Back in the game, 72g bowfront reef

[stringztoo]

So I used to have a 90g saltwater and a 36g tall reef, this was back from 2000-2003 and since I moved from Orlando to NYC, I haven't been able to find the time or the space to get back into the hobby. This year I got a new apartment and now that the tax return has come, a new tank. I was able to find a pre-drilled 72g bowfront with black pine stand, full wet/dry system, skimmer with waste cylinder, lights and testing kits all for $400. Not a bad deal, right?

So I went ahead and bought my return pump and my skimmer pump, 30 lbs of salt and started to set things up. After about 30 minutes I finally filled the tank up, dried up my mess, and set the lights that came with it on top. (I am thinking of getting either 2-4 strips of TrueLumen LED strips or maybe the AquaticLife compact flourescents with the whole timer and what not) but for now it's the cheaper 4x compact flourescent with 2 blue actinic and 2 whites. Tomorrow is live rock and live sand!

 

[fastrd400]

Very nice looking tank. Will be nice to watch you fill it.

 

[little_fish]

Welcome back to the hobby! And i would say that is a killer deal!

But i would highly suggest you stay away from the compact flouresent lights unless you want to do a FOWLR tank. The t5 or metal halide lights will be so much better for doing a reef.

 

[stringztoo]

:frustrat:
Just found this when I woke up, isolated the wet dry and found a leak... I read that someone fixed a leaky wet dry before with Weld On #16 and #4. Hopefully a trip to Home Depot and a night of drying will get me back on track...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKbAkhGHiao"]YouTube - 2011 03 23 09 54 33 996[/ame]

 

[ErinCahir]

Bummer about the leak.
And +1 little_fish. I'd either go with the LEDs or get a T5/MH fixture.

 

[stringztoo]

Bummer about the leak.
And +1 little_fish. I'd either go with the LEDs or get a T5/MH fixture.

Probably going to go with these because of much less heat and much less power consumption. Plus, much smaller as well.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLYseSHsiiY]YouTube - True Lumen Pro, Spectrum in Action[/ame]

 

[ErinCahir]

Nice. My LFS just started running LEDs on some of their tanks. The guy was very excited about them.

 

[buddy08]

Nice. My LFS just started running LEDs on some of their tanks. The guy was very excited about them.

same here erin, replaced all of their t12's and t5's with LED's and next to go is the MH's.
makes me want LEDs as well.

could some aquarium safe silicone seal the wet dry?

 

[stringztoo]

same here erin, replaced all of their t12's and t5's with LED's and next to go is the MH's.
makes me want LEDs as well.

could some aquarium safe silicone seal the wet dry?

Hit up Home Depot and bought some sealants. Got Goop contact adhesive as well as Lock Tite Marine Epoxy. First I did a layer of Goop contact adhesive on the crack, then after it dried I put a layer of the epoxy on the entire seam (just in case) waited 6 hours for that to dry and then added a final layer of Goop to seal everything up. The Goop dries clear so the epoxy looks kinda ugly but I figure who cares, it's going to be hidden under the stand 99% of the time anyways. Tested it with a half full sump and no leaks. Thank God... now I can buy my live sand and rocks tomorrow.

 

[Bifferwine]

I'm glad you found a fix -- I hope it holds!

 

[buddy08]

seal both sides. Inside and out. Never can be "too safe"

 

[stringztoo]

seal both sides. Inside and out. Never can be "too safe"

I didn't want to chance any type of chemicals inside the sump, so I triple layer sealed the outside. Got my live sand and live rock today as well, aquascaped a little bit as well. Next week I should be getting my Koralia 3 UL 850 gph powerheads. I'm assuming I should wait about 3-4 weeks for this cycle before starting to add damsels?

 

[little_fish]

Your levels will tell you when its ok to add fish. But i wouldnt add a damsel anyways, they are such holy terrors to any new fish. Plus getting them out once you release that you cant add anything else with them in there, is just hateful.

 

[ErinCahir]

+1. Unless you want to keep damsels, in which case you should add them last.

 

[stringztoo]

+1. Unless you want to keep damsels, in which case you should add them last.

Nah, I just wanted to speed up my break in cycle

 

[Bifferwine]

Live fish won't speed up your cycle any more than adding a little bit of fish food to rot will. Do that instead.

 

[stringztoo]

Live fish won't speed up your cycle any more than adding a little bit of fish food to rot will. Do that instead.

Threw in a handful of Shrimp Pellet Formula I was given. Lets see what that does.

 

[Dana42078]

Threw in a handful of Shrimp Pellet Formula I was given. Lets see what that does.

LMAO....watch yer ammonia lvls :shock:

 

[stringztoo]

LMAO....watch yer ammonia lvls :shock:

Sooo... take that it out?

 

[ErinCahir]

Leave it in until you see your ammonia spike nice and high. Then take it out (if you can).