Introduction
Hey everyone,I’m fairly new here, I already started a build thread, but it's very unorganized and I made a lot of changes, so I decided to start a new official thread to organize the process.
My journey begins a few weeks ago, I found a nice used 180-gallon aquarium then that deal didn’t work out. Afterward, I found a 220 and a 265, both didn’t pan out as well. So I was fed up at that point, most of these sellers are asking way too much for their Marineland/Aqueon aquariums. In all fairness, the 220 was a custom, but I hated the built-in overflow on it so I backed out of that deal. So at that point I was fed up, I decided to buy a new tank instead. I emailed the company I bought my equipment off of and told them the situation and how I’d consider a brand new tank for a really good deal. To my surprise the sales rep told me “We really appreciate the business, so we’re going to hook you up”. I was immediately intrigued, then excited when he told me what he’s hooking me up with. He offered me a brand new Innovative Marine 200 INT tank and stand for $3500 CAD including tax & shipping (around $2700.00 USD for you Americans, eh!). As you can imagine my Jaw dropped, I’m assuming he’s giving it to me close to cost, so I agreed. So now I have a new IM 200-gallon INT aquarium and stand. After breaking the bank, I’ve officially purchased everything (list of equipment below) I just need to wait for everything to be delivered, so let’s move on to the plan.
The Plan
Equipment
Qty1 Innovative Marine NUVO INT 200-gallon aquarium with APS stand
2 Tuna Blue Kessil A360’s
2 AI SOL Blue (older version)
2 Jebao DP-4 Auto Dosing Pump (one for water changes)
3 400W Marineland Heaters (one back up)
1 AI Prime Fuge
1 Reef Ocotpus Regal 300SSS
2 Jebao SDW-16
1 Neptune apex lite system with pH and Temp probes
1 Tunze Water Level Controller
1 Jebao DCP-20000 Return Pump
1 Eheim 1262 900 GPH (back up return)
1 Spectrepure 5 stage RO/DI unit with a built-in TDS meter
1 40-watt Aqua Ultraviolet UV Sterilizer
1 Sybon Refractometer
1 75-gallon standard + 27-gallon cube sump/refugium
2 Aqua illumination HMS Single Arm Kits
2 Kessil Mounting Arm KIts
1 API Reef Master Test Kit (includes calcium, carbonate hardness, phosphate and nitrate test kits)
1 API pH Test Kit
1 API Ammonia Test Kit
1 API Nitrite Test Kit
1 Hanna Alk/Calcium Checker
Livestock
Fish:
- Yellow Tang
- Blue Tang
- Kole Yellow Eye Tang
- Whitecheek Tang
- Yellow Wrasse
- Ornate Leopard Wrasse
- Naoko’s Fairy Wrasse
- Black & White Ocellaris Clownfish
- Ocellaris Clownfish
- Midas Blenny
- Two Neon Gobies
- Bluethroat Triggerfish m/f Pair
- Three Princess Anthias
Inverts:
- Purple Short Spine Urchin
- Red Sponge
- 2 Fireshrimp
- 17 Astraea Turbo Snails
- 22 hermit crabs
LPS:
- Candy Cane Coral
- Colored/Orange Open Brain Coral
- Orange Short Tentacle Plate Coral
- Brain Corals: Favites, Lophyllia, Wellso Folded, Green with Red Eyes, Australian Versiopora Pineapple, Orange & Green, Australian Alien Moon, Australian Red & Green,
- Bubble Coral, Pearl
- Pinwheel Plate Coral
- Yellow/Orange/Black Tube Corals
- Australian Doughnut Coral
- Button Coral, Cynarina
- Australian Scolymia Corals: Red, Super Red, Neon Green
- Big Polyp Blastomussa Coral
- Rainbow Lordhowensis Coral
- Hammer corals
- Acropora nobilis
- Stylophora Coral
- Millepora Acropora
- Acropora loripes
- Montipora Capricornis Coral (blue/green/orange)
- Acropora parilis
- Acropora cerealis
- Green Spaghetti Finger Leather Coral
Livestock Introduction Order
After Cycle: Midas Blenny, Chaeto.
One Month Later: Both Clownfish, one Turbo Snail and two Blue Legged Hermit Crabs
Two Months: Ornate Leopard Wrasse, one Turbo Snail and two Blue Legged Hermit Crabs
Three Months: Yellow Wrasse, Emerald Crab, two Turbo Snails, and three Blue Legged Hermit Crabs.
Four Months: Cleaner Wrasse, Naoko’s Fairy Wrasse, Purple Short Spine Urchin, three Turbo Snails, and three Blue Legged Hermit Crabs.
