Too good of a deal to pass up!

catfish_john · 10/09/2013, 12:43 AM

And so begins a much anticipated deviation away from planted freshwater aquariums. I'm starting out with a 75 gallon tank, a 48" coralife 4 bulb light fixture, two 10,000K and two purple actinic bulbs used for a short amount of time, two fluval e-200 heaters, two sicce 1600 gph powerheads, two 400 gph powerheads, a 3/4 full bag of instant ocean and a reaction canister filter with built in UV sterilizer. Also included was an incredibly well build homemade stand. I am very familiar with aquarium keeping but I have never ventured into saltwater but I have always kept my eye open since my third planted aquarium for a good deal in my opinion for a solid start into setting up a saltwater aquarium from the ground up.

From what I researched while I watched this setup continue to sit I feel this is a good start. I did not want to inherit someone else's setup of corals and fish because I would rather take my time and work up to something rather than rush in and have disasters. I finally caved tonight and purchased this setup for 275 dollars after hoping it did not disappear every day for a few weeks.

I have been itching to purchase a RO/DI purifier for my planted tanks and for the delicious water the RO produces and I am taking this wonderful opportunity to order one tomorrow morning. Where I live the tap water is awful and I've always had to spend a lot of time purifying water but I don't want to take any chances with my first saltwater setup since it will be a very gradual learning process. I do love to make my own aquarium components and I have always wanted to make a sump system and drill a tank. What a better time than the present!

I am going to begin the hunt for liverock and substrate tomorrow. If I want to take my time and gradually set up this aquarium from scratch, would it be more beneficial to buy uncured live rock that is cheaper or is it overly beneficial it to purchase already cured rock? Could I have a mixture of cured and uncured? I'm planning on getting 80-120 pounds for the tank and the refugium.

I am also very interested in saltwater substrates and live sand. What are some substrates that really get the biological filter kicking without any livestock? I have seen crushed coral and aragonite sands but I am planning on having an established cleaning crew in place before I add any fish so invertebrates are going to be the primary inhabitants in the beginning.

I keep thinking about two tanks that I have sitting around for the sump/refugium. Would a 30G long suit my filtration needs? I am planning on researching how to make my own refugium. I also know very little about protein skimmers other than they are very important. What size pump should I be looking to get?

I hopefully will be setting this up completely within the next couple of weeks. I am in no rush to set this up but the anticipation is already killing me as I stare at an empty, equipment filled shell while writing this introduction!

Almondsaz · 10/09/2013, 06:19 AM

WELCOME to Reefcentral! Sounds like you are off to a great start and are doing the necessary research to be as successful as possible. You will really like having your own RO system. For rock you can certainly use a combination of base rock and live rock. In my experience for the substrate you don't want to use crushed coral, aragonite is a better option. From what I have read the crushed coral traps more of the detritus and makes a bit of a nitrate trap. More importantly it depends on what fish you eventually want to keep. I say that because I keep wrasses and they bury in the sand, so sand choice is important.
A 30 gallon for the sump is fine, the motto is always go as big as you can as more water volume helps with stability of parameters. Are you going to put the fuge in the 30 gallon sump or thinking of making a separate fugue?

Look forward to seeing your choices and your progress.

btmedic04 · 10/09/2013, 06:59 AM

welcome!!! awesome snag on that setup! the people here are really friendly and a huge help! just remember to have patience and take your time! I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out!

Jeff52478 · 10/09/2013, 09:16 PM

Welcome!!! Dont waste the money on the bags of "live sand" that have been sitting on a shelf for months. Just get regular dry sand and it will become live by the end of the cycle. And as for rock, most people get dry rock and just one or two small pieces of live rock to "seed" the tank with. this is what is happening during the cycle, the bacteria are colonizing all of the rock and sand making them live.

SUMIXAM · 10/09/2013, 09:43 PM

Very nice!! What kinda overflow are you gonna go with?

10/09/2013, 12:43 AM	#1
catfish_john Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 10	Too good of a deal to pass up! And so begins a much anticipated deviation away from planted freshwater aquariums. I'm starting out with a 75 gallon tank, a 48" coralife 4 bulb light fixture, two 10,000K and two purple actinic bulbs used for a short amount of time, two fluval e-200 heaters, two sicce 1600 gph powerheads, two 400 gph powerheads, a 3/4 full bag of instant ocean and a reaction canister filter with built in UV sterilizer. Also included was an incredibly well build homemade stand. I am very familiar with aquarium keeping but I have never ventured into saltwater but I have always kept my eye open since my third planted aquarium for a good deal in my opinion for a solid start into setting up a saltwater aquarium from the ground up. From what I researched while I watched this setup continue to sit I feel this is a good start. I did not want to inherit someone else's setup of corals and fish because I would rather take my time and work up to something rather than rush in and have disasters. I finally caved tonight and purchased this setup for 275 dollars after hoping it did not disappear every day for a few weeks. I have been itching to purchase a RO/DI purifier for my planted tanks and for the delicious water the RO produces and I am taking this wonderful opportunity to order one tomorrow morning. Where I live the tap water is awful and I've always had to spend a lot of time purifying water but I don't want to take any chances with my first saltwater setup since it will be a very gradual learning process. I do love to make my own aquarium components and I have always wanted to make a sump system and drill a tank. What a better time than the present! I am going to begin the hunt for liverock and substrate tomorrow. If I want to take my time and gradually set up this aquarium from scratch, would it be more beneficial to buy uncured live rock that is cheaper or is it overly beneficial it to purchase already cured rock? Could I have a mixture of cured and uncured? I'm planning on getting 80-120 pounds for the tank and the refugium. I am also very interested in saltwater substrates and live sand. What are some substrates that really get the biological filter kicking without any livestock? I have seen crushed coral and aragonite sands but I am planning on having an established cleaning crew in place before I add any fish so invertebrates are going to be the primary inhabitants in the beginning. I keep thinking about two tanks that I have sitting around for the sump/refugium. Would a 30G long suit my filtration needs? I am planning on researching how to make my own refugium. I also know very little about protein skimmers other than they are very important. What size pump should I be looking to get? I hopefully will be setting this up completely within the next couple of weeks. I am in no rush to set this up but the anticipation is already killing me as I stare at an empty, equipment filled shell while writing this introduction!

10/09/2013, 06:19 AM	#2
Almondsaz Premium Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: OP, Ks Posts: 617	WELCOME to Reefcentral! Sounds like you are off to a great start and are doing the necessary research to be as successful as possible. You will really like having your own RO system. For rock you can certainly use a combination of base rock and live rock. In my experience for the substrate you don't want to use crushed coral, aragonite is a better option. From what I have read the crushed coral traps more of the detritus and makes a bit of a nitrate trap. More importantly it depends on what fish you eventually want to keep. I say that because I keep wrasses and they bury in the sand, so sand choice is important. A 30 gallon for the sump is fine, the motto is always go as big as you can as more water volume helps with stability of parameters. Are you going to put the fuge in the 30 gallon sump or thinking of making a separate fugue? Look forward to seeing your choices and your progress.

10/09/2013, 06:59 AM	#3
btmedic04 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Ohio Posts: 256	welcome!!! awesome snag on that setup! the people here are really friendly and a huge help! just remember to have patience and take your time! I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out!

10/09/2013, 09:16 PM	#4
Jeff52478 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 16	Welcome!!! Dont waste the money on the bags of "live sand" that have been sitting on a shelf for months. Just get regular dry sand and it will become live by the end of the cycle. And as for rock, most people get dry rock and just one or two small pieces of live rock to "seed" the tank with. this is what is happening during the cycle, the bacteria are colonizing all of the rock and sand making them live.

10/09/2013, 09:43 PM	#5
SUMIXAM Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Posts: 66	Very nice!! What kinda overflow are you gonna go with?