My First Reef tank!!!

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mlb7225

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Hello all,

So I just got my stand in and put it together tonight. Put the tank on and lights to see what it would look like.

Some of the equipment I have for this build:

JBJ 30RL tank
Aquatic Life 24" 4-bulb light
Aquatic Max HOB 1
Current 1/15th HP chiller (if needed)
JBJ GLO led for refugium(30RL has a space in back for refugium, so will give it a try)

R/O System:
Kent Maxima HI-S 60gpd
55g barrel

I will be using Tropic Marin Bio-Actif Salt Mix. I also have pre-cured rock and dry sand, so will be doing a FULL cycle to start this tank.

Some quick shots from my phone. Again, this is my first reef tank so all comments are very welcome!!! :)





 
Lexusman25

Lexusman25

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Nice tank! I love my jbj 30 gallon rimless, the only downside is was that the stand didnt come with instructions haha What bulb combo are you running?
 
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mlb7225

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Lexusman25 said:
Nice tank! I love my jbj 30 gallon rimless, the only downside is was that the stand didnt come with instructions haha What bulb combo are you running?
Click to expand...
Yea, mine didn't come with instructions either. I have extra screws that just didn't seem to fit anywhere. :)
As for the bulbs, these are blue +, Fiji purple, 10k, and blue +. This is what came with fixture, going to replace as I am not sure as to how old the bulbs are.
 
SchnitzelReef

SchnitzelReef

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Tank looks really nice. For ur bulbs, I'd recommend keeping them the same, just replace the 10k with a ATI coral+. That would be the best bulb combo IMO.

Also that salt ur using is really expensive. For a long time I was using Red Sea coral pro salt, and I just recently switched to Instant Ocean. It's ALOT cheaper, and so far I haven't noticed any difference. Seems like there's alot of hype about different brands of salt, but alot of the old school SPS guys all use instant ocean.


Good luck. So far ur looking god!


Sent from my iPhone
 
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mlb7225

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SchnitzelReef said:
Tank looks really nice. For ur bulbs, I'd recommend keeping them the same, just replace the 10k with a ATI coral+. That would be the best bulb combo IMO.

Also that salt ur using is really expensive. For a long time I was using Red Sea coral pro salt, and I just recently switched to Instant Ocean. It's ALOT cheaper, and so far I haven't noticed any difference. Seems like there's alot of hype about different brands of salt, but alot of the old school SPS guys all use instant ocean.


Good luck. So far ur looking god!


Sent from my iPhone
Click to expand...
Thank you for your comments on the salt. I had picked TM Bio activ based off of a comment from a store owner one time. Nothing better then feedback from a veteran hobbyist though!. I already purchased 200g mix of TM, so after that I will strongly consider switching, especially if it is a lot cheaper.
 
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CamelMD

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I second that. I was using BiO-Actif for while, didnt really see a difference ..just with its high price.
 
Tangwich

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For your first reef tank, I'd say you're definitely ahead of the game. My first reef tank was a crappy little 12 gallon eclipse tank that the only filtration was a little biowheel that i had to crank to get started. lol. Nice tank and keep the pics coming.
 
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treeside

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Sweet setup. In for updates. Agreed with above poster. I messed up on my first tank. The tank i have now isnt my first but theres a lot more prep in getting everything that i need and not skimping out on essentials that may last longer. Good luck
 
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mlb7225

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Thank you for the posts guys. Sorry, been a crazy past few weeks with work. Finally on PTO now until Jan 2nd, so hopefully I can get some water in the tank. I did get a present in the mail today, my very first MP10. :)

 
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mlb7225

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Oh, and back on my salt. So my shipment came last week and the Bio -Actif bucket must have been shattered because there was a note from FEDEX that they had to repackage my item and all that was in the box was a plastic bag of salt. I called Fosters and they said they would send me out a new bucket right away and also a return shipping label for the damaged one. I was happy, but then an hour later, manager from Fosters called me and said it would be too much hassle for them to send me a shipping label so just keep both items. :) 400g worth of Bio-Actif salt mix for price of 1.
 
Six2seven

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mlb7225 said:
Oh, and back on my salt. So my shipment came last week and the Bio -Actif bucket must have been shattered because there was a note from FEDEX that they had to repackage my item and all that was in the box was a plastic bag of salt. I called Fosters and they said they would send me out a new bucket right away and also a return shipping label for the damaged one. I was happy, but then an hour later, manager from Fosters called me and said it would be too much hassle for them to send me a shipping label so just keep both items. :) 400g worth of Bio-Actif salt mix for price of 1.
Click to expand...
How does FedEx damage a bucket of salt! Lol. One of our clients settles their merchandise the same way. We ship Sony tvs direct from Japan and when they arrive damaged, they tell us to just toss them as its cheaper to send a new one than to return to Japan to be fixed.









90g SPS tank/75g display refugium. 180g FOWLR
 
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