nuxx Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 (edited) Hey everyone My name's Peter and we live out near the Hill Country Galleria. Been in the hobby for around 6 months now... started with a 55 glass w/ Eheim Pro and Aqua C Remora. We've been through a really bad crash where we lost all but 2 fish overnight and have learned a lot. N00b issues like using tap water, not curing live rock, etc... We have finally got our 55 under control and have decided it's time to step up and get a tank that can hold most of the fish and coral we wish to keep. We recently purchased a 240 gallon acrylic tank with a stand and hood. Now it's time to start doing research on sumps, pumps, skimmer, lighting, overflows, etc... Hopefully we'll start getting everything put together in the next few months... can't wait, but my wife can We'll be moving over the following from the 55 when everything is up and running and cycled: 8" Skeletor Moray Eel 1 1/2" Oc. Clowfish 2" Niger Trigger 2" Yellow Tang 2" Sailfin Tang .5" Yellow Tail Damsel Crabs, Shrimp, Snails Few pieces of soft coral ~75 lbs of live rock When everything is up and running, would like to add: Achilles Tang Purple Tang Golden Dwarf Moray Eel Black Oc. Clownfish Some Angel Few other smaller fish and a nice variety of coral ~200 lbs of live rock in addition to the 75 lbs I'll try to keep this thread updated as everything moves along Edited January 2, 2012 by offshore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Welcome! Sounds like fun times ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woods Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Welcome to the hobby Peter. i noticed your 240 isn't reef ready, are you planning on changing that before setting it up? As part of your research time, I would definitely recommed it. It will make things easier for you down the line. Good luck and there is a lot of knowledge within this club so don't be afraid to ask. It helps avoid costly mistakes. This hobby is expensive already, without us contributing by our mistakes and wiping out our coral and fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuxx Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 Woods, Yes it's going to be changed to a reef ready tank Looking at putting in a few overflows and returns and a nice big sump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard L Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Now you're talking. Go big or go home! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuxx Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 Now you're talking. Go big or go home! Actually bought a 135... but didn't think it would be big enough ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Welcome aboard! Looks like a great tank and a great project. The fact that your wife is into your hobby as well is awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuxx Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 Bought a 20 long yesterday... going make sure everything going in the tank is as healthy as possible now. Have had to fight flukes and ich in the past when I just dumped stuff in. Also, going to remove coral/inverts/LR from the old tank and do Hypo on the old tank to make sure any parasite on my current fish do not make it to the 240. Will probably get the tank drilled and sump built in the next few weeks as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuxx Posted February 6, 2012 Author Share Posted February 6, 2012 Met with Prof (David) from Epic Reef last weekend to talk about the sump / overflow / return setup. Decided on a nice two tank sump solution with a refugium and overflow between the two sumps. He's going to pick it up when he's down in our neck of the woods and start the work. He's also going to clean up a scratch on the tank Will start filling up my 20L with water from my current display tank when I do my next change to get a QT tank going as well. Will probably get a black ocellaris clown into QT and start that process as a trial. Will then put him in our current display tank. After I get the tank / sump back from Prof will start filling it up with water and curing 200 lbs of new live rock. I'll buy the skimmer, 2 eheims for the returns, LED fixtures during that time and kick everything off. Once the tank is full of just rock and water and running I'll get an Achilles tang into QT for 4 weeks with hopes of putting him into the 240 at the same time as the rest of my current DT fish/inverts/coral/live rock (90+ lbs) so I don't have a tang war on my hands. Want to try the QT out first with the clown though. Here's a better pic of the tank... sorry it's a little dirty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bige Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Looks good. Gonna be fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuxx Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 (edited) Tank is in the hands of Prof now He's going to make the two overflows w/ 2 returns each. Create a dual sump / ref. setup and drill everything. Also going to clean up some minor scratches and give it a nice polish. I think I'm going to go with the Skimz Monzter 201 Skimmer: http://www.skimz.sg/...page/sm201.html Will also get 2 Sicce Voyager Power Stream HP 4000's on their Wave Surfer Controller: http://www.sicce.com...m/idprodotto=30 http://www.sicce.com...1/idprodotto=79 For the returns I'll use 2 Sicce Syncra Silent 5.0s: http://www.sicce.com...0/idprodotto=60 Hoping that will be more than enough flow for the tank. I have a Sicce Voyager 2 powerhead and love it on the 55. Whisper quiet... I really want this tank to be as quiet as possible. We also sanded and painted the stand and hood. Removed all the lighting so we can put the