Upcoming 36 gal Bowfront reef build

bigjepp · Dec 30, 2020

First time saltwater tank
- Top Fin 36 gallon bowfront tank
- Fluval 307 Canister filter
- 35 lbs of dry reef rock
- Heater, power heads, and new lighting on the way
- Will be adding live sand and water to begin cycle soon, any advice appreciated

nereefpat · Dec 30, 2020

Welcome!

What are your plans for the tank? Reef?

bigjepp · Dec 30, 2020

nereefpat said:
Welcome!

What are your plans for the tank? Reef?

Thank you! Glad to be here.
Yes, it’s going to be a reef tank but I won’t be adding corals until the tank is very stabile, I’m thinking about doing the 4-month cycle but any advice is appreciated. I plan to start with a pair of clowns and a yellow watchman goby with a cleaner shrimp.

count krunk · Dec 30, 2020

Do you want this thread to be your build thread? If so a mod could move it for you. Linking it in your profile under the right area gets you the build thread contributor badge.

nereefpat · Dec 30, 2020

Clowns, goby, and cleaner shrimp is a great start.

I'm not sure what a 4-month cycle is? It should only take a month or so. You'll have to add some source of ammonia.

I would add a black background

count krunk · Dec 30, 2020

First thought is that those lights do not look sufficient. What are they?

count krunk · Dec 30, 2020

Ahh I see new equipment is on the way. What equipment did you get?

bigjepp · Dec 30, 2020

count krunk said:
Do you want this thread to be your build thread? If so a mod could move it for you. Linking it in your profile under the right area gets you the build thread contributor badge.

Definitely, I tried to add the build thread tag but I’m new here so not sure how everything works quite yet, thanks!

bigjepp · Dec 30, 2020

count krunk said:
Ahh I see new equipment is on the way. What equipment did you get?

2 Cheap heaters, 2 Hydor Koralia power heads ( 1 240gph , 1 565 gph), Ocean Revive T247B

bigjepp · Dec 30, 2020

nereefpat said:
Clowns, goby, and cleaner shrimp is a great start.

I'm not sure what a 4-month cycle is? It should only take a month or so. You'll have to add some source of ammonia.

I would add a black background

Here is where I saw the 4-month cycle:
I am looking into adding the black background right now, what’s the best way to go about that?

count krunk · Dec 30, 2020

I would get a heater controller, like the inkbird, for those two heaters

count krunk · Dec 30, 2020

Spray paint makes a great background

bigjepp · Dec 30, 2020

count krunk said:
I would get a heater controller, like the inkbird, for those two heaters

Okay, is there any heaters you would recommend? I could always downgrade these to my RODI water storage if I were to upgrade

count krunk · Dec 30, 2020

BRS has videos on the subject. Generally what they sell is decent at worse. I just got 150w jagers from them as my cobalt neotherm failed and doesn't heat anymore.

They are doing the job.

bigjepp · Jan 4, 2021

nereefpat said:
Welcome!

What are your plans for the tank? Reef?

count krunk said:
Ahh I see new equipment is on the way. What equipment did you get?

Hey guys, I'm going to be grabbing a few more things today. Im not quite sure which sand to get. I will most likely be getting caribsea arag-alive sand as thats whats on sale near me but I am not sure which grain to get and how much I will need. I really like the bahamas oolite look but have read the horror stories of cloud storms so I was leaning towards the fiji pink. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

bigjepp · Jan 4, 2021

Also the light came in so I will be posting pics of that soon

Reeferman47 · Jan 4, 2021

Nice! I'm glad you got into the hobby! Some nice first additions are a pair of clowns and a shrimp. I would put some Fritz Turbo-start Saltwater. The fish will be the source of ammonia. I hope this helps you out in the first couple months of your tank. I hope the tank goes well for you.

-Reeferman47

bigjepp · Jan 4, 2021

Reeferman47 said:
Nice! I'm glad you got into the hobby! Some nice first additions are a pair of clowns and a shrimp. I would put some Fritz Turbo-start Saltwater. The fish will be the source of ammonia. I hope this helps you out in the first couple months of your tank. I hope the tank goes well for you.

-Reeferman47

Hey there! I appreciate the support, everything seems to be coming along nicely. I'm planning to begin the cycle in a few days with Dr. Tims one and only. Would you be able to recommend a caribsea grain size for my substrate? I am also shopping for an affordable ato so any recommendations there would be great. Thanks in advance!

bigjepp · Jan 5, 2021

UPDATE: Ocean Revive T247 lighting came in and it’s looking great. Too bad I’ll have to turn it off for a while during my cycle. I could use advice on the intensity levels at some point from anyone that has any experience with this light or general recommendations. I’ll try to look around and find a par meter because I understand that is the best method. The other equipment came in as well, 1 565gph Hydor Koralia powerhead and 1 20 Lbs bag of Fiji Pink Caribsea Arab-alive. I have also been curing my dry reef rock with some bacteria in a 30 gallon brute with a heater and power head. Still no black background but we will get there.