So I guess it is time to start my 1st tank thread. First off, by way of background, I started this hobby about 5 years ago, the way many of us likely did, with a 3 gallon tank and a beta. The 3 gallon quickly became a 12 gallon. Soon the fresh water turned to salt, and a clown fish and damsel were introduced. The 12 gallon then became a 20 gallon so I could add more livestock. And then...I purchased reef capable LEDs and my first coral, and the rest was history.
I was lucky to find a used RSM 250 around March of this year. It came with all sorts of goodies, some of which I kept and some I sold. I spent several days cleaning the tank, stand, pumps, skimmer, etc. I did a fair amount of research on aquascaping (?) and decided to go with a combination of Marco dry rocks and some live rock from my 20 gallon. The Marco rocks looked fantastic and were easy to stack and shape. I added about 2 inches (60lbs) of a fine grain (non-live) sand, the name of which escapes me. If I could do it over, I would have added a larger grain sand so that it wouldn't blow around as easily.
Rather than using the water from my smaller tank, I decided to do the cycle from scratch. Adding a couple of raw shrimp (in a piece of panty hose so it was not as disgusting to remove) helped the cycle move along. Six weeks later, my fish and corals had a new, and much bigger home.
Still learning a lot and visiting the LFS nearly every weekend to check out their frags. I am lucky to have two amazing LFS nearby. Great product and even better people. What a crazy hobby - expensive and time consuming, but I am hooked.
I will post some pictures once I am permitted (what is the rule anyway, 10 posts minimum?)
I was lucky to find a used RSM 250 around March of this year. It came with all sorts of goodies, some of which I kept and some I sold. I spent several days cleaning the tank, stand, pumps, skimmer, etc. I did a fair amount of research on aquascaping (?) and decided to go with a combination of Marco dry rocks and some live rock from my 20 gallon. The Marco rocks looked fantastic and were easy to stack and shape. I added about 2 inches (60lbs) of a fine grain (non-live) sand, the name of which escapes me. If I could do it over, I would have added a larger grain sand so that it wouldn't blow around as easily.
Rather than using the water from my smaller tank, I decided to do the cycle from scratch. Adding a couple of raw shrimp (in a piece of panty hose so it was not as disgusting to remove) helped the cycle move along. Six weeks later, my fish and corals had a new, and much bigger home.
Still learning a lot and visiting the LFS nearly every weekend to check out their frags. I am lucky to have two amazing LFS nearby. Great product and even better people. What a crazy hobby - expensive and time consuming, but I am hooked.
I will post some pictures once I am permitted (what is the rule anyway, 10 posts minimum?)
