Trix25's 33 gal tank journal

[trix25]

I posted this at another local forum but thought i'll post it here as well since this forum has been a huge source of motivation for my tank. thanks guys/gals

p.s. this tank has been in the works since beginning of last month...maybe even longer actually .i had to take some time off after a couple of months of studying for my designation.

So a little about me. Started off with freshwater back about 10yrs ago, then was introduced to the world of discus. Bred discus for a while and quickly got bored and tired of doing water changes on 8 different tanks. Pretty much left my 33gal running without much care the last couple of years. Then all of a sudden the urge to get back into aquarium hits me. Wanted to do reef tank for a long time, but i couldn't justify spending all that $ to start one up. I didn't know where my career was gonna take me so that last thing i wanted to do was spend thousands of dollars to quickly sell everything off.

So my setup:
-33 Gal Hagen tank with my 16 gal DIY acrylic custom sump
-Protein Skimmer bought used
-3 x Water pumps
-More than 50lbs of sugar sand free from canreef
-Ebo Jager heater – reused from before
-250w Metal Halide ballast and light
-CPR C50 External overflow
-53 lbs of Live Rocks
-Salt Mix
-Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Tap Water Filter
-Hydrometer
-API Saltwater Master/Reef test kits
-Misc plumbing lots of them
-JBJ ATO

as of today i think i should have all the equipment and livestocks that i need for my tank to start the cycle. infact i have saltwater in the main tank with live rocks cycling for the last week and a half.

i still have to hook up my tank to the sump, I ran into some problems with my plumbing but now is all test fitted and i just have to hard plumb everything. I also can't wait to do some aquascaping. saw some really nice aquascaping here and on nano-reef.com that have given me some inspiration. hopefully i can aquascape something i like with the rocks i have.

anyways here are some photos from the start of the build till the what i have today.

enjoy

pAt

Before:


After black back:


my stand after some mods to fit the sump


the DIY for my acrylic sump
my pieces


the tools


the sump


the test fit for my baffles.


my JBJ ATO


MY finished DIY sump
from left to right = return/refugium/intake


my live rocks with shrooms can anyone ID this mushroom, it came with my live rocks


my live rock with my feather duster


more to come...when i have time

[Skimmerking]

I like it alot KISS rule oh ya nice SUMP DIY guru

[trix25]

thanks asmodeus

i have a question thou...i have been having some white growth on my rocks...anyone know what it is??? i looks like what i have in my last pic with my feather duster

[trix25]

PICTURES

1) filling up the tank for the very first time


2) messing around with the rocks


3) side view of the the messing around with the rocks for the 1st time


4) After several hours of aquascaping here is what i came up with (final aquascape) water still murky from the scaping.


5) side view of the final design


6) side view of final scaping without cloudy water


7) full view of final scaping without cloudy water


8) picture of my sump/refugium with macros


enjoy


so...tell me what you think? i am pretty happy with the design...i plan on having the left side of the tank for corals that needs less lighting, maybe zoos, mushrooms, blue xenia, blue cloves. then slowly moving on to the middle/right side, i would like to eventually have some sps and a red or brown monti cap on the far right.

also, i have been thinking about what are some of my future live stocks i wanna keep...my brother's sister is insisting on "nemos" but i am just kinda worried about where they are gonna host. i don't really like the idea of having anemones just because of their wandering nature plus it will not be fair for clowns too. i know i would like to have a pairing of pistol shrimp/gobie but not too sure if that will match up well with a peppermint shrimp.
Any suggestions for down the road?

p.s. waiting sucks.
p.s.s oh yeah not in the pics are my powerheads koralia 2's...just in case someone mention not enough flow in the tank

****also i am thinking if i should start dosing kalk with my top off water...is it too early???****

[Leah]

Pretty cool, Love how you did your sand!

[karazy]

looks great!

and OMG what camera are you using? your pictures look awesome!!