Hi all -Brand new member, and it was suggested that I start a build thread.... So, here I go 
This is my first SW tank, so I think my primary goal is to minimize the amount of catastrophic newbie mistakes I make. ?Tank: 32gal Coralife LED BioCube; noisy lights but hey it works and I think I was guided well for a first tank. ?Filtration: 30# live sand (CaribSea Pink Fiji), 45# live rock. ?I've ordered the coralife skimmer, which I've read isn't great, but I haven't seen any reports yet that suggest any other skimmer will easily work with this setup, so I'll go with that to get going. ?I'm thinking I scrap the carbon that came with the kit, and add Sponge/floss to the middle of the media tray for mechanical. ?No clue yet what to do with chemical; it's not really an issue on the FW side with planted tanks and good biological / mechanical filtration. ?I added 30# of sand, 30# of live rock, and 27gal of water?on Saturday from Dallas North Aquarium, and picked up another 15# of live rock from Apex on Monday. ?I'm running a pair of 100w Aqueon heaters I had from previous FW builds, set at 80 degrees. ?I haven't added shrimp or krill or anything like that to kickstart the cycle. ?In the past, I've cycled FW aquariums using pure ammonia. (fishless)?Intank has some cool looking inserts including a mini fugue for macro algea, but I'm still scratching my head a bit on whether or not I need that, and what the media tray portion even does other than look cool.Ultimate stocking goals: a small friendly urchin (my daughter stepped on one of the bigger more toxic varieties a couple of summers ago, so this is a 'face your fears' tank -- her choice not mine!), a shrimp or two, and a couple of fish down the line that will complement the coral. ?I'd like to look at whatever?coral that this lighting system can support.(I also realize I might have to do some DIY light upgrades on this tank, and have just learned about the Apex controller... This is a pretty engrossing hobby) ?Oh, and I have a pair of Redsea test kits on the way.Anyhow, first bit of advice I received was to pick up a magnetic cleaner that can get all the glass, and I'll pick that up stat ?In the meantime, here are some pics of my aquascape and a close up of our first hitchhiker -- a tiny little starfish that brightened our morning. ?View attachment 579
This is my first SW tank, so I think my primary goal is to minimize the amount of catastrophic newbie mistakes I make. ?Tank: 32gal Coralife LED BioCube; noisy lights but hey it works and I think I was guided well for a first tank. ?Filtration: 30# live sand (CaribSea Pink Fiji), 45# live rock. ?I've ordered the coralife skimmer, which I've read isn't great, but I haven't seen any reports yet that suggest any other skimmer will easily work with this setup, so I'll go with that to get going. ?I'm thinking I scrap the carbon that came with the kit, and add Sponge/floss to the middle of the media tray for mechanical. ?No clue yet what to do with chemical; it's not really an issue on the FW side with planted tanks and good biological / mechanical filtration. ?I added 30# of sand, 30# of live rock, and 27gal of water?on Saturday from Dallas North Aquarium, and picked up another 15# of live rock from Apex on Monday. ?I'm running a pair of 100w Aqueon heaters I had from previous FW builds, set at 80 degrees. ?I haven't added shrimp or krill or anything like that to kickstart the cycle. ?In the past, I've cycled FW aquariums using pure ammonia. (fishless)?Intank has some cool looking inserts including a mini fugue for macro algea, but I'm still scratching my head a bit on whether or not I need that, and what the media tray portion even does other than look cool.Ultimate stocking goals: a small friendly urchin (my daughter stepped on one of the bigger more toxic varieties a couple of summers ago, so this is a 'face your fears' tank -- her choice not mine!), a shrimp or two, and a couple of fish down the line that will complement the coral. ?I'd like to look at whatever?coral that this lighting system can support.(I also realize I might have to do some DIY light upgrades on this tank, and have just learned about the Apex controller... This is a pretty engrossing hobby) ?Oh, and I have a pair of Redsea test kits on the way.Anyhow, first bit of advice I received was to pick up a magnetic cleaner that can get all the glass, and I'll pick that up stat ?In the meantime, here are some pics of my aquascape and a close up of our first hitchhiker -- a tiny little starfish that brightened our morning. ?View attachment 579