d2mini's 46g Bow Front

[dustin_P74]

also what are your stocking plans

[d2mini]

Originally Posted by dustin_P74

also what are your stocking plans

Well, I want to keep a variety of hard and soft corals.
Planning on something like a Nova Extreme Pro T5 lighting system.
For fish, i'm not sure. I'll only be able to fit a few so anything bright/colorful and reef friendly will work for me.
And then the usual cleanup crew type critters. Speaking of which... any suggestions for that? Best place to purchase? Suggestions for what to get and how much?
How long would you wait to add those?
Thanks!

[dustin_P74]

get snails, no hermit crabs

[yote]

Let the algae guide you on the clean up crew.You want just enough to keep up.I'd start with maybe 5 Astrea snails,5 to 10 Nassarius snails,and a couple of emerald crabs.You can always add more if you need to.
Liveaquaria is supposed to a good place to order from.

[d2mini]

Cool, thanks... i'll check them out. Should i get something soon or wait?

[dustin_P74]

wait for your cycle to end

[d2mini]

So since i just kinda winged the stand and that turned out ok, i went into the garage today and started work on figuring out the canopy. I've got the back and two sides done, and the frame work in the front which just needs to be skinned. Once that's done I can make the top. I'll post pics of the progress later tonite along with a couple pics of the tank progress.

Meanwhile, I'm thinking of how to finish it and was thinking of painting the inside with KILZ and leaving it white to help reflect light into the tank. Would this be a good thing or should I paint it black? What about sealing the wood and protecting it from the saltwater? That's why I was thinking of using the kilz. Is that ok? If I paint it black on top of the kilz, what kind of paint should I use over the kilz? The outside I'll be staining ebony to match the stand.

[yote]

I'd use the kilz,then maybe cover it with a clear coat sealant.

[RyanG]

Leave the inside of the canopy white. It'll help reflect extra light into the tank.

[d2mini]

Ok, cool... white it is. And I'll look for a sealant.
Thanks!

Here's the pics of what I have so far. This time I soaked the plywood in the tub for 20 minutes and then clamped it in place. That was much easier than bending it dry.
I also took a couple pics of the sump running and a couple shelves i put under the stand for a few accessories like my test kit and refractometer. Yes, I'm a dork. You can also see where I put some live rock rubble on the right side of the sump where you would normally have the bio-bale.

I now have about 60 lbs of sand and 38 lbs of rock. The rock all came from other people's established aquariums.
The water is still cloudy since i've been moving stuff around.