Make your dream come true! Setting up a Reef Aquarium . . . in 5 Easy Steps If you've ever dreamed of having a spectacular reef aquarium in your home, but think you lack the time, funds, or knowledge required, think again! Creating a beautiful reef ecosystem doesn't require specialized skills or advanced knowledge, and won't break the bank. Follow the five easy steps taken by novice aquarists in our catalog department over a time period of just 12 weeks and you can enjoy the colorful beauty of a reef aquarium in your home for years to come. (If they can do it, so can you!) Week 1: Assemble the Aquarium and Cure the Live Rock You will need: 46" Stand 46 Gallon Aquarium (including built-in filtration) Custom Sea life PC 36" hood, including an ultra daylight and actinic lamp, or a comparable fixture 100W Visi-Therm heater Grasslin Timer Two-20# bags of Indo Pacific Black Sand 50 gal mix of Tropic Marin salt 36# of Select Lalo live rock 22# of Select Premium Fiji live rock Pour the sand into the bottom of the aquarium. Fill aquarium with dechlorinated water. Add salt and mix until the specific gravity measures 1.025. Arrange the live rock as desired. Install the heater and hood. Wait 4 weeks. Week 4: Add your First Inhabitants and a Protein Skimmer You will need: Prizm Skimmer, 30 gallon Deluxe Algae Attack Pack (various snails and crabs) Install the skimmer per the instructions. Use the timer to set the lights to go on and off in 12-hour increments. Acclimate and release your new inhabitants into the aquarium. Wait 2 weeks. Week 6: Add your First Corals You will need: 50 gal mix of Tropic Marin salt Beginner Coral Pack (Contains Button Polyp, Yellow Colony Polyp, Hairy Mushroom Coral, and Bullseye Mushroom Coral) Prepare fresh water by dechlorinating it, mixing in the salt, and pre-heating it. Perform a 25% water change. Acclimate the corals and place them onto the live rock as desired. Wait 2 weeks. Week 8: Add Aquacultured Corals You will need: Silver Branch Pumping Xenia White Starburst Polyps Colony polyps Cauliflower Colt Coral Taro Tree Coral Toadstool Mushroom Leather Coral, Spaghetti Finger Leather Coral, Green Starburst Polyp Acclimate the corals and place them into the live rock as desired. Wait 2 weeks. Weeks 10 and 12: Add Fish Add 2 Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp, 3 Hawaii Feather Dusters, and a total of 6 fish. Choose from: Ocellaris Clownfish (Multiples ok), Fridmani Pseudochromis (Only 1), Six-line Wrasse (Only 1), Green Chromis (Multiples ok), Kaudern's Cardinalfish (Multiples ok), Prepare fresh water by dechlorinating it, mixing in the salt, and pre-heating it. Perform a 25% water change. Acclimate the fish and add them to your aquarium. Feed thawed frozen food, twice daily. Wait 2 weeks. Follow steps 1 - 3 above and then add your choice of 2 of the following fish: Carpenter Wrasse (Only 1), Flame Hawk (Only 1), Coral Beauty (Only 1 - Small), Sailfin Algae Blenny (Only 1 - Small) Feed thawed frozen food, twice daily. Maintaining your New Ecosystem Perform 25% water changes, at least monthly. Feed a variety of foods to your fish such as: Mysis shrimp, Ocean Plankton, Mega Marine Algae, Tetra Marine Granules, and Sea Veggies. Add the following to maintain healthy corals: Phytoplankton (for feather duster) Iodine Calcium Buffer Strontium/Molybdenum By following these steps, you'll have a complete and successful reef aquarium. Sit back and watch in awe as your aquarium comes alive. Each day there will be new things to discover and an unending diversity of changes to witness. Keep in mind, reef aquariums need considerable time to balance themselves. This reef aquarium is only 12 weeks old. Within a year, you'll have a beautiful, thriving ecosystem. Here is our reef aquarium after 1 year: