NewB to the Forum, big NEWB to the hobby

Hi There

So this is me! I'm more of a lurker than a poster, like to read & learn......

I am in the process of setting up my tank for the first time. It's a 225 litre (60 gal US) with a 80 litre (21 gal) sump.

I plan to go FOWLR for the moment. I haven't decided what fish to stock, as I will be catching specimens for myself (I live on the east coast of South Africa), and I'll take what I can get. Maybe some shrimp as well as well as some hermit crabs.

For lighting I've got a blue (18K), pink (12K)and white tubes (10K) (30Watt 3 ft).

The project is DIY so I'm still in the process of finishing the woodwork of the cabinet stand so that my 3 & 1 yr olds don't wreck the sump! Then I need to install baffles on the sump tank and do the plumbing to the overflow box and the return. Then I need to make a wooden tank cover to house the lights. Then it's off to the ocean to get 300 litres of sea water, and start running the system. I'll let it run with live rock for about 3 weeks and then start adding stock.

I'll stock with about 20lb of live rock (Kenyan) for now, and see what happens. I'm hoping to be able to seed some dead rock as well.

My protein skimmer is a Jebo Quadraplex (seems quite easy to adjust but I've also read negative things about it as well) and I'll be pumping about 2500 litres / hour from the sump back into the tank.

Learning as I go along....hopefully I don't kill too many fish along the way.......

 

Welcome to 3reef!! I was in S. Africa last year & was really impressed with the beauty of your country.
Good luck with your tank. Be sure to collect your water far from shore as pollution can be a roblem with near shore water. Post some pictures when you get it up & running.

 

Welcome to 3reef.

 

Welcome and best of luck with your tank!
See if you can get some pictures or atleast update us on the livestock in your tank once you get it going!

 

Welcome to 3reef!!
Let us see some pics when you start it!!

 

Thanks

I feel welcome. At the moment busy with the stuff I have to do before I can do the stuff I want to do...

Will keep you posted..

 

Update:

Total capacity of main + sump: 80 gallons.

We're running! The 3 ft sump tank got baffles 25cm (about 11") high, with 3 equal chambers 1ft wide. The first chamber is sealed with the 2nd baffle with about a 1/2" gap under it. I'm pumping 2500 lts/hr (660 gals/hr) and I'm getting a main tank level about 1/2" above the overflow weir. I have some problems with bubbles in the overflow box which need sorting........

The main tank is 1m L x 0.5m W x 0.45m D (39" L x 19.5" W x 17.5" D).

The heater (150W) is not needing to switch on (I'll get a second one when winter comes).

My shoulders and back hurt from carrying 300litres up the beach from the sea!

I've got fine crushed coral as substrate, and about 20lbs of nice porous live rock. One little anemone came with the rock - so technically I have some livestock!

I've got two 700lts/hr (185 gal/hr) powerheads with attached filters running in the main tank. The water has cleared up nicely since I filled up the tank, but there is still a long way to go. I've got some ceramic beads in the centre sump compartment. I've got the protein skimmer, but haven't started it up yet there's no protein loading the system.

So now I guess I wait.......

And start the next phase of learning......

 

Congratulations, you finally have a tank!!!!
I sugest you take a picture of that anemone and let us see it so we can tell you if its a kind you whant to keep, or a kind that can kill your corals in the future. Let us see some pics of the tank!!!

 

nice setup would love to see some pics