wildone,
Welcome to the Talkingreef! I just wanted to drop a line to say hello and that the tank looks great so far. I have been away on vacation for a while so this is my first time chiming in on this thread. Sorry if it's a bit long. I'm also new in the hobby and I'm going through the same processes. I'm really impressed with the thought you have put into the tank and look forward to hearimg more about it.
The only suggestion I have, since I don't know much about the hobby yet is to be patient in everything and make sure that you get the best equipment you can for the fish and other animals you're going to keep. I can't imagine watching my tank crash becasue my skimmer or pump gave way. So, we might be able to save some money now on equipment but it might cost us everything in the future. I feel really strongly about this beacuse we are pulling most of these lovely animals awayfrom their homes in the ocean for our enjoyment and so its our obligation to give them the best environments that we can. So keep up the research, you're doing great. Also, an example of good equipment saving us money is that some brands are better designed to reduce the use of electricity...yea!!!!! Who wants to give more money to the power companies than we need to? Thats a cost that usually gets pushed to the side when we plan our tanks.
Also, do you know what you would like to keep in the tank? I remember when I started planning my reef in January my entire system changed 3 times just because I began to realize what environment my fish and coral would need to not only survive, but thrive? If you haven't got a list yet, make one. It was eye opening for me. As a matter of fact, my list keeps changing. I am by no means a rich man so saving for my tank is taking a long time, which has actually been really good for me. It has allowed me to do a lot of research on the hobby and get this fish list sorte3d out. I am not nearly as far into completing my tank yet, but I will be there one day!
The other thing that I have learned is that each animal is different. Its feeding habits, its care, etc. I am sure you know this already, but the systems we design should cater to the animals needs and not be based solely on what equipment we buy. I guess that is why there is no right way to keep a reef system. Everyone has their opinions because the are all keeping different animals with different needs. So, its important that we know exactly what we want to keep in our tanks and then design the tank around that. Fore example, some fish are messier than others and will require a really good skimmer to keep the water clean. I get really caught up in how my system will "fit" together and sometimes I forget to ask myself if I am designing my system for the tomato clown and bubble tip anemone that I want to take care of. Once again welcome!!!!
__________________ - Eddy
"Corals require an aquarium, seawater at the right temperature and salinity, waterf flow, light, food, bicarbonate/buffer, and calcium. Period. No other equipment, apparatus, magic potions, pills, voodoo, prayer, or other sacrafices are necessary." -Eric Borneman
Thanks for the kind words and information. I truly can appreciate the "take your time approach". I have been researching for a few months and as you can see I just now have the tank to sump piping done. I have friends and relatives that keep asking..."ya got any fish yet?" The looks on there faces are priceless when I tell them that I will have some in 6 to 9 months...
That brings up a few good questions that I think I will post elswhere regarding when to introduce fish. I will stop back here and throw a link to them so we can all follow along.
I have given thought that I would like to taylor my tank after a specific region of reef such as indo-pacific or carribean, but I am having a little trouble gathering all of my information. Once again I will post a few questions elsewhere and link back to here. Here is the link posted elswhere in the forums as promised.
I do appreciate your input and will steer my efforts towards determining the livestock I am going to put in the tank. I have all the time in the world, I look at it like I look at my investments...a little homework up front will save a lot of money (in this case dead livestock) in the future:? .
Tonight I finished breaking down the tank and cleaning it thoroughly. I did the same to my 20 gallon fuge and all piping. I had about 25 gallons of fresh RO, so I made my very first patch of SW and it is currently heating and mixing with a powerhead running in the trash can.
My next step is to make the second batch of SW and get it ready to go in the tank. In the meantime, I slapped another coat of paint on my stand and topped that with a coat of gloss polyurethane. One more coat and it will be ready to place.
My plan (I guess) is to place the stand and tank, fill, with SW and test it. How long do I have to wait to put in the LR assuming my salinity is OK? What other tests do I need to run? I will link to these questions that I will post in the general forums.
OK, I think my plan has changes slightly, I will make one more batch of SW and then set all of my equipment. Since I didn't want to pay for Overnight UPS, I will order my LR on Tuesday and I have time on Wednesday night to acutally deal with it. I have decided to purchase from Premium Aquatics, partially due to location, they are a UPS ground shipment away, and partially due to price and selection.
I am ordering 40lbs of Fiji Select and 40lbs of Kaelini Tonga Ultra Show Uncured. I am also ordering my sand from PA as well, which brings up a question (and I think Rob can help me on this one), I think i am going to run a 5" DSB wich will be around 160 lbs of sand. Of that I was thinking or using 40lbs of Carib-Sea Aragamax Select (0.5-1.02 mm grain size) and 90lbs of Aragamax select (0.2 to 1.22) and 40lbs Carib-Sea Special Grade Sand (1-1.7) does that sound right?
I have a small list of creatures I would like to include in my cleanup crew once the LR is finished and the tank levels look good.
Since I have no experience with any of the creatures, your comments on my selections are appreciated. This is a total count I would like to end up with, but I am sure I don’t want to put all of this in at once…or do I? Thanks!
Not familiar with all the stuff on your cleanup crew list, but most of it looks good to me. I'd add it in slowly- maybe the first 1/3 after you have cycled, then wait about 3-6 months and add more... and another 3-6 months to finish it up.
The rock arrived at my office at 11:30 along with 150 lbs of dry Aragamax sand. I took it home at 5pm and got right to work on it. Premium Aquatics did a fine job on the packing and it was only out of water for 28 hours.
I think I may have made a mistake or two when dealing with this rock and I hope I didn’t ruin it. When I got home, my tank was full, at 78 degrees and had a salinity of 1.010. I knew I had to put more salt in it, but last night the temp was only 68 and I read that the temp has to be right or it gives incorrect readings. So when I got home I drained off 10G to make space for displacement and added some salt and let it circulate.
I then took 5 gallons of the SW I drained and went to the garage. I unpacked the rock and put each piece in the water and gave them a good shake. I then put them on a garbage bag, doused with water and covered with another garbage bag.
The 1st Mistake
I checked my salinity and it was 1.018. I then opened each bad of sand and poured in a 5 gallon bucket and rinsed with the garden hose. This is where I may have messed up. I asked earlier if I could use FW to rinse the sand, but I didn’t ask (nor think of till later) if I could just use tap water, or should use RO. At any rate I rinsed the sand three times and the water went from milk to cloudy. I never did get it to run clear and I was so worried about getting that rock in water.
I put the sand in one cup at a time, but man did the tank water cloud up. This is that oolithic (sp) sand and it is like a dust. I know there has to be an easier way to get that sand in. Maybe I should have drained the whole tank, loaded everything and refilled.
The 2nd mistake.
I finally got the water in and the tank was so cloudy I couldn’t see the bottom. By that time I was really worried about the rock so I went and got it and put it in the tank. I didnR
So, we might be able to save some money now on equipment but it might cost us everything in the future. I feel really strongly about this beacuse we are pulling most of these lovely animals awayfrom their homes in the ocean for our enjoyment and so its our obligation to give them the best environments that we can. So keep up the research, you're doing great. Also, an example of good equipment saving us money is that some brands are better designed to reduce the use of electricity...yea!!!!! Who wants to give more money to the power companies than we need to? Thats a cost that usually gets pushed to the side when we plan our tanks. 
I am by no means a rich man so saving for my tank is taking a long time, which has actually been really good for me. It has allowed me to do a lot of research on the hobby and get this fish list sorte3d out. I am not nearly as far into completing my tank yet, but I will be there one day! 
Once again welcome!!!!
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