Note to self: wear gloves next time using pond foam or stain. Two days later, hands are still this black. Feels so weird too.
Stand done, put the tank on it for looks. Yes, I'll definitely have to spray paint the tank now, because that looks terrible. I'm such a perfectionist, this tank is going to be my baby.
It's up. It's done. I'll freshwater test it and brew my salt this weekend. I'm getting giddy already.
I'm confident once the rocks seed up and darken, and I get some coraline algae on the back walls, it's going to look very natural. This was all a late birthday present to myself, I turned 22 last week and I've been wanting to do this for a long, long time now.
My plan is once I get the rock wall in, siliconed, and that cures I'll brew my salt and begin a natural cycle with no live rock to start (I'll do the shrimp test, or pure ammonia). I'm going to order a refractometer off MarineDepot tonight. I'll cycle the tank for two weeks with just the marco rocks, then I'll put some LR to bump the cycle half way through. Shouldn't take more than a month to cycle and introduce a clean up crew, hopefully. I'll probably have to make some cuts in my wall to put the powerheads in, which I'll do this weekend too.
Updates as they come. I don't plan on rushing this build at all. Please don't ask what I plan to stock, as have no clue yet! Definitely no Tangs, I'm not that kind of reefer lol. Any input you have about my build, your recommendations, or anything else would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for your interest all, and thank God I found this website a few months ago.
- Glenn