aldrichg9
Community Member
Hello all,
I've done freshwater for many years but the interest waned and I sold all but a 20 gallon tank.
In my home office now I have a small space that just barely fits the 20 gallon tank with stand.
Because I'm building a house and intend to build a much larger setup down the road to replace this small tank, this will be as build done as cheap as possible.
For now it will likely be a FOWLR tank until I decide on some lighting, as I've only got the T5 that came with the tank.
This will also be a very slow build.
I've been collecting rock and sand for a little over a year now and I will cycle that without any fish for probably 3-4 months
I've ordered a diamond holesaw to drill the 20 gallon tank and I intend to run a 10 gallon tank as a sump.
Thinking about picking up some of the microbacter products prior to cycling rock and sand.
Also, I am still looking for a return pump, and I need to decide how I am going to set up the plumbing.
I've been watching King of DIY on youtube and plan to do as much DIY as possible.
Not that I don't have the money to buy nice things, I just want to see how much I can do on a really small scale.
One thing I won't do is allow any livestock to suffer because of me going cheap.
I'll probably start out with 1-2 fish, then focus on things like copepods and plankton, maybe other critters that are part of the lifecycle.
This will be a very slow process for me as I'll not be adding fish for a few months, and then only a couple.
Maybe after 6-8 months I will DIY and LED light of some sort and try my hand at a coral, probably a leather.
Anyways just wanted to say hello and see if there are any thoughts.
I'm sure there will be folks who don't think I should do things cheap. That's OK!
I've gone the other route before and spent a ton of money, then lost interest - partly because of the continued expenses.
This is me trying something different on a small scale.
One question: Should I start cycling rock and sand now in a tote in the garage - without the microbacter? then add it later?
Or should I wait until I have the additives to start cycling? Does it even matter?
Also, below is a picture of my space (and two of my dogs photobombing)
Greg
I've done freshwater for many years but the interest waned and I sold all but a 20 gallon tank.
In my home office now I have a small space that just barely fits the 20 gallon tank with stand.
Because I'm building a house and intend to build a much larger setup down the road to replace this small tank, this will be as build done as cheap as possible.
For now it will likely be a FOWLR tank until I decide on some lighting, as I've only got the T5 that came with the tank.
This will also be a very slow build.
I've been collecting rock and sand for a little over a year now and I will cycle that without any fish for probably 3-4 months
I've ordered a diamond holesaw to drill the 20 gallon tank and I intend to run a 10 gallon tank as a sump.
Thinking about picking up some of the microbacter products prior to cycling rock and sand.
Also, I am still looking for a return pump, and I need to decide how I am going to set up the plumbing.
I've been watching King of DIY on youtube and plan to do as much DIY as possible.
Not that I don't have the money to buy nice things, I just want to see how much I can do on a really small scale.
One thing I won't do is allow any livestock to suffer because of me going cheap.
I'll probably start out with 1-2 fish, then focus on things like copepods and plankton, maybe other critters that are part of the lifecycle.
This will be a very slow process for me as I'll not be adding fish for a few months, and then only a couple.
Maybe after 6-8 months I will DIY and LED light of some sort and try my hand at a coral, probably a leather.
Anyways just wanted to say hello and see if there are any thoughts.
I'm sure there will be folks who don't think I should do things cheap. That's OK!
I've gone the other route before and spent a ton of money, then lost interest - partly because of the continued expenses.
This is me trying something different on a small scale.
One question: Should I start cycling rock and sand now in a tote in the garage - without the microbacter? then add it later?
Or should I wait until I have the additives to start cycling? Does it even matter?
Also, below is a picture of my space (and two of my dogs photobombing)
Greg
