I got a "free" tank

[BigMac]

So I have been going through multi tank syndrome lately.

A friend of mine gave me a tank he had just sitting on his front porch.
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/936/medium/free_tank1.jpg

Man this thing was dirty. I broke out the scrubby pad and got to work.
I scrapped the heater and the rocks. I scrubbed the tank and the filter.

I got the whole thing clean and dry, just to get it wet.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/936/medium/leak_test.jpg Im wating for it to come up to temp then I'll take some water tests.

I filled it with water and went to the store for some more goodies.

I picked up a couple pieces of rock and sand. I got a new heater and a Korila nano and some salt. I picked upa refractometer just to get off to a good start.

And before my wife could come home and say no and 258 bucks after my free tank....

I have isolation 1.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/936/isolation_1.jpg

[Minedweller]

You can never go wrong with freethumbs2:

[BigMac]

The problem is, there is no such thing as a free boat, plane, good time, or fish tank.

[Algenco]

My favorite kindthumbs2:

[aspects]

good job cleaning that tank. the difference is huge

[BigMac]

Thanks

I'm excited, I've wanted to try SW for a long time.

My wife told me I could have a SW tank when we owned our own house.
Well,, dogonit, we have had a house for over ten years.

I'm goig to replace my planted FW and move it into the dining room.
Then I'm going to begin putting together a 5 ft reef. I currently have a 6 ft tank in this spot, but I want to put a chiller next to the tank and that space has to come from somewhere.

So, untill I get my dining room finshed, I'm playing with this setup.
It's 23 in long 12 in wide and 16 in deep. OMG it's dinky.

If the place is open tomorrow, I'm getting some more rock.
I also have to go take stock of what test kits I have for SW. I found my SW nitrate card missing and I havnt looked at a PH test since I got my controller.

my salinity is a little higher than I wanted, but since I have no animals I'm ok with it. I was shooting for 1.024 and ended up with 1.025. I will pull a little out and dillute it some.

I want another power head too. I'm getting a hang on protien skimmer for this thing too. I expect to keep fish in it for more than a month at a time. I would like then to enjoy their stay amd not suffer through it.

[leggomypleco]

Wow looks like a new tank. Do mines next :hmm3grin2orange:

[iZinedane]

Good job on cleaning it! looks just like new, Goodluck with setting it up!

[BigMac]

I really hope I still have a couple SW test cards for my water tests around here.

I got up this morning to find the tank up to 79.4. Now I want to test the rest of the peramiters, now that its had a day to sit and mix.

[Lady Hobbs]

Good grab, Mac. Free is my favorite word altho I never find anything for free.

LOL

[Red]

Agreed, "free" tanks never stay free!
Nice pickup!

[BigMac]

Free is misleading. My wife just saw my shopping cart to Dr. Foster Smith :help:
I have a bacpack skimmer on it, a light and a red sea test kit.

Because I have no SW gear, everything I do seems awkward. Just filling the stupid tank was a chore.
I had to buy a refractometer, and this that and the other thing..

I am buying good quality though. This should make a very nice isolation tank.
Too bad I have to put it in my room soon.

This is my second most expensive free tank to date.
The last tank someone gave me, restarted this whole mess, so I have to say it was THE most expensive tank I have ever been given.

[Northernguy]

Free tanks are worth a 10 yr wait!lol
Great job cleaning that tank! I hope all goes well in your SW venture!:22:

[BigMac]

Well, next Wed I should receive 45lb of Fiji rock.

Damn fine price... shipped to me at just over 3 bucks a lb.

[Northernguy]

Thats a great deal! Especially shipped!thumbs2:

[debbie51975]

I've got a 'free' want at the in-laws. Now I just gotta go buy all the stuff for it! :hmm3grin2orange:

[BigMac]

Many moons ago, i was taking my overflow tanks to my inlaws house ;)

I helped my father in law grow a feeder goldfish to almost a foot long..it's name was Manny.

The problem with that was I had to come over and do all the maint.. and my father in law way over fed.

I'm really looking forward to my new rocks.
I'll post picks when they come in.

[BigMac]

So I went out and got a light today... I should have bought the Korila 1 while I was at it.

Im bidding on a skimmer in just a couple minutes.

[BigMac]

I forgot to add the pic... sorry..

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/936/medium/20sw.jpg

This is a cheapy 2 HO t5 setup.

I want to see my new rocks when they come this Wednesday.

[little hawaii]

Some people have all the luck. No such thing as to many.

[Deleted User]

Congratulations!!! You've got it looking great thumbs2:

[BigMac]

Look at what I found...
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/936/medium/red_booger_1.jpg

I had to take a macro shot of it for myself so I can see if it is growing.

[Northernguy]

Thats a nice start! lol
I look forward to my SW beginning one day!

[BigMac]

Dude, what are you waiting for.
You totally get it. Is it the cost?

