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My first reef tank! Filled with tbsaltwater package


Jato4x4

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I wanted to document this, and where better to do that then the interwebs. I've got a standard 29g tank. Also playing a minor role will be my 10g QT. Ive been researching SW tanks for years and finally decided to do this in November. Originally I was gonna do a mandarin tank with a pod farm. But figured Id be better off going a somewhat easier route, even though my lfs says their mandarins are frozen trained. I've been slowly buying everything since then. My wife had our first child in December, so I didnt want to go drop a bunch of money for everything to just sit there unopened.

 

The equipment-

Aqueon 29g

Black stand DIY that was used on a FW tank I sold (no room for fuge, so will rebuild eventually)

75w Neo Therm

2 Koralia Nano 425

20lbs of rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater

30lbs Tropic Eden Mini flakes

10lbs of Gulf of Mexico sand from Tampa Bay Saltwater

Odyssea t5 4 bulb with moon lights (upgrading to LED retrofit in a month)

RedSea Coral Pro

BRS RODI 4 stage value

digital thermometer

Refractometer with calibration fluid

 

Still needed-

Aquaclear 70 with fuge mod

New stand with room for a proper refugium

 

The livestock plans-

Yellow Watchman Goby (lfs has a little 1" on in stock)

Tiger Pistol

Maybe 2 clowns in a month or so

Zoa's and other softies, hopefully a year from now Ill have a pic of a zoa garden all grown out.

 

I painted the back of the tank Saturday. I had read that some people were just using wall paint with a brush and roller to paint the glass. I thought that seems easier than having to tape up the whole tank to spray paint. So Saturday morning I started off with a light coat with the roller, waited an hour (per paint instructions) in between each coat thereafter for a total of 4 coats. After the last coat went on i went to pull up the tape. Got to the last corner and the corner lifted. Gasp... It lifted clean off the glass. I proceeded to lift the entire sheet of paint off the glass in one piece. As cool looking as it was, it was a bummer. I had prepped the tank the exact same as my 10g QT tank, at the same time. Only difference was I spray painted the 10g. Guess which one came out perfect??? You guessed it. The 10g rattle canned tank did. So, now to get all the slime off the glass that the paint left on the 29g, I had to clean it with rubbing alcohol. After all that was ready, it ended up taking a whole can of Fusion sprayed in very light coats. I was not going to paint this for a third time, lol.

 

Sunday, I started making my ro water. I got it almost all the way full. I was going to do a partial water change, just in case there was stuff on the glass. But I made sure to rinse it all out good and dry it before I filled it. Then I'll mix my salt tonight or tomorrow, and wait for Thursday. Also gonna make like an extra 15 gallons or so of SW to have for when my package arrives from tbsaltwater. Since Im in state and putting the 10g package in a 29g tank, hes shipping it all at once.

 

My sponge filters should be at home when I get off work. So I might go buy some Dr Tims, and get the YWG and put him in my QT tank one night this week. But family is in from out of town to see our new baby, so might not be till next week.

 

I will update with pictures when I get home tonight.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions on how full I should have the tank w SW before my rock and sand are put in? I was thinking like 75%, but not sure. Not sure how much displacement Ill have. But I guess its not really a big deal either, as I can always take some out while adding everything I get Thrusday.

 

Current fts 2/9/16

PuJTZrv.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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best growth i ever had was with a odyssea t5 with super blue or blue plus, cant remember,and fiji purple bulbs

 

moonlights quit rather quickly however

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Rock down first, then add sand, then add water.

Yeah, I was already planning on that. I've been researching the ywg for a while. Qt will be ready for him tomorrow.

 

I've read about someone's goby digging under rock, the rocks shifted and the goby lost his head. Want to avoid that, lol.

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Yay another 29g! good luck with the baby, don't know how your wife let you set up the tank so soon.. :)

Lol. I told her she could pick out the goby and the clowns. Plus I told her in a year or so when the corals are grown out, we could move it to our daughters room. The cycle begins... Also she's happy she doesn't have to help do wc's anymore. 2 55g fw tanks were a bit time consuming. Plus she doesn't know how much I've really spent. She thinks for under 200$ I've gotten everything plus my package from tbsaltwater.

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gulfsurfer101

Lol. I told her she could pick out the goby and the clowns. Plus I told her in a year or so when the corals are grown out, we could move it to our daughters room. The cycle begins... Also she's happy she doesn't have to help do wc's anymore. 2 55g fw tanks were a bit time consuming. Plus she doesn't know how much I've really spent. She thinks for under 200$ I've gotten everything plus my package from tbsaltwater.

