It all started a few months ago when my daughter dragged me into a pet shop to show me a Siamese fighting fish, I told her that one day we will move and then I will buy a proper fish tank full of all the fishes and coral that I used to dive with in Oz, Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu. The clever shop assistant then showed me a little display tank (think 20cm cube) and I liked the idea but hated only having one fish in a display thing but for R800 I thought about it, over lunch I decided to look on Gumtree to see what R800 would buy and later that afternoon I returned home with a 90cm freshwater tank, fast forward a bit and I bought a unused bargain tank on Gumtree to make a large fresh tank but decided to actually do what I really wanted and promptly sold it again and started my home work on Marine set ups.
I settled on a Red Sea 525 XL Deluxe (I wanted a 1.5m rimless tank and was the best choice for me and I loved the lights) which I bought from Sheldon from Marine Aquatics along with a Teco TK 1000 chiller (I liked the look of it, the reviews and the fact it also heats) This I ordered and paid for today.
Next I am going to buy 2x Ecotech MP40 Wave Makers and a Ecotech Pump and I think I am going to wait until the Nyos 160 Skimmer is available again (I am in no rush as I need to wait until my kitchen is finished and I also decided to change to tiled floor where the tank will be this morning so this also needs to be done before I can set it all up)
I am also interested in the Nyos Torq reactor (but need to understand this alot more) and a decent Dosing machine.
Because of my complete lack of experience and wanting to do this all properly I am going to employ the expert services of Wayne from Aqua Concepts who will set this all up, supply all the rock, Araganite, salt etc then maintain the tank as I am away a lot and my knowledge is no where near where it needs to be!!
My initial goal is to set up the sump area and all the tech bits as clean and slick as possible - there is a lot of planning and thinking to be done there but thankfully I have time!!
Second goal is to learn patience
Third - Learn more patience (If I make my mind up on something I want it asap)
Fourth - have a kick ass tank in 12 months
I will keep this thread going as time goes as much for your amusement as for a record for me to refer too (I have done the same on other bike builds I have done and its always fun to go back long after the fact and smile at your self!!)
I settled on a Red Sea 525 XL Deluxe (I wanted a 1.5m rimless tank and was the best choice for me and I loved the lights) which I bought from Sheldon from Marine Aquatics along with a Teco TK 1000 chiller (I liked the look of it, the reviews and the fact it also heats) This I ordered and paid for today.
Next I am going to buy 2x Ecotech MP40 Wave Makers and a Ecotech Pump and I think I am going to wait until the Nyos 160 Skimmer is available again (I am in no rush as I need to wait until my kitchen is finished and I also decided to change to tiled floor where the tank will be this morning so this also needs to be done before I can set it all up)
I am also interested in the Nyos Torq reactor (but need to understand this alot more) and a decent Dosing machine.
Because of my complete lack of experience and wanting to do this all properly I am going to employ the expert services of Wayne from Aqua Concepts who will set this all up, supply all the rock, Araganite, salt etc then maintain the tank as I am away a lot and my knowledge is no where near where it needs to be!!
My initial goal is to set up the sump area and all the tech bits as clean and slick as possible - there is a lot of planning and thinking to be done there but thankfully I have time!!
Second goal is to learn patience
Third - Learn more patience (If I make my mind up on something I want it asap)
Fourth - have a kick ass tank in 12 months
I will keep this thread going as time goes as much for your amusement as for a record for me to refer too (I have done the same on other bike builds I have done and its always fun to go back long after the fact and smile at your self!!)
Patience's is not one of my strong points either
so, best of luck! Will be tagging along to see updates
