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View Full Version : Joining the Darkside



trungnguyen
04-24-2014, 07:51 PM
Hi all,

After reading and looking anything related to saltwater tanks, now I am hooked and decided to join the darkside. I am going to set up a small saltwater tank, and I am planning to keep some basic and soft corals and few fish.

- Tank: rimless tank with dimension 23.5 x 15 x 15.5 with built-in filtration system (3 chambers)
It is around 23.5 gallons if my calculation is correct, minus the built-in section, I will have around 20.5 - 21 gallons to play around.
- Pump: there is a pump including with the tank, I will check to see what it is
- Lighting: I am planning to get Finnex Ray II Ultra Slim LED DB - 10000k + Actinics 24" because as I said, I am planning to keep some soft corals and few fish at first.
http://www.aquavibrant.com/lighting/...-actinics.html
- Skimmer: I am planning to get the biocube protein skimmer since my tank is only 20 gallons around
http://oceanicsystems.com/products/b...in-skimmer.php
- Sand: I have a 20 lbs of live sands from CaribSea
- Rock: I have around 15 lbs of dead rocks, and my friend will give me some live rocks from his established tank to help the cycle.

Here is my plan: the tank is soaking with light bleach solution now. I will clean it and let it dry today. I am gonna set up the tank and create the rock style for the tank. After that, I just put saltwater in and let the tank run. My friend will give me some live rocks this Sunday, so I will just put them in there. I will check the tank everyday and clean the sponge in the chamber. I think the tank will be good and cycled after around 3-4 weeks, and I am going to do a WC for it, and test again. If everything goes well, I will get some cheap small fish to keep and test the water. After couple weeks or months, I will start adding corals slowly.

This will be my first saltwater tank. I am not rushing or anything. I love the colors of the corals and the fish, so I would like to give myself a try. If any member has any experience or advises for me, please welcome. I am willing to learn new things.

Thanks