Starting My Own Reef Tank- The Tank Of My Dreams!

[kj23502]

The overflows on my tank also pull in water from the bottom, mid and top levels. Is that good? I was worried about overflowing the living room, until I thought about the pipe at the top that the water has to get to. If the pumps not filling up the tank, then it won't overflow... makes sense huh!!

Anyways, are those overflows good. I figure it can pull excess food n such out of the water sooner and helpe keep the tank cleaner.

 

[Musho3210]

if it pulls from bottom middle and top, does it also have a second layer behind the bottom middle top layer that only lets water drain from the top?

 

[kj23502]

I think so, Musho. It has 2 "edges" on the top...if that's what you mean.

I wish I could get pics up, but the back and sides have dark tinting on them and the front side is sitting against the wall. Plus it's on top of our giant oak dining room table and (that sits in a corner) so it's almost impossible for me to get any good shots, I'm afraid.

Hopefully soon enough we'll get the 75 rocking and rolling and get my other large tank outta here so we can move this into position!!

edit---

By edges I mean looks like a box inside of another box...am I making sense

 

[Musho3210]

yeah, that overflow is fine.

 

[kj23502]

yeah, that overflow is fine.

Good to know

Thanks

 

[kj23502]

Another book I think I'll buy is The Conscientious Marine Aquarist By Robert M. Fenner

It's a REALLY good book, even better than the other two. It talks a lot about the setup and equipment, here's the titles of the chapters
1. Systems
2.Basic Equipment
3. Filtration
4. Water
5. Setup and Aquascaping
6. Maintenance
7. Marine Algae
8. Foods and Feeding
9. Disease
10. Cyanide Collection

Then it goes to talk about tons of fish and inverts...including eels, lionfish, dottybacks, grammas, jawfishes, cardinalfishes, butterfly and angel fishes, clownfishes, wrasses, blennies and blennylike fishes, tangs, fanworms and feather dusters, mullosks and crustaceans and more!! I highly recommend this one

 

[ox5477]

Looks like a good book. And the way he starts intro off talking about the class clown who asks whether he can eat everything is an funny way to start off an otherwise seeming textbook-like book. Makes it feel like he will put in a little wit and humor as things are outlined as the book goes on. Good choice

Ox

 

[kj23502]

Yea..that was kinda funny!

 

[kj23502]

Ok, I just brought home the tank I need to move my cichlids into so I can sell my other big tank. Then when I get a stand, I can move my soon to be reef tank into position and get it off my dining room table We don't usually eat there anyway. We have a bar stool type setup in the kitchen and we eat there most of the time.

I'm going to go ahead and take pics of the tank anyway, even though the pics will SUCK due to how its sitting and there's dead coraline inside (it'll be the white stuff on the walls.)

 

[Ace Of Spades]

Ok, I just brought home the tank I need to move my cichlids into so I can sell my other big tank. Then when I get a stand, I can move my soon to be reef tank into position and get it off my dining room table We don't usually eat there anyway. We have a bar stool type setup in the kitchen and we eat there most of the time.

I'm going to go ahead and take pics of the tank anyway, even though the pics will SUCK due to how its sitting and there's dead coraline inside (it'll be the white stuff on the walls.)

Im looking forward to seeing this journal kick off, how much of your budget you spent so far ?

 

[kj23502]

Well, I spent:

120 gallon tank $325 (came w/glass lid and durso overflow tube things)
75 gallon tank to move cichlids to $125 (also came w/glass tops, couple hob filters, lights)
55 gallon that I was going to use as sump $50 came w/lid and light strip, fish net
and lumber $10 so far

so that's $510 of it so far. Will slow down for a bit due to school shopping and christmas coming (want to make sure I have enough $ for both before I go wild w/the tank). I'll update what I spend on what as i get it to give people who are new to this hobby and idea of what things cost. I'm still not sure about setting up an R/O system w/2 garbage cans(one for premixed sw and one for r/o to top off the tank).


And I still need to get those pics huh!!

i also will sell my other 125 gallon stand/tank so am hoping that'll bring another $200 or 250!! It'll be easier to plan stuff out when I go back to work July 28 (I'm a school secretary) and start have an income again. We only have 2 months off so it's not to bad. I just don't like to spend a ton of $ until it starts coming in again I guess I'm fairly conservative...sorta which can be good b/c I plan things out before I do them so as to not waste money, time and effort.

 

[connorsbala]

lol yeah right, you cant resist leaving a tank empty for so long! In a couple of days time i gurantee that you'll be on here that you've got more equipment etc

 

[kj23502]

lol...yea maybe connor (but I doubt it). I've gotten pretty good control of myself in the last 5 years. I'm more careful about priorities and you could even call me slightly paranoid.

This tank should really start taking off after Christmas. I've started picking up presents already

 

[kj23502]

Here's some not very exciting pics. The white inside of it is dead coraline algea. I may or may not scrape it off. I thought I liked the coraline look on the back of the tank, but now I'm thinking that I only like that on the rocks and not on the tank walls. The guy I bought from said new coraline would grow easier over the dead stuff than directly on the glass. I don't know how I'd ever be successful keeping the back of the tank clean, though. I wouldn't be able to reach it very well. I'm only 5 feet tall. I do have a 2 step step stool.

This is how it's sitting and why it's so hard to take pics (w/all our junk piled around it ).

On the left and front side of it is the wall and on the right side is a corn burning stove.

Here's the overflows:

Heres the looking at the front of the tank(it's facing the wall )

edited to fix broken pic links

 

[ox5477]

Well the dead coraline will provide a very rough surface for anything to attach to. so you might actually get some filter feeders, small sponges... and the like back there if you pile the rock againt the wall to make it almost a dark zone. Of course, if you have an island style reef with all the rock in the middle away from the glass, it will turn into an algae farm, especially on the upper 1/2 where the light is the most intense. But, if it really bothers you, and ur feeling like you need an arma dns houlder work out.... get a pack of straight edge razors and get to it... should come off with a little elbow grease. But, the dead algae shouldn't hurt anything except maybe the appearance if you dont like the white.

Just wondering too... I assume thats not the final resting spot for the tank? If yes, do you guys use the stove? If yes... that will prob create a heat gradient in the tank and eventually cause heat spike in the tank... or atleast in my novice knoledge of heat transfer and the amount of heat those stoves can pump out, I would assume it would

Ox