Step-by-step account of my first reef (with lots of pics)

[Dudester]

This is where I am at the start of this thread, so if this interests you at all, please read along and contribute.

I've had water in my first reef tank for just over 3 months now, so I thought I'd share what I've done to date. I took a lot of pictures along the way, and thought that this could be helpful to others who may be beginner reefers like myself. I also hope that some of the more experienced folks climb aboard as well and help me with future acquisitions, modifications, upgrades, etc.

This has been extremely exciting for me. My goal was to start out with a large (200-300 gallon) tank and skip the more common scheme of beginning with a smaller tank and working one's way up in size. In that light, I began reading feverishly about 2 years ago and the only money I spent was on a Premium Membership here at RC and in purchasing a library worth of books. My books include:

The Conscientious Marine Aquarist (Fenner) - this book I read twice, an excellent read and a must for new aquarists, IMO.
The New Marine Aquarium (Paletta) - another excellent read and contains a good cookbook style account of how to get started.
Ultimate Marine Aquariums (Paletta) - great book with jaw-dropping photos and detailed information regarding the inner workings of some beautiful and diverse set-ups; very similar to browsing the Tanks of the Month here on RC.
Reef Invertebrates - An Essential Guide to Selection, Care and Compatibility (Calfo & Fenner) - great reference as I considered my clean-up crew purchases.
Invertebrates, A Quick Reference Guide (Sprung) - same comments as for the previous book.
The Reef Aquarium, Volume I (Delbeek & Sprung) - decent reference, a little outdated but I like history so it was interesting to read.
The Modern Coral Reef Aquarium (Fossa & Nilsen) - another good reference, again outdated but with with good information.
Corals, A Quick Reference Guide (Sprung) - I tried to read this page by page before I ever knew anthing about corals and before I could recognize anything other than an open brain coral; I don't recommend this. Now that I know more, however, this has been a nice reference, particularly when figuring out where to place corals in the tank.
Aquarium Corals - Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History (Borneman) - awesome book, only got this recently and wish I had it a year ago; packed with outstanding information and has really helped me to decide what I want for my tank.
Corals of the World (Veron) - this 3 volume tome is incredible, ask for it for your birthday!
Marine Fishes (Michael) - one page or less per fish, what else could you want to get started?
Clownfishes (Wilkerson) - if you want clownfish, you should at least check this book out.
Giant Clams (Knop) - haven't read this yet but I have a love affair with clams and once I feel my tank is ready for one, I'll break this book out.

My plans for a large tank were stalled due to the fact that, well, let's just say It'll be a couple more years before I go huge. Until then, this is what I was able to talk my wife into getting. Oh, by the way, I have to say that I wouldn't have gotten anywhere in this hobby without you good people here on Reef Central. I don't know how many threads I started "way back when" getting info on how to start a reef tank. I actually went back and looked at my early threads and it's quite humbling to see how little I knew. I also need to acknowledge my good friend and reefing mentor John "thedude15810" here on RC, who has helped me nearly every step of the way.