wazzupmac
Supporting Member
First off, I want to thank those of you I have interacted with (usually buying something) or just reading about your journey with saltwater tanks. I started in 2009 with freshwater tanks and at the height of my obsession I had 8 tanks going in my house/apartment that ranged from 10-100 gallons. I love a challenge and am driven when folks say something can't be done. I look back on starting with freshwater and wonder how many fish I killed with my hubris. I'd buy a great looking fish and wonder why two days later something was floating lifeless in my tank. "I'm a smart guy this shouldn't be this hard. It's just an aquarium."
Then I attended my first convention in Connecticut and met some folks that readily shared their knowledge. Within months and constant questions, I was breeding Apistogramma and figuring out how to drop my PH to sub 4.0 in the 40 gallon breeder. I was hooked the first time I looked up and saw what looked like random bugs buzzing around the tank only to realize that my A. Eunotus has successfully bred. Next thing you know I'm breeding 4-6 types of apistogramma. It felt good.
Sometime around 2016, I hit up Craigslist and bought a used 32 gallon biocube and slowly cycling a tank - try explaining to your wife who has no clue what you are up to why you have rocks in a tank for 4-6 months and won't add anything else. I'm sure many of you have been there. We moved to Sunnyvale in 2017 and the had to abandon the tank and just give it away. Fast forward a few years later, I have a tank up and running (version 2 - had to take version 1 down when Covid hit and we couldn't go into the office) in my office. I spend too much time reading about reefing and infinitely more money on my Red Sea Max C-130 and tank I'm supposed to be getting next June when we move to Oakland.
I started the tank back up in August and patiently waited for it to cycle. Once again folks were asking me daily why I have a tank with just water and sand sitting in my office. "Why don't you add .....?" Only one student (I work at a school - college counselor) saw the tank as "half-full" vs "half-empty". Slowly the tank has come together and is doing well - knock on wood as I was telling a BAR member this morning as I picked up another tank with no clear plan of when or where it will get set up.
Since the tank is located in my office, my first focus has been on making sure that as much of it is automated and will be fine if I disappear for days (maybe even a week) at a time. As you'll see in the first set of photos I've acquired a Neptune Apex, Kessil a360x, Tunze 3155, Hydrofill 5G ATO reservoir, Inkbird 308 wifi controller, Reolink E1 Zoom, and Eheim feeder.
I have bought way too much (I'm sure most of you know that feeling). I'm not a DYI kind of guy, never was and never will be. I don't consider going "topless" on the tank to be me experimenting with DIY. But I'm dedicated and will take the necessary steps to ensure success but expecting some setbacks. I spend a lot of Saturdays tinkering with the tank set up over the past few months. My kids watch movies in the media center on campus while I lug 5 gallon jugs of water around, test parameters, and slowly add equipment.
Currently, the tank is lightly stocked (2 designer clownfish - Spot and Dot, 2 BTA - 1 red and 1 green, and maybe 10-12 frags of LPS). I know there is a long game to this and I'm not trying to mess things up by being impatient. The best advice I keep hearing (that many fail to follow) is that don't chase numbers and don't fix something that isn't broken (ex. fixing dinos -- it will come to pass). Hopefully, I will continue to listen to your sage advice and remember that each aquarium is unique.
My next post will outline the stocking.... But I wanted to share some of the excess stuff I have bought that will hopefully get used one day when I get my dream tank next summer (or if someone really needs something and wants to take it off my hands for what it cost me)
As of today, I have a 55 gallon Rubbermaid with 60-100lbs of rock curing/cycled with 2 powerheads and 2 heaters going in the garage...
3 Neptune Apex - 1 full and 2 EL (1 with EB8 vs EB832) - bunch of extra probes...
Apex display - new
2 Neptune probe holders -- within the next month the office tank will be fully probed up (if that's a word)...
Many modules to ensure functionality/compatibility of stuff I purchase to enhance tank automation...
3 MP10s (mobius - 1 seems to be acting up - maybe why I stalled on doing everything with the office tank - will only have 1 installed on the tank or 2 at 10-15%
2 MP40 (mobius) - 1 has a slight sound (annoying)
3 Kessil a360x with mounting arms
Neptune DOS and Trident (I'm excited to install/tinker with this - I love numbers)
3 Tunze 3155
Tunze 9001 skimmer -- pain in the ass to fit in the back chamber - will be a project before the end of January
2 skimmers (dumbest purchases to date but both were steals) - reef octopus 110 classic? and coralife xyz with upgraded varios 2S skimmer pump
Aqua UV sterilizer - 8W
Too many other small things to count -- why do I own lbs of citric acid?, etc.
And another frag rack and some more frags to pick up in Dublin tomorrow.
Marvin
Then I attended my first convention in Connecticut and met some folks that readily shared their knowledge. Within months and constant questions, I was breeding Apistogramma and figuring out how to drop my PH to sub 4.0 in the 40 gallon breeder. I was hooked the first time I looked up and saw what looked like random bugs buzzing around the tank only to realize that my A. Eunotus has successfully bred. Next thing you know I'm breeding 4-6 types of apistogramma. It felt good.
Sometime around 2016, I hit up Craigslist and bought a used 32 gallon biocube and slowly cycling a tank - try explaining to your wife who has no clue what you are up to why you have rocks in a tank for 4-6 months and won't add anything else. I'm sure many of you have been there. We moved to Sunnyvale in 2017 and the had to abandon the tank and just give it away. Fast forward a few years later, I have a tank up and running (version 2 - had to take version 1 down when Covid hit and we couldn't go into the office) in my office. I spend too much time reading about reefing and infinitely more money on my Red Sea Max C-130 and tank I'm supposed to be getting next June when we move to Oakland.
I started the tank back up in August and patiently waited for it to cycle. Once again folks were asking me daily why I have a tank with just water and sand sitting in my office. "Why don't you add .....?" Only one student (I work at a school - college counselor) saw the tank as "half-full" vs "half-empty". Slowly the tank has come together and is doing well - knock on wood as I was telling a BAR member this morning as I picked up another tank with no clear plan of when or where it will get set up.
Since the tank is located in my office, my first focus has been on making sure that as much of it is automated and will be fine if I disappear for days (maybe even a week) at a time. As you'll see in the first set of photos I've acquired a Neptune Apex, Kessil a360x, Tunze 3155, Hydrofill 5G ATO reservoir, Inkbird 308 wifi controller, Reolink E1 Zoom, and Eheim feeder.
I have bought way too much (I'm sure most of you know that feeling). I'm not a DYI kind of guy, never was and never will be. I don't consider going "topless" on the tank to be me experimenting with DIY. But I'm dedicated and will take the necessary steps to ensure success but expecting some setbacks. I spend a lot of Saturdays tinkering with the tank set up over the past few months. My kids watch movies in the media center on campus while I lug 5 gallon jugs of water around, test parameters, and slowly add equipment.
Currently, the tank is lightly stocked (2 designer clownfish - Spot and Dot, 2 BTA - 1 red and 1 green, and maybe 10-12 frags of LPS). I know there is a long game to this and I'm not trying to mess things up by being impatient. The best advice I keep hearing (that many fail to follow) is that don't chase numbers and don't fix something that isn't broken (ex. fixing dinos -- it will come to pass). Hopefully, I will continue to listen to your sage advice and remember that each aquarium is unique.
My next post will outline the stocking.... But I wanted to share some of the excess stuff I have bought that will hopefully get used one day when I get my dream tank next summer (or if someone really needs something and wants to take it off my hands for what it cost me)
As of today, I have a 55 gallon Rubbermaid with 60-100lbs of rock curing/cycled with 2 powerheads and 2 heaters going in the garage...
3 Neptune Apex - 1 full and 2 EL (1 with EB8 vs EB832) - bunch of extra probes...
Apex display - new
2 Neptune probe holders -- within the next month the office tank will be fully probed up (if that's a word)...
Many modules to ensure functionality/compatibility of stuff I purchase to enhance tank automation...
3 MP10s (mobius - 1 seems to be acting up - maybe why I stalled on doing everything with the office tank - will only have 1 installed on the tank or 2 at 10-15%
2 MP40 (mobius) - 1 has a slight sound (annoying)
3 Kessil a360x with mounting arms
Neptune DOS and Trident (I'm excited to install/tinker with this - I love numbers)
3 Tunze 3155
Tunze 9001 skimmer -- pain in the ass to fit in the back chamber - will be a project before the end of January
2 skimmers (dumbest purchases to date but both were steals) - reef octopus 110 classic? and coralife xyz with upgraded varios 2S skimmer pump
Aqua UV sterilizer - 8W
Too many other small things to count -- why do I own lbs of citric acid?, etc.
And another frag rack and some more frags to pick up in Dublin tomorrow.
Marvin
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