[BigMac]

I found more creatures...

I believe I have some kind of starfish in here.

There is a very small white animal crawling across my glass that I'm pretty sure is a starfish.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/936/medium/Starfish.jpg

[BigMac]

So I toook a couple of water tests this morning.
I bought the Salifert NH4 & PH kits.. I already had Red Sea Nitrate.. I cannot find a dogon nitrite test kit to buy and I havent needed one for years...now I need one!

Anyway the peramiters
temp 79.1
PH 8.0 ( best I can tell maybe 8.1 stupid color issues)
NH4 0
No3 2.5

I had to laugh at the last number.. I have a 112 planted tank I struggle to keep the nitrate that high on,and this tank is empty!
I had put all 45 lbs in the tank when I got it..
I took out about 20 or so lbs or rock and re stacked it to allow water to flow all the way around.
I seem to need another power head though.. I see crud settling on the left side and behind the rocks. Its not anything I could'nt keep clean, but it will cause alot of extra maint if I want it to stay clean.

I ended up picking up a bakpack2r skimmer for this thing.. It sure is loud sitting on my dining rooom counter.
I moved my heater into the outflow of the skimmer and that has smoothed out my temp control some... ( I setup lab controls so 1 deg temp swings really bug me) I'm shooting for about +- .5 deg throughout the day and I'm getting close.


Here is a shot of the current rockwork and equipment placement... fishing for recomendations for my water flow...



http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/ab63/MartinMacDonald/newrocks.jpg

[BigMac]

Here is a shot before I cleaned up a little from my rock shipment.

Man Fedex must have dropped this box and rolled it. I was amazed at how much crumbly crud came off these as I put them in the water.

http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/ab63/MartinMacDonald/untitled.jpg

[annageckos]

That's a really nice tank. I wanted to try a saltwater tank in the 30 I just set up. But we are trying to save money right now, so... Freshwater was cheaper and I had everything I needed. But I am really looking forward to seeing how you tank come together. I think your little starfish is a Asterina. Here is a link, http://www.wetwebmedia.com/asterinafaqs.htm. I remember reading a little about them when I was researching reef tanks. I think the thing that really draws me to saltwater is not th fish but the inverts and all the cool little hitchhikers that you find on the liverock.

[BigMac]

Thanks for the link..

I found the initial setup to be a litlte trying. I could have setup this tank as FW for about 50 bucks.

But, I am a nerd. I really like the learning process. I've been reading about how to do it for years. Now my studies are just a litle more focused.

I'm blown away by what I've seen crawling on these rocks.

[BigMac]

I'm finally starting to get that nice fuzzy brown stuff.

Wow, I cannot believe how much evaporation I get with this tank.
Of course, we have the heaters on in the house and the air is VERY dry.
I had to replace over 1/2 gal in 48 hours.

[Miltonic]

looking good! can't wait to see the maturing proces with your tank. What are you thinking of stocking it with?

yes sw seems to evaporate so much faster, I top off about a gallon everyday in my 90g.

[AABatteries]

Looks good, better than my 20H looked. You'll want more than a Koralia nano as a powerhead though. I had 2 Koralia 1s, and would have liked more.

[BigMac]

I need to put up some new pics..

The tank now has a bakpak 2r skimmer and a korila 1 added. Wow, you had 2.. this one rearanges my sand!

So last night I was taking water tests. I had my phoshate test out fow my FW tank and I decided to run 1 extra test..
Holy cow! I run .2 phosphate and I have nothing in the tank but rocks and sand.

[BigMac]

I took a couple of picture that are curent.

Here is the ref booger.

http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/ab63/MartinMacDonald/redbooger172010.jpg

and here is a current FTS.

http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/ab63/MartinMacDonald/20FT172010.jpg

[BigMac]

Things are moving right along.. getting nice and fuzzy.

I hadnt really thought alot about what I'm going to put in this tank.
I want to use it as an isolation tank at some point.
I think a goby / shrimp pair would be cool.
Maybe a firefish.

I spotted my first bristle worm last night.. cute little booger.



I'm going to go look at a 150 gal setup tonight. The guy wanted to sell it to me with livestock and all. I dont want his livestock, because I cant get the tank setup fast enough to keep everything alive.

[Rue]

Looks good!

I know you can purchase and keep a complete set-up...not quite sure how you go about moving everything over...but it can be done...

[BigMac]

http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/ab63/MartinMacDonald/reallyfuzzy.jpg

really fuzzy now

[BigMac]

I took a quick shot of some baby brisle worms I spoted.
Super Macro!
http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/ab63/MartinMacDonald/BWbabies.jpg

[BigMac]

I was lloking into check out my CUC last night and I spotted my snail doing the nasty by himself..


http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/ab63/MartinMacDonald/smokinsnail.jpg