Hi,
Very new (as in never before) to reef tanks.
A bit of background. My older sibling ran a Saltwater Aquarium back in the early 80's....I never forgot that tank, fascinating to watch!
Despite the trials, and failures ……...(Lionfish ate 11 Black Mollys in one go....dead Lionfish), then a LFS telling my sibling that yes these two (Mantis Shrimp and an Octopus) will be able to get along, "the Mantis Shrimp can look after itself"---- followed by the Octopus taking about 2 days to observe the Mantis Shrimp before making a meal of it!!…………..I have always wanted to start one of my own.
So onwards to current times: I've been running freshwater tanks for about 10 years and learned a fair amount about that side of aquariums. Now I'm in the process of starting a Nano Reef aquarium.
I have spent the last 2 months researching SW systems and I'm absolutely fascinated by the level of science that has made it's way into the hobby. The more information I get the more questions seem to come up.
My first tank is currently being built up, with a projected 'water-in' date of mid-October.
The setup will have the following:
- Fluval Vista Bowfront 25 gallon (approx.) 29" length x 11" wide (average) x 17" tall.
- I've custom built a new lid, essentially an eggcrate that fits quite well, to provide the maximum oxygenation possible.
- Fluval 206 Canister Filter with the following media:
- Coarse Foam > Medium Foam > Filter Floss > Seachem Matrix > Seachem Matrix Carbon > Seachem Purigen.
- Lighting is currently proposed to be the new Fluval Marine 3.0 but I'm still researching that.
- Heating provided by a Hydor ETH 200 Inline Heater.
- Powerhead is an Icecap Gyre 1000. (built for Nano tanks)
- Custom plumbing to provide a way of doing water changes and adding water without disturbing the actual tank (I've built some flow control tubing which is valved so as to be able to drain water from the filter intake line).
- Substrate will be Caribsea Bahamas Oolite Agra-Live sand to about 1.25 inches.
- Cured Live Rock from the LFS (they call it Jakarta Premium, however it looks and feels like Pukani).
I'll be cycling the system without the Purigen, unless the good folks at Seachem indicate otherwise...(still waiting to hear from them on several product use questions).
Once cycled I'll be adding a 'clean up crew':
- 2 hermit crabs
- 4 Margarita snails
After the clean up crew has been in for a couple of weeks and the tank appears stable then the first of the fish, which will be 2 Ocellaris Clowns. Followed about a month later by a Diamond Goby.
Corals will not be introduced until about the 6 month mark.
If you have any thoughts, please comment.
Cheers
Very new (as in never before) to reef tanks.
A bit of background. My older sibling ran a Saltwater Aquarium back in the early 80's....I never forgot that tank, fascinating to watch!
Despite the trials, and failures ……...(Lionfish ate 11 Black Mollys in one go....dead Lionfish), then a LFS telling my sibling that yes these two (Mantis Shrimp and an Octopus) will be able to get along, "the Mantis Shrimp can look after itself"---- followed by the Octopus taking about 2 days to observe the Mantis Shrimp before making a meal of it!!…………..I have always wanted to start one of my own.
So onwards to current times: I've been running freshwater tanks for about 10 years and learned a fair amount about that side of aquariums. Now I'm in the process of starting a Nano Reef aquarium.
I have spent the last 2 months researching SW systems and I'm absolutely fascinated by the level of science that has made it's way into the hobby. The more information I get the more questions seem to come up.
My first tank is currently being built up, with a projected 'water-in' date of mid-October.
The setup will have the following:
- Fluval Vista Bowfront 25 gallon (approx.) 29" length x 11" wide (average) x 17" tall.
- I've custom built a new lid, essentially an eggcrate that fits quite well, to provide the maximum oxygenation possible.
- Fluval 206 Canister Filter with the following media:
- Coarse Foam > Medium Foam > Filter Floss > Seachem Matrix > Seachem Matrix Carbon > Seachem Purigen.
- Lighting is currently proposed to be the new Fluval Marine 3.0 but I'm still researching that.
- Heating provided by a Hydor ETH 200 Inline Heater.
- Powerhead is an Icecap Gyre 1000. (built for Nano tanks)
- Custom plumbing to provide a way of doing water changes and adding water without disturbing the actual tank (I've built some flow control tubing which is valved so as to be able to drain water from the filter intake line).
- Substrate will be Caribsea Bahamas Oolite Agra-Live sand to about 1.25 inches.
- Cured Live Rock from the LFS (they call it Jakarta Premium, however it looks and feels like Pukani).
I'll be cycling the system without the Purigen, unless the good folks at Seachem indicate otherwise...(still waiting to hear from them on several product use questions).
Once cycled I'll be adding a 'clean up crew':
- 2 hermit crabs
- 4 Margarita snails
After the clean up crew has been in for a couple of weeks and the tank appears stable then the first of the fish, which will be 2 Ocellaris Clowns. Followed about a month later by a Diamond Goby.
Corals will not be introduced until about the 6 month mark.
If you have any thoughts, please comment.
Cheers
