Jumping back in

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Jmick007

New member
Hi all, back into the hobby after a 4 year hiatus & I'm thrilled to have stumbled onto this site this morning, see some familiar names. Currently finishing up my very large stand for my 50g rimless starfire tank to house my 40g sump/refugium & top off system & whatever else I need to store. Have 60lbs of dry rock in garage waiting to start my cycle and was thinking to go with a DSB but due to tank only being 16” high, might go with one inch and build an algae scrubber for nutrient export (still need to buy a skimmer, any recommendations would be appreciated).

I’m in the Bartlett area and if there are any local reefers who could donate or sell me some live sand to help me seed it once I’m up and going (in a week or so) I would be very appreciative.
My previous tanks were all SPS dominated and they did very well, but my job took me out of town far too often and my anxiety levels were off the chart, so I took a break. Haha, biggest downside was when my wife tossed all my equipment, thinking it was garbage but on the bright-side, have been able to upgrade virtually everything and the “new” LED systems are killer!
J
 
J

Jmick007

New member
Stand is almost complete, still need to build doors (no hurry, more space to access stand is beneficial now) and tank is filled & running & once lights are hung I'll almost be done. Few pics of progress so far & yes, my carpentry skills are iffy but think it looks ok. Waiting on refractometer to arrive & still need my skimmer but Gonna experiment with algae scrubber till I get it. Might seed it in a few weeks, bought rocks dry but not bleached.

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J

Jmick007

New member
Quick update, tank has been running a few weeks and is starting to cycle, have a nice diatom bloom going...looks terrible but it'll pass. Started seeding with live rock last week, been buying few pounds here and there from various stores to maximize biodiversity (at least the concept seems to make sense) and I gotta say, the rock from Sho Tank up in Mundelein was crazy good and kind inexpensive, for sure filling my sump with their stuff. Was pretty happy with all the stores i've hit so far, only one left me shaking my head, won't name names but damn it was bad.

Also, my algae scrubber is starting to grow turf on it, gonna be interesting to see how much nutrients it'll export but still planning on a skimmer at some point. If anyone has a recommendation on one rated around 100-150 gallons I'd appreciate it...was thinking Bubble Magus Curve 5 or Reef Octo.
 
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