Claic's 30 Reef Revival: ~Growth Shots~ 1-3-2011

Well after I thought about it and really researched hardcore I decided to go ahead and set the tank up and get advice from everyone on here to make sure I am doing it right. My last tank I loaded too fast and after killing a few clowns it had me heartbroken and I almost didn't want to pick things back up, but now with all the support I got I am ready to try again.

I'll update daily with pictures and sometimes video with parameter updates included.

Right now my 34 lbs. of live rock, that came out of the tank that I took down about a week ago, is sitting in a rubbermaid with a heater and Koralia 3 with no light so the cyano and GHA die from it. It is cycled but I want to keep it that way so its just happy and content in there right?



Day 1:



This is the tank after adding in 21 gallons of distilled water with the new aragonite sand!

I had the Koralia 1 blowing inside for quite sometime but decided I would turn it off to let everything settle.

A few questions though.

Is this cloudiness normal after dumping in new aragonite?

Also, is the sand bed too deep for my tank?

Alright fellow reefers I will keep you updated as much as possible and hopefully together I can get it right this time!

 

nice start, cant wait to see it as a reef

 

the cloudiness is completely normal, the sand bed looks adequate... what kind of filter are you running right now? normal clear-up time is between 3-20 hours

 

As far as the sand bed its always a personal preference but mine is like three in deep to help filtration. good start though.

 

Well glad to see you are giving it another shot, trust me patience is very much needed in this hobby and will take you far into things. I am still working on my 125g build which is driving me nuts but I am trying to do things right the first time and I know it will pay off in the end.

Good luck with things and it looks like a good start.

 

Thanks to everyone.

Right now I am just running the Emperor 280 with just poly filter pads inside. I might be getting a 15 gallon wet dry sum with Overflow box from a friend for only 40 bucks soon and I will begin to run that.

I am also planning on making a small refugium for the system as well.

 

did you wash the sand out first to get the fine dust particles out?

 

I did give it a quick wash but nothing thorough because I couldn't find a productive way to do so without losing half of it.

Will this become a problem?

How long do you think I should wait until I add the live rock I have sitting in the rubbermaid?

Also I added in a good scoop of someone elses Aragonite sand that has had his tank set up for over half a year to help with my cycle.

 

i shoulda told you to put it in a pillow case and hose some water through it... but it should clear up okay with the filter, it will just take longer

live rock after your sure its nice and clear. and dont break any rocks in half this time haha it releases anaerobic nitrogen fixing bacteria into your system and then you will get sulfer floating around.

Just have plenty of patience because you would rather do it slow this time than have to do it a third time!!! lol

 

Damn man! That was a great idea! I will definitely use that technique next time for the 75 gallon! lol

Oh no worries all rocks are broken and ready for action.

And I am taking this super slow, no worries there!;D