BRAND NEW SIDE BY SIDE FRESHWATER/SALTWATER SETUP

L

LSBBA

Premium Member
I was motivated to start a new tank build after reading another users thread of his side by side build on a 55 gallon stand. I don't have the room anywhere in the house due to my wife not wanting any tanks on the carpet. So I decide to take the kitchen counter space and use it. I started off by getting two 17 gallon rimless bow front aquariums from Fish Paradise off of McCart for around $80 a piece. Thanks for the find guys! I decide to wait on the saltwater at first and start the freshwater since i pretty much was going to just transfer and existing tank that was on that counter anyways. I went to Petco and got some fine sand substrate which I made a 2-3 inch layer with and put then put a top layer of large sized pebbles for the freshwater tank. I then transferred over the existing tank water from the tank that had been setup for over a year and replanted the live plants. Now I would like to apologize for the crappy lighting on the top of the tanks in some of the pics because I was waiting on some LED lighting to come in from online. I then order in a 24"-36" double bright LED system for the freshwater.
 
The following are pics from the transfer and the adding the preexisting plants from my other tank and the cycled water from my other tank. PLus you get a first time look at the side by side view of what I was starting.
 
The next step was to go back to Fish Paradise and get about 3" of cycled sand from their tanks and to store 2 weeks worth of water changes from my existing saltwater tanks in some jugs so I could add that to my system to speed up the process. I added a small Korila (SP?) powerhead in the corner to circulate the water and sand for a couple of days until i could get a skimmer and new lighting for a reef system. I also went to True Percula to get about 18 lbs worth of live rock. It was expensive but looks great!
 
After a week of crappy lighting from my old freshwater tank I got my Marineland Led system from petco for $100. Here is a look at the lower profile of the led system versus the bulky older system on the reef tank.
 
I also added a new skimmer rated up to 30 gallons. I just didn't want to go with a biocube skimmer again. I hate mine. I love this new one. I am curious if anyone has been able to make a AquaticLife Internal Mini Skimmer 115 fit in a 28gallon JBJ LED system before ? I would like to get one for my 28g if it will fit. Thanks again Fish Paradise for a great skimmer suggestion for this new tank! :) These guys over at Fish Paradise were awesome with help and suggestions and never made me feel rushed or hurried about buying or getting out of their way with all of my ridiculous questions. They helped through a lot of my questions and even housed some of my fish and corals when I was going through my algae problem a couple of months ago. Top notch in my book! I ordered a Marineland 24"-36" LED reef ready system for $249.00 from fosterandsmithaquatics.com! That was the best price around hands down from any LFS/or internet site plus I could have gotten free shipping but I rushed it :) Plus I got a nice piece of driftwood from True Percula for about 25 bucks. Mental note when getting driftwood you must presoak in boiling water a couple of times a day for a couple of days so it does not turn your water dark. There is a freebie for you guys out there!
 
Here are the pictures from earlier that has my wifes new corals (star polyp) she picked in it and a cleaner shrimp, sexy shrimp and a clownfish about the size of a nickel. I added the fire algae too! PLus here is an awesome side by side with the new lighting and all rockwork and substrate done.
 
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I am trying to figure out some ides for fish to add to the tank. I was thinking of adding a panda goby and would love your input on what else to add.
 
nice what color spectrum is the led lights... I thought corals needed 10,000k and then I know plants can take 6,500 to 10,000k.
I guess I gave people lots of Ideals with my two 25's side by side... make me re think my 55 i did likemy 25/25 setup.
 
The light for the freshwater is a marineland 24"-36" double bright led lighting system. Runs about $100. The lighting for the saltwater is a marineland 24"-36" Reef ready led lighting system that runs about $280.
 
@LSBBA wrote:
The light for the freshwater is a marineland 24"-36" double bright led lighting system. Runs about $100. The lighting for the saltwater is a marineland 24"-36" Reef ready led lighting system that runs about $280. said:
Thanks, I've seen those before but really have took the time to truely look at them for a long time.. me I have 65w x 4 and it way to much heat, and I need to replace the bulbs. i've been thinking about looking in to leds, I need to read up on them some more..
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