New supplies for the tank

I purchased the following off of amazon.com

((great way to save money on what you need to have a successful tank!)

- Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Saltwater Master Liquid Test Kit

($15.98 online, $29.99 in store)

- Red Sea Alkalinity and KH test kit

($7.98 online, $12.99 in store)

- JBJ Digi- Temp

($11.00 online, $13.99 in store)

- Plastic Pipettes

($5.98 for 100, 50 cents each in store)

- Marineland Medium Siphon-Kleen

($4.00 online, $13.00 in store)

the in store prices come from different shops around the area.... while searching for all of the test kits, thermometers, and siphon I figured I would spend about $130 in total purchases.. but with online shopping and shipping my total was $72 and some change. Not too bad! Sure, I have to wait a couple of days, but that's ok! I'm totally willing to wait to save some money.

Today's lesson- before you go out on a spending spree check out great sites like bizrate.com, ebay.com, and amazon.com... you'll definitely save money!

Promoting New Nano Reef Forum

http://www.mynanoreef.com/

awesome new site! check it out, create a log in, and help it develop into something great :)

wow! ricordea mushrooms are taking off!

Day 2 of my biocube set up... and all of my mushrooms are thriving!

I'll start harvesting some of these in a couple of weeks :)

Don't get me wrong- they are beautiful but I don't want a tank full of 1 type of mushroom/coral.

6 hours after tank set up

... and it's looking GREAT!

front-

side-

side 2-

So what do you think? :)

New 8 gallon Biocube Aquarium!

I FINALLY have my very own saltwater aquarium... soon to be reef system with a couple of fish :) So why not document what I've learned from beginning to the end?

I purchased a used Oceanic Biocube 8 gallon tank off of craigslist for an unbelievable $50. The guy I bought it from was using it as a freshwater tank, so cleaning it was a bit of a pain and a long process. First I had to remove the remaining rock (trash), carbon filter (& replace with a new one), thoroughly clean the bio balls, and sanitize the tank to prepare it for a SW (saltwater) habitat.

Preparing a used tank for SW use-

1- empty and trash all debris

2- do a thorough rinse and wipe down with a soft cloth so you don't scratch the glass of acrylic.

3- fill tank, 8 gallons for me, and add some bleach

4- allow to sit for 3 to 6 hours

5- rinse

6- fill and add de-chlorinator (a full bottle)

7- all to sit for AT LEAST 8 hours, preferably 12.

8- rinse, air dry and begin filling your tank.

After cleaning my tank I purchased pre made SW from Aquatic Fantasy (the local fish store here in Redondo Beach), and live rock & live sand. As well as a new light fixture (special order), carbon cartridge, & a hydrometer to keep track of the salinity levels.

The rock I purchased already had established greenish- red mushroom coral growth on it, so I'm one step closer to my reef system. Below is a picture of my tank almost 2 hours after set up..

Total purchases-

- Used Oceanic Biocube- $50

- Bleach- $1.99

- Dechlorinator- $10.99

- Eclipse replacement cartridge- $3.99

- Saltwater @ $.99/gallon- $7.92

- Aragalive Fiji Pink live sand- $23.99

- regular live rock @ $4.99/lb- $15.97 for 3.2 lbs

- fancy live rock with growth @ $7.99/lb- $19.18 for 2.4 lbs

- hydrometer- $12.99

Total- $147.02

Is this an expensive hobby? YOU BET! But I'm pretty lucky for finding a tank in such great condition for 50 bucks! Usually 8 gallon Biocubes retail for $140 (not including taxes and shipping!)

Thank you to my friends at Aquatic Fantasy in Redondo Beach, CA for supplying my current, and future purchases.

www.aquaticfantasy.com