hey guys so i have a quick up date , ive went and did all my water tests but i cant find one around here for mg so ill have to hope for the best untill i can order one soon.



before i supplemented with instant ocean my water was as follows and this is natural seawater with me doing nothing but raising the temp.


salinity- 1.012
amonia- 0
nitrite- 0
nitrate- 0-5
phos-0
alk-7
cal-380
mg-???



as the salt was only at .012 i had to add some so i added instant ocean it was the only salt available to me here and after i added the salt this is where i stood.


salinity-1.025
amonia-0
nitrite-0
nitrate-0-5
phos-0
alk-9
calcium-460
mg-????(im assuming around where it should be)



today i started to run carbon in the tank and added a handfull of established sand to my refuge to kick start the bacteria into reproducing.


ive also added a couple yellow tail chromis as my tester fish and will be monitoring them closely over the next week or two. so far they seem very happy and are eating some flke food soaked in garlic. they were also very healthy looking and i got the two i thought were most active and responsive.within minutes after acclimation they were swimming about and eager for food and attention.they come to the top alot looking for flake so i believe they are familiar with people.



to help on the build up cost i am bying a tank from some one here locally its a 55g with all kinds of goodies including 75-100 lbs of live rock .....350 but a 7 hr drive so i will be taking lots of rubber maids with me and a heaters/ powerheads.....there are only two fish and no corals so im not worried to muc about casualties. the cost of the rock i need from an lfs is more then it is to buy this whole set up so i figured tim to start playing it smart;);)


the pet store here has also agreed to get me some mangroves as i noticed they had some on stash out back but the are not for sale and after some begging he has agreed to order me in a bunch with their next order.....:) sweet so now i will be plumbing a mangrove trough into the tank and toilet sump:):)



heres the pics hope you enjoy:)



http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1300999418


http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1300999513


http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1300999418


http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1300999513



http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1300999513

Its good to see it coming together Denny, love the black sand

thanks john shes a slow progress but its coming together, i have the stand enclosed now and im gonna start looking for some cool stone work for the shell. both fish are really doing awesome and i have a pile of stuff coming soon from another set up.

im gonna try my hand at a diy reactor and a diy fragtank now the once and my roomate is setting up her own tank she will use the 55g im buying next week and start from there.....



i also have something really really cool cooking up, my roomates mom has an old fishplant bin its about 6 ' cube and is sealed tight i want to cut it down in height to around 24" and set it up some how lol :):) hehehehe

would go small rays if i did:)

nice setup denny

Nice to see you salty again =)

Now just imagine the resale value if you made a steel stand and new canopy? Just sayin :lol:

looking good Denny.

I have a Sal. mag test kit if you wanna borrow...it's past exp. by a month but should still be good..

thanks friend, im going to be placing an online order soon and i will get one then but if it turns out to be a long time then i will def take you up on that:):)


wouldnt mind coming to see your set up here one of these nights too , nice to get some feedback from those here who have them running already:):)

cheers buddy:)

nice to finally have a set up that hasnt cost me a fortune or constant planning thats for sure , but i have some plans for growing the system bigger so we will see how that goes and ill have to learn to budget a little better:)


today im enclosing the sump around and building a stand for my roomates tank all the tanks will be one huge system sharing the same sump,refuge and mangrove trough. then i will be putting some sort of stone or tile around it all and then we are gona do the room its self with a nice couch and lots of plants plus all my guitar crap lol:):)

thanks little buddy the cube is slowly growing on me as im starting to enjoy the design, how ever i know a much larger tank will be built as soon as this one and the room is done:):) cheers!!:)

you're going to be placing an online order soon? Let us know when , will you Denny? then we can get in on it too! I'd love to come down and see your setup some time soon. I'm really interested in your mangrove trough - it's something I've been interested in for a long time too.

The rums are on me tonight that's for sure... I had to correct my spelling like 100 times for sure! God help you all if you had to read my original post!