DisneyMatt
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hey all,
Instead of creating a lot of different threads for the journey to my 60 gallon reef tank I decided to create just one thread where I can share the journey to my 60 gallon reef tank with you all! With that being said let's start the journey!
Where did it all begin??
For many years my partner and I have talked about doing a saltwater aquarium. I have spent the past year very heavily researching everything from tanks, to sump systems, to what kind of fish can go in the tank. Before diving into saltwater we decided I should have a "practice" tank. Obviously there is a HUGE difference in a fresh water, and a salt water aquarium, but we started me out with a 55 gallon fresh water tank, just to get me in the habit of water changes, and maintaining the tank to keeping it running successfully. Well, the freshwater tank has been up and running successfully for two years now. Now that I have developed the self discipline (Maturity?) to keep a tank established, we decided that I could move on to a saltwater aquarium! We were at Petsmart a few weeks ago, and came across the perfect tank!!
The Display Tank!
When we first saw the tank we fell in love with it. I thought it was the perfect tank, the stand match the style of our house, and the tank was a 60 gallon tank which I thought would be a great starter size for a saltwater aquarium. The tank and stand were sold together for $399.99. Try as I may I could not convince my partner to let us spend $400 on the tank and stand alone. Which obviously wouldn't include any of the pumps or anything else. Well, we went into Petsmart a few weeks ago, and the tank and stand combo that we had been looking at was on sale for $179!! Obviously I jumped on it! We bought the tank, got it home put it on the stand, filled it with water and put some fake jellyfish in it, just so I could have something to look at!!
Well, now that it has been a few weeks, and I have researched filtration even more we have decided to move forward with a sump system instead of just a canister filter. The problem with deciding to do a sump system is that the stand that came with our fish tank does not have the ability to store a sump system. So now we are working on designing and building our own stand! (See photos below for what the tank currently looks like)
The New Stand!
The style of our home is very modern, and everything that we put into the house we try to make sure matches the modern theme. So when it came time to design the stand I wanted to make sure that the stand would be very modern and clean looking. The majority of the stand will be black, and the handles and hinges will be stainless steel! The front of the canopy is going to be frosted glass so that the glow from the aquarium lights will illuminate the glass. When we started designing the stand we had no idea how big it would end up being. Once the stand is complete the height from the floor to the top of the canopy is going to be about 8ft 8in. Which is huge! But it includes enough space for the sump system, and space to access the sump system. The canopy is large enough that we can hang the lights from the canopy, and still have them about 18 inches above the waterline, and there are enough doors and space to be able to access the top of the tank. (See photos below for a rendering of what the stand will look like)
The Sump?!
When we first looked at doing this saltwater aquarium I had planned on just getting a Fluval canister filter instead of setting up a sump system, then eventually we were going to build a stand do a sump system. However, once we talked about it we decided to go ahead and build the stand and do the sump system right from the beginning. That way I never have to deal with trying to drain the tank, and move the tank, and set up a new filtration system.
The sump system itself is going to be a 55 gallon aquarium split up into 4(or more) sections. The heater, protein skimmer and such will all be housed in the sump. (I'll have more questions about the sump system in the future!)
The Equipment?!
Currently I have two Hydor 1150gph Circulation pumps in the display tank, that seem to be moving the water really well. Obviously placement of those might change once I put the rock and sand in the tank. I also have a 160gph power head at the top of the tank to break up the surface of the water in the tank. When I bought the power head it was on sale from Petco.com for $9.99 which seemed like a great price! However, when the power head came in I put it in the tank, and realized it did not do what I needed/wanted it to do. It pointed directly into the tank, and was breaking up the surface at all. However, nothing a quick trip to Lowes couldn't fix! We ran to Lowes and got a little piece of PVC to direct the water up towards the surface and now it seems to be working really well, which makes me happy (see photos below)
Substrate, Rocks, and Lights... OH MY!!
Originally I was going to put noting but live sand, and live rocks in the tank to start with. However, after a lot of research I have changed my mind on that. I decided to go with an Aragonite base for the tank, and I am going to be putting in about 60 pounds of base (not live) rock. Once the rock gets delivered I will be using a reef safe epoxy and epoxying them to the tank so that there is not the possibility of them shifting, and/or falling in the future. Once the rocks are epoxied in place I will be putting the Aragonite in the tank! I managed to get CaribSea Aragonite on sale from Petco for $5.55 per 10 pounds, so I went a head and bought 60 pounds of it which will give us about a 2 inch base in the tank. Once the rock, and aragonite are in place and the tank is full, I will be seeding the tank with all the "starter" critters to get start getting the tank established.
I am still looking at different lighting options so if anyone has any advice for lighting I'm open to suggestions!
Well, now that you have the back story, and plans for our reef tank feel free to check back here often for updates! Currently we are working on building the stand for the aquarium, and once that is done we will be putting the 55 gallon sump tank in, and we will start working on making the sump system function properly. I know this is going to be a long journey, but it is going to be worth it in the end! We are not looking at putting our first fish in until around the end of September. Just to give us time to make sure we are doing things right, and not rushing anything.
Also, if anyone has any advice or tips for moving forward with our system feel free to let me know!
The photos that I have attached show what the current stand and tank look like, which will be changing! One shows the power head that I have put in to break up the surface of the water. One shows the surface of the water that the power head is moving! And one is the rendering of what our new stand will look like once we finish building it!
I hope you all enjoy following this journey with me!
Instead of creating a lot of different threads for the journey to my 60 gallon reef tank I decided to create just one thread where I can share the journey to my 60 gallon reef tank with you all! With that being said let's start the journey!
Where did it all begin??
For many years my partner and I have talked about doing a saltwater aquarium. I have spent the past year very heavily researching everything from tanks, to sump systems, to what kind of fish can go in the tank. Before diving into saltwater we decided I should have a "practice" tank. Obviously there is a HUGE difference in a fresh water, and a salt water aquarium, but we started me out with a 55 gallon fresh water tank, just to get me in the habit of water changes, and maintaining the tank to keeping it running successfully. Well, the freshwater tank has been up and running successfully for two years now. Now that I have developed the self discipline (Maturity?) to keep a tank established, we decided that I could move on to a saltwater aquarium! We were at Petsmart a few weeks ago, and came across the perfect tank!!
The Display Tank!
When we first saw the tank we fell in love with it. I thought it was the perfect tank, the stand match the style of our house, and the tank was a 60 gallon tank which I thought would be a great starter size for a saltwater aquarium. The tank and stand were sold together for $399.99. Try as I may I could not convince my partner to let us spend $400 on the tank and stand alone. Which obviously wouldn't include any of the pumps or anything else. Well, we went into Petsmart a few weeks ago, and the tank and stand combo that we had been looking at was on sale for $179!! Obviously I jumped on it! We bought the tank, got it home put it on the stand, filled it with water and put some fake jellyfish in it, just so I could have something to look at!!
Well, now that it has been a few weeks, and I have researched filtration even more we have decided to move forward with a sump system instead of just a canister filter. The problem with deciding to do a sump system is that the stand that came with our fish tank does not have the ability to store a sump system. So now we are working on designing and building our own stand! (See photos below for what the tank currently looks like)
The New Stand!
The style of our home is very modern, and everything that we put into the house we try to make sure matches the modern theme. So when it came time to design the stand I wanted to make sure that the stand would be very modern and clean looking. The majority of the stand will be black, and the handles and hinges will be stainless steel! The front of the canopy is going to be frosted glass so that the glow from the aquarium lights will illuminate the glass. When we started designing the stand we had no idea how big it would end up being. Once the stand is complete the height from the floor to the top of the canopy is going to be about 8ft 8in. Which is huge! But it includes enough space for the sump system, and space to access the sump system. The canopy is large enough that we can hang the lights from the canopy, and still have them about 18 inches above the waterline, and there are enough doors and space to be able to access the top of the tank. (See photos below for a rendering of what the stand will look like)
The Sump?!
When we first looked at doing this saltwater aquarium I had planned on just getting a Fluval canister filter instead of setting up a sump system, then eventually we were going to build a stand do a sump system. However, once we talked about it we decided to go ahead and build the stand and do the sump system right from the beginning. That way I never have to deal with trying to drain the tank, and move the tank, and set up a new filtration system.
The sump system itself is going to be a 55 gallon aquarium split up into 4(or more) sections. The heater, protein skimmer and such will all be housed in the sump. (I'll have more questions about the sump system in the future!)
The Equipment?!
Currently I have two Hydor 1150gph Circulation pumps in the display tank, that seem to be moving the water really well. Obviously placement of those might change once I put the rock and sand in the tank. I also have a 160gph power head at the top of the tank to break up the surface of the water in the tank. When I bought the power head it was on sale from Petco.com for $9.99 which seemed like a great price! However, when the power head came in I put it in the tank, and realized it did not do what I needed/wanted it to do. It pointed directly into the tank, and was breaking up the surface at all. However, nothing a quick trip to Lowes couldn't fix! We ran to Lowes and got a little piece of PVC to direct the water up towards the surface and now it seems to be working really well, which makes me happy (see photos below)
Substrate, Rocks, and Lights... OH MY!!
Originally I was going to put noting but live sand, and live rocks in the tank to start with. However, after a lot of research I have changed my mind on that. I decided to go with an Aragonite base for the tank, and I am going to be putting in about 60 pounds of base (not live) rock. Once the rock gets delivered I will be using a reef safe epoxy and epoxying them to the tank so that there is not the possibility of them shifting, and/or falling in the future. Once the rocks are epoxied in place I will be putting the Aragonite in the tank! I managed to get CaribSea Aragonite on sale from Petco for $5.55 per 10 pounds, so I went a head and bought 60 pounds of it which will give us about a 2 inch base in the tank. Once the rock, and aragonite are in place and the tank is full, I will be seeding the tank with all the "starter" critters to get start getting the tank established.
I am still looking at different lighting options so if anyone has any advice for lighting I'm open to suggestions!
Well, now that you have the back story, and plans for our reef tank feel free to check back here often for updates! Currently we are working on building the stand for the aquarium, and once that is done we will be putting the 55 gallon sump tank in, and we will start working on making the sump system function properly. I know this is going to be a long journey, but it is going to be worth it in the end! We are not looking at putting our first fish in until around the end of September. Just to give us time to make sure we are doing things right, and not rushing anything.
Also, if anyone has any advice or tips for moving forward with our system feel free to let me know!
The photos that I have attached show what the current stand and tank look like, which will be changing! One shows the power head that I have put in to break up the surface of the water. One shows the surface of the water that the power head is moving! And one is the rendering of what our new stand will look like once we finish building it!
I hope you all enjoy following this journey with me!
