50g FOWLR Setup

[CMG]

Already Have: I have a used 50 gallon tank with built in wet dry that is similar to the tank at this site but not identical: SeaClear System 2 Aquarium - with built in wet/dry filter I bought the tank on craigs list for $100 because at the LFS the same tank is 400-500 bucks.

Then I bought stand that was green and white on craigs list for $40 opposed to $200 for a new one at the LFS and painted it black to match better. I am in the process of building a way to keep the QT tank in the stand to keep it hidden and provide a non-stressful environment for a new fish. It will basically be a 10gallon tank on a piece of wood that has 4 wheels on it so that the tank can be rolled to either side of the stand creating more storage space. You can see that the stand is long but that the doors are little and in the center so that there is extra room on the ends for rolling the QT tank to.

I also made a drip system for livestock acclimation using garden drip hose and a control valve, it was left over from the garden so it was "free".

I have ordered and am waiting for in the mail:
Aqua c Remora skimmer
Heater x2- visi therm delux 15 watt each
Salt - Reef Crystals
Hydrometer - Instant Ocean
Bio balls - Coralife (I will use some of these in the built in wet dry so that they can be transfered to the QT tank that I will have so that I can dismantle it everytime I transport livestock, I do not plan to keep a cycled QT tank)
Chemical filter media - Eheim Ehfisynth
Return pump for wet/dry filter system - Rio Aqua 1100

Still Need:
Live Rock
Live Sand
Power Heads - 1 for tank and 1 for mixing salt with water when needed.
Tubing for return pump
QT tank and custom roller for easy storage
Power strip

Costs: So far I have spent a total of $440.26 with shipping. My total approximate savings are $358.40 which mostly comes from buying a used tank and stand. I will also be selling my motorcycle soon so that will help with my new obsession!

Pictures:
1) Tank filled with water after buying to make sure there were no leaks
2) Stand in my room after I had painted it black
3) Tank on stand empty next to my freshwater tank. I had to relocate my dresser as the new setup took its place.

[blue_eyes53813]

Looks like a very good start.. sellin the motorcycle ha.... This hobby is great. Im not sure if I welcomed you before, But Welcome to Rs.. cant waite to follow your progress.

[MR PALM BEACH]

AAAhhhhh not the bike!!! Anyways nice start I like the stand and tank, hope to see more from this build. Good Luck.

[lcstorc]

Looks like you are off to a good start. Be sure to keep us posted and take lots of pics of the process.

[CMG]

Thanks for all the support! I will do my best with pictures and updates. I needed a more relaxing hobby....hehe

[CMG]

Update!:

Tonight on my way home from work I stopped by the LFS and got this 10g tank that I will be using for a QT tank. I chose a 10g for two reasons, one is that I had a plan of the measurements of a 10g so that I could put it on a rolling system under my tank to take up less room. You can see this in the pictures, all I did was cut some ply wood to fit the inside bottom of the 10g and slapped some wheels from ace hardware on there. The other reason is that I plan to buy baby fish not med or large so this 10g should be pleanty big for a no stress environment. I will also be covering 3 sides of the QR tank with maybe construction paper to help with stress.

I also took out the center bottom "brace of the stand so that I can roll the QT tank from one side for optimal storage space to the middle for when it is in use and I need to feed/observe/etc the new fish.

I guess thats it for one night. I am still waiting for the things in the mail from my frst post. Its coming via ground shiping to CA from I think MN or WI so it will be a little while!

I am trying to find LR for cheap since that will be a big hit on my walet. So far I found it the cheapest at exoticfish.com for 1.99 per lbs.

Also, I have some questions posted under the begenners section in the forum and no one seems to be answering my questions (I am guessing no one goes in there who isnt new) so if you can check that post out and help with the quick questions I had. Thanks.

1) Stand with center piece on bottom
2)QT tank out of box new
3)wheels for qt tank
4)stand without center piece
5)stand with new bottom on it for easy rolling of qt tank

See next post for QT tank on rollers. Not enough space on this post!

[CMG]

Qt tank rolling device, in center and rolled to one side for storage....

[lcstorc]

Very neat idea. Looks like it will work nicely for you.

[CMG]

Today I recieved my aqua c remora that came with a maxi jet 1200 power head from marinedepot.com, however there was a minor "setback." (I put that in quotes because I am not ready to start the tank yet so technicaly I guess I cant call it a set back, haha.) As I opened the maxi jet box I found that the baggie with the accesories (pre filter, suction cups, etc.) was torn open already! GASP! No big deal right? Well apparently things were taken out of the baggie already (suction cups). So I have no way to attach the powerhead to the tank as of now.

I will call them tomorrow and see if they will just mail me a suction cup replacement thing (you can buy these seperate usualy) instead of me having to mail my whole box back. Besides I need to buy another power head for water movement in the tank which I should have done originaly when I ordered the skimmer because then at that cost I could have gotten free shipping! Bad planning! haha.

Due to the wierdness of my tank (built in wet/dry) I am going to have to "customize" the skimmer/power head. This will consist of buying a longer piece of tubing (the one that came with was only about 2 inches long) and placing the power head lower in the tank.

So my next purchase should be that power head and some LR. I am going to buy it from Southern CA for two reasons:
1) Its only $1.99!!!!!!exoticfish.com (plus $36 for shipping but still cheaper than any other place I could find)
2)Its closer so shipping takes less time (ex: I bought the skimmer from marinedepot in So Cal about 2 days after my big purchase at drs. foster smith and I have the skimmer but no drs. foster smith stuff yet, they are in WI or MN..)