LEDs in. Will use the old lighting for the sump/ref area. Also I think I'm going to end up keeping the 55 for QT of larger fish, or those that need more space. The 20L will be for 90% of the fish/inverts I get, but I'm pretty sure a Crosshatch Trigger or Achilles Tang will be much happier in a 55 QT tank. Everything's finally starting to come together now Edited February 28, 2012 by offshore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bannerfish Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 That's gotta be exciting! Looking forward to seeing it come together! When the achilles is added you have to post lots of pics for me, I freakin love those fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirReal63 Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Nice to catch up with you here Peter. Looking forward to the progress. :-) Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuxx Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Hey Jack Ended up ordering 2 Quiet One Pro 6000s for returns. My wife bought the Sicce Wave Surfer controller and a Black Ice Clown for my Bday yesterday. Will order the Skimz 201 Monzter and Sicce Voyager HP 4000 powerheads this week. Then just need to buy the LEDs. Once the tank / sump / fuge is back I'll start the process of getting water in there... long process with my 5 gal. RO tank lol... then I'll order the rock and start the curing process >:0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirReal63 Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Awesome, where are you getting rock from? I was so tempted to go with TBS for rock on the Pentagon, but did not have the luxury of time, I lost some Acro's and severely hurt others in the month it took to get everything set up and transferred over. That is a lot of pump, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuxx Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 Store in SA... almost too good to be true prices. Bought 30 lbs and let it sit for 3 weeks curing and came out very nice. Nicer than some 6-9 dollar pieces I picked up in Austin. Store's name is P. A. sponsor on the San Antonio board... sure you can figure it out ;-) Going with two different types of Fiji 50lbs and 100 lbs, and 50lbs of Tukani. Then also transfer over around 90 lbs of other LR i have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirReal63 Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I stopped by that store on my way to the house in Marble Falls last Friday, prices are cheap but be careful with buying fish there, they are unpacked on Wed and sold out by Fri, nothing QT'd or acclimated, just dump and sell cheap. Not a bad thing if you know ahead of time that you need to watch them, the fish will be stressed and may need some special care. They had almost no live rock last week, maybe you got it all. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuxx Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 Just ordering it by the box, they'll never open it ;-) Yeah I'm getting VERY careful about where I buy fish. Also, they will all go into QT first... Bought a Black Ice Clown from AD and some CUC members from ER in San Antonio last Sunday. Nice stores... worth the drive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuxx Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Picked up a baby yellow bellied blue tang and two neon gobies from Aquadome and they are happy in QT right now. Also ordered my two Sicce Voyager 4000HPs for the Wave Surfer controller my wife bought me today. Will be picking up my skimmer from Roger at Tunze on Friday too. So now I have all the equipment either here or on order. Will order the rock when Prof finishes up the tank and sump/fuge. Once curing I'll have to decide on which LEDs to buy. I think I know what I'm getting but I'm not 100% sure... Getting there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirReal63 Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Pretty cool Peter, the Tang will love the new home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuxx Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Yeah funny how tangs do not get along... Can't have a purple or black because I have a yellow. Can't get a powder blue or brown since I'm getting an Achilles... at least the blue seems to get along with most other tangs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuxx Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 Just picked up my skimmer from Roger at Tunze... it looks like a beast! Can't wait to get it all hooked up Should really help out when curing 250 lbs of new live rock! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirReal63 Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Tangs ared funny, I had a 1-1/2" Scopas rule the tank and that included a Yellow the size of my hand. Which skimmer did you get? Roger is a great person to deal with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuxx Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 I'll put up some pics when the systems up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuxx Posted April 11, 2012 Author Share Posted April 11, 2012 Just got in the two Sicce Voyager HP 4000 powerheads... I'm pretty shocked with how small they are. That's pretty impressive that they can push 4000 gph and aren't massive... that's a good thing though since they'll be the only in tank equipment. I think I've also decided on these LEDs: Guy's had them for over 6 months and said all coral growth has been great. Replaced 400watt MH with these LEDs... so good enough for me. Guessing 4 should be enough since he's running 5 on a 500 gal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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