ClaireRenee Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Hello All,I am about to embark on my first saltwater aquarium. I have had many freshwater tanks and have always wanted to try saltwater, but have always been talked out of it by people saying that it is too difficult and too expensive.My journey to this point began when I couldn't pass up a killer deal on a 12 gallon Fluval Edge. I didnt have a fish tank at the time and was really missing one. That tank has been up and running as a planted freshwater with a school of neons and one, scratch that, a billion ramshorn snails. I agree that this tank has many downsides, but to me they are worth it for the clean look. One day, i stumbled upon Saltwater Conversions and saw the elegant and clean conversion pack. Since my freshwater is located to the side of our fireplace and I thought it would be really cool to put a SW reef tank on the other side.There began my journey! I have spent approximately 6 months gathering equipment, researching, planning, reading and when I have to, working. I have really enjoyed and appreciated all of the knowledge and inspiration I have gotten from Nano Reef so I thought I would document my own NOOB attempt.So, water went in on October 8. I have my one year anniversary trip in October, so I won't be adding much, if anything until mid October. If algae or diatoms become a problem I might deploy a small CUC before the trip. In the mean time I will be continuing my research (aka procrastinating from work), and stalking all of the beautiful and inspirational tanks on Nano-Reef. Thank you all! All comments and suggestions are welcome.Here are some photos of latestimage by Tank12 Gal Fluval EdgeMarine-Pac 3 in columnLightSaltwater Conversions custom 50w LED48 leds (24 chips 10000-14000K + 24 chips 455-465nm)FiltrationLive RockLive SandSechem PurgemEheim 600 compact pumpControllerTBDLive RockReal Reef RockSandFiji PinkLivestockCoralTBDMacroalgaeTBDFishTBD (likely clown)InvertsTBD Link to comment
ChickenoftheC Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 looks like a good start, where did you get your dry rock from? Link to comment
ClaireRenee Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 Dry rock came from LFS, Neptune Aquatics in San Jose, CA. Link to comment
Angel<3Nanos Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 to NR. People weren't kidding when they said it is expensive lol You will eventually want to upgrade your equipment and... yep you know. lol Difficult? meh... not so much. As long as you keep up with water changes. you're off to a great start. I'm glad you spent your time researching before anything. I love Eco-Friendly rock! i use the CaribSea one! I'll be following! looks like a good start, where did you get your dry rock from?Real Reef Rock is sold almost anywhere, Marinedepot has it. Drs. Foster and Smith do too. Link to comment
ClaireRenee Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 Thanks Angel, I really think it is important for those of us who love to create marine environments in our home do as little damage to the marine environments in nature as is possible. Thanks reading my post. Can't wait to get started. Link to comment
Builder Anthony Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Smell your dry rock.if it smells bad you will have a algae outbreak and poor water quality. It should smell clean.use your nose and instinct. Link to comment
Angel<3Nanos Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Smell your dry rock.if it smells bad you will have a algae outbreak and poor water quality. It should smell clean.use your nose and instinct. it's handmade. There is no die-off. Therefore, no phosphates get released. So, no algae. No smell either. Link to comment
ReefDoctor Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Hi Claire, I'm also waiting on my Marine Pac 3 from Salt Water Conversions. Its in the mail! I'm excited to see what you do with your Fluval Edge! Link to comment
Angel<3Nanos Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Smell your dry rock.if it smells bad you will have a algae outbreak and poor water quality. It should smell clean.use your nose and instinct. yes! i now use Eco-friendly rock in all my tanks. And would never go back! Link to comment
ChickenoftheC Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 ha im confused so this rock is human made? Link to comment
Angel<3Nanos Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 ha im confused so this rock is human made? Yes. Its man-made. Not 1 piece is pulled from the sea. Link to comment
Neill.w Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Wohoo! Cant wait to see your tank going with the MP3 Claire. Link to comment
ClaireRenee Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 I spent a day with my last aquascape, but felt it was too busy. Here is a new one I put together. Comments and suggestions welcome. Thanks Sorry for the poor quality photos Link to comment
Angel<3Nanos Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Aquascaping is so fun! Lol But i really like your new scape. Looks good. Link to comment
Liamgray90 Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Welcome claire ive also just started out after everyone telling me no its not al that bad and you soon get in a routine, very worrying to start off good luck on youre reef tank is looking good Link to comment
ClaireRenee Posted September 6, 2014 Author Share Posted September 6, 2014 So, I think I am pretty happy with my scape. Should I glue/cement/epoxy the rocks together? The scape is balanced, but a small push would send ot off balance. Not sure what I should do... Any suggestions? Claire Link to comment
skyscraper2290 Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 If you are happy with your scape it's always better to use some epoxy so it won't fall apart or shift and possibly damange some livestock Link to comment
ClaireRenee Posted September 6, 2014 Author Share Posted September 6, 2014 If you are happy with your scape it's always better to use some epoxy so it won't fall apart or shift and possibly damange some livestockThanks skyscraper, I love your tank! Where did you get your Picasso clown, he/she is awesome! Do you think that is an appropriate scape to allow for coral placement? Also, Is there an epoxy available at a hardware store that is reef safe? Thank you so much for your help, Claire Link to comment
ClaireRenee Posted September 7, 2014 Author Share Posted September 7, 2014 So I am working on my scape. I am tearing my hair out! It is nearly impossible to epoxy this thing in place with only one hand in the tank at a time. This is so frustrating... I'm giving up... Tomorrow I will try again. Link to comment
Angel<3Nanos Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 So I am working on my scape. I am tearing my hair out! It is nearly impossible to epoxy this thing in place with only one hand in the tank at a time. This is so frustrating... I'm giving up... Tomorrow I will try again. Grab a piece of cardboard, measure it and cut it (or mark) to the dimensions of your tank. Now epoxy all together on a table on top of your cardboard. Link to comment
hey Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 that pac3 is very cool, if my wife didn't mind a fish tank on every surface of the house I would give one a go as it is probably the cleanest looking nano solution out there. Link to comment
ClaireRenee Posted September 7, 2014 Author Share Posted September 7, 2014 Grab a piece of cardboard, measure it and cut it (or mark) to the dimensions of your tank. Now epoxy all together on a table on top of your cardboard. I would love to, but I would never get the rock back in the tank. The edge only has a very small opening in the top. I tried to epoxy the base rocks to the pillars of my arch outside of the tank and slide them in. That would leave just the top one to glue in the tank. That actually worked until I got them in the tank and realized that they were at the wrong angle... Oops! So I pulled one out and had to break it apart and now have to do it in the tank to get what I want. Link to comment
Angel<3Nanos Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 I would love to, but I would never get the rock back in the tank. The edge only has a very small opening in the top. I tried to epoxy the base rocks to the pillars of my arch outside of the tank and slide them in. That would leave just the top one to glue in the tank. That actually worked until I got them in the tank and realized that they were at the wrong angle... Oops! So I pulled one out and had to break it apart and now have to do it in the tank to get what I want. Oh that's right! Forgot the edge has a small hole. Not cool! Link to comment
1.0reef Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 Nice scape! Nice to see some more bay area reefers on the forum. Link to comment
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