nutha newb - dudley, ma - tank breakdown

[dakar652]

well...i've been trolling the forums for a few weeks now and i've finally decided to introduce myself. new to the whole s/w thang...my tank has been up and running for 4 months without a hitch (knock on wood) although i've already made my share of mistakes (the worst of which being the purchase of a sand sifting starfish for a 20gallon high tank...ugh...total newb mistake). Also i started off by thinking a DSB would be the best form of filtration possible...not so in a nano i've come to understand. right now i'm still at the point of having a FOWLRWI (with inverts)....and i'm attempting to start the reef thing, but my budget is really lame right now due to being out of work from a wrist injury.

i have plenty of time to spend doing research online and in books, so i'm trying to make as few mistakes as possible here, but i think they're inevitable in this hobby as all too often i get the impulse to BUY BUY BUY when i should really just wait and let my system mature (and the contents of my wallet...LoL).

being 26years young and impatient as a MF'r doesn't help either, but i guess if i want to stay successful in this hobby and avoid eviction from my apartment, i'll have to learn patience...and how to research PRIOR to making livestock/other tank related decisions. i never had this problem with my african tank, as impulse is forgiven when adding new fish...or overstocking...due to the hardiness of the species i've chosen to keep.

i'm a DIY kinda guy, for the most part...anthing i feel capable of building or setting up myself will be done so. for now my goal is to make the most cost effective mini-reef possible...and to make everything portable just in case my girlfriend and i decide that we want to move. i'm averaging about $25 per gallon spent on my 30 gallon total nano system...which includes everything hardware related (r/o unit too) and not chemicals (salts or testers) or livestock (except for the LR & LS)...the complete breakdown as follows if anyone is interested:

20 gal. high tank $50
10 gal fuge $free from sister
Glass tank dividers $free from dad
Live sand (30+Lbs aragonite sand) $free from 125 gallon tank
Live rock-Tonga 25Lbs. $125
CPR Overflow w/siphon pump $75
Aqualifter Overflow siphon pump filter $3
Overflow cover acrylic $9
Return pump $free w/75 gallon tank
Return Spout $6
1.25" tubing w/ adapter $15
5/8" tubing w/ adapter $5
Sump Inlet $29
Powersweep Powerhead 228 (used) $15
Powerhead mount $3
Stand $35
150watt Neptune Heater $free from sister
Skimmer (Red Sea Prizm...i know i know) $85
Lava Rock (still curing) $25
11 yr old bacteria strain (eBay) $25
Current 65watt PC w/Lunar (display) $65
Coralife 28watt PC Sump Light $35
R/O unit (used) $55
Reef Crystals Salt $35
______
$695

recent additions

new rio 2100+ circ pump $50
3/4" tubing $5

approx total value w/no
stock $750

approx cost per gallon $25

(SEE SIGNATURE FOR STOCK LIST PLEASE)

i'd also like to mention that i have a 125 gallon all-glass w/stand & glass tops for sale on the equipment forum...please PM me if interested as i really need to get rid of this monstrosity (i live in a 1 BR and i'm really hard-up for cash right now)

thanks for looking everyone!!! this could be the start of something beautiful...or a disaster...LoL...

mike w
dudley, ma

 

[stingythingy45]

WELCOME TO THE CLUB

Glad to see another Dudley Guy on board.
I'll be PMing you once in a while to see how things are on your side of town.lol
Gee,don't keep track of how much you spend.It will give the girlfriend a record to see if you spend more on the tank than her.
This one stands out in your list(11 yr old bacteria strain(ebay).Didn't even know that was available.lol
Good luck and maybe we'll meet up sometime.

 

[Miller]

Welcome!

Gee,don't keep track of how much you spend.It will give the girlfriend a record to see if you spend more on the tank than her.

I'll second the don't keep track of the reef tank expenses....I don't even want to guess how much $$$ we have tied up in our tank.

 

[dakar652]

Very sound advice, fellas...luckily for me she's not into fish...or reading my forum posts. we have a small zoo at our 1BR...but I only take claim to the fish...the cats, snake and bird are hers...luckily her mouse just died last week after 3 years, so that's one more empty 10 gallon i can fill with fishes...probably a QT tank soon as i've come to understand this is an investment in time only and can really save a lot of hassle. anyway...i'll post more about that where relevant...thanks for making me feel welcome!

 

[ohsweetmadness]

be careful with that powersweep power head- i've read some horror stories on they can go bad on people! sounds like you're making good investments and taking your time- 2 great qualities when it comes to reefing!!! welcome

 

[Jason72]

Welcome

Welcome - and ANOTHER Dudley person?

Huh - who'd have thought this little hick town would be getting so popular....



Jason

 

[dakar652]

system pics

from the side

all lit up

 

[Miller]

Looking good....another 20 Gallon High!

What light is that over your cheato?

 

[r2dtwo]

wow! nice rock. where did u get it?

 

[dakar652]

"What light is that over your cheato?"

that's a coralife 28 watt pc...50/50...although i'm finding out a full daylight spectrum might be better. what do you think?

"nice rock. where did u get it?"

a guy in CT posted some tonga on eBay a while back for $5 a pound. it was completely dry when he got it...so it was then cured and sold. it's taking a LOOOOONG time for the coralline to come through, but it could also have something to do with my bioload for such a small/young tank.

 

[Miller]

I am using a $10 flood light from Home Depot 90 watts (the energy efficient model that only uses 18ish watts of electricity) and a $9 lamp also from HD. It really seems to grow cheato like crazy.

I tired to grow cheato with a 20 watt light and I never got any growth then after about 4 weeks it started to die, that's when I got the Homedepot light setup.

Also you might want to look at getting more power heads for flow, one PH and the return pump most likely will not be enough flow to keep from having dead spots in the tank.

 

[dakar652]

i think i'll be looking into a koralia 2 when i sell my 125 gallon. my return pump from my fuge is pushing about 500 GPH right now, and it looks a good amound of flow reachess all the little corners...but i'm hearing bad things about the powersweep and certainly don't want an in-tank-explosion/electrocution. i've really only got room for one pump in my tank right now, as i'm using the largest power sweep (ps-40 model 228). i'm definately planning to replace that with a more omni-directional pump as soon as my wallet recovers a little from the wrist surgery. thanks for your advice...all is appreciate!

 

[Closet Reefer]

Yeah man, rock that 20H!

Very sound advice, fellas...luckily for me she's not into fish...or reading my forum posts. we have a small zoo at our 1BR...but I only take claim to the fish...the cats, snake and bird are hers...luckily her mouse just died last week after 3 years, so that's one more empty 10 gallon i can fill with fishes...probably a QT tank soon as i've come to understand this is an investment in time only and can really save a lot of hassle. anyway...i'll post more about that where relevant...thanks for making me feel welcome!

I don't know about "luckily...she's not into fish". With Barry and I, it actually works out really well for Barry. I may hold him back from getting certain things, but he winds up with way more corals in the process. I keep saying, "Oooo, pretty! Let's get it!" I have no self control around pretty things...

Ohhh, damn, you sound like Barry about the mouse dying. He was so happy when my gerbil passed away and now wont let me get a rabbit. Butt monkey....

BTW, WELCOME! And thanks for the welcome over on my forum! (Everyone has such dirty minds when it comes to my sig pic.)

 

[Aquaman_68]

Welcome, Mike....