Five Months: Three Princess Anthias, two Red Fire Shrimp, three Turbo Snails, and three Blue Legged Hermit Crabs .
Six Months: Bluethroat Triggerfish Pair, three Turbo Snails, and four Blue Legged Hermit Crabs.
Eight Months: Blue Tang, Whitecheek Tang, Yellow Tang, Yellow Eye Cole Tang, four Turbo Snails, and four Blue Legged Hermit Crabs.
The Food
I want my fish to be fat and healthy, so I plan to feed 4-6 times a day. I also don’t want to spend a fortune on frozen foods so I figured why not make a frozen blend instead? After doing some reading on the forum, the recipe and instructions I came up with are as follows.
Fish Food Recipe Ingredients | |
Ingredient | Qty |
Fresh Salmon | 2 lbs. |
Fresh Tuna | 1 lbs. |
Fresh Shrimp | 2 lbs. |
Frozen Copepods | 1/4 lbs. |
PE Frozen Mysis Shrimp | 2.5 lbs. |
Mussels | 2 lbs. |
Herbivore frenzy | 1/2 lbs. |
DrTim’s Probiotic Bacteria | 4 oz. |
Spirulina Powder | 5 oz. |
Coral Frenzy Powder | 8 oz. |
Shredded Garlic | 4 oz. |
Brocolli Tops | Bag |
Spinash | Bag |
Seaweed | 50 sheets |
Note I’ll do this in the garage or in the backyard because I don’t want my house to smell like the local fish market.
What do I need to make the food?
- Something to mix the food in, a bucket or a big bowl would work.
- Food Processor
- Cheese Grater
- Cutting board
- Strainer
- Scissors
- 5 Ice trays
- 4 Tupperware’s
- Put the fresh tuna and salmon in the freezer.
- Next, open the mussels and put the undigested remnants in a Tupperware. Close the Tupperware and throw it in the freezer.
- Clean the shrimp, then throw it in a Tupperware, close it, and then put it in the freezer.
- Finely dice the spinach to bite-sized pieces, then place them a Tupperware and put it in the fridge.
- Next Pluck out the broccoli’s florets, finely dice them, then place them in the same Tupperware you place the diced spinach.
- Now grab your cheese grater and grate four ounces of garlic and then put it in the same Tupperware you placed the spinach and broccoli florets.
- Close the Tupperware and put it in the fridge
- Wait 24 hours for everything to freeze.
- After 24 hours, get a stack of 5 seaweed sheets and use scissors to cut them into small bite-sized pieces.
- Repeat step 8 for the remaining 45 sheets, then place the diced seaweed in a mixing bowl.
- Then go grab the Tupperware filled with diced veggies, processed shrimp, and put it in the same mixing bowl you put the
- Afterward, grab the Tupperware of undigested mussel remnants from the freezer and use the cheese grater to grate them over the cutting board.
- Now finely dice the grated remnant into bite-sized pieces, then place it in the mixing bowl.
- Repeat steps 12 and 13 for the shrimp, tuna, salmon, frozen copepods, frozen Mysis, and herbivore frenzy.
- Next measure 8 oz. of coral frenzy powder and throw it in the mixing bowl.
- Measure 5 oz. of Spirulina Powder and throw it in the mixing bowl.
- Measure 4 oz. of Probiotic Bacteria and throw it in the mixing bowl.
- Next mix everything; I suggest you use some gloves and your hands.
- Afterward, take the mixture and put it into Ice trays to make cubes. (cubes are optional, could also be placed as is in an airtight container).
- Put the trays in the freezer and wait 24 hours.
- Finally, the next day take the cubes out of the tray and put them in an airtight container and back into the freezer.
Required Equipment and Why I Haven’t Got Them Yet
Required Equipment:
- Two Tuna Blue Kessil A360’s
- Reef Octopus CR3000D7” Calcium Reactor
- Aquarium Plant Life CO2 Regulator
- Reborn Calcium Reactor Media
- Milwaukee pH controller
I want Acropora’s, so I’ll need two more Kessil’s, but I’m going to hold off on the Kessil’s until I actually get corals. Putting any more lights on the tank now is just a waste of electricity. I’m also holding off on the calcium reactor for the same reason as the lights, but also because I have no idea how to use a calcium reactor.
The Pictures?
Once the equipment is delivered I’ll take pictures of everything out of the shipping boxes, then pictures as I set everything up.My Level of Expertise
I’m honestly an amateur, I have approximately one and a half years of experience with saltwater aquariums. Hopefully many more years to come.
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