JustManson
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2018
- Messages
- 11
- Reaction score
- 20
hi everyone.
I’m new to the hobby and found the site via a google search. There appears to be a lot of great information and friendly members so I thought I would join in.
I recently setup a 100 gallon salt water acquarium. I was gifted the entire setup which needed a lot of work to bring it up to operational. Free isn’t free let me tell you that!
The setup as I acquired was left disassembled for two years in a closet. Was never cleaned after operation and left to dry and collect dust.
I started with a oak finish wood base and hood. No brand Quad T5 light hood. Model 3 all glass sump. Clear glass protein skimmer and dried cracked hoses to finish it off.
It took about 3 weeks to sand down the base and fill the wood imperfections and then I caoted the base in exterior while semi gloss paint. 3 coats and it looks amazing.
I then placed the tank in its position which is on my ground floor in a cubby besides my bathroom and wouldn’t you know it was deeper than I thought... so the door to the bathroom wouldn’t open LOL. A trip to Home Depot for a closet style door was next, primed and painted the bathroom is accessible.
I then started to scrap all calcium deposits, algae, crud, substrate, and everything else off the interior of the glass and the filtration system. I spent close to 10 hours cleaning everything I could get my hands into.
Next another trip to Home Depot for Hoses and Valves to control the water flow.
Next I purchased a new Odyysea T5 quad light hood and installed ATI bulbs. I’m really happy with the hood and the timer works wonderfully. Considering it’s an eBay special and had good reviews I’m happy with it so far.
Next I Picked up Coral Sea black sand. I put in 120lbs to have a nice deep base to work with. Then I added about 40 lbs of live rock, but the tank didn’t look right.... not yet atleast.
So now we are about 4-5 weeks into my journey. The salt arrived and I mixed my water and got the system up and running. I sprung a big leak from the return line I forgot to tighten and lost about 5 gallons. Thankfully my tank is positioned near my garage and the water slipped down the tile floor through an opening and out my garage.... it’s like my house knew! Disaster averted.
So I wasn’t happy with the look of the tank. I needed more live rock to accomplish my goal so I went to Craig’s list and started searching and finally found a guy selling a 190 gallon setup and was willing to part with his rock. The only issue was he was 3 hours away and I had to by 250lbs he wouldn’t spilt it up. So I bit the bullet and bought it all. Anyone need 100lbs... I have extra!
This gave me all the rock I could ever need and the ability to really pick and choose my pieces to make my Dream into a reality... and I think I nailed it.
I now have perfectly running, balanced cycled, and hosting 2 pairs of clown fish along with 150lbs of live rock and 3 starburst polyps which survived the 3 hour drive and 2 hour setup in the tank... they opened within 24 hours.
It’s my first large marine acquarium and I couldn’t be more happy with the result.
I hope you enjoyed my introduction and I hope to contribute and im sure I’ll have A lot of questions going forward.
Finally.... the pictures!
I’m imcluding the first setup and a bit of my progression to the final setup.
Enjoy!
I’m new to the hobby and found the site via a google search. There appears to be a lot of great information and friendly members so I thought I would join in.
I recently setup a 100 gallon salt water acquarium. I was gifted the entire setup which needed a lot of work to bring it up to operational. Free isn’t free let me tell you that!
The setup as I acquired was left disassembled for two years in a closet. Was never cleaned after operation and left to dry and collect dust.
I started with a oak finish wood base and hood. No brand Quad T5 light hood. Model 3 all glass sump. Clear glass protein skimmer and dried cracked hoses to finish it off.
It took about 3 weeks to sand down the base and fill the wood imperfections and then I caoted the base in exterior while semi gloss paint. 3 coats and it looks amazing.
I then placed the tank in its position which is on my ground floor in a cubby besides my bathroom and wouldn’t you know it was deeper than I thought... so the door to the bathroom wouldn’t open LOL. A trip to Home Depot for a closet style door was next, primed and painted the bathroom is accessible.
I then started to scrap all calcium deposits, algae, crud, substrate, and everything else off the interior of the glass and the filtration system. I spent close to 10 hours cleaning everything I could get my hands into.
Next another trip to Home Depot for Hoses and Valves to control the water flow.
Next I purchased a new Odyysea T5 quad light hood and installed ATI bulbs. I’m really happy with the hood and the timer works wonderfully. Considering it’s an eBay special and had good reviews I’m happy with it so far.
Next I Picked up Coral Sea black sand. I put in 120lbs to have a nice deep base to work with. Then I added about 40 lbs of live rock, but the tank didn’t look right.... not yet atleast.
So now we are about 4-5 weeks into my journey. The salt arrived and I mixed my water and got the system up and running. I sprung a big leak from the return line I forgot to tighten and lost about 5 gallons. Thankfully my tank is positioned near my garage and the water slipped down the tile floor through an opening and out my garage.... it’s like my house knew! Disaster averted.
So I wasn’t happy with the look of the tank. I needed more live rock to accomplish my goal so I went to Craig’s list and started searching and finally found a guy selling a 190 gallon setup and was willing to part with his rock. The only issue was he was 3 hours away and I had to by 250lbs he wouldn’t spilt it up. So I bit the bullet and bought it all. Anyone need 100lbs... I have extra!
This gave me all the rock I could ever need and the ability to really pick and choose my pieces to make my Dream into a reality... and I think I nailed it.
I now have perfectly running, balanced cycled, and hosting 2 pairs of clown fish along with 150lbs of live rock and 3 starburst polyps which survived the 3 hour drive and 2 hour setup in the tank... they opened within 24 hours.
It’s my first large marine acquarium and I couldn’t be more happy with the result.
I hope you enjoyed my introduction and I hope to contribute and im sure I’ll have A lot of questions going forward.
Finally.... the pictures!
I’m imcluding the first setup and a bit of my progression to the final setup.
Enjoy!
