snyderju
Reefing newb
Well, I started a thread when I just started my tank a couple weeks ago and received some great advice about my substrate. Here is a link to that thread:
https://www.livingreefs.com/29-gallon-reef-tank-t38928.html
Since setting it up we made some big improvements. We went from a glass closed lid to a window screen top I made myself. This top however took hours to make and blocked a lot of light. I did some research online and found egg crate. This stuff is amazing! Made a new lid with this that our T5 lighting fixture can sit right on and cut out the section the light sits above so no light is being blocked. Looks good and works even better plus I had extra so I upgraded our quarantine tank and the rest can be used for frags when we get there. One of our fish came down with Marine Ick so we moved them all into quarantine last night and are treating them with Copper and testing the water religiously. This gave me the opportunity to take all that dreaded crushed coral we were using out and replace with fine argonite sand. Looks better and will hopefully keep the nitrates more stable once it becomes seeded. We have the API saltwater and reef master kits so we will be checking all our parameters. I also traded in that terrible Biocube protein skimmer for the internal Aquatic Life 115 skimmer and it is still breaking in but already doing a great job producing good skimmate.
Once the sand settles a little better (hopefully by tonight after I get home from work) I'll post some pictures of the new setup. We have put A LOT of time, money, research, and effort into this new endeavor and we are both very proud. Let me know what you all think I'll be back with pictures later tonight!
Thanks,
Justin
https://www.livingreefs.com/29-gallon-reef-tank-t38928.html
Since setting it up we made some big improvements. We went from a glass closed lid to a window screen top I made myself. This top however took hours to make and blocked a lot of light. I did some research online and found egg crate. This stuff is amazing! Made a new lid with this that our T5 lighting fixture can sit right on and cut out the section the light sits above so no light is being blocked. Looks good and works even better plus I had extra so I upgraded our quarantine tank and the rest can be used for frags when we get there. One of our fish came down with Marine Ick so we moved them all into quarantine last night and are treating them with Copper and testing the water religiously. This gave me the opportunity to take all that dreaded crushed coral we were using out and replace with fine argonite sand. Looks better and will hopefully keep the nitrates more stable once it becomes seeded. We have the API saltwater and reef master kits so we will be checking all our parameters. I also traded in that terrible Biocube protein skimmer for the internal Aquatic Life 115 skimmer and it is still breaking in but already doing a great job producing good skimmate.
Once the sand settles a little better (hopefully by tonight after I get home from work) I'll post some pictures of the new setup. We have put A LOT of time, money, research, and effort into this new endeavor and we are both very proud. Let me know what you all think I'll be back with pictures later tonight!
Thanks,
Justin
