I have been dreaming of purchasing a saltwater aquarium for the last four plus years. That dream came to an end when my son was born in 2002. We needed to spend the tank money on his furniture. Fast-forward to the end of 2006 when I received a nice sized end-of-year bonus from work. I have three fresh water tanks in my house and one at work and I wanted to add a salt tank in my home office. My wife was hesitant about putting it in my office so I compromised with her to purchase the aquarium but it will be placed in the den where the whole family will be able to enjoy it.
After doing research on manufacturer’s websites, TalkingReef and other blog sites, I decided on the AGA 54 corner, thanks Carmie . I ordered the tank, AGA Model 1 sump, Nova Extreme 24” light (1x24 watt 10,000k, 1x24 watt 9,600, 1x24 Actinic 420nm & 1x24 Actinic 460nm - I changed two of the bulbs on a recommendation from the LFS), CoraLife Super Skimmer, Mag 7 pump 900 g/h for the return from the sump, heater, digital thermometer, sand, 25 lbs Live Rock and 25 lbs of Base Rock from the LFS.
On February 25th, the tank, stand and everything else we needed to get the tank running was delivered. Since this is our first salt aquarium we decided it was worth the extra money to have someone who knows what he is doing setup the tank. Chris, the installer, had picked up the tank from the LFS and painted the two flat sides of the tank black. He also brought with him 60 plus gallons of RO saltwater to get the tank started. We have a RO system in the house but it was easier to let Chris mix the water because he knew the process.
As you can see the tank is at the top of the stairs that lead into the den. From the couch you get a great view of the tank.
We added a Maxi Jet 900 Power Head to the front left corner to counteract the returns that are breaking the water surface and moving the water in a clockwise direction.
Within the first two weeks all the levels were at zero, so the water Chris brought got us off to a GREAT start. You can see the algae on the sand.
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