Converting my 40 Gallon to a Reef Tank

Garrett Semola

New Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2018
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Hi there,

I've been doing freshwater for about 9 months now and recently picked up a 40 gallon breeder. I had it filled and cycling when I decided it wasn't big enough to do much with cichlids as I intended, so I've started preparing to use it as a reef tank instead.

I've got live sand, salt, an RO system, and bacteria/ammonia additives to start the cycle but I wanted to check if I'm missing something.

My plan was to fill the tank with RO water and mix in the salt (since the RO filter takes forever to do it 5 gallons at a time). Once measured and into the tank I was going to use my powerhead to mix it, and once it's tested for the right value I would add the live sand (again because of the slow RO filter it made sense in my mind to do it this way).

That will probably cloud up the water pretty well, but I would let that settle before adding my live rock to scape the tank. After the rock is in then I would install a sponge filter and a Fluval 306 canister. I know a sump is preferable, but I don't have the skill to drill glass and I'm not even sure if the 40 gallon is tempered or not. Giving the system 4-8 weeks to cycle, I would top off with RO water and once settled I would add lighting and possibly look at corals and livestock.

Am I missing anything obvious? The tank was drained and scrubbed a few days ago and has dried out. I was hoping to start filling the tank with RO water tomorrow to be ready by the weekend to mix and add the sand. I don't plan on adding anything but live sand and live rock for now so I figured this was a safe enough method, but I defer to those with the experience.

Thanks everyone!
 

Most reactions

trending

Staff online

Back
Top