New To Saltwater 30g First Build (All advice welcome)

[Greatwhite]

Yeah..  I remember when this idea was new, and I thought someone exposed it as a hoax.  *shrug*   It's been a while.

Just remember - the cost of a fish is directly EXPONENTIALLY proportional to the uniqueness. 

[werehatwere]

Maybe in 20 years they'll be mass produced and we can all buy them for the price of Guppies

[Feivel]

LOL, we can all hope

[werehatwere]

I feel like this straying from the actual thread LOL

I just remembered that before any of this can actually happen, I need to find somewhere to give all my guppies and plants...


Plus I have a large freshwater project coming up so it may be a while before this all happens.

[Stussi613]

If you buy a 30" T5, you'll be replacing that whole fixture with something bigger (or a couple/few LED units)...

This is the best advice I've ever been given, and Greatwhite is bang on. Considering the modularity of new fixtures it only makes sense to future proof.

4 months ago I changed my 120g planted discus tank to a cichlid tank. 2 months ago I started my 8g reef and within 4 weeks I was planning out the change over of the big tank to a reef tank. I already have 125lbs of Marco rock and a plan for a rock wall made of spray foam and live rock and I'm going to be ordering a sump imminently.

It happens that fast.

[Stussi613]

See attached pic

Can I get my hands on a frag of that Zoa, pretty please??

[werehatwere]

Can I get my hands on a frag of that Zoa, pretty please??

+1 Hold one for me too!!!

I'm not really all that knowledgeable on the LED front...I don't really understand how much is needed/ weather to buy strips or a big square block of them.

Dose anybody know a good site they can link me too to show me what sort of product I should be looking into?
Or explain it 

Thanks
Adam.

[Greatwhite]

I wish instill had that zoa. It disintegrated a loooong time ago in the tank crash of 2004. I haven't seen any like it in years... Of course, I haven't reeeeally been looking. $10 says I can walk into Marinescape and get one just like it. (That's where the original came from)

[werehatwere]

Stussi613, You are right my friend.

4 months ago I changed my 120g planted discus tank to a cichlid tank. 2 months ago I started my 8g reef and within 4 weeks I was planning out the change over of the big tank to a reef tank. I already have 125lbs of Marco rock and a plan for a rock wall made of spray foam and live rock and I'm going to be ordering a sump imminently.

It happens that fast.

Some of you may have seen my super fish breeding tank forum in the freshwater tank builds. Well guess what? It's not happening anymore  ...Both happy and mad at myself.

Let's get one thing straight. I don't yet actually have or have ever maintained a saltwater reef tank. Or a saltwater fish tank. Hell, I don't even know how to mix salt water properly yet. But after doing all the reading and research and exploring and planning, I have thrown my freshwater tank out the window. The $850 dollar budget I had for that tank, well, I have decided to grow it some more and put it all into one, large reef tank. It'll be a while, but I am so excited. It's so remote, so far off and so new, and I am loving every minute of it. ;

I think what really threw me over the edge was when, about an hour ago, my filter died. I moved all my fish into 5 gallon buckets, thought, "while the tank is water less, I may as well move it off this table and into the cavity in the wall." So I did. And after a quick trip to home depot, I have a temporary spray bar system put in place. Or thats the plan.

I bought one of those 180gph pond pipes, some PVC pipe, some elbows and a few spare crimps. Tomorrow I'll assemble it all.

Back to the salt water.
I realized that I really loved the look of rock in the aquarium. When I re aquacsaped this tank  a few hours ago, I made the focus on the rock. The thought of LIVE ROCK sent shivers down my spine. I knew then that 30 gallons wouldn't do it. I was diving into one of the MAJOR aquarium keeping realms I had never touched. And I figured, why not make a splash on my way in.

I have some very rough plans for a monster saltwater tank in the future. It's a long way off, and there is SO much more I need to learn before I reach that point. I'm hoping to have my 30 gallon up and running in the next month.

Every year my mothers family all migrates to our house for Christmas. I'm hoping to have it up and running for them.

I am anticipating both the happy dance and the sour moods in the future, but I can't wait.

I'll post a new thread for my mega build later on in a few months. But for now, keep the advice rollin' in, I'm gonna need it.

I'll post some pics of my spray system tomorrow. I hope I can transfer this system to saltwater when the 30 gallon gets salty 

Thanks,
Adam.