GoWilds first saltwater build

**GoWild** · 06-08-2012, 05:01 AM

I Figured I'd start a journal since I like to talk fish seem to spend alot of my spare time on this forum.
I've been in this sw hobby for about a month. I started with a extra 55 gal set up for freshwater that I didn't want to sell. Not having alot of extra money or knowledge. I set it up with the bare minimum. Established live rock, canister filter, powerhead, heater and lights...
My tank was cycled, I added a small amount of live stock, not liking the detris like film building up on the surface, I started looking for overflows, sumps, pumps, MORE LIVE ROCK, etc. Long story short, everything like that is expensive but I found a guy that was moving and had more than his fair share of saltwater tanks and equipment and for a lil more than I was planning to spend on overflows, sumps, pumps, and more live rock, He gave me a deal on a 72 gallon drilled bow front, live sand, 70ish lbs of LR, pumps, sump, two powerheads, and more for $350. Talk about a great deal.

The only thing I am working on now is to make my sump config. and plumping better. I have a 20L that I want to make into a refugium. I couldn't figure out how to get the glass for the baffles for my sump, so I just bought a 10g tank from walmart for $12 that I will strip down and cut the glass to the size I want, 100% silicone that GE makes, gloves, a glass cutter, and I have extra sand paper to smooth the edges.

I'm still doing research to how to configure my sump so the process is on hold. Also, I can't take the sump out of my stand without moving my tank:/ whomp, whomp....

**GoWild** · 06-08-2012, 05:23 AM

Also, I'm trying to figure out what my saltwater personality is, thanks to mrsaltwatertv.com Whether I am a tank dabbler or a reef enthusiast. I never really knew where I wanted to take my tank. Hence Why I only have 3 small PJ cardinals and sailfin blenny.

When purchasing my first fish, I adopted a red chocolate chip star fish, scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp, 2 turbo snails for free. But thats all that is going on in my tank. Pretty boring lol

I wanted to maybe get into corals, but then some of the cooler looking fish aren't reef safe, or get to big for my tank.

**Tigerbarb** · 06-08-2012, 06:24 AM

Canister filters aren't recommended. If possible, use a protein skimmer.

**Crispy** · 06-08-2012, 01:17 PM

I am no saltwater expert, but a 10g sump won't barely hide much equipment much less give you room for a fuge. I would go for a 30g+ tank to use as your sump. still cheap enough and much more customizeable the bigger you go.

**Crispy** · 06-08-2012, 02:59 PM

I recently started a 55g reef tank with established LR. I'm just using a nice koralia powerhead and a large skimmer (coralife 220). seems to be working well so far as my corals and critters are growing nicely. it is definitely a slow process, but better to be safe than sorry. especially with a reef tank.

I plan on adding a 30g+ sump soon to the setup.

**GoWild** · 06-08-2012, 07:23 PM

Originally Posted by Crispy

I am no saltwater expert, but a 10g sump won't barely hide much equipment much less give you room for a fuge. I would go for a 30g+ tank to use as your sump. still cheap enough and much more customizeable the bigger you go.

I'm not using a 10 gallon for the sump itself. I am using it for the glass. I'm going to strip it down and cut the glass for the baffles for the 20L sump. I can fit a 29 gallon tank in there or I thought about custom building a narrow but wide sump (cause its a bow front.) of 10dx43lx20h but thats about the same volume as the 29.

The only problem I have is, in order to take out my sump and put in a new sump I have to tank my tank off the stand and go through the top.
or I can just drain my current 20L and put the baffles in while its still under my tank. Not ideal but doable.

How do you like your coralife skimmer? any cons?

**Tigerbarb** · 06-08-2012, 08:02 PM

I run a coralife skimmer like crispy, but a smaller model. It works great. The only con is that they're very touchy, have a break-in period and require a bit of tweaking to get it just right.

**GoWild** · 06-21-2012, 05:38 AM

Just a little update on my two tanks. I tested my water in my nano and the nitrates were crazy high, It's all the same water from the person I got it from.
I'm going to do a 75%wc tomorrow. I have some red rock in there and it's starting to turn white, and looks like I have some red slime accumulating on the gravel. I'm have a genius plan to crush my CC to fine gravel that I am going to try to do tomorrow too, if it works, I'll be changing it out as well.

I talked to my LFS store owner who specializes in coral and high dollar fish, also where I get my RO water and the RO has 00 TDS in the water which is good.

I talked to him about phosphate in tanks and I need to figure out what I am going to use to test my tanks cause the std AFI test kits read between 0-0.25 and reef tanks need to be at 0.03... So just some more research to do before I make any major decisions on what to put in the tank like gfos and w/e

I stopped by petco like I always do on wednesday when they get there shipment in and another regular was there who is a pretty decent hobbiest but keeps his 75 and 20 all natural/no skimmers, nothing fancy and apparently its flourishing.

The MGR ashley that we get our fish from just started to order some corals (not to knowledgable in that dept) in and recieved a rock that was like 6" by 3" with a bunch(like 30 or 40 buds) of closed up zoanthids.

She was worried they weren't gonna make it and gave it to me half price. $15. Got them home and they all started to open up.

Also there was a maroon fish flirting with two pink tip anemones and really getting into the one and apparently brought food to it earlier so I got the one anememe and fish. plus the return of the butterflyfish that died, so all that for $20 or tech. 43 for what I origanally paid for the fish LOL

I gave up on the qt tank for now but its still running and I put a lil food in it every day. It's kind of a side note for now but I will probably start qt new arrivals eventually..

I added a bunch of red legged crabs last week and read that they dont get along with the anneme so I have to watch for that and I still have the star fish in my tank and they arent coral friendly so he may go in my sump till I figure out what to do with him. The plan is to keep the 72 a fowler but who knows if my wife will like the colors of the corals. She has been looking at them alot for my nano... so maybe she'll want them in her 72, if so then, Ill rehome the starfish.

**GoWild** · 06-21-2012, 06:01 AM

Well that didn't last long, The starfish was partly on the polyps. So in the sump he goes. I just added a bunch of newly cured non live rock in there plus some from my tank and the few lbs that have been in there, so hopefully he has some things to forage on.

The sump isn't really set up right now so Its a 20 long FILLED with lr, Cheato and a powerhead and a return pump with a filter over it. LOL Well it does have one small baffle before the return pump...