My 46g Bow Front Tank by Sakura2282

Welcome!

This is my first attempt with a saltwater aquarium. I have three fish 1 royal dottyback and 2 black clownfish, 4 soft corals (LPS) and 3 red mushroom and some invertebrates. So far this have been a great experience, I've learned a lot about this hobby and the lives I'm currently taking care of.

Videos

Equipment

Tank Description.

46 Gallon Bow Front Tank (36.4" x 16.4" x 21.9") with glass lid.

Lighting.

Marineland's Reef LED Lighting System with Integrated Timer 10,000K White & 460nm Actinic Blue LED's 1 watt give you full control of the daytime and lunar light cycle. Marineland has managed to get in almost twice as many LED's as the Double Bright LED system. Flexible mounting system allows the adjustable mounting legs to adjust to a variety of aquarium widths.
New Integrated Timer - Controls Daytime & Lunar Settings
50,000 Lifetime Hours - 10,000K White & 460nm Actinic Blue LED's
Energy Efficient 1 Watt LED's doesnt require bulb replacement
LEDs Mimics underwater “shimmer” effect of natural sunlight and lunar settings
Reef LED Adjustable Light Fixtures - WITH TIMER:
Adjusts 36" - 48" - (36) White 1 Watt LEDs & (6) Blue 1 Watt LEDs - 2610 Lumens

LED Reef Hoods have the correct spectral output and intensity for Reef Aquariums. Integrated heat sink incorporates an innovative aluminum housing that pulls heat away from the LED's and aquarium. Specifically designed polycarbonate lens to maximize light penetration within the aquarium. Optimized for use in reef aquariums.

Marineland Reef Capable LED Lighting System - WITH TIMER Aquarium LED Light Fixtures

RO/DI System.

The BRS 5 Stage PLUS Reverse Osmosis/Deionization System includes all the essential features necessary to start making pure RO/DI water at 75 gallons per day. Plus an air-filled pressure gauge, membrane flush kit and Dual Inline TDS meter.

5 Stages of Filtration:
Purtrex 5 micron depth sediment filter
MATRIKX CTO/2 5 micron carbon block
MATRIKX+1 0.6 micron carbon block
75 GPD Dow Filmtec Membrane
Single Deionization(DI) stage with refillable cartridge

BRS 5 Stage PLUS RO/DI System - 75GPD - Bulk Reef Supply

Powerheads.
1 Koralia Evolution Powerhead 1050 gph, 1 Koralia Evolution Powerhead 850 gph.

Heater.
1 300 watts heater.

Filtration.

30 pounds of Live rock
1 Marineland Emperor 400 Power FilterInhabitants.

Fish
1 Blue Eye Royal Dottyback, 2 juveniles blackclownfish,

Black & White Ocellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)

Minimum Tank Size: 20 gal.
Maximum Length: 3"
Care Level: Easy
Temperament: Semi-agressive
Family: Pomacentridae
Color: Black, Orange, White
Reef Compatibility: Yes
Origen: Tank Bred
Diet: Omnivore
Water Conditions: 75-80° F; sg 1.024-1.026 (1.025 is ideal); pH 8.1-8.4 Ca 420-440 ppm, Alk 8-9.5 dKH, Mg 1260-1350, Nitrates <10ppm, Phosphates, < .10ppm

Blue Eye Bicolor Pseudochromis (Pseudochromis paccagnellae)

Minimum Tank Size: 30 gal.
Maximum Length: 3"
Care Level: Easy
Temperament: Semi-agressive
Family: Pseudochromidae
Color: Purple, Yellow
Reef Compatibility: Yes
Origen: Indo Pacific
Diet: Carnivore
Water Conditions: 72-78° F; sg. 1.024-1.026 (1.025 is ideal); pH 8.1-8.4

Corals and Mushrooms: 1 mushroom, 1 Hammer Coral with 2 heads, 1 Starburst Polyp or Green Star Polyp, 1 Trumpet Candy Cane Coral, 1 Duncan with 5 heads

Invertebrates: 2 Astraea Turbo Snails, 1 Nassarius Snail, 1 Banded Brittle Star, 1 emerald crab.

Looking good so far!

