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Reddog170 · 11-09-2008, 01:41 AM

Well this is a little late to get started but I will go back through my notes and logs and get this up to speed.
My tank started out when a freind of mine was getting rid of a couple of 55g tanks. I got the tanks from him set them up and one had a large redtail cat and the other was empty. What to do with it I was not sure. I told my wife that I wanted to see if I could get a saltwater tank going, you just to see if I could do it.
On 10:10:08 it got water in it and I thought I messed up right away. It was like a fog that was so thick you would need a chainsaw to cut it. Well the next morning it was clear. Still did not have a light , a skimmer or anything that would move water other than a HOB filter.
Well I was behind a bit. I managed to get a couple used korallias from someone online and a skimmer off ebay, that was a mistake. I then built a T5 light setup in the canopy and started doing a LOT of research online. That was the point I thought that I got in over my head, Do you have any idea how many conflicting startup sites there are. This site was the best thing for me.
I got the live rock in and watched as all my levels spiked and dropped then did my water change and continued to watch all levels and graph them as well. Everything was stable.
Not at four weeks I have 2 damsels in the tank. They are doing great and eating good. I also have some hitchhikers there as well - a coral banded shrimp, two green emerald crabs, and some snails. I want to put more in right now but also like to wait. I have come to enjoy to slow way of a reef. I will get pics up as soon as I can. Will fill in more later.
One mistake I made is starting out without a RO/DI unit, tap stinks!!

11-09-2008, 01:41 AM	#1 (permalink)
Reddog170 Achilles Tang Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Winfield, IA Posts: 877 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Reds first sw tank Well this is a little late to get started but I will go back through my notes and logs and get this up to speed. My tank started out when a freind of mine was getting rid of a couple of 55g tanks. I got the tanks from him set them up and one had a large redtail cat and the other was empty. What to do with it I was not sure. I told my wife that I wanted to see if I could get a saltwater tank going, you just to see if I could do it. On 10:10:08 it got water in it and I thought I messed up right away. It was like a fog that was so thick you would need a chainsaw to cut it. Well the next morning it was clear. Still did not have a light , a skimmer or anything that would move water other than a HOB filter. Well I was behind a bit. I managed to get a couple used korallias from someone online and a skimmer off ebay, that was a mistake. I then built a T5 light setup in the canopy and started doing a LOT of research online. That was the point I thought that I got in over my head, Do you have any idea how many conflicting startup sites there are. This site was the best thing for me. I got the live rock in and watched as all my levels spiked and dropped then did my water change and continued to watch all levels and graph them as well. Everything was stable. Not at four weeks I have 2 damsels in the tank. They are doing great and eating good. I also have some hitchhikers there as well - a coral banded shrimp, two green emerald crabs, and some snails. I want to put more in right now but also like to wait. I have come to enjoy to slow way of a reef. I will get pics up as soon as I can. Will fill in more later. One mistake I made is starting out without a RO/DI unit, tap stinks!!