25g Reef tank

Jungle321 · Oct 25, 2020

Hello!
I made a couple of threads on this forum before, but I have never really made a thread about my tank.
In my tank I use:
25g tank (with diy filtration panel, the display is 20g)
Red Sea 90 LES
Pump Jebao TW-10
Protein skimmer aquatic life mini 115 internal
Dry rock
Dry sand

I poured water in to the tank February 29

https://www.reef2reef.com/attachments/59d40584-9eaf-4527-9dfe-1a9ded69e231-jpeg.1848503/?hash=44e5268520c5567dd7f5d7bd1a84822f

I added first corals and clean up crew in April 26 (I barely got since the pandemic was starting)

https://www.reef2reef.com/attachments/6dcac236-fdd4-4660-b9e5-9644e34084f9-jpeg.1848504/?hash=44e5268520c5567dd7f5d7bd1a84822f

From then the journey got only demotivating. The hair algae hit very hard. When I got it under control, I decided to get pair of clownfish (June) both fish died hours after introduction even though ALL parameters were just fine. Finally I figured (with help of people from forums) that it is the issue of insufficient oxygen.
Since I solved the issue I have a pair of clownfish that now is very happy in my tank.

This is how my tank looks at the current moment:

https://www.reef2reef.com/attachments/1ff2404d-8395-49e1-853c-030fe805ff25-jpeg.1848517/?hash=44e5268520c5567dd7f5d7bd1a84822f

At the current moment
No3 - 0
Po4 - 0
Calcium - 410
Magnesium - 1170
Alk - 7.7

To be completely honest, I feel negatively about my tank. Looking at other’s tanks after this amount of time, I think that my tank looks way too empty.

klownfizh · Oct 25, 2020

Definitely gotta be careful with light output, took me about 6 months to realize my light output was the reason why i had so much algae. This hobby isnt a race, everyone moves at their own pace and from experience i rather move slow than fast. Other than that tank looks great, im digging that aquascape.

Jungle321 · Oct 25, 2020

Yes, it is hard to get the light at right setup. Only recently I have figured out that the light in my tank was set up at too low intensity - even GSP was complaining. But now that I increased the intensity, corals started opening up again.
One of the things that I actually enjoy about my tank is my clownfish snuggling in hair algae. Is it normal for them to do that with algae?

klownfizh · Oct 25, 2020

Jungle321 said:
Yes, it is hard to get the light at right setup. Only recently I have figured out that the light in my tank was set up at too low intensity - even GSP was complaining. But now that I increased the intensity, corals started opening up again.
One of the things that I actually enjoy about my tank is my clownfish snuggling in hair algae. Is it normal for them to do that with algae?

Clowns will host anything LOL. Mine hosted my Kenya tree for a long time, when i trim down my Kenya tree they nip at my hand.

Jungle321 · Jan 19, 2021

Hi!
I haven’t posted anything in a long time, but I wanted to show the progress that my aquarium has made since October.
The hair algae is nearly gone and the corals are opening fully, so I’m fairly happy with such change.
Im also open to any criticism as I’m still learning in this hobby.

I apologize for such terrible photo quality but I only have my phone to shoot some photos.

I‘m extremely surprised that the bird’s nest coral is holding up so nicely. Does anyone have any suggestions on fairly easy SPS corals?

I was also wondering if I could add another fish to my aquarium, but I’m not sure if it’s a good idea as I don’t want to deal with another algae outbreak.

klownfizh · Jan 20, 2021

Jungle321 said:
Hi!
I haven’t posted anything in a long time, but I wanted to show the progress that my aquarium has made since October.
The hair algae is nearly gone and the corals are opening fully, so I’m fairly happy with such change.
Im also open to any criticism as I’m still learning in this hobby.

I apologize for such terrible photo quality but I only have my phone to shoot some photos.

I‘m extremely surprised that the bird’s nest coral is holding up so nicely. Does anyone have any suggestions on fairly easy SