Connor's DIY Saltwater Reef Tank Setup Guide by Reef Giants Plan Steps
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Connor's DIY Saltwater Reef Tank Setup Guide by Reef Giants Plan Steps Connor's DIY Saltwater Reef Tank Setup Guide Revision October 22, 2019 brought to you by ReefGiants.com Recommended Equipment (if applicable to the Step) Step # Action Notes / Dependencies Good Better Best I know you might be eager to dive in and have a tank with livestock, but you must first be willing to spend time learning. Specifically, four things: 1) Watch some YouTube videos about the Nitrogen Cycle until you understand its importance. 2) Accept the fact that you will be buying your water from your local fish store, and not trying to normalize tap water yourself. 1 LEARN! 3) Accept the fact that you must do things in sequence (for example, rock before sand, cycling before fish, etc. 4) Go spend some time talking to an expert at your local fish store about your ambitions before you commit to a specific path. (Recommended YouTube Channels for Learning: BulkReefSupply, Aaron's Aquarium and Inappropriate Reefer) N/A N/A N/A Great! So you've done a lot of learning, absorbed information from online as well as spoken to reps at your local fish store. By this point you should have realized that starting and maintaining a saltwater tank is a significant monetary investment and time investment. Also, it requires a decent work ethic and a lot of patience to stick with it, as there are repetative maintenance tasks that you will need to do every week and month to keep your tank healthy. Consider all these things, and that the path ahead of you is a marathon, not a 2 COMMIT! sprint, then make the decision to commit or not. At this point, you have ask yourself what you want to get out of this - Do I want to spend only a little amount of money and do a one-time setup with little to no maintenance? If so, then I recommend a small 3-10 gallon freshwater aquarium with a beta tetra. If you truly are in it for the long game, and have the patience to go through these steps (read below) then continue on my fellow reefer! << This is your last chance to back out without having spent any $$ yet >> N/A N/A N/A Find something used on Facebook Marketplace, Craiglist, Buy something new at your local Some DIY enthusiasts have a Estate/Garage sale, or a friend! pet or fish store. Prices can vary larger budget than I do, and can wildly depending on the build go full-on modern and high-tech, I got this used 55 gallon aquarium quality, features and look that you buying turnkey setups from 3 Aquire the Tank! Choose a tank that is to your liking and that fits your lifestyle, and obviously your with filter, wood cabinet, wood are desiring. This might be companies such as Red Sea. budget. Keep in mind, the size of your tank drives a lot of other budgeting top, dual LED hoods, fish net, somewhere in the $200-$1,000 Some of these tank setups, with elements: How much sand is needed, how much water is needed, amount of fake plants, fake log, and 2" layer range though, most come with built-in sump/filtration systems, aquascaping, etc. The larger it is, the more expensive and higher-capacity other of gravel for $180 light hoods, filters and some and additional features can range hardware will need to be to keep up with your eco-system. starter accessories. from $800 up to $10,000 I got this used 55 gallon aquarium with filter, wood cabinet, wood top, dual LED hoods, fish net, fake plants, fake log, and 2" layer Marineland Heartland LED Red Sea MAX S-650 LED of gravel for $180 Aquarium & Stand Ensemble, 60 COMPLETE REEF SYSTEM LINK: ReefGiants.com Blog Post titled, "Choose A Tank That Fits Your Lifestyle" Gallon (170 GAL) 1 Connor's DIY Saltwater Reef Tank Setup Guide by Reef Giants Plan Steps Connor's DIY Saltwater Reef Tank Setup Guide Revision October 22, 2019 brought to you by ReefGiants.com Recommended Equipment (if applicable to the Step) Step # Action Notes / Dependencies Good Better Best Canister (these are a step up from HOB filters, a touch more expensive, but are quieter and out of sight. Also, you'll never get that 'waterfall/trickle' sound like HOB filters do when the water is too low, but since you don't get that auditory reminder with Sump: Thse are usually the best Canisters then you'll just need to option, albeit the most pricey 4 Acquire a Filter be more dilligent about keeping ones. These 'miniature tanks' your water levels up. However, be provide versatility in placing all aware that canister filters can your equipment below your tank Filters remove impurities from the water so that your fish do not become sick, or cause nitrate build up if not in this (heater, bio filter, protein bogged down with ammonia and other harmful build-up. These come in three main Hang On Back (these are usually preoperly monitored and for skimmer, etc), instead of in or on formats: Hang On Back, Canister and Sump. These increase in complexity and the cheapest option, and will do larger tanks they are a non-starter the tank, as well as allows for prices as you move from left to right, but that doesn't necessarily mean that for the job well, yet can be noisier since they cannot handle a fast better flow and prevents less your setup, a Sump is the best option, especially if you are doing a smaller nano than other filter options like enough flow when compared to build up from harmful reef (10 gallon or less). Canister or Sump) sumps. contaminants. Marineland Bio-Wheel Emperor 400 Aquarium Power Filter, 80- Trigger Systems Sapphire Sump gal Fluval FX-4 Canister Filter 26 While I'd try to find you the cheapest one possible for this column, I am not going to skimp on a heater. You still need to To be frank though, there's really have something reliable and of not much variance between Every tank needs a heater, or two depending on the size, to make sure your fish quality so your livestock doesn't cheap and fancier heaters, other 5 Acquire a Heater are comfortable. You want to keep your water temperatures at an even keel, with die. Remember, you can always than specific bells and whistles I as little fluctuation as possible. Keep this in mind when placing your aquarium: Did buy more than one, depending on would consider unecessary. For you put it in an area that varies between warm and cold pretty often? Did you put your tank's size, which I prefer for example, this one link below has the tank upstairs where the AC unit has a harder time cooling? Did you place it redundancy purposes, rather than A step up from the basic heater, a magnetic mounting system and somewhere that you won't frequent, and so your livestock may be too hot or cold, buying one lager one that can Cobalt is considered to be a clearer visual readout, which are yet it is out of sight out of mind? Kep all of these things at the forefront when handle a bigger tank - that's a recommended brand by many cool but unecessary features in placing your tank. Now, on to heaters - my advice, keep it simple. single point of failue. vendors and hobbyists alike. my opinion. 2 Connor's DIY Saltwater Reef Tank Setup Guide by Reef Giants Plan Steps Connor's DIY Saltwater Reef Tank Setup Guide Revision October 22, 2019 brought to you by ReefGiants.com Recommended Equipment (if applicable to the Step) Step # Action Notes / Dependencies Good Better Best Bulk Reef Supply TITANIUM AQUARIUM HEATER Eheim Jager Trutemp Aquarium Cobalt NEO-THERM SYSTEM WITH MAGNETIC Heater SUBMERSIBLE HEATER MOUNT If you bought a tank in this Paint the Back of Your Tank category, it likely came with a 6 The standard background color for reef tanks is black. This makes the lifestock black back already, or you have Black and aquascaping pop. However, the typical plastic/sheet won't do, so it is Read our Reef Giants blog post HERE on what materials you need some custom setup that doesn't recommended to paint the back of your tank black. and I accomplished this on my own! require painting anything youself. Found/random rocks: You can use your own rocks by all means, but just know that found rock needs to be washed thoroughly. At this point you are ready to aquascape your tank. This basically means create Also, some rock types can the internal layout (rock + sand) that you would like your livestock to have (you change the chemistry of your Reef Rock: This is synthentic live can do this before or after you add water, but I recommend doing it before so you water in your tank. Limestone can rock that has had a short simlated Aquascaping Part 1: Add 7 can make sure your rock is sitting flush on the base of your tank. First you'll want raise the aragonite levels, while Reef Saver Dry Live Rock life in freshwater then saltwater Rock to place your rocks in the formation you like, gluing them together with IC Gel others might containtoxic metals, (budget): Reef Saver is a for multiple weeks/months to build (available from BulkReefSupply.com). so be careful of using randomly sustainable product since it is not up beneficial bacteria.