12.10.2005
I've been thinking about keeping a saltwater fish tank for a long, long time. I had my first fishtank as an 'adult' in my dorm my freshman year in college. We kept a terrible mix of fish that simply didn't belong together. Eventually, one very hungry frog ate most of the fish, and the tank was shut down - lesson learned! The fish-guy at the Oxford, Mississippi WalMart did NOT know his stuff.
After college and several moves (Mississippi to Texas to California, where I now call home), I started another freshwater tank at my desk at work. I kept a single-species tank of platies who were happy together and made many young platies. After my office moved buildings, the tank came home and was eventually given away.
I started thinking about a new tank in the last year or so, and after getting married and buying a townhouse with the PERFECT little wall space and tile floors, decided to just do it. I have a friend at work who has kept reef tanks for years, and started a nano-tank at his desk at the office. After seeing him start up this tank and eventually successfully stock it with fish and inverts, I decided I could do it too.
After reading about different set-ups and researching many systems, tanks, and stands, I bought my tank and stand from a LFS here in Sunnyvale, CA. I bought a 50 gallon plexi tank with a built-in overflow and a black back. I also ordered a sump and custom stand that had to be re-made to fit the sump. Once that was in, I picked up 60 lbs 'live' sand and a Current Satellite PC hood in 130 total watts (I know, it's not much, but it was a place to start). A heater, powerhead, and thermometer were also purchased at the same time.
Once everything was home, Lawrence helped me put it all together and we filled bucket after bucket (5 gallons at a time) until the tank and sump were full. The plate is in the picture because that's how we kept the sand from getting stirred up. After it was full and the salt mix had been added, we let it run for a week or so to ensure we had no leaks, and to give the sand time to start the cycle. At some point in that first week we also dumped in the remainder of a bacteria starter which we had put in Lawrence's 5 gallon (which he initially bought for me) tank at work. ¶ 8:09 PM
After college and several moves (Mississippi to Texas to California, where I now call home), I started another freshwater tank at my desk at work. I kept a single-species tank of platies who were happy together and made many young platies. After my office moved buildings, the tank came home and was eventually given away.
I started thinking about a new tank in the last year or so, and after getting married and buying a townhouse with the PERFECT little wall space and tile floors, decided to just do it. I have a friend at work who has kept reef tanks for years, and started a nano-tank at his desk at the office. After seeing him start up this tank and eventually successfully stock it with fish and inverts, I decided I could do it too.
After reading about different set-ups and researching many systems, tanks, and stands, I bought my tank and stand from a LFS here in Sunnyvale, CA. I bought a 50 gallon plexi tank with a built-in overflow and a black back. I also ordered a sump and custom stand that had to be re-made to fit the sump. Once that was in, I picked up 60 lbs 'live' sand and a Current Satellite PC hood in 130 total watts (I know, it's not much, but it was a place to start). A heater, powerhead, and thermometer were also purchased at the same time.
Once everything was home, Lawrence helped me put it all together and we filled bucket after bucket (5 gallons at a time) until the tank and sump were full. The plate is in the picture because that's how we kept the sand from getting stirred up. After it was full and the salt mix had been added, we let it run for a week or so to ensure we had no leaks, and to give the sand time to start the cycle. At some point in that first week we also dumped in the remainder of a bacteria starter which we had put in Lawrence's 5 gallon (which he initially bought for me) tank at work. ¶ 8:09 PM
