New Tank Diary: Week 1

[Mark Henry]

Well, after a little less than a week (did I mention that I was
impatient?) I appear to be the proud parent of brown algae. Yay! I had
originally bought only 45# of live rock from my LFS for my 60g tank.
Both my wife and I agreed that it looked kind of empty, but we couldn't
afford the prices at the LFS. After some online research and trading
some e-mails with other people who had bought there we ordered 45# of
Select Fiji Premium from LiveAquaria.com. This should arrive Friday and
was 1/2 the price of what the LFS wanted for their cured rock.

I replumbed the return lie from the sump this past weekend using cpvc. I
spent a little less than $20, but was able to provide myself with a
dedicated drain line out the side, as well as a branched return at the
top of the tank; both switched with ball valves. I'm not happy with the
bright white color of the pipes in the tank, but I'm not sure there's
anything that I can paint the pipe with that will be safe for the fish
(which I don't have - yet). Besides, I'm sure the pipe will start
growing stuff on it soon anyway.

mark h