My man! Don't ever tell her how much you spend. I told my ex that everything in my tank was 20 dollars or less! I never went to the lfs with her at all! I was happy many years!
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Lol. I told her she could pick out the goby and the clowns. Plus I told her in a year or so when the corals are grown out, we could move it to our daughters room. The cycle begins... Also she's happy she doesn't have to help do wc's anymore. 2 55g fw tanks were a bit time consuming. Plus she doesn't know how much I've really spent. She thinks for under 200$ I've gotten everything plus my package from tbsaltwater.

Do you still have the two 55g fw? But it's perfect to use tank as an educational tool for your daughter excuse! ;) And that seems about right, I spent $200 on my tank too… :rolleyes:

 

My man! Don't ever tell her how much you spend. I told my ex that everything in my tank was 20 dollars or less! I never went to the lfs with her at all! I was happy many years!

 

We all play the same game… lol although i think my wife kinda knows the real price, so she never asks...

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mannnn I tell my wife what I spend!

 

Me: I bought another LED light for 349.99

Her: WHAT?!

Me: Do you like your Michael Kors purse you just got for 400???

Her: Wellll yeah

Me: Oh

 

Conversation over...

 

Good Luck on your tank though! I will follow :)

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mannnn I tell my wife what I spend!

 

Me: I bought another LED light for 349.99

Her: WHAT?!

Me: Do you like your Michael Kors purse you just got for 400???

Her: Wellll yeah

Me: Oh

 

Conversation over...

 

Good Luck on your tank though! I will follow :)

does not work like that in my house. I'm the wife and my husband nearly never buys expensive stuff. I generally get it in, installed and if he asks, I will say "I just got that," or depending how long, "I had this for a while."
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Hi,couple of thing,watch out what kind of chemicals you are putting on the glass,fish stores sell sticky colored backgrounds to place on glass,black,blue and so forth. Put the sand and rock in then add the water,just pour it over the rocks or put down some card stock paper and pour it over so as not to displace all the sand,just take paper out as soon as you are done so as not to leach any kind of chemicals which if any would be minute since you will be doing water changes anyway over the coming weeks. you really don't need the paper just giving you an example of how not to displace sand,even a sheet of plastic/acrylic works.

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does not work like that in my house. I'm the wife and my husband nearly never buys expensive stuff. I generally get it in, installed and if he asks, I will say "I just got that," or depending how long, "I had this for a while."

 

Besides hijacking this thread... Your husband and I are alike then. I never buy anything for myself. Always for her and the kids. after my final Oh comment, she tapers off and says your right haha. I do love that you trick your husband into thinking you have had things for a while though hahahaha. love it...

 

 

Hi,couple of thing,watch out what kind of chemicals you are putting on the glass,fish stores sell sticky colored backgrounds to place on glass,black,blue and so forth. Put the sand and rock in then add the water,just pour it over the rocks or put down some card stock paper and pour it over so as not to displace all the sand,just take paper out as soon as you are done so as not to leach any kind of chemicals which if any would be minute since you will be doing water changes anyway over the coming weeks. you really don't need the paper just giving you an example of how not to displace sand,even a sheet of plastic/acrylic works.

 

I 100% agree, a few years ago I bought a tank from a local store in California and they had been cleaning all their tanks with windex in and out leading to dead stuff! CLEAN your new tank.

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good luck! have fun.

 

i follow the mantra of equal purchasing described above. whatever i spend on the tank i get her a gift of equal value. this eventually gives her that wonderful pavlovian response to the tank and goodies.

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Besides hijacking this thread... Your husband and I are alike then. I never buy anything for myself. Always for her and the kids. after my final Oh comment, she tapers off and says your right haha. I do love that you trick your husband into thinking you have had things for a while though hahahaha. love it...

to continue hijacking the thread, and I adore new reef threads... He'll often stare at me and say "what did you get?" He's pretty easy going actually. If he had a problem he'd say so, and I never have a problem when he chooses to get something he wants. What wins the war is: he is always hungry, and I am a trained professional cook/chef ;)

Qt waiting for water and a clean stand

J1kN9g1.jpg

I rather like the lids they have, did that come with, or purchased separate?

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Do you still have the two 55g fw? But it's perfect to use tank as an educational tool for your daughter excuse! ;) And that seems about right, I spent $200 on my tank too… :rolleyes:

 

We all play the same game… lol although i think my wife kinda knows the real price, so she never asks...

 

No, I sold them both. The nursery was our catch-all room. So everything we kept from that room got moved to my bat cave. So had to make some room.

 

does not work like that in my house. I'm the wife and my husband nearly never buys expensive stuff. I generally get it in, installed and if he asks, I will say "I just got that," or depending how long, "I had this for a while."

 

My wife knows all those tricks. Lol. Doesn't mean I don't try them still though. We both pretty much get what we want though.

