Fatman's 20 Long Reef

F

Fatman

New member
I am in the process of setting up my first reef tank. Originally I was going to use a 20 high that I had sitting around, but last night I lucked into a super cheap (and brand new) 20 long. This is what I've go so far...

Filtration:
Marineland HOT Magnum filter
Red Sea Prizm skimmer

Lighting:
48 watt T5HO fixture with 1 450nm Actinic bulb and 1 10,000K bulb

Substrate:
About 1/2" of Argonite sand

Rock:
I've got about 10 pounds of base rock right now
I'm looking for about 10-15 pounds of liverock

Livestock:
Not sure exactly what I'll be looking for, but probably some mushrooms, zoas, leather corals, ect...
Still looking into a clean up crew as well.
Fish-wise I probably go with a pair of Ocellaris Clownfish

Let me know if you're wondering about something I've left out. I'm sure there are more than a few things lol.

I've also got a couple questions though. I live in the Downers Grove/Westmont area and am fairly new to the area. I was wondering where a good place to get large quantities of RO water is? I'm also wondering what places have a nice selection of livestock and some nice liverock? I've been to Scott's but wasn't impressed. I've also been to Tropi-Quatics, but that was for FW supplies so I haven't really looked much at their SW livestock.
 
FishBeard

FishBeard

New member
I may have a pair of ocellaris clowns available. They came as part of the 60g cube I bought this past weekend. I already have a really cute pair of clowns in our 14g biocube that I want to move over into the 60, and not sure I want to move the pair in the 60 over to the nano. Definitely dont want to keep 2 pairs of clowns in the one tank thou.

For large quantities of RO/DI, definitely just invest in the filtration system and make it yourself. It will pay off in the long run.
 
scotty

scotty

Member
couple things.

:wel1:

scott's is crap dont go back.

Tropi-Quatics is pretty loved in the salt guys, i have yet to have anything die from them, and i have had stuff die from other places. make the trip over again they run deals all the time on stuff like ricordia, which you put on there as something you wanting. they also will give you RO even salt premixed, for a cost obviously. give them 10 bucks to be a member, and i have yet to see cheaper salt mix, i got a 50lb bag for 10 bucks, 10 bucks!

they price match too if you probe a little.

MCF is impressive, i didnt buy anything but i did look at absolutely everything, twice.

and finally PICTURES!
 
EricTheRed

EricTheRed

No, I'm not a communist..
Thanks for the tip about Tropic-Quatics....looks like they will be added to the itinerary of my next road trip :)

Craig,
First...WELCOME!!
Second, I'm not 100% familiar with the stores in your area, but I do know of one in North Aurora, which should only be a few minutes from you. The store, Reef Plus, is small but the owner, Steve, is very helpful. Even though the selection is limited due to the size of the store, his prices are really good and he seems to turn over his inventory pretty quickly so there always seems to be new pieces.
 
F

Fatman

New member
Thanks for the tips guys.

Here's some pics of what I've got so far. Hoping to get a day off this week to get everything setup and going.

Went with an Odysea light. I've got a couple of their older model lights and they work great. Just as good as my hagen glo fixtures.


Think it makes the tank look really good.


At this point I realized that I had forgotten the background...


Much better

 
F

Fatman

New member
Yep definitely a 20 Long (30"x12"x12"). I've got a 40 breeder across the room from this tank. Maybe once I get the new plants in it I'll post some pics in the FW section w/ my other tanks.
 
scotty

scotty

Member
has to be the angle then cause it looks so thick, im looking at mine in the basement (waiting on $1 gallon days for my 40 breeder) and doesn't look that thick.

you trickster you.....
 
F

Fatman

New member
scotty said:
has to be the angle then cause it looks so thick, im looking at mine in the basement (waiting on $1 gallon days for my 40 breeder) and doesn't look that thick.

you trickster you.....
Click to expand...
Lol, must have been that high angle.

Just ordered my own RO/DI unit from BRS. Just waiting for it to get here to actually start up this tank.
 
F

Fatman

New member
Smitty said:
The set up is looking good so far bro. :)
Click to expand...
Thanks!

The RO/DI system came in the mail today. Super easy to setup and it hooks right on to my utility sink. The system can do 75gpd and it takes about an hour and 40 minutes to fill a 5 gallon bucket. Plan on mixing my salt tonight (bought a paint mixer) and letting it sit with a powerhead or circulation pump over night. It'll be nice to get some water in this tank and actually get it running.

Bouncing around some stocking ideas right now. I'll be sure to update once I get a rough idea of what I want to go with.
 
F

Fatman

New member
MMreefcrazy said:
Nice looking build,what kind of RO/DI system did you get? I am looking finally to get one.
Click to expand...
I picked up a this model from Bulk Reef Supply ( http://bit.ly/lQ5vxG ). Found a very similar one on Ebay for cheaper, but the BRS one is way better quality.

*edit*
Think I have a basic idea for stocking this tank now.
Fish:
1 Firefish
2 Neon Gobys
1 Ocellaris Clownfish

CUC:
1 Cleaner Shrimp
1 Emerald Crab
2 Nerite Snails
Then I'll probably wait about 9 months to a year before getting a Linckia sea star.

Sessile inverts:
Pacific Rose Coral (Trachyphyllia radiata)
Ricordea (Ricordea florida)
Mushroom Polyps
Zoanthids
Xenia Coral
Clove Polyps
If everything else is doing ok then I might try Bali Green Acropora (Acropora yongei) as well.

Money will dictate how fast I'll actually be able to get this tank stocked, but hopefully I'll get the LR in here this week and a CUC in not long afterwards.
 
scotty

scotty

Member
thats an RO unit,there is no DI on it, thats why its not 150 bucks, the De-ionizer is really expensive.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top