Tank and Stand

I bought my tank in a local LFS. It was the biggest tank that I could afford at that moment, and I just love it. The tank was my first purchase when I decided to give it a try to this hobby. I remember going into the store with my brother the first time for curiosity and when I saw the saltwater fish and the corals I started to become more interested in them. That's how I ended up buying the tank a few months later.

After I bought the tank and with the frenzy of the moment. I realized that I had forgotten that I'll needed a special stand for it. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the store for a tank that size and shape. So I went to the Internet and did a lot of search on google until I found the website of Drs. Forster and Smith. And when I saw they had the stand for my tank I was both happy and relief. I surfed the site and read the reviews about the stand. Then, I did some more search about the company because I'd never heard of them, but they are really good. Finally, I was very happy with my purchase.

A good advice in this hobby is to look around a lot before you buy something. If you do it, you will find a lot of good deals in different places on the Internet. I'll also recommend to choose ground delivery every time you can and specially for big and heavy items because of the low fee they charge, and it usually arrives sooner than they say it will do.

stagofdoom said:

Looking good so far!

Click to expand...

Thank you for those words. They help me to keep going :D.

Very nice

It looks like a great start! Do you only have one fish so far?

Thanks and yes. My fish doesn't have a month yet and I'm waiting for it to add a pair of blackclowns that my brother wants. I have no rush now lol. It makes me happy so far.

Sakura2282 said:

Thanks and yes. My fish doesn't have a month yet and I'm waiting for it to add a pair of blackclowns that my brother wants. I have no rush now lol. It makes me happy so far.

Click to expand...

The best advice for this hobby is dont rush anything, so youre definitely off to a good start on that.

Thanks! And It wasn't easy, but I'm so happy I've been patient lol.

Pukani Rocks

One of the most important decisions I had to make, was choosing the rock for my tank. After a lot searching and reading I went with the Pukani Rock from BRS. I really liked the rock, the pieces they sent me were above my expectations. I wanted to be able to made some nice caves on them for my fish and I did. It was almost eight to ten hours of work, but worth it.

These are some pictures of my rocks before they were what they are now.



These rocks have a lot day off on them because of this they need to be cured properly. To have the rocks ready for my aquarium I put them in my tank with saltwater, a powerhead and a heater. Then I covered the tank with some blankets to avoid the light from reaching it. And finally, I left them like that for a month. When doing these process I bought my API test kit and did some tests to the water every two days. I never changed the water during this process maybe some people do, but I didn't.

A month later, when I believe my nitrites when down, the water was turned from a clear color to a green/yellow, and the smell was really strong too. I took them out of the water. And because the smell was still on my tank I cleaned it with a mix of fresh water and vinegar. I left it like that for a few minutes and then washed out the tank with a lot fresh water.

Then, I used the saltwater that I had already prepared to fill the tank again. I also wash the rock with the new saltwater before I put them back.

Nice tank :)

Powerheads:

I have a Hydor Koralia Circulation and Wave Pump 1150 gph in my tank for flow and I must say that it'is really good. It was hard for me at the beginning to place it in the right spot. I remember my sand bed been disturbing by the flow and having dead spots in the tank too, but not anymore.

Thanks to the many questions that people post on this forum and the great answers, I was able to find out what a dead spot is :mrgreen:. I found mine, after watching the places in my tank where the detritus were accumulating.

The movement on the water surface is very important to keep the oxygen levels in the tank. For that reason, before having my HOB filter I used to move the head of my powerhead, just to let the flow reach the surface. I noticed, that when It has a good movement on it, the PH goes up.

RO/DI System:

This is one of the best investments that anyone who wants to start in this hobby have to think in making. It was one of my expensive purchases but If you are planning being in this hobby more than a year, you should buy one. I believe that making your own pure water is better than having to purchase it from a LFS or any other place.

One of the thoughts that made me buy it was that I don't have a sump so I have to do weekly water changes of 10% to keep my tank running. By the way, you need good water pressure so it can reach its potential of 75 gallons of pure water per day.

As you can see for the pictures, the set up for the RO/DI system I have is very simple nothing fancy, just a bucket for the pure water. But I have two large bins to store the water from the bucket. The unit came ready to use so I just needed to connect the red line into my water supply, the black line to the sink drain and the blue line that's the pure water goes into the bucket.

Note: I bought it during a holiday sale especial, so I saved 10% of the total price.

