HeulittSalmi's 10 Gallon r/Reeftank Contest Thread

[Build 2] (https://www.reddit.com/r/ReefTank/comments/47flfl/heulittsalmis_second_contest_entry/) And [Build 3] (https://www.reddit.com/r/ReefTank/comments/47g7rf/heulittsalmis_third_and_final_contest_entry/)

2/05/16 - The Cycle Begins

2/09/16 [This] (http://i.imgur.com/aF1Smk8.jpg) is what the tank looks like now, but I think I will change it later on.

2/25/16 So [this] (http://imgur.com/4ID1sJi) the new set up of my LR, still waiting on my paycheck to go and buy a light and a test kit. And sorry for the iPhone potato quality, I am currently researching the best way to take a tank photo with an iPhone.

2/27/16 I went to my LFS to get my water tested (Haven't bought a test kit yet) and the employee said I was nearly done cycling. here are the parameters he gave me Ammonia 0.25mg/l Nitrite 0.25mg/l Nitrate 2ppm Calcium 450 ppm Alkalinity 3.19 men/l Salinity/S.G. 1.027ppm

Equipment

IM Nuvo Fusion 10 gallon tank - $94.00

Thermometer - $5.00

Total $99.00

Not Included in Budget:

Carribsea Live Sand 20 lbs - $38.00 (I got wayyyyy too much and will use some on my 5.5 gallon tank)

13 lbs of LR - $6.99 per pound

Total $128.87

More Info

3/3/16- So I put this hear just to talk about the tank. These three tanks will all be the first time I've ever done anything with saltwater. I have had multiple Freshwater tanks and have always had good success. I decided, a few months ago, to take advantage of the PetCo $1/G sale and bought a 55g on a whim. After telling my parents, because I am a broke college student still living at home, my step-father convinced me to dive into saltwater. He mentioned how he had always wanted to take the plunge and how I should do it now instead of wait, so I said "What the hell, can't be too hard, eh?" and thats when I looked at the prices for everything. I did hours and hours of research over the next few weeks and asked myself questions like, what the hell is a sump, why do I need a protein skimmer, corals are all the same right, live rock or rocks from my backyard, etc. etc.. So after being on this reddit for a few weeks I finally took a look at the Nano Contest and convinced myself I should do this instead. I don't really know where I want to go with this tank, but I do have a few ideas. To be perfectly honest, I do already have some regrets with this tank (As of today 3/3/16). For example, I wish I would have been smarter when buying live rock and had a better idea of what I wanted to do, and even gotten white live rock instead of the purple live rock, and, that I wish I would have bought the Black CarribSea Live Sand because the sand that is in there now, one, isn't black, and its just wayyyy to damn fine. But anyways I will add to this as it goes on and share my thoughts and feelings on my tank, the contest, the hobby and pretty much anything.

3/3/16- 2nd comment- So I forgot to add that the tank, IM Nuvo Fusion 10, I like it, but I made the choice to get it assuming the "show" part of the tank was ten gallons, not the whole system. Not too big of a deal but yeah. Also I think I might upgrade the pump to get a better flow and add a water deflector to the pump output thing.