Newbie 125g startup build.

[nappyloxs]

Hey everyone, I am John and live in Denver, CO. I randomly picked up the hobby from Craiglist and am going to be patient. I have read many of the newbie threads, but I am only in the process of cleaning everything now. Here is what I have

First buy: $50
90 g tank
Aetech skimmer
dry sand
dry rocks
rio 1400 pump
lights
3 powerheads
(plus other items, test kits, cleaner, timers, fluval and ehiem canister filters, diy stand, and much more)

Second buy:$200
125g tank and stand
30g sump,
plumbing,
pump,
sand
rock
Other misc items

First buy, the guy said something went wrong when he was on vacation and everything died. Tank was empty, but everything was in there still. He thought he had some type of hitchhiker shrimp that may have killed one of his fish, while he was on vacation.

Second buy, the guy only took the tank down the day before. It has dual overflow and is predrilled. He said he had the tank for 5.5 years and everything was good. He was selling because he was planning to move cross country. The entire back of the tank and overflow chambers were covered in red algae. Rocks were red and had some green and black.

Since I am merging rocks and other items, I have been giving everything an acid bath for a good cleaning. I messed up a bit on the 125g because I could not plug the pre-drilled holes. (Won't go into details, but I will clean them next weekend hopefully). After tank is cleaned I plan on painting the back black.

I am going to setup my tank in the basement (concrete slab foundation) next to a kitchenette I have down there. (GFI outlets!!). Ideally, I would like to hook up a ro/di filter to the sink and somehow make it easy to have pre-made water right there. Alternatively, there is a small window above were I want to place the tank and garden hose near by, so that is option 2. I am not sure about water changes yet, but I am hoping with the sink right there I can come up with something.

I would love to setup the 90 as the sump or second tank (seahorse, frag tank, idk). The space is limited in a way so not sure how I could setup 2 tanks unless 1 was on top of another. Option 3 is to just flip on craigslist. I want to set up a sump with refugium. I was thinking a 55g tank for a sump w/ refugium would be best. I plan on building the stand, instead of using prebuilt one.

I want a full reef tank that is as automated as the wallet can afford. I will shop craigslist first before online. It looks like I have some nice LFS that I will also use because I like to support small businesses and I will join my local group once my tank is setup.

The better-half demands that it not smell, quiet, and a few other caveats. I have seen some interesting setups that have given me some ideas, but not exactly the best setup yet. I want to take advantage of the sink and drain being right next to it if possible so I don't have to haul gallons of water around for draining and water changes. If possible, I would like to ro/di unit to also be used for regular water, but it isn't necessary.

I plan to use this new hobby to practice patience, so I am going to take time to set everything up as best as possible from the beginning. I know how to use the search function and will be reading everything as I set up the tank, but any and all help is appreciated. (If pics will help, let me know).

[Lone_Reefer]

Sounds like a good plan, good luck to you. Go as slow and simple as possible for awhile to learn about "cause and effect", the knowledge, information and ideas available on this board are incredible.

[lifeoffaith]

1. We love pictures.
2. Good plan on the patience. Nothing moves fast in this hobby.
3. I would use the 90 gallon and build a sump personally. I think you'll do better with something else for a frag tank. Depending on the length of the 125 and 90, you might be able to get a tower tank for seahorses, but keep the systems separate as seahorses are more prone to infection and they also require cooler temps. I would also wait on the seahorses as they are a bit more advanced. I'm still waiting and I've been doing this saltwater thing for 2.5 years. I'm close to getting the seahorse tank setup now. This is a great size for a tank if you have the time to maintain it and can spend the money to get the right items for your setup. It sounds like you are already on your way with all of the items you got. Also, setup the tank with the plan to go to coral down the road, even if you think you won't want to now. The bug will eventually get you, I can almost guarantee it.

[nappyloxs]

Thanks for the replies.

Definitely going to go slow. Hopefully this weekend I can work on deciding which equipment I want. I am still learning about all the equipment and price checking. That will help me plan the stand I will build. So far I know I will have the skimmer, sump, refugium, ATO, and RO/di unit but I am considering another option.

Lifeoffaith I was thinking of using the 90 (and probably could have stuck with it). The 90g is 4' long and the 125g is 6' long. The scary part is the area where I want to put it is 73" so it will be a tight fit so that may change things based on the equipment I decide on. I definitely want coral already and seahorses or frag tank just ideas.

Today I bought IO salt seemed like good price on amazon $40 for 200 gallon box and the Tunze scraper since I have to clean box tanks anyway. I'm going to buy a trash can today since I have too much rocks and I still have too much organic matter despite acid bath. I have about 4-5 tote worth of rock so I think a trash can will be easier and then I can clean out really good to use as water station (or yard work) and it will help test plumbing & equipment.

I was looking at aquascaping last night and denitrator. I like the idea of a denitrator since it seems more natural to me and reduces water changes. The way I am looking at it now is that an ro/di unit and water cost the same as denitrator. But I have to do more research because I don't want to buy carbon reactor now. Seems expensive and beyond my plumbing abilities at the moment.

I will take some pictures later this week. Nothing to pretty at the moment dry rocks and dirty tanks.

I am hoping to have tanks and equipment cleaned and rocks only air drying by this weekend. Wife wants to go look at LFS this weekend, so that will help with my designs and planning.