The BRS 5 Stage PLUS Reverse Osmosis/Deionization System includes all the essential features necessary to start making pure RO/DI water at 75 gallons per day. Plus an air-filled pressure gauge, membrane flush kit and Dual Inline TDS meter.

5 Stages of Filtration:
Purtrex 5 micron depth sediment filter
MATRIKX CTO/2 5 micron carbon block
MATRIKX+1 0.6 micron carbon block
75 GPD Dow Filmtec Membrane
Single Deionization(DI) stage with refillable cartridge

BRS 5 Stage PLUS RO/DI System - 75GPD - Bulk Reef Supply

Your tank is looking good. What lights are you running?

Lights:

During my research I found that lights are one of the most important things you need to grow corals. In one of the LFS that I visited they sell the coraline actinic lights, the marineland reef capable, and the aqueon led aqurium light. They all were pretty expensive. The most expensive were the Marineland Reef Capable for $500. I came home I look for those lights because they come with the moonlights plus the timer. I found them for only $226 so I saved money and bought them.

I have no idea if they are good for SPS or LPS, but I can tell you that they're really bright, the timer is easy to set up and my tank looks great with them. The lights reach the bottom of the tank pretty well.

They came preprogrammed, but It was too much light for the tank, and I was having problems with algae blooms, so I changed it.

My program is this:

Blue LEDs only at 8:00 AM
Blue and White LEDs at 9:00 AM
Blue LEDs only (white off) at 7:00 PM
All LEDs OFF at 8:00 PM

These are the specifications of the lights:

Marineland's Reef LED Lighting System with Integrated Timer give you full control of the daytime and lunar light cycle. Marineland has managed to get in almost twice as many LED's as the Double Bright LED system. Flexible mounting system allows the adjustable mounting legs to adjust to a variety of aquarium widths.

New Integrated Timer - Controls Daytime & Lunar Settings
50,000 Lifetime Hours - 10,000K White & 460nm Actinic Blue LED's
Energy Efficient 1 Watt LED's doesnt require bulb replacement
LEDs Mimics underwater “shimmer” effect of natural sunlight and lunar settings
Reef LED Adjustable Light Fixtures - WITH TIMER:
Adjusts 18" - 24" - (18) White 1 Watt LEDs & (3) Blue 1 Watt LEDs - 1305 Lumens
Adjusts 24" - 36" - (23) White 1 Watt LEDs & (4) Blue 1 Watt LEDs - 1670 Lumens
Adjusts 36" - 48" - (36) White 1 Watt LEDs & (6) Blue 1 Watt LEDs - 2610 Lumens
Adjusts 48" - 60" - (46) White 1 Watt LEDs & (8) Blue 1 Watt LEDs - 3340 Lumens

LED Reef Hoods have the correct spectral output and intensity for Reef Aquariums. Integrated heat sink incorporates an innovative aluminum housing that pulls heat away from the LED's and aquarium. Specifically designed polycarbonate lens to maximize light penetration within the aquarium. Optimized for use in reef aquariums.

Marineland Reef Capable LED Lighting System - WITH TIMER Aquarium LED Light Fixtures

I have a glass lid on my tank, that helps me with the evaporation and also to protect the lights from the water. The lights don't cause overheat in the tank. The top of the lights can get very hot, but not where the led lights are locate. Thanks to this, I haven't had problems with keeping stable the temperature in the tank.

More pictures...

Looking real good so far!

Your tank is looking great Sakura. I am just starting out also so it is very helpful to read your thread also.

Thank you both for your words of support. It hasn't been easy, but just looking at it makes me feel proud of myself and very happy.

Filtration.

I bought an Emperor 400 HOB filter because I didn't have enough money for a skimmer and even knowing they were nitrates factory I took the risk. But, so far I've learned how to deal with it. I clean it every two weeks (only if I know that I didn't overfeed my fish) or every week. I don't have the money for a HOB skimmer but I want the Reef Octopus 1000 HOB. I do not have a sump.

I have some dry rock rubble curing to put in the Emperor to help with the filtration. And I bought 20 more pounds of rock that are waiting to be cured. I definitely need more rock in my tank.

I like the amount of water that the emperor moves in the tank it helps a lot because I only have one powerhead, still waiting to buy the other one.

If you keep it clean you will avoid the massive algae outbreaks. I test my parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrates, PH, salinity) frequently to make sure they are were they are supposed to.