Well after a ton of research, many hours of frustration and driving Geoff crazy, I finally ordered my first sw (saltwater) reef aquarium setup. I decided to go with a Cad Lights 100 gallon Artisan II aquarium. Mine will be in gloss piano black not white.
I have to say that researching saltwater setups and all the various ways to set them up was quite overwhelming for me as I am new in the hobby (only have had freshwater tanks) and just moved to a new area and didn't know anyone who has any sw experience . I knew I wanted a setup with a sump and especially for my first setup I was hoping to find something that already had plumbing etc. I looked at the Red Sea and beside the fact that they are quite expensive, they didn't seem to be very adaptable and I am sure that down the road I would want to have the flexibility to change or expand components.
My lights have already arrived - I am going with 2 x 120w programmable full spectrum LEDs.
We went to Winnipeg for a shopping trip on Friday to finish our Christmas shopping and pick up some stuff for my tank. I picked out (Geoff picked up LOL) 80lbs of South Seas base rock (all I could find) and 100lbs of Caribsea Ocean Direct oolite sand. I was hoping to get their special grade but I couldn't find it. I picked up 2 koralias, salt, heaters and a test kit to monitor my tanks cycle. I ordered a refractormeter, it just arrived broken
. I am waiting to see what they say about getting a replacement and I am not sure if it will arrive before I want to get the tank going..... I don't think there is anywhere in the area to buy a hydrometer/refractometer to at least be able to get things up and running, might be another trip to Winnipeg. I still need to get some more stuff and will either take a trip to Winnipeg or try ordering online. I will post some pics as soon as I get the system here and setup.
