So about a month ago i decided i wanted to get into this hobby and though my wallet has shed some weight so far so good
Started off by checking out my LFS first being Reefers Garage (cool dudes working there) and worked my way south down to Aquatic Warehouse with shops in between.
once i saw the true potential of this hobby i was even more intrigued so i started surfing Craigslist. I picked up a 40 gal visio breeder tank + stand, heaters, books, filter for dirt cheap.
over the past month besides cramming my brain with knowledge and speaking with experienced reefers I started to make a layout of what i wanted. Had a custom sump and overflow box made for a ridiculously good price from the guys @ Advanced Acrylics, purchased all necessary plumping, Had Ratkiller drill my tank (super cool dude), Got on Sanchos group buy for some Jebao powerheads and return pump, and also picked up all the smaller necessary reef tank needs (water jugs, test kits, cleaning kits, ect...)
- Visio 40 Gallon Breeder
- Finnex HMO Heater w/ Digital LED Controller
- Jebao WP-10s with Dual Controller
- Jebao DC-3000 Return Pump
- Custom 20 Gallon Sump w/ Refugium
- Reef Octopus Classic INT-110 Protein Skimmer
- Evergrow IT2080 LED Lights
- Hydor ATO w/ Hydor Pump
- BRS Delux GFO/Carbon Reactor w/ Cobalt MJ1200
As of 18 Sep 2014 my tank is officially cycling. Picked up 55 lbs of Fiji Rock and 40 lbs of CaribSea oolite
FORUM RESTORE AFTER CRASH SO RE UPDATED
Update: October 18th 2014 *ONE MONTH MILESTONE* (Added 1st Live Stock 2 x Fancy Vivid Clowns, 5 x Cerith, 3 x Red Tip Hermits, Reef Octopus Classic INT-110, Evergrow IT2080 + made own stand, Refugium, Tank Cycled and Diatom bloom finally on the down slope, Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate all 0,
Update: November 16th 2014 *TWO MONTH MILESTONE* (Added 5 x Zebra Hermits, 5 x Banded Trochus Snails, 2 x Scarlet Reef Hermits, 1 x Blue/Green Chromis, 1 x Fire Fish, Hydor Auto Top Off, and BRS Delux GFO/Carbon Reactor w/ Cobalt MJ1200) Fighting excess phosphates @ the moment as rock is almost done curing and this thing has been leeching like no other and one of the LFS had been giving me RO instead of RODI.
Update: December 7th 2014 (Added 6 x Nassarius Snails, Torch Coral, Radioactive Dragon Eye Zoas, and Rose Bubble Tip Anemone) Finally got Phosphates down to 0 atm (Picked up a Hanna Checker Black Friday) and all params are looking great and my clowns started hosting the anemone within hours.
Update: March 17th 2015 (Added additional Torchus Snails, Blue Eye Royal Dottyback, Forktail Blenny, Cleaner Shrimp, Electric Blue legg'd Hermit, New Zoa (Wife calls it the Victoria Secret Coral) Iron Man "like" Acan, Favia and a Duncan) Its been a while since last update as i had to move, which sucked BTW. Good thing is i bought a house and glad to be in a more stable place, TANK UPGRADE!!??. For the new setup things stayed much the same though i did go sand-less sump and i hung my LED lighting from the ceiling, upgraded to a bigger Aand painted my stand with Kilz white paint while i had my livestock in a temp tank while i moved. As the months went by tanks really turning out like i imagined, coraline has been slowly taking over my rock which looks nice.
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