Wow things have changed.
I had built a 200 gallon tank 17 years ago. After a major crash I sold it. I had a small 55 gallon that had been sitting around. A friend at work was talking about having to throw out corals because he had to many in his tank. I said I would take them. So with no budget I have tried to get this tank running.
Here is what I have done so far. I started with the 55 tall. It is 30" x 18". It had two inches of crushed coral and about 50lb of rock. I had a ehiem 2217 cartridge filter. 15 years ago wet dry filters were the best time. I found one on craigslist so I replaced the ehiem with the wet dry. After some research and talking with a couple LFS I removed the bio balls. I have put 7 liters of Matix in the sump. I modified the drip tray to take 4 - 4" filter socks. I also put a protein skimmer in the sump. I bought 2-180wat led light fixtures. They have remotes for the dimmers. When the timer goes off they come back on at full power. I have been trying to wire in manual dimmers.
I have just mage a order from BRS for RO/DI system, testers, and two part kit. I am building a cabinet to go in the room behind the tank to keep everything. I am considering moving the sump into the other room so I will have space for dosing pumps along with other equipment. I will update with pictures soon.
I had built a 200 gallon tank 17 years ago. After a major crash I sold it. I had a small 55 gallon that had been sitting around. A friend at work was talking about having to throw out corals because he had to many in his tank. I said I would take them. So with no budget I have tried to get this tank running.
Here is what I have done so far. I started with the 55 tall. It is 30" x 18". It had two inches of crushed coral and about 50lb of rock. I had a ehiem 2217 cartridge filter. 15 years ago wet dry filters were the best time. I found one on craigslist so I replaced the ehiem with the wet dry. After some research and talking with a couple LFS I removed the bio balls. I have put 7 liters of Matix in the sump. I modified the drip tray to take 4 - 4" filter socks. I also put a protein skimmer in the sump. I bought 2-180wat led light fixtures. They have remotes for the dimmers. When the timer goes off they come back on at full power. I have been trying to wire in manual dimmers.
I have just mage a order from BRS for RO/DI system, testers, and two part kit. I am building a cabinet to go in the room behind the tank to keep everything. I am considering moving the sump into the other room so I will have space for dosing pumps along with other equipment. I will update with pictures soon.


