ckiel24's 120 gallon

ckiel24's 110 gallon

Let me start out by introducing my self. My name is Craig and I am an aquariumholic :-X. I started out with a 30 gallon fresh water setup (still going strong) with 2 african cichlids about a year and a half ago. About 4 months ago I ended up getting a 110 gallon predrilled aquarium from a local guy on a trade. I knew instantly I was going to go salt water this setup. My initial plan was to go fish only but once I got the tank cycled and fish in it, I changed my mind. It just seemed to empty and not enough life. I then stumbled accross this wonderful [STRIKE]hobby[/STRIKE] way of life: REEF KEEPING ;D.


I started out by picking the tank, stand, and lights up.



After I got the tank cleaned up (it was a fresh water tank that held a big catfish) it was time for a test fill.

NO LEAKS ;D


Then after many arguments with the wife it was time to bring it in the house and fill it up and salt her down.





then comes the sand (word of advise to all other newbies, if you use south down sand, be sure to clean it before dumping it in the tank!)



I then through in some shrimp and fed the tank for 6 weeks and started to get some algae growth so I added fish (remember, I was going FO).
My clown (Nemo, DUH!) and Yellow tail damsel in the background:







And as the tank stood then...



Then I decided FO sucks, I WANT ROCKS! So last weekend I headed up to Premium Aquatics and picked up ~90 pounds of base rock and 3.5 pounds of live rock rubble. This is how she stands now...




I still have a long way to go but I am having so much fun in the process. I am currently running skimmerless as I have a very low bio-load but will add a skimmer here before to long. I also still need to get some better lighting as my T5's arent going to cut it and I want more of a blue tint then I have now. More updates to come tonight when I replace my current sump setup for one that isnt so bulky as my current rubbermaid container.

 

Good stuff! Keep us posted!

 

Looks good Craig. Got a question, what kind of water did you use when setting this thing up? Tap? RO? RO/DI? Just curious...

How about some equipment pictures? ;D

 

Tap unfortunetly. I am hoping to get a RO/DI unit with my next paycheck here on friday... We'll see what the wife says

I'll get my DIY filter setup posted once I get home.

 

Well I changed over my sump but the new one is way to small. I like the fact that its alot easier to work on now but really does not hold enough water. Anyways, I'll run it like this for now but will be changing it around again here soon. BTW dont laugh to hard at my DIY wet/dry lol. I had the thing sitting around and makes it very easy to work on.


Also... My sand is now ALIVE!!!!

 

Welcome to the reef..

 

Thanks! Lots and lots of good info here and everyone seems to be nice (so far )

 

Please elaborate more on that wet/dry rubbermaid container you got there.

 

Well I originally found this link: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_wet_dry.php

I took what this guy did and slghtly modified it to fit my needs and to use stuff I already had around the house. I had bought a package deal and ended up with alot of extra filter pieces for my fresh water tank but was for a different filter then I had. So in the top drawer I have my biological filtration (some bead things made for a canister filter of some kind), the middle drawer I am running my chemical filtration (activated carbon), and in my bottom drawer have my mechanical filtration with my sponges. Each drawer has holes drilled in the bottom of them and drips through each one down to my sump. It is far from a perfect setup but seems to be working for now. I am going to be changing things around now that Im learning more and will change over to a better setup. I am just not sure what way I would like to go yet.

 

Good to see the tank, hate to hear you have class with KOgle

Make sure you get that RO/DI unit up and running fast because tap water is going to cause you a lot of problems down the road that you won't see right now.