chirohorn Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 I've been keeping freshwater tanks for almost 20 yrs now & currently have a 240 gallon FW community tank. While touring a LFS, the girlfriend fell in love w/the colors of a reef setup. So I've decided to convert the 92 gallon corner tank into a reef ready setup. It's been sitting in the garage for a while & deserves better. I recently got a good deal on a 75 gallon DAS tank & 100# of LR off craigslist. It's got a built-in combo overflow/filter/skimmer unit. My plan is to gently remove the combo unit & use GE sealant to afix it to the 92 gallon. I also plan to make a trip to the coast to get a cooler full of sand or crushed oyster shells. I'm still doing my homework on properly setting up the 1st SW tank. Know anyone that'll transfer the combo unit for me for a fee? I'd rather pay than procrastinate on the project. See the attached project tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddybluewater Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Welcome. I would just buy a bag or 2 of sand, I don't think the sand from the texas coast would be a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Vash Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Petsmart has some decently cheap sand that's fairly good. Comes in 30lb bags (I believe) for about 20 bucks. Aragonite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Your tank is gorgeous!!! Welcome to ARC......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad and Belinda Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Welcome! Nice tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 WELCOME. You are entering the world of the addicted reefers. Always read before you jump. Prior to setting up your tank, get a general idea of what you want in it. Your biotheme will determine intensity of lights and circulation rates. I'll send some links to give you some thoughts. When you mentioned picking up sand from the coast what did you have in mind. While I have started tanks with a Texas Gulf Coast biotheme, there are easier ways to innoculate the tank than with sand from the coast. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayneb Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Welcome - nice to have another reefer south of the 35/130 corridor. Along with Patrick's sites, suggest checking out the "Links" sites that Andrew has set up. wayneb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
August Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 I have sand from the Texas coast mixed into my sand bed and its fine... just make sure you know its brownish not completely white.... I have a mixture of both sand from the store and coast and its doing fine in my tank... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayneb Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Just curious- I would be worried about polutants, what area did you get the sand from? wayneb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
August Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Off of mustang Island in the Gulf off the coast in the Rockport/Corpus area I do believe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 Wayne, Some of the strongest toxins on the planet are manufactured by cynobacteria in many different aquatic enviroments. If you are implying that sediments on the Gulf Coast are a danger to reef aquariums, you are going down the wrong road. When I worked at Dow Chemical in Freeport, the 300 MW power plant which I worked at had a permit to discharge 300 pounds of chromate into the estuary. I collected this discharge water and maintained a brackish water aquarium . Our reef aquariums are waste water treatment plants for many toxins/pollutants/nutriants. Yes, I imply that the same chemical can be called a nutriant or a pollutant. It is relative to the system in question. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayneb Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 Patrick - I was thinking more along the lines of oil pollutants. In my travels around the world and the southern gulf states. It was always my opinion that the Gulf of Mex was the dirtiest, followed by the Sea of Meramera near Ankara, Turkey. The cleanest were the Black Sea and North Sea, however I hit those in the winter months so don't know if temperatures made a difference. wayneb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chirohorn Posted February 18, 2010 Author Share Posted February 18, 2010 Thanks for all the welcome msgs! I had planned on getting sand or crushed oyster shells from either Palacios or Matagorda beach. I wished I was into SW setups last year. We went to Destin, FL & played in the white sands there. I'll make sure to do more research before plunging in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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