Joewantabetterreef
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2017
- Messages
- 13
- Reaction score
- 14
Hi this is my first post. I got into the hobby a few years ago. I am definitely not someone you want to emulate. I enjoy reading other people's build threads so I thought I would share mine. If only for people to learn what not to do. I will admit that when I started my build I wanted to record everything but then I get to actually doing the work and I forget to take pictures or anything. I always had freshwater fish when I was going up. Nothing special just whatever you could by at the local petsmart or Wal-Mart later. I never used water conditioner or filtered water. Had undergravel filter with an air stone that was it for filtration. I am lucky I didn't have a ton of problems. It was simple and easy. Fast forward a few years and finding nemo came out. I had always been interested in salt so I thought I would give it a try. I went into it like I did with fresh water. I had no luck so after a couple of attempts and failures I quit. My wife was tired of me throwing money away. That adventure was a whole story in of itself. Fast forward a decade or so and i decide to give salt water one more try. This time I decide that i do some research and start it right. I found a 75 gallon tank on Craigslist. I was about to move in a few months so I planed on getting the equipment and everything I needed before the move. That way once I moved I could set the tank up right away. Meanwhile I just scoured the internet for any info I could find till i could start my tank. The tank I got broke during the move. So I had to find a new tank. After lots of looking and learning more I decided to get a 100 gallon. I chose that size because it wasn't to big but I could still get some larger fish. I was more into the fish than coral at that time. I learned a lot with my first tank but I would definitely not call it a success. I managed to keep fish alive and some coral. Mostly aptaisa not sure how to spell that. I moved again. This time I decided that i should go smaller since I move so often. I am in the military. I can't get the bigger fish that i like. Hopefully I can fill it with coral.
Now that the back story is finished we can talk about this tank for this tank I decided I wanted to do 30 gallon tank. I chose it because I can say it is nano and still have a few fish. I learned with my first tank that i did not like the overflow. I wanted to do a ghost overflow so I decided to purchase a not reef ready tank. I found a 110 liter because I am in Germany at the moment. I spent a year getting equipment and the build but it is up and cycling. I am gone a lot so I need to make sure it can go a while without my attention. I wanted a roller filter mat that could last forever. I am also cheap so I wanted to build my rollermat. I don't want a skimmer because I can't ask my wife to clean a skimmer cup while I am gone so whatever she has to do has to be simple. I went with a ghost overflow with a herby overflow into a sump with integrated rollermat filter and some marine pure balls for filtration. I also have an algea reactor. I went with reactor instead of scrubber because I felt I could leave it longer without having to clean it. I am also set up to add a carbon/ GFO reactor and a UV sterilizer if need be.
Now that the back story is finished we can talk about this tank for this tank I decided I wanted to do 30 gallon tank. I chose it because I can say it is nano and still have a few fish. I learned with my first tank that i did not like the overflow. I wanted to do a ghost overflow so I decided to purchase a not reef ready tank. I found a 110 liter because I am in Germany at the moment. I spent a year getting equipment and the build but it is up and cycling. I am gone a lot so I need to make sure it can go a while without my attention. I wanted a roller filter mat that could last forever. I am also cheap so I wanted to build my rollermat. I don't want a skimmer because I can't ask my wife to clean a skimmer cup while I am gone so whatever she has to do has to be simple. I went with a ghost overflow with a herby overflow into a sump with integrated rollermat filter and some marine pure balls for filtration. I also have an algea reactor. I went with reactor instead of scrubber because I felt I could leave it longer without having to clean it. I am also set up to add a carbon/ GFO reactor and a UV sterilizer if need be.