Let me know if you know a better place to buy LR. OH AND where should I get LS? Should I just buy some LS and some not live or all not live? How long will it take for it to become live if its not or if I do 50/50? hmmmmm, this is an expensive hobby!!! Someone better buy my motorcycle soon!

Picture: Aqua c remora, collection cup, maxi jet 1200(in box) and marinedepot magazine.

[Dentoid]

CMG I admire your diligence and fine reporting. Looks like it's going to be a smashing reef!

I just ordered the AquaC Remora skimmer from Marine Depot and I hate to break it to ya, but the maxijet 1200 does not come with suction cups. Here is a copy of the Product Description from the Marine Depot site.

AquaC Remora Hang-On
w/ MaxiJet 1200
Note: Maxi-Jet 1200 does not come with suction cups.

[CMG]

BUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...man am I like a child or what, I was sooo exited to open my new stuff that I didnt even check that! Derrrr. However I am curious as to why the baggy was ripped open??? DO they remove the suction cups and sell or use them seperatly..maybe you can let me know if your maxijet box has a ripped open baggy in it when you get it! : ) It is also interesting that it only mentions the lack of suction cups online and not on my order sheet or in the magazine they gave me....hmmmmm oh well.

Anyways, I could realy use some advice on LS. There appears to be different sizes, there is:

Crushed Coral
Super fine .5-1mm
Special Grade 1-2mm

Which should I get for a FOWLR? I suppose like most things, like if I wanted a gobby or bleny then I would need softer sand for them to burrow etc etc. What does everyone else use?

[AdvanceAquatics]

LOL Thats Great..I did the same thing i called them and told them that someone stole mine...LOL they told me they sold them Sep... Weird. Eiherway i just went and got some at a dallor store. clear not balck but they work and now I have extras. ill send you mine if you want...LOL

[Dentoid]

I'm no expert on LS, but I have seen reports that the finer the sand the easier it is to keep clean. That is, with the coarser sand detritus tends to get trapped more and is harder to remove. With the finer sand it is supposidly easier to remove (suction up) the detritus. That being said, unless you want to research, heavily, the benefits and drawbacks of different sands, I say go with what you like to look at. The fine, white oolitic sand IMO is aesthetically pleasing as are black and pink sands. My tank is a mixture of crushed coral, fine silica sand and fine oolitic with some shell and coral pieces. I have a jawfish and watchman goby/pistol shrimp pair that have not had any problems with this mix. As for detritus buildup, well I have a fine clean-up crew!

My skimmer should be arriving by the end of the week, I'll let you know the condition of the packaging for comparison. Does the maxijet need suction cups or does the friction fit with the injection tube hold it in place? You can probably get suction cups at your LFS.

[CMG]

I think that for a normal tank you dont need suction cups because basicaly there is a plastic pipe that is sticking out of the skimmer and that connects to the maxijet via a clear tube about 2" long. And the skimmer comes with two black clamps so it should hold true. But in my situation like I said I am going to get some longer tubing because of placment issues with the wet/dry...Ill post some pictures give me a few minutes.....

Here we go...The first pick is kind of how they line up (power head, hose, 2 clams, skimmer) except the skimmer isnt exactly how it would be for picture taking purposes its 90 degrees off. Then the second pic is assembled hanging. Problem is for me that there isnt room for it to hang like that where it would be submerged, I need to drop it down farther ito the tank I think. I might be able to get away but I think that pre filter thingy is going to be in the way.

[CMG]

Wow, what a night last night! I woke up that morning and noticed a missing fish in my FW tank. Unfortunatly he had jumped out of the tank because I left the lid open and has perished....my first fish loss ever......RIP (marble hatchet fish).

To the good/frustrating news! I recieved the rest of my shipment last night to include bio balls, salt mix, heaters, return pump for wet/dry, hydrometer, and some mechanical filters stuff that I threw away because it wasnt what I wanted and I tried using it but it didnt work. I think it was really made for a canister filter. I need more of a sponge and this stuff was very fine like a big cotton ball for removing nail polish.

After trying to fit the pumps and skimmer on/in the tank to where it all fit I took some measurments and went to the local hardware store to get some tubing and a new elbow that would fit the new tubing as mine was too small. Unfortunatly due to the limited space in the back section of the tank the elbow I bought was too big and didnt fit so I had to cut it down which took 30 minutes due to its small size and even then it wouldnt fit so I have jerry rigged a hose nossle connector thingy in there which makes a lot of waves and noise because it points strait out from the tank and is not angled down like an elbow but will work until I can get to the store and find a smaller elbow.

I connected all my hoses to the skimmer and power head and return pump. I filled the bio ball section with the balls and then Filled her up with water. I just used regular water because I was just going to do test runs on everything to make sure it all works before I go through the trouble of mixing salt and all that.

It all seems to work fine although my skimmer is not producing any film/foam but the booklet says that this is expected. It was very difficult and time consuming/nerve-racking to try and balance the water level between the tank and the built in wet dry. I had to constantly watch the return pump area to make sure the water was going through the network of acrylic and keeping the pump submerged, this took about another 30 minutes until I didnt have to stop unpluggin the pump because the water was getting too low. Then after I balanced it so that it returned water to the pump just as quickly as the pump was pumping it I turned on the skimmer which sucked a bunch of water up and ruined my balance! So I had to re-adjust, I had brought the garden hose through my window so it wasnt hard to get water quickly. I recomend doing this! hehe. All said and done it was about 10pm when I finished.

Earlier that day I had ordered LR, so now all I need is a tub to put it in for curing and a power head for water movement which I will transfer to my tank after the rock is cured. Then its on to LS and puting everything in the tank for cycling. I will post pictures later tonight, its not much to see since everything is put together and its mostly black and hard to see.