46 Gallon Bow Front Set up. First time to salt!

First time salt water tank set up, wish me luck!! I have been buying and researching for this for the last time and i have finally started.

here is what I have: 46 gallon Bow Front, 10 gallon aquarium used as a sump. I have 3 Koralea 1's for water movement 3 x 400= 1200 gph. Overflow box to sump, with a 600 gph return. Aquafuge Medium HOB Refugium with light. 196 watt current USA light fixture. 2 120 heaters that maintain the water at 78 degrees. 120 pounds of live sand from Doctor Foster Smith. Marineland in Sump Protein Skimmer.

I also have all the testing equipment and drip aclimators and such.

I started yesterday, I put egg crate on the bottom of the tank to distribute the weight evenly, and i added about 110 pounds of live sand to the DT and about 10 pounds to the fuge. Which will give me a DSB in both the DT and the Fuge. Gives me about a 5 inch DSB. I aquascaped with 80 pounds of straight base rock. I than added the salt water that I had mixed a little earlier with RO water from the store. (2 trips to Walmart with 5 5 gallon buckets!). I turned on all the equipment except the protein skimmer. This morning, the water was clear, and the Salinity measured at 1.022 and the water was 78 degrees.

I am not using any live rock to cycle my tank to avoid hitchikers. I am going to the store today to buy 2 clown fish, and i am going to add a 4 ounce bottle of instant cycle along with the clown fish and put a ball of chaeto in the fuge. after this i will leave the tank alone for a long time to let the tank do its thing. Probably about a month before the next fish. I will drip acclimate and since i am adding the Instant Cycle and the fact that i am using a damsel fish (clown) i am hoping all will go ok.

 

Empty Aquarium


Picture of Aquafuge


120 Pounds of Live Sand


80 Pounds of Base Rock

 

Cloudy Aquarium after adding the sand the base rock and the Salt Water yesterday afternoon


Aquarium considerably clearer this morning after the salt has had a chance to mix better, and the sand had a chance to settle.

 

More Pics To follow!

 

Awesome start man! keep the pics rolling.

 

Great start, good job studying and re-studying until you were comfortable.

 

Trip to the fish store. I got 2 Clown fish male and female, 1 Green Chromis, 5 Blue Leg Crabs, and a ball of Chaeto for 50.00


5 Blue Leg Hermit Crabs


1 Green Chromis


Male and Female Clown Fish


Baseball size ball of Chaeto for my Fuge

 

not a bad price at all

 

Ah the early days...I remember! Hope all goes well for you. Expect a real cycle even with the instant bacteria stuff. It will happen. I hope your fish all make it. Clowns aren't as tough as regular damsels in my experience...when I started. I do sincerely hope they make it.
My best bud has that same exact setup, except he has corallife (2) 150 hqi and 96w PCs for light. I have a 72g bow front. They are great. Try and find a canopy, makes the tank look so clean.

 

ah a fellow coastie.... where are u stationed? im stationed at sector great lakes.....

im hoping for a small cycle to no cycle since i did not use any LR at all. Just live sand and base rock.