75 gal (drilled) tank
-Aqueon proflex model 3 sump
-Mag 7 return pump
-(2)Jager 150W heaters
-(2)Koralia evolution 1050 powerheads
-api saltwater master test kit
-Black wood stand
-RO/DI unit bought off ebay
What I still need
-Lighting- picking up Aquaticlife 4 lamp T5HO 48" this weekend- used from cl
-Live rock
-Substrate- need some help with that. I've been looking at marcorocks.com they seem to have good prices
-Protein Skimmer- not sure yet, but I think I'd like SWC 160-Opinions?
-Livestock- really want a manderin dragonet, percula clown, fairy wrasse, watchman goby, coral beauty, kole tang
-Inverts- havn't looked into enough to have prelim list.
I have gotten my tank setup with almost all of the plumbing complete. I have assembled the durso standpipe and really impressed how quiet everything is on my first (wet) run. The plumbing connecting the drain to the sump is where I am a little frustrated right now. I dont want to use all slip fittings and have everything glued perm. if I ever want to be able to move/adjust the sump. I have such a short run under the tank to the sump it just seemed to make the most sense. I'd like to squeeze a union in there if possible. I'll post pics tomorrow.
On the return pump I'm just using 3/4" flex line. It'll be easy enough to change in the future if I decide I'm not happy with that.
This seems to be a long initial post so I'll end it now. I will update as things progress. I will post lots of pics along the way as well.