30 Gallon Fowlr Low Bucks.

I have had tanks for the last 25 years. I went a year and a half with no tank due to my living situation, but after buying another house I was back to 4 fresh water tanks within 3 months. A few months ago the wife was on Facebook marketplace and found a person giving away all kinds of free aquarium supplies. We went over and walked out with a 20 gallon, 29 high with stand , 20 gallon sump, and 75 gallon. Everything got cleaned really good and was put in the garage. A few days later we pulled out the 29 high and tested it for leaks. Perfect, a few scratches but for free it was great. I already have a nice aquaneat 36 inch LED (FOWLR only not good enough for coral). I purchased a coral life filter/skimmer for $35, 20 lbs of black sand for $20. 35 gallons of RODI water for $15. 2 Sun sun 530gph powerheads
for $12, a used 100 watt heater for $8 and 5 Pounds of live rock for $25. A friend gave me 10 Pounds of live rock for free. And I bought some oceanic salt for $25. Refractometer $20, and API master test kit $22. So I set everything up with the help of the LFS. I am so far so happy with the results. For less than $200 We were able to create our first marine tank.

 

Congratulations!

I started the hobby on the salty side many years ago, but then took a very long break. Came back to it when the kiddo wanted a goldie. After said kiddo got his 2nd tank, hubs and I were too jealous... So we started a marine build. Our little reef tank is about a week away from its first birthday. It's been so much fun, I've learned a lot, and I thank the great advisors here for my success.

So, do you have a stocking list in mind?

Would you mind posting a link to your skimmer? I know you didn't ask, but the one concern that came to mind when reading your post was biological filtration. It seems to me that you don't have enough rock.

If you're considering more rock, might I suggest that you go with dry? Your current live rock would seed the dry rock and it would be live in no time. Reef Ready rock by Bulk Reef Supply is a very good option. It doesn't need curing and is very easy to work with when rock scaping.

Welcome to the dark side friend! Please keep us updated and ask any questions you might have. I'll be glad to help any way I can.

 

Stella,
Thanks for the reply. As for stocking it has 3 green chromis and a fire fish tank has been up for a while for a while, just finally posted it. That's all I plan for quite a while. Maybe a pair of clowns later on, or something else peaceful. My LFS gives me great deals because I have been a customer so long, even my live rock cost me less than $5 a pound. I will be adding a few more pounds but only about 25 total. have to watch how I spend, I just ordered an RODI unit so I don't have to travel for water. Will add some pics of fish later. As for the filter it is the coral life filter with protein skimmer.

 

Pics

 

Nice find. Getting complete or near complete used setups can save you quite a bit, just have to be sure to check for leaks and scratches. You don't want to end up with a tank that looks like this:

 

A Firefish? Yay! We have one too. They're known to be timid creatures, but I wouldn't know because my guy is not timid at all... perhaps because he's the only fish in the tank, lol. Yours looks to be comfortable out in the open. Does he seem to mind having the chromis around?

It's really great that you have a long and trusted relationship with your LFS.

The RODI will pay for itself in no time. Especially if you're like me and have a hard time ignoring the livestock every time you go to the LFS. I have a pretty good LFS myself, but I have an addiction to corals, lol. I've been known to go in for salt only and walk out with a frag more than once.

It's a very good idea to start with a FOWLR tank as it gives you a chance to get used to marine tank care... not to mention the cost of lighting. That said, 99% of FOWLR's end up being reef tanks before long, and that RODI system is just bringing you one step closer. Do you think you'll want corals eventually? If I'm honest, when I read your story my first thought was 'Awesome! You saved so much on the build that it could be a little easier to budget in a reef light.'

 

Jester, a buddy of mine compounded and buffed the small scratches out of the glass, had a few larger scratches on the side panel, but not very noticeable. I have found after having a few used tanks, people have a tendency to turn the tank up on its side to clean it out, which causes scratched side panels.

Stella, I can almost guarantee that it will get a coral light and some corals after it matures for a while. Actually we already have 3 different t5 fixtures, 2 4 bulbs and 1 six bulb, but for this one we are thinking the Fluval marine led 2.0 with the Wi-FI adapter.