curiousphil
Super Active Member
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2013
- Location
- London, Ontario
Hey there fellow Canadian reefers! My name is Phil, and I was just introduced to reefkeeping last fall. I didn't even know people kept saltwater tanks until then! I started dating this amazing girl who is really into saltwater and showed me a bunch of tanks, and I quickly fell in love with the corals she showed me.
Shortly after my introduction to saltwater, I decided that I wanted a tank of my own... and the planning began! I joined Reef Central as overexposed, and started putting together a list of all the equipment I would need. This served a few purposes, first being that it was a great way to learn about what kind of equipment I would need, and just understanding the mechanics or a tank. The second purpose being a method for helping me estimate the startup cost. I'm also a big fan of DIY, because I find that building things helps me learn about them. So keeping that in mind, I wanted to identify all of the pieces I could build myself.
Knowing that I wanted to keep a mixed reef with a primary focus on SPS coral, I began researching what SPS coral require to thrive. My findings: high light, strong flow, and excellent/stable water parameters. Since I was not fully decided on tank size, or location, I decided to first focus on these three areas. I could start right away on building lights and a reef controller to take care of the lighting and help with the water stability. The third area, flow, required more research. It took me a long time to figure out what kind of flow I want to create.
Anyway, over the winter months I planned my build and slowly began collecting all of the pieces. My tank is now up and running for the most part. I selected a 90 gallon with a 30g sump, got both for cheap off of Kijiji. The tank came with a poorly made 2x4 stand that I modified to be taller and more stable, the surface now sits at approximately 30 inches high and the bottom portion is large enough to accommodate a sump plus skimmer. I still have a few big tasks to complete, but I have the basics in place for supporting life.
Seeing as my tank is still a work in progress, I'm going to create a thread of it's own under the member's tank section, to document what I've done so far and to continue reporting on the rest of my build. For those who want to read about the progress to date... you can check out my thread on Reef Central, I've dubbed it The Electric Reef Project.
Aaron from Big Al's London referred me to this site when I was in there talking with him about my tank the other day.
Shortly after my introduction to saltwater, I decided that I wanted a tank of my own... and the planning began! I joined Reef Central as overexposed, and started putting together a list of all the equipment I would need. This served a few purposes, first being that it was a great way to learn about what kind of equipment I would need, and just understanding the mechanics or a tank. The second purpose being a method for helping me estimate the startup cost. I'm also a big fan of DIY, because I find that building things helps me learn about them. So keeping that in mind, I wanted to identify all of the pieces I could build myself.
Knowing that I wanted to keep a mixed reef with a primary focus on SPS coral, I began researching what SPS coral require to thrive. My findings: high light, strong flow, and excellent/stable water parameters. Since I was not fully decided on tank size, or location, I decided to first focus on these three areas. I could start right away on building lights and a reef controller to take care of the lighting and help with the water stability. The third area, flow, required more research. It took me a long time to figure out what kind of flow I want to create.
Anyway, over the winter months I planned my build and slowly began collecting all of the pieces. My tank is now up and running for the most part. I selected a 90 gallon with a 30g sump, got both for cheap off of Kijiji. The tank came with a poorly made 2x4 stand that I modified to be taller and more stable, the surface now sits at approximately 30 inches high and the bottom portion is large enough to accommodate a sump plus skimmer. I still have a few big tasks to complete, but I have the basics in place for supporting life.
Seeing as my tank is still a work in progress, I'm going to create a thread of it's own under the member's tank section, to document what I've done so far and to continue reporting on the rest of my build. For those who want to read about the progress to date... you can check out my thread on Reef Central, I've dubbed it The Electric Reef Project.
Aaron from Big Al's London referred me to this site when I was in there talking with him about my tank the other day.