 

Hi,couple of thing,watch out what kind of chemicals you are putting on the glass,fish stores sell sticky colored backgrounds to place on glass,black,blue and so forth. Put the sand and rock in then add the water,just pour it over the rocks or put down some card stock paper and pour it over so as not to displace all the sand,just take paper out as soon as you are done so as not to leach any kind of chemicals which if any would be minute since you will be doing water changes anyway over the coming weeks. you really don't need the paper just giving you an example of how not to displace sand,even a sheet of plastic/acrylic works.

No chemicals used other than vinegar and rubbing alcohol. I wanted to put sand and rock first, but the rock I'm getting usually has sponges and corals alive on it. So need water in there, so the rock can go in first and be covered and then sand. I painted the back though. I got tired of the plastic backgrounds on my fw tanks. So I went the permanent route this time, lol.

 

Thanks for the advice though. Next tank I do I'm going the dry rock route, and will be doing it how you described.

 

I 100% agree, a few years ago I bought a tank from a local store in California and they had been cleaning all their tanks with windex in and out leading to dead stuff! CLEAN your new tank.

Yeah I always clean with vinegar and or rubbing alcohol. Although I doubt either of these tanks were ever sprayed with anything in the store, because they were covered in dust.

 

good luck! have fun. i follow the mantra of equal purchasing described above. whatever i spend on the tank i get her a gift of equal value. this eventually gives her that wonderful pavlovian response to the tank and goodies.

I'm still trying to catch up to her engagement ring with my spending. So she doesn't push too much on my toys and hobbies. If she does I just tell her to look at her hand, and compare it to all her friends. Lol

 

to continue hijacking the thread, and I adore new reef threads... He'll often stare at me and say "what did you get?" He's pretty easy going actually. If he had a problem he'd say so, and I never have a problem when he chooses to get something he wants. What wins the war is: he is always hungry, and I am a trained professional cook/chef ;) I rather like the lids they have, did that come with, or purchased separate?

I had bought the lid for a 10g we had for a baby turtle I found in our driveway. I never ended up using it though. So I finally opened it. It's an Aqueon versa top.

 

Thanks for all the interest in my tank. Hopefully I get some cool hitch hikers on my rock for good pics Thursday. I've seen some people get dwarf octopuses, so there no telling. Which is the main reason I'm getting the rock from them.

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Thanks for all the interest in my tank. Hopefully I get some cool hitch hikers on my rock for good pics Thursday. I've seen some people get dwarf octopuses, so there no telling. Which is the main reason I'm getting the rock from them.

I had mantis shrimp, netted flatworms and bobbitworms :P

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I had mantis shrimp, netted flatworms and bobbitworms :P

The bobbitworm looks cool, but would have to have its own tank. How hard we're they to catch?

 

Did you get any sponges or nice corals? I'll have to look through your build threads, you've got quite a few.

 

I'm kind of expecting a mantis or carribean pistol. So I've been researching traps. Big bucks no whammies is my mindset though, lol.

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The bobbitworm looks cool, but would hate to have its own tank. How hard we're they to catch?

 

Did you get any sponges or nice corals? I'll have to look through your build threads, you've got quite a few.

 

I'm kind of expecting a mantis or carribean pistol. So I've been researching traps. Big bucks no whammies is my mindset though, lol.

Best I ever got was a micro carpet nem. Wish I did not lose the lot in the crashes.

 

It was a small bobbit, but I got it out with a turkey baster. I never saw anything else after.

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No, I sold them both. The nursery was our catch-all room. So everything we kept from that room got moved to my bat cave. So had to make some room.

 

 

 

My wife knows all those tricks. Lol. Doesn't mean I don't try them still though. We both pretty much get what we want though.

 

No chemicals used other than vinegar and rubbing alcohol. I wanted to put sand and rock first, but the rock I'm getting usually has sponges and corals alive on it. So need water in there, so the rock can go in first and be covered and then sand. I painted the back though. I got tired of the plastic backgrounds on my fw tanks. So I went the permanent route this time, lol.

 

Thanks for the advice though. Next tank I do I'm going the dry rock route, and will be doing it how you described.

 

Yeah I always clean with vinegar and or rubbing alcohol. Although I doubt either of these tanks were ever sprayed with anything in the store, because they were covered in dust.

 

I'm still trying to catch up to her engagement ring with my spending. So she doesn't push too much on my toys and hobbies. If she does I just tell her to look at her hand, and compare it to all her friends. Lol

 

I had bought the lid for a 10g we had for a baby turtle I found in our driveway. I never ended up using it though. So I finally opened it. It's an Aqueon versa top.

 

Thanks for all the interest in my tank. Hopefully I get some cool hitch hikers on my rock for good pics Thursday. I've seen some people get dwarf octopuses, so there no telling. Which is the main reason I'm getting the rock from them.

I am never going to buy live rock again,yes you do get hitchhikers mostly bad,I could go on and on about the creatures and algae I have had to get rid of,and the best way is natural predators not chemicals!

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