Happy Birthday New Tank

catmonaco · Jun 1, 2018

well May 19th will be this tanks birthday. I acquired this tank from a friend who knew how badly I wanted to get back into reef keeping again but also knew it wasn't going to happen anytime soon due to several years of illness that left me saddled with many hospital bills and then deductibles from Hurricane Irma. When she gave me the tank it had been sitting in her storage building for almost a year and it was covered in salt and the overflow tank littered with worm casings and other kind of critter left overs. The tank is glass 75 gallon with stand, T5 lighting, has the sump, which I had to move the tank to get out of the stand. I cleaned the sump and checked the pumps which are all working. I ordered a koralia power head and a bag of salt which I have to get more, but just having it made it seem more realistic. Other things I have gotten are good ol aquarium gloves ( which I hate, but I have had enough issues, lol ) a Brute trash can for mixing water, a dryer lint brush to help clean the pipes going into overflow, and a GFCI power strip. I replaced a hinge on one of the doors and am now thinking of things I want to change after I get everything started in the tank. For now this is where I am at on it. tomorrow I will be trying to get the overflow cleaned better than what I have been able to do so far. will be cleaning the skimmer and thinking of changing that out also. The lights I'm considering are the new LED's but a less expensive brand than the ones I've been looking at. Im not sure about the LED's but these T-5's are going to be running hot which is already visible through the melted plastic on side of light. LEDs would be more energy efficient and probably wouldn't need a chiller which would cut down on my expenses. Any thoughts on the LED's are welcome. Also thinking of perhaps setting up refugium in the future. Would really like to get sump back under the tank in stand but that isn't happening. As a little side note, I usually mention my illness and disabilities as a reminder to myself of where I was and where I am today. I don't say it for pity or attention to myself, but thank you for your kind words and prayers that were offered.i always appreciate those. More pictures to come as the tank progresses. My avatar photo was my tube anemone from my last tank. I called him Havoc because I knew if he wanted he could create havoc in the tank. Lol

SPR1968 · Jun 1, 2018

Great pictures Cat!

I’ve only ever had 1 anemone and I called him coral killer. Because he killed every coral he touched, so he was taken back to the LFS!

Sounds like your ‘havoc’ could be similar!

catmonaco · Jun 1, 2018

SPR1968 said:
Great pictures Cat!

I’ve only ever had 1 anemone and I called him coral killer. Because he killed every coral he touched, so he was taken back to the LFS!

Sounds like your ‘havoc’ could be similar!

Yeah, they told me that when I got it, but he was so pretty I thought I'll try it and he was happy right where I put him so he stayed put and I didn't have an issue with him. I called him Havoc hoping that he would prove me wrong abou what he could do and fortunately he did. I was lucky and glad for that.

catmonaco · Jun 22, 2018

YAy! My fuge came today and I’m still a long way from getting things up and running, but at least the tank is in soak/ clean mode now and perhaps this weekend I will be taking the over flow plumbing out and cleaning it. Then perhaps I’ll be able to actually set my sites on rock and begin the actual process that will lead to a really nice set up. I feel like a turtle.

WWIII · Jun 28, 2018

catmonaco said:
YAy! My fuge came today and I’m still a long way from getting things up and running, but at least the tank is in soak/ clean mode now and perhaps this weekend I will be taking the over flow plumbing out and cleaning it. Then perhaps I’ll be able to actually set my sites on rock and begin the actual process that will lead to a really nice set up. I feel like a turtle.

Tank and sump look awesome! Excited for you and to see this thing progress! Have you acquired or given any thoughts on potential rock? Dry rock, "live rock", etc...

Also, you may want to look at sb reef lights. They are a step above the chinese black box leds but aren't as expensive as some of the other led options. Me personally, I would probably use what you have (I think you said you have t5s already?) for now and really research what lights you want to choose for the long run.

You're off to a great start on this one!

catmonaco · Jun 28, 2018

WWIII said:
Tank and sump look awesome! Excited for you and to see this thing progress! Have you acquired or given any thoughts on potential rock? Dry rock, "live rock", etc...

Also, you may want to look at sb reef lights. They are a step above the chinese black box leds but aren't as expensive as some of the other led options. Me personally, I would probably use what you have (I think you said you have t5s already?) for now and really research what lights you want to choose for the long run.

You're off to a great start on this one!

Thanks for the input on the lights. I will look into those. Yes, I have t5's already and definitely thought about using them until I decide on lights. I did a lot of research on the LED's and I agree that the chinese black box leds probably arent the best lights out there. In fact I'm very leery.

Yes, I will be using live rock (as I sit here and hope to find decent live rock like I had 12 years ago) Not sure if its my imagination or what, but the rock I've seen certainly doesn't compare to what was around then. Part of that could also be because I'm in center of state now and there aren't many LFS around. In fact Im lucky to have one in this town. Im going to check out Tampa Bay Salt water. I hear they have some fantastic stuff. I'm getting excited for all this to come together.

catmonaco · Aug 10, 2018

Well, the tank still looks the same as it did when I started this thread, had a few set backs. So anyway, I did do a leak test on the tank, put fresh water in it and let it sit for about a week and then I cleaned it up really well or the best I could get it. There are still some calcium deposits or little critter shells attached to the inside of the overflow that I couldn't get to very well. I'm sure they will be fine, shouldn't cause a problem or "spikes", right? I do have one dilemma though. I can't get the new fuge under the tank. I should have known that when I got it or saw it, but it just will not go in that stand. The other one wouldn't go in it either, but they just put it in the stand before they filled the tank. I dont want to do that because you just never know when you might have to do something under that stand. So now I'm back to having to make a decision about where to go with the fuge. It's too large or wide to put behind the tank because then the tank is entirely too far from the wall, the tank has to go in that spot. I have one of those living rooms that things just have to go a certain way. So I'm thinking that maybe I just sit it on this little table I made several years ago or then again maybe I can get someone to cut a hole through the wall into the hall and have fuge sitting in the little cubby space of the hall. I have no clue at this point and am definitely at a stand still until I come up with a solution or I just keep the wet/dry that came with it and sell the fuge. Still would have to put it through the top of the stand to get in there. Sigh ! So thats the update, not much of one is it?