help a 150g newb - let's do this reef together

[jon in alberta]

Hey there,

I need all the help I can get.

Purchased my equipment 2nd hand from kijiji and want to start a reef tank.

Here's a pic and some instructions I have received thus far.



filled it with water - hooray it doesn't leak!

here are my steps ...

1) Clean the inside of the tank with Vinegar and water.

2) Fill with regular water and let it sit for 24-28 hours.

3) Drain

4) Rinse the gravel in buckets to get all the small silt and branches out. (Caribsea Gravel)

5) Put gravel in the tank smooth out so it is level. (if you mess with it when the water is in you get a big silt storm and may have to wait days before you can see in the tank again.

6) Fill with Treated Water – turn on all your pumps and check for leaks in the system.

7) Add salt and bring to correct salinity and temperature

8) Add Base Rock and Live Rock.

9) Let the system run for 3 weeks before adding anything except a few snails. Run the lights for only 4 hours a day to let everything balance. Make sure the skimmer is running to pull out any silt and **** from the water.

10) Slowly add fish after 4-5 weeks. Only add a few fish first and let the system balance then add more.

11) Try some easy corals like LPS first then move to SPS corals after about 4 months when all your parameters are in check. Calcium, ALK, PH.

[reefwars]

sounds like you got grasp on it for sure just a couple of suggestions either buy new sand or rinse about 200 times and if your going to add sand first then make sure your rock touches the glass on the bottom i would personally go with new sand though.no light needed for cycling and watch your phosphates and nitrates as they are hard to get rid of when they are high but easy to control when the tank is new cheers mate and welcome to the salty world any q's just fire away

[lpsreefer]

Nice start. Welcome to canreef.

[reefwars]

alot of people put eggcrate under there rock and then fill in and around with sand afterwards...heres a trick to no sand storm:

take a length of pvc or abs ppe(the wider diameter the better) cut it at a length where it can go all the way to the bottom of the tank , keeping the pipe straight so the bottom is flush fill the pipe with sand, slowly lift the pipe and your sand will come out slowly, you can also have sand where you want it in any amount without a dust storm, but rinse the sand first


if your adiment on putting the sand in before rock then put all the sand in and cover with a garbage bag and use dinner plates to hold the bag down, pour the water over the bag ,when the tank is full lift plates and bag slowly and then add rock

[reefwars]

dont forget to level the stand as you fill

[eli@fijireefrock.com]

welcome to canreef,you sure picked the right forum to share your build.
From looking at the photo you provided one thing I don't like is your foam pad looks old and beat up I would get a thicker pad and a heavier gauge. From experience I like using the egg crate glued to the bottom of the tank as it gives support for your rock work, for filling the tank I would place the sand on the egg crate and have the RO hose right into the tank, yes it will take a couple days to fill but slowly without any storms . Enjoy your build.

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by Elias@caco3reef.com

welcome to canreef,you sure picked the right forum to share your build.
From looking at the photo you provided one thing I don't like is your foam pad looks old and beat up I would get a thicker pad and a heavier gauge. From experience I like using the egg crate glued to the bottom of the tank as it gives support for your rock work, for filling the tank I would place the sand on the egg crate and have the RO hose right into the tank, yes it will take a couple days to fill but slowly without any storms . Enjoy your build.

+1 i use the pink 1" rigid styrofoam

[reefwars]

before you fill with water consider beefing up that stand a bit remember theres gonna be over a 1000lbs of water alone in a 150g tank do a search on here for stands theres some good designs to follow

[mark]

not sure what's in the overflow but have you put thoughts toward plumbing? If you need more holes/bulkheads obviously easier before the water added

[jon in alberta]

Thanks everyone.

Re: the styrofoam - yeah good call. I messed it up a little retrofitting the stand into the opening.

re: the support - I have a carpenter friend who said that what I have will likely do the trick. I still am thinking about cross-bracing some of those legs. Quick calc puts the weight of water at ~1300 lbs!

re: the plumbing - gotcha - that is my next step: I plan to drain it now and start punching holes in the wall to the right side. That will take me back into the laundry room (with a floor drain) where the sump will be.

My work pace: I hate to say this but this will probably take me a long time. unfortunately my regular job is keeping me really busy. So if I don't post for a while .. i haven't forgotten - I'm just busy!