2020-10-05 Livestock:
Fish:
- Two Ocellaris (one regular, one probably Wide-Bar Mocha Gladiator)
- One-spot Foxface
Cnidarians:
- Rose/Rainbow? BTA
- Green actinodiscus
- Tangerine dream? zoas
- Mystery zoas
- Wee lil' patch of GSP
2020-10-05 equipment list:
2020-09-24 FTS:
Hi!
I've been putting things together for my first reef tank over the past month or so and I'm about to start my build today with a modified version of Rocket Engineer's stand. My plans (much of it not set in stone) so far are:
Livestock plans:
Drilling through that quartz counter top was a pain! Ended up biting the bullet on a $35 5/8" diamond hole saw to get through it. Incidentally, that's now up for sale locally for $20 if anyone needs one to drill their tank.
We have fantastic tap water in Winnipeg, but after doing an A/B taste test with RO water, wow - the tap water is rather bitter.
Now, as I said, I'm starting the actual construction of the stand today, using this modified version of Rocketengineer's stand with extra cross-bracing:
I'm going to be countersinking the deck screws and covering with wood filler rather than using pocket holes just to save time. I also plan on having the front panel held on by neodymium magnets rather than adding doors for a cleaner look. I have a big ol' sheet of marine plywood at another location just waiting to be cut.
Here's my current mess of a pile of lumber and tools (and misc scrap from ongoing home improvement projects):
I'm hoping to get the stand completely built tonight, and will post updates once I'm done! Wish me luck!
Fish:
- Two Ocellaris (one regular, one probably Wide-Bar Mocha Gladiator)
- One-spot Foxface
Cnidarians:
- Rose/Rainbow? BTA
- Green actinodiscus
- Tangerine dream? zoas
- Mystery zoas
- Wee lil' patch of GSP
2020-10-05 equipment list:
- 3x Kessil A160WE
- Kessil spectral controller
- Tunze 3155 ATO
- Jebao DCP-5000 return pump
- SWC sump with integral skimmer, Reef Octopus needlewheel
- Eheim 250W heater
- 90 lbs of rock
- 60lbs carbisea Fiji pink sand
- Crappy aquatop powerhead til I get a better wave maker
2020-09-24 FTS:
Hi!
I've been putting things together for my first reef tank over the past month or so and I'm about to start my build today with a modified version of Rocket Engineer's stand. My plans (much of it not set in stone) so far are:
- 90G DT with centre overflow (waiting for build at LFS)
- Sump built at LFS as well
- Filter floss
- LFS rock and sand
- Seachem Impulse 800 return pump
- Coralbox wavemakers (probably qps9 units x2)
- Whatever quality heaters I can get my hands on for cheap. Preferably titanium but likely Eheim glass units just due to cost.
- Lighting:
Trying to find Euroquatics Angel A1P's - Really love the hackability of these guys, they're just near impossible to find. If I can't get my hands on those, I'll probably put together a DIY solution with eBay LED cobs. I'm in no rush for the lights as I plan on just lettin' her cycle real slow - the main thing is that I need controllability by...Edit: Ended up getting a nice deal on 3x Kessil A160WE + the controller. - ReefPi - To be used for temperature, lighting, pH, on-off outlet control for non-controllable devices, ATO, and a camera. I'm a CS major so I love this stuff.
- Chaeto fuge
- No skimmer to start, but I'll keep my eye out for a secondhand deal.
- No chiller - my house is a constant 21.5° C (~71° F) year round with central AC and heating.
Livestock plans:
- Black ocellaris x2
- Tomini or Kole Tang... I can't decide!
- Maybe a Yellow Tang. We'll see.
- Some kind of blenny
- Tuxedo urchin
- Other CUC of course
- Eventual must-have corals (pending further research into compatibility):
- Isolated GSP colony
- Several types of Euphyllia
- Duncan
- Elegance
- Zoas
- Pulsing Xenia (to impress guests of course)
- The rest will be whatever suits my fancy (after doing research on each specimen)
- I'd also really like an LTA but that's further down the line.
Drilling through that quartz counter top was a pain! Ended up biting the bullet on a $35 5/8" diamond hole saw to get through it. Incidentally, that's now up for sale locally for $20 if anyone needs one to drill their tank.
We have fantastic tap water in Winnipeg, but after doing an A/B taste test with RO water, wow - the tap water is rather bitter.
Now, as I said, I'm starting the actual construction of the stand today, using this modified version of Rocketengineer's stand with extra cross-bracing:
I'm going to be countersinking the deck screws and covering with wood filler rather than using pocket holes just to save time. I also plan on having the front panel held on by neodymium magnets rather than adding doors for a cleaner look. I have a big ol' sheet of marine plywood at another location just waiting to be cut.
Here's my current mess of a pile of lumber and tools (and misc scrap from ongoing home improvement projects):
I'm hoping to get the stand completely built tonight, and will post updates once I'm done! Wish me luck!
Last edited: