# my 40g marine aquarium project



## noisetherapy (Jul 25, 2011)

Hello all. I'm new to these parts. Thought I'd share my progress in this thread. Please feel free to comment/critique/question!








stand built out of 2x4 & MDF








painted








gimpy kitty checkin it out








new setup murky water from improper sand addition








added lights & more LR


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## tang daddy (Apr 21, 2010)

Looks like you're off to a good start!
Are you planning to have just fish or adding corals too?
Also I see 1 powerhead in there, you should add 1 or 2 for more flow.


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## noisetherapy (Jul 25, 2011)

Thanks for the tip! I have added a powerhead to the opposite side. I'm experiencing diatoms right now. Read that they will eventually go away on their own? 

I'd like to get a bunch of coral once I finish purchasing LR. Too expensive!


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

You can buy dry baserock to supplement your live rock. That will help save money as baserock is probably 2 bucks a lb versus 8-9 bucks for premium live rock. The best price would be to buy live rock from people getting out of the hobby....alot of times you can get it for around $4. The baserock will become live over a couple of months. The big advantage of baserock is that you can get exactly the shapes you want and be certain its not bringing anything undesirable into your tank. It will slow things down for sure though in terms of being able to increase livestock quickly.


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

you could always buy some liverock off of me haha
ive got lots, not getting out of the hobby but i have alot of it "laying around"


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## noisetherapy (Jul 25, 2011)

oh really??? Abbotsford is just too stinkin far from Kitsilano.
unless...... you deliver for free......... and are cheap........ and supply beer......


hahah thanks at any rate!


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

i drive a pig on gas, but im cheep, but i dont drink


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## noisetherapy (Jul 25, 2011)

attack of the killer diatoms









that brown goo is diatoms correct?

i want it to go away

-added more LR and another powerhead


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

its pretty much a new tank thing, i usually throw phosphate remover in my filter to help slow it down / get rid of it


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## tang daddy (Apr 21, 2010)

Just let the diatoms be.... It's part of a cycle, it will disappear soon then you will get hair algae, that will eventually disappear and you may go through a stage of cyano aswell. These are all common symptoms to starting a new tank, a stable tank doesn't happen in a couple weeks, it takes atleast 6 months for a system to be somewhat stable. You have to let the tank go through these stages to mature, trying to rush it or remove it with medication is just prolonging the cycle. Most people start a tank with no patients and within a few months shut it down because it doesn't look good, they fail to realize it takes time. I have also seen people try to be chemists by adding chemicals to remove certain thing from their tank when the simplest option is sticking to routine WC and let the pest algae and the other types of nuisance take care of itself.


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## noisetherapy (Jul 25, 2011)

Sweet, thanks for the info guys. The live rock bacteria won't be affected by such growth?


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## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

The beneficial bacteria on your live rock will remain intact. Is the rock already cured? That is, was the rock newly imported? If so I would minimize your lighting for a short period to reduce the algae growth. If the rock is cured you could add a few critters in there to help keep the algae and Diatoms in check.


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## noisetherapy (Jul 25, 2011)

*Added Timer and Future 10gal Sump*









quick update

purchased a timer and a 10gal tank which will house my vertex in80.

next up -
glass cutting for a bubble trap. purchase overflow and a return pump.
get sump to rock and roll.

This is all super new to me, just wanted to say, everyone on this forum has been extremely helpful so far. Thanks for all the PMs and helpful advice!


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## noisetherapy (Jul 25, 2011)

lets try some different light for these photos.

added another 15 pounds of LR to the tank.
added colt frag and a daisy coral (goniopora i think?)

re-scaped the left side of the tank to accommodate new rock better.

ive read that ive got a coral that is slightly on the harder side to maintain. water tests seem good and ive put it in a location that lines up with most sites. so i guess we'll see. im feeding them 'aquavitro fuel' twice a week.

added a bunch of blue legged hermits and i caught a wicked 4 crab battle royal for a new shell on video. its 30 minutes long so i gotta edit it. maybe ill segment it so you can vote on who you think is going to take the lottery home.


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## noisetherapy (Jul 25, 2011)

*Sump baffles*









done today. as you can see, very simple. intake, skimmerzone, bubble trap, return.

whats your opinion on bio balls? good idea? bad idea?

look at the mess the purple primer for PVC cement made when i spilled it all over the table. wife was..... ok with it (she wants to sand it down and re-stain it anyways, i just gave her an excuse to do it)


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## noisetherapy (Jul 25, 2011)

Been a while since I've logged to post. Here is an update photo of my first saltwater tank








As you can see, there was another re-arrangement of the live rock, and some new coral.

The green daisy goniopora is starting to lose its initial wow factor. I have read that these are pretty hard to keep in captivity, but it looked gnarly and a got a good price on it so I thought I'd give it a shot. It has been in multiple height locations and the extensions are starting to lose their length. advice?

After a couple months, I've come to witness quite a few new hitchhikers, some that included two species of crab. One is a smaller purple coloured bugger, that fans its front arms for food collection. The other (and I've seen two of these guys so far in the tank) is a brown/white hairy beast of a crab. I do believe this little SOB is responsible for the death of my blood red fire shrimp, Zoidberg. I so far, have only been able to capture one of these little bastards for tank exile.

here he is, I dont know what he is, but I think he is ugly. Just like his mother.








Thanks all for stopping by.


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## lotus (Apr 22, 2010)

I really like the rock work....when are you planning on adding fishes?!


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## noisetherapy (Jul 25, 2011)

Fish have already been added! 

I have two Clownfish and 2 Yellowtail Damsels.........


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

A fascinating journal! I have no saltwater experience, so it was really interesting to see your tank come along over time. Nice stand, too!


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Looking good so far.


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