Upgrading to a 40g B...

[Nicknackzz13]

Hey yall

so i started with a 20g marineland, then a 29G now im upgrading finally to the 40G

got some new Arag live reef sand, mixing it with half of my old sand (Month or younger old) took out the very old sand ages ago... recent sand is Fiji pink, the new is Arag reef sand so ill be doing 30lbs of sand, and my 25lbs of live rock which ill be moving from the 2g to the new 40g, lights arent too great but they actually do a good job, T8 Actintic, and a T8 6500k white light which actually keeps my coral happy, (frogspawn, mushrooms and a Goni) then i switch to LEDS at night..

Anywho, heres my tank so far, tomorrow ill be switching everything over so ill update this thread, with new info and pics, also for any beginners out there like me starting out and wants to upgrade or anything youll find some good information in this thread..


So heres what ill be using:

40G breeder, (dollar a Gallon sale at Petco!!!!!! today!!!!) Cost: $128 ($48 on sale)
45g Aqueon quiet flow filter with basic foam cartridge and some other bits to help it all clean) around $30-$40, (Cartridges are expensive
100w Aqueon heater ($25-30bucks)
Live Arag reef sand ($20)
Fiji pink live sand ($20)
25lbs of live rock (prices vary) mines was basically free or cheap cant remember lol
Lights im using arent the best but its a $10 fixture from walmart, with a Blue actintic T8 bulb and ill be using a 6500K white T8 bulb with it, also LEDS at night (best lights would be 10k T5s upwards) for any beginners reading this! but T8s are good for most soft corals, (Duncan, frogspawn, mushrooms, Xenia etc)
Powerhead, Just a basic sunsun 800gph+ powerhead (Ill be adding another but different gph and size) so ill have 1 on each end of the tank for good flow and current..
Hood: Acrylic sheet, which ill be adding 3 pre cut pieces of thin wood for the tank top, with the acrylic sheet on top with the lights to sit snug on.


No sump, PS, or anything, just a hang on the back filter, water changes every 2-3weeks, and thats basically it..

More pics and updates to follow!

 

[CodyRVA]

Nice start! I would definitely consider upgrading your light. Even most LPS will not likely do well in that size tank & light combo. I ran a 4 bulb HO T5 on something similar with success, but was using ATI bulbs. I would also consider a canister vs the hang on filter. Don't let the critics fool you, they work great if you know what you're doing. Best of luck!

 

[Nicknackzz13]

Nice start! I would definitely consider upgrading your light. Even most LPS will not likely do well in that size tank & light combo. I ran a 4 bulb HO T5 on something similar with success, but was using ATI bulbs. I would also consider a canister vs the hang on filter. Don't let the critics fool you, they work great if you know what you're doing. Best of luck!

Thank ya! Appreciator the support!

Yes I have future plans for light upgrades which will be T5s, back in the day they used T12 lighting and it was good, at the moment I have low to moderate lightening coral and honestly they're very small fraga, been doing well under the T5s for a few months now and I'll be upgrading lights sokn after!

More pics and process to come! Last of the salt mix water being mixed!! My desk sure can hold a lot of weight

 

[Nicknackzz13]

started at 7-8am, now complete at around 1130am-12pm

where the tank will be moved too, waited until this day to clean LOL

Got all the water out of my 29g, left in most of the sand but took out a few scoops for safe keeping!! also got my 20g out to save more water!! from the old into the new!

Finally got it all moved into place, thats just a basic desk, then i added my drawers that my 20g (250ibs weight) sat on for awhile, under it so it would be harder to break with the heavier 40g on top!! lol worked great! tank 3q's of the way full!, basically done a 50% water change, added 50 of the old water and 50 new water to the rim!, doing good!

Finally fully filled!, fish were acclimated and corals as well! (they were ticked!) everything going good so far, now just gotta clean up a little and clean the glass inside and out!

OH! caught my Coral banded shrimp, sadly one of her arms/claws came off in the move, apparently they grow back in their next molt? but so far so good, shes doing fine right now!!!

Complete, al cleaned up, sitting watching the water clear up, actually is clearing up every fast, i can see my heater and power-head in the back now and it is 17inches wide front - back, the Arag reef sand said it has less cloudiness once added, apparently its true!


Well thats the upgrade complete, gotta tweek my heater to the correct temp i want it at, my 29g would stay at 80F once it was set to 78F so 2degrees difference, so ill be setting it at 82F and hopefully itll go to 80F if im doing that correctly! (suppose to be best to keep saltwater corals etc at around 82-84F anyways) but i like a temp just under that (78f-80F)


Well the move was successful, no leaks (KNOCK ON WOOD!!) got the 40G on $1 a Gallon sale at Petco (Wouldve cost me $128 any other day)
Using all my equipment that i had in my other tanks, new sand with a quarter mix old sand at the bottom, then the Arag reef sand on top, my 25lbs of purple live rock, 100w heater that supposed to do up to 45Gallons, basic power-head (will be buying another) and of course a DIY lid/hood


so for anyone wondering what all this cost me (Not including the last two tanks i bought)


ROUGHLY $250 little more or less, to make this happen, thats because i got my live rock with my older tank for $110-120bucks with everything
and bought what i needed as i went along, im currently out of work so i done all this unemployed, but once i get into work again very soon, ill make it all back in a few days lol, so i can just ad and gain!


That concludes my build, ill be sticking with this 40g for awhile (Few years) until i decide to upgrade again or add new things etc.. future plans though for this build will be lightening is next for sure! ill be looking into getting T5's not sure which, on a budget at the moment so wont be very soon, but soon enough!


PS: the tank is running with just a 45g filter, with media, No sump, no reactors, protein skimmers or any of that, i believe you can successfully keep a saltwater aquarium without these other things and save money doing so, aslong as you do weekly/fortnightly water changes (Ill be doing about 30%) every 2-3wks and keep up with your maintenance then everything should be fine!..

i came along way from 2months ago not having a clue what to do, to knowing a lot, from research to advice from people and fish shops, any beginners reading this and think it may seem daunting, it isnt! but the work and money needed is worth it in the long run!




Will update this thread daily for awhile on the progress of the new tank, corals, fish and next water change!! and pics!!


thanks

 

[Nicknackzz13]

btw, the pink sheets on the bed and kitty calendar on my wall is my wifes lol

 

[CodyRVA]

Looking good, don't worry about the shrimp, the arms grow back. I had to remove a coral banded for eating basically everything in my tank and stressed it in the process and it lost both large arms, eventually grew back.

 

[Nicknackzz13]

I'm sure she'll be okay, all is well in nemos reef! Haha.

Hardy little shrimp, slow but fast when they wanna be, I'd give her her arm back but she might hate me for it!

 

[Nicknackzz13]

has anyone got experience with these LEDS? they look awesome and from youtube, they do a good job for corals an are really intense! they look awesome!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00INM0J1M?psc=1

 

[CodyRVA]

has anyone got experience with these LEDS? they look awesome and from youtube, they do a good job for corals an are really intense! they look awesome!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00INM0J1M?psc=1

Create a new thread under lighting, someone out there can probably supply some info.