New to Saltwater. My first build:

[pmh_FL]

Hello everyone!

I have been lurking for the past few weeks and trying to read everything on this site and others. Finally moved forward with things and decided to make a post to collect more information/ideas/constructive criticism and possibly help out other people in my situation.

A little background:

I live in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I got into the aquarium hobby a year ago when I came home one early morning to find a hatchling Red Ear Slider passed out in a puddle in front of my door. After inhumane amounts of research and lots of $$$....he's now 5" long and happy as can be in his own 55gallon tank in the spare room.

I got the notion a few weeks ago to take my 20L, which was just breeding guppies, and turn it into a "Starter Saltwater Tank". The reason I say "Starter" is because I am moving (not far) in 4 months and plan on setting up a much larger (75/90g) reef tank and transfer what I have over to that. I understand that a 20g tank is much more sensitive due to the less-forgiving water volume, but it is also more cost-effective and in case it crashes, I won't be out thousands while I'm learning.

__________________________________________________

Current Set-Up:

Display Tank
20L Tank (purchased a year ago, PetCo's $/gal sale)
16# Fiji Liverock from LFS ($5.99/lb)
10# CaribSea Aragonite ($8)
10# CaribSea Super Natural substrate ($9)
EHEIM Jager Aquarium Thermostat Heater, 250-Watt (overkill for 20, but purchased with larger tank in mind) ($17, Amazon)
Aqueon 06131 Circulation Pump, 500 GPH, 2.6-Watt ($22, Amazon)
Aqueon HOB filter (rated up to 20g I think...it was like $14 at PetCo)


On The Way:
API Saltwater Master Test Kit ($23.99, on sale PetCo.com)

For Mixing SW:
SUNSUN 800 GPH Submersible Circulation Wave Maker Water Pump ($9, Amazon)
LCD Digital Fish Tank Aquarium Thermometer (x2) ($10, Amazon)
Aquatop GH200 Aquarium Submersible Glass Heater, 200-Watt ($12, Amazon)

Arrived:
Instant Ocean Sea Salt, 25-Gallon, 7.5 pounds ($9, Amazon)
An exorbitant amount of 5 gal Home Depot buckets (labeled for Fresh/SW/Clean/Dirty/etc.)


Wishlist:
Lights
Protein Skimmer
Sump



I'll try to keep you all updated with my progress as I go along.

Thanks!!

[sixpackgarage]

Looks like a good start, but that heater will cook the tank really quick if there's a malfunction. I'd get an APEX or comparable controller so you can shut it down if there's a failure.

[dustinkimpel]

look at eshopps 75 sump and psk 75 skimmer combo for your tank. would be perfect.

[pmh_FL]

Day 1, (we'll call it day 1, even though it's not, but rather "launch day") Feb 10, 2016

After getting out of class I headed over to a large depot-style LFS and picked up 16# Fiji LR and 20g of Saltwater and 5g of RO.

I got home and started setting things up. I didn't want to put my LR on top of the sand and obviously didn't want to place it on bare glass, so I cut out a fitting piece of egg crate and placed it on the bare bottom. After about 30 seconds of aquascaping, I placed in the heater and powerhead.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/921/63J1oF.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/pl63J1oFj)
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/924/XLekYD.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/poXLekYDj)
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/923/Orp11u.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/pnOrp11uj)
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/924/tSMQbX.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/potSMQbXj)
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/924/NyUewU.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/poNyUewUj)
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/923/sX5JuI.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/pnsX5JuIj)
I washed the sand and put it in, added the small HOB filter to start sifting out the floating particles. Every hour or so I would take my turkey baster and blow off the LR. Going for that post-hurricane look :lolspin: **note, the lights are just a cheap freshwater LED that I had, it will be replaced when I learn more about proper lighting......and the floating suction thermo will be replaced as soon as the digital gets here**
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/921/SyFhuL.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/plSyFhuLj)

The morning after:
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/924/CN8XVb.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/poCN8XVbj)

[pmh_FL]

Looks like a good start, but that heater will cook the tank really quick if there's a malfunction. I'd get an APEX or comparable controller so you can shut it down if there's a failure.

Yes, I should have paid attention to the dimensions when I bought it. I have a 200W and a 75W in the mail right now and I may switch to one of those. I plan on moving my heater to the sump once I get that up and running. Temp is set at 80. Thermo says its around 78-79.

[pmh_FL]

look at eshopps 75 sump and psk 75 skimmer combo for your tank. would be perfect.

Thanks! Looks like:
eshopps rs-75 sump ~ $126 on Amazon
eshopps psk75 in-sump skimmer~ $170 on Amazon


I had planned to build a sump out of a 20gal tank and silicon in glass baffles. Will do more research on that but after a few minutes of recon it looks like that would cost me $20 for tank + $20 to $30 for the glass baffles and $5 for aquarium-safe silicon. Would a 20 gallon sump be adequate for a 75-95 gallon tank once I upgrade?

So, that leaves me with a few questions so far. I have looked them up and have read lots of conflicting information so if anyone can set me straight...


During cycling, should I leave the LED lights off? It's just a cheap petsmart NatGeo LED kit
What should I do as far as water changes during cycling?
I've seen people put raw shrimp in their tank to begin cycling. I don't need to do this since I have LR, correct?


Test kit should be here next week, I will start taking down the details of the tank then

[dustinkimpel]

Thanks! Looks like:
eshopps rs-75 sump ~ $126 on Amazon
eshopps psk75 in-sump skimmer~ $170 on Amazon


I had planned to build a sump out of a 20gal tank and silicon in glass baffles. Will do more research on that but after a few minutes of recon it looks like that would cost me $20 for tank + $20 to $30 for the glass baffles and $5 for aquarium-safe silicon. Would a 20 gallon sump be adequate for a 75-95 gallon tank once I upgrade?

So, that leaves me with a few questions so far. I have looked them up and have read lots of conflicting information so if anyone can set me straight...


During cycling, should I leave the LED lights off? It's just a cheap petsmart NatGeo LED kit
What should I do as far as water changes during cycling?
I've seen people put raw shrimp in their tank to begin cycling. I don't need to do this since I have LR, correct?


Test kit should be here next week, I will start taking down the details of the tank then

I use the at combo I threw out on my 55 reef. I tried sumpless first then went to a DIY sump then finally picked up the eshopps sump. I can tell you right now a good sump design makes a world of difference in both noise and overall tank filtration. If you really feel like you have it down go ahead and build one. In the end the extra 60 may be worth the time and effort for a name brand one. Not to mention you know the Skimmer will work correctly with the water level.

[pmh_FL]

I use the at combo I threw out on my 55 reef. I tried sumpless first then went to a DIY sump then finally picked up the eshopps sump. I can tell you right now a good sump design makes a world of difference in both noise and overall tank filtration. If you really feel like you have it down go ahead and build one. In the end the extra 60 may be worth the time and effort for a name brand one. Not to mention you know the Skimmer will work correctly with the water level.

You're probably right. I'll look into it.

[pmh_FL]

Update:

Feb 14- First signs of life!

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160216/33999076b77b78a0881adfe08c9a8b40.jpg

https://vimeo.com/155554183

Rearranged the Liverock to minimize surface contact:

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160216/5f4a07cd26f528d49d0ee13f94b15df2.jpg

[pmh_FL]

Also attached the digital thermometer and an 800gph sun sun powerhead.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160216/8aa38e6fdfdc11652b94fde392efbfac.jpg


Test kit should be here today so hopefully I can start logging some parameters.

[JaredRic]

Any updates? Curious as to how you're doing now that you're at week 16