Newbie Build....26g Bow Front FOWLR

So I finally decided to pull the trigger and try my hand at a small FOWLR setup. I scored a 26g bow from of Craigslist on the cheap. It came with the tank and stand you see in the picture and a decent Current light fixture with a 64 watt dual flourescent (day and actinic mix).

I have the following on order:
Tunze 9002 Skimmer
Tunze Turbelle Nanostream 6025 (660 gph)
refractometer
75w heater
Fluval 205 canister filter

20 pounds of Pukani dry rock
5 pounds of tonga branch dry rock
both from BRS that I plan to seed with a couple of choice pieces of choice live rock from LFS

I plan on adding 30 lbs of live arag from LFS too

Planned stocking list:
Pair of mated clowns (ocellaris)
One Yellow Wathcman Goby (paired with shrimp)
One Pajama Cardinal
assorted CUC from RC

I have learned a lot the past few months watching build threads here on 3Reef.....I look forward to learning a lot on this build before I advance to a much larger tank in my new finished basement (LPS,SPS, and the works in the future)

I will update with pics this weekend after I get the rock started cycling.

Thanks again and any recommendations are truly welcomed ;-)

 

Very nice tank, good stock list should have minimal problems

 

Received my DI canister today to add to my current RO system. I also received the 20 lbs of Pukani dry rock and 5 lbs of tonga branch dry rock. It looks awesome......BRS is top notch.

Anyone have any advice on how I might clean the rock (if I should) before placing it in my tank to cycle? It is a little dirty, but not to bad.

Check out this nice piece of branch rock...my fish are going to love to swim around the branches I am sure ;-)

 

Sweet rock. Very porous. With your light, you could add some zoa's and mushrooms if you wanted.. No doubt, you'll start to get the reef itch eventually haha. Good luck with everything brother.

 

yeah...the pukani is super pourus and the branch rock is super nice...can't say enough about BRS. They package it so well only a couple of very small pieces broke off.

would a good soak in freshwater overnight and a stiff spray with a garden hose be all that is needed to prep it for the tank? I have heard of other soaking dry rock in vinager, but was unsure if it is necessary.

I will probably end up adding a few shrooms and zoas if you think the light will be sufficient........love coral, just want to get some experience before going too big. Thanks for the advice aw1447!

 

First attempt at a scape....feedback???

Tough to work in the tonga....I will probably replace the top left piece with a piece of LR from LFS to seed it....do you think one good sized piece will be enough to seed it all?

 

Been running for two days now....

Ammonia .5 ppm
Nitrate and Nitrite 0 ppm
PH 8.2
Salinity 1.023

Added 4.5 pounds of premium rock from LFS to seed my tank....Indo Pacific..anyone know the area, please let me know. Nice rock with a lot of sea shells in it.

LFS says it will not start a cycle since it is fully cured. We will just check parameters for the next week and see where it lands.


Tunze is producing nice green skim..and microbubbles are already gone. No Canister yet......going to let this settle for a week or two before adding livestock:

pair of ocel.. clowns
Watchman Goby and Shrimp
Maybe three tiny Chromis or a cardinal..thats it...no more fish than that.

 

update:

My current parameters:

ammonia = 1.5 ppm
PH = 7.9
Nitrite = 1 ppm
Nitrate = 7.5 ppm
temp 75 degrees
salinity 1.024

I have turned off my skimmer for the time being...as instructed by LFS.

Should I raise the temp or add an fish food..or do you think my cycle is well under way.

I have about 29lbs of pukani dry rock from BRS and 5lbs of live rock semi cured from LFS in there.

I think I am good but need to just chill for a week or two..thoughts?

This is my first tank so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Update:





My tank appears to be cycled.....I have been dosing to about 4ppm ammonia for the last week every other day and it is capable of zeroing the A and then the Nitrite on day two..then repeat the dose.

So today my parms are:

A = 0
NO2 = 0
NO3 = 30 ppm (just did 15% water change...probably two more this week to get this down closer to zero)
PH = 8.0 (adding kent Ph buffer to get this up to 8.2ish)

I fired up my canister today as well..Fluval 205 running stock foam then Fluval carbon followed by purigen then chemi pure then filter floss. My skimmer is not pulling anything out because of lack of livestock, so I turned it off just now. Oh Yeah, just got the new light on as well. Coralife t5 HO...much brighter than the compacts!

I am going to let everything stabilize this week while I work on getting the PH up. I hope to add a pair of clowns and maybe a small cleanup crew this weekend (one month after cycle started).

Anything I should be concerned about at this point? I have been following all the things I have learned from this forum. Thanks again!

 

Looking good. I say keep up the good work.

I do have two suggestions. Take the foam out of the canister, or if you do leave it in there make sure to clean it like every other day (easier to just leave it out). Also, I would rather have a pH of 8.0 than to keep adding any kind of chemical. A good salt mix will give you 8.4 or so, and with regular water changes you'll stay right were you need to be. Even if the kent stuff gets you to 8.2 it won't just stay there, you'll have to keep dosing, which isn't worth the time, the money, or the possibility of stress on the fish.

Whatever you do, have fun! You will be tested, but just remember that it's a hobby and if you are stressed out take a deep breath and step away from the tank. lol