My introduction to saltwater aquariums and fish keeping started in October of 2017 when my roommate setup his first aquarium. It was only a small 14g biocube but it absolutely captivated me. I stared at it for hours a day, watching the small hermit crabs l, cleaner shrimp, Royal Garma, and watchman goby live out their daily lives.
I was hooked, I found a 40g breeder locally and was already drilled. I filled it with sand and live Rock and began my Cycle with the red Sea cycle kit, it was established for around 2 months when it's time came. After battling with bryopsis for most of that two months, I finally was ready to upgrade my skimmer and add a media reactor. I ordered a reef octopus classic 110INT, when it arrived I drained my sump and pulled it from the stand to install my skimmer, since it was tight for space it was the only way I could do it. When moving the empty sump back into place I put too much pressure on the wrong pipe and cracked the bottom of my tank. It was a very bad day. I lost two clownfish, a Mandarin, and many snails and hermits. I was able to save all my coral luckily.
After almost another two months I was able to setup my current 60g breeder (36x18x 24)
The bottom glass was drilled and 1/2in thick, twice the thickness of my 40g breeder. It had a proper overflow box and came with a cabinet, It was a welcomed upgrade from the 40gb. I was able to save the rock and sand from my pervious build, and knew alot more about aqua scaping and what I wanted from my next tank. Losing my previous tank so suddenly was very hard to go through, with emergency carpet cleaning and having to stay in a different bed room for a few nights as mine dried. After going through all that I still craved having tank to manage and peak into, I knew I wasn't done with my hobby,is so this time I wanted to do it better.
By this time my roommate had setup his current 60g tank as well (48in rather than 36in) learning from what he has done in his tank and what I learned from my tank I planned out every minute detail. From the sump and how it operated and it's plumbing, to powerheads and electrical organizing.
I hope to keep this updated as my tank matures. I've included pictures chronologically starting with the biocube to my 40gb finally pictures of my current sump design, cycling, and aquascape/current inhabitants.
I was hooked, I found a 40g breeder locally and was already drilled. I filled it with sand and live Rock and began my Cycle with the red Sea cycle kit, it was established for around 2 months when it's time came. After battling with bryopsis for most of that two months, I finally was ready to upgrade my skimmer and add a media reactor. I ordered a reef octopus classic 110INT, when it arrived I drained my sump and pulled it from the stand to install my skimmer, since it was tight for space it was the only way I could do it. When moving the empty sump back into place I put too much pressure on the wrong pipe and cracked the bottom of my tank. It was a very bad day. I lost two clownfish, a Mandarin, and many snails and hermits. I was able to save all my coral luckily.
After almost another two months I was able to setup my current 60g breeder (36x18x 24)
The bottom glass was drilled and 1/2in thick, twice the thickness of my 40g breeder. It had a proper overflow box and came with a cabinet, It was a welcomed upgrade from the 40gb. I was able to save the rock and sand from my pervious build, and knew alot more about aqua scaping and what I wanted from my next tank. Losing my previous tank so suddenly was very hard to go through, with emergency carpet cleaning and having to stay in a different bed room for a few nights as mine dried. After going through all that I still craved having tank to manage and peak into, I knew I wasn't done with my hobby,is so this time I wanted to do it better.
By this time my roommate had setup his current 60g tank as well (48in rather than 36in) learning from what he has done in his tank and what I learned from my tank I planned out every minute detail. From the sump and how it operated and it's plumbing, to powerheads and electrical organizing.
I hope to keep this updated as my tank matures. I've included pictures chronologically starting with the biocube to my 40gb finally pictures of my current sump design, cycling, and aquascape/current inhabitants.
