Hi everyone. Name is Cory and i'm currently living in central Wisconsin. I've never had an aquarium of any sort before. I've always been amazed at any offices, pet shops, etc., that have a saltwater aquarium and I've always said that I was going to set one up one day. Last month, I was able to spark some interest from the wife, so I hurried up and pulled the trigger. I tried to learn as much as I could in a short amount of time and went and bought a bunch of stuff. The people at the LFS didn't have much good to say when they found out I was setting up a marine aquarium when I had never even kept a goldfish before. I know I should have been more prepared, but after more than a decade of waiting, I took the opportunity I had.
I got a 40gal breeder, penn pax 700 canister filter, fluval aquasky 2.0, an aqueon 500 and 700 circulation pumps, and a single 6# live rock. I set the tank up and ran it for about a week, read and learned more, and then made a some big changes. I moved the tank to a more centrally located position (perfect little nook in the kitchen, fits like a glove), drilled the tank, plumbed some PVC, set up a sump with a refugium and chaeto, got a current USA LED fixture, current USA Eflux pump, seaclone 100 skimmer, and another 40# of rock. I got some smart switches and have them alternating the circulation pumps. I also threw in a clown, emerald crab, hitchhiking porcelain crab?, and a couple of hermits. I've been watching Mr Saltwater aquariums videos and tried to correct some of my initials errors.
I know I jumped the gun on some stuff (it's just the way I am), but everything has turned out really well. I'm really happy with the whole set up and can't wait to add more. I'll throw up some photos, maybe tomorrow, and see what you guys think. I know there are some weak links in the system, but order of priority is something I haven't quite figure out yet, so input here would be appreciated. My overall goal here is to add corals and anemones, a starfish, urchin, shrimp, a couple more crabs, another clown, and maybe a couple more smaller fish.
Sp grav hovers around 1.025. I've been dosing calcium and purple tech daily and usually BID. Calcium is difficult to get over 320. My ammonia hovers around the 0-0.25ppm marks (API kit, not a fan). pH is around 8.1 (API kit, also not a fan here). kH around 10-13. Phos is usually 0. Nitrate and nitrites are about 0 (Don't like the API here either). Temp is controlled with the inkbird (set at 78.0 and 79.5). I also dose essential elements, iodide, Strontium and Molybdenum.
I have what I think are diatoms in the sand and on the rock as well as what I think is red hair algae, and some green stuff starting to show up on the rock.
If anyone has the time/desire, a couple of questions I have are:
- I currently have well water with a softener, and an RO system for drinking water. This is what I've been putting in the tank. Is a softener safe? Also, it appears that I do not have a deionizer with the RO, it only recently crossed my mind that these things might be problems. Everything seems to be doing fine though, so i'm thinking it can't be to bad?
- I have the current USA 36" Marine 4102 LED. Will this alone be enough to start some soft or SPS corals and expand later, or should I expand now and get some corals later?
- I'm not a fan of the test kits that I have (all are API). The colors seem to frequently be off and hard to tell where they would fit on the card. Eventually, I will plan to get some digital stuff (probably the neptune), but this will be down the road a bit. Any opinions on test kits that are more accurate and precise?
So far i'm loving every bit of this and hope it flourishes. In two years I will be moving quite a ways and will have to figure out how to orchestrate that event. I will be building a home a year after the move and I plan to incorporate a much larger reef tank into my house design (assuming all goes well with the current).
Thanks everyone!
I got a 40gal breeder, penn pax 700 canister filter, fluval aquasky 2.0, an aqueon 500 and 700 circulation pumps, and a single 6# live rock. I set the tank up and ran it for about a week, read and learned more, and then made a some big changes. I moved the tank to a more centrally located position (perfect little nook in the kitchen, fits like a glove), drilled the tank, plumbed some PVC, set up a sump with a refugium and chaeto, got a current USA LED fixture, current USA Eflux pump, seaclone 100 skimmer, and another 40# of rock. I got some smart switches and have them alternating the circulation pumps. I also threw in a clown, emerald crab, hitchhiking porcelain crab?, and a couple of hermits. I've been watching Mr Saltwater aquariums videos and tried to correct some of my initials errors.
I know I jumped the gun on some stuff (it's just the way I am), but everything has turned out really well. I'm really happy with the whole set up and can't wait to add more. I'll throw up some photos, maybe tomorrow, and see what you guys think. I know there are some weak links in the system, but order of priority is something I haven't quite figure out yet, so input here would be appreciated. My overall goal here is to add corals and anemones, a starfish, urchin, shrimp, a couple more crabs, another clown, and maybe a couple more smaller fish.
Sp grav hovers around 1.025. I've been dosing calcium and purple tech daily and usually BID. Calcium is difficult to get over 320. My ammonia hovers around the 0-0.25ppm marks (API kit, not a fan). pH is around 8.1 (API kit, also not a fan here). kH around 10-13. Phos is usually 0. Nitrate and nitrites are about 0 (Don't like the API here either). Temp is controlled with the inkbird (set at 78.0 and 79.5). I also dose essential elements, iodide, Strontium and Molybdenum.
I have what I think are diatoms in the sand and on the rock as well as what I think is red hair algae, and some green stuff starting to show up on the rock.
If anyone has the time/desire, a couple of questions I have are:
- I currently have well water with a softener, and an RO system for drinking water. This is what I've been putting in the tank. Is a softener safe? Also, it appears that I do not have a deionizer with the RO, it only recently crossed my mind that these things might be problems. Everything seems to be doing fine though, so i'm thinking it can't be to bad?
- I have the current USA 36" Marine 4102 LED. Will this alone be enough to start some soft or SPS corals and expand later, or should I expand now and get some corals later?
- I'm not a fan of the test kits that I have (all are API). The colors seem to frequently be off and hard to tell where they would fit on the card. Eventually, I will plan to get some digital stuff (probably the neptune), but this will be down the road a bit. Any opinions on test kits that are more accurate and precise?
So far i'm loving every bit of this and hope it flourishes. In two years I will be moving quite a ways and will have to figure out how to orchestrate that event. I will be building a home a year after the move and I plan to incorporate a much larger reef tank into my house design (assuming all goes well with the current).
Thanks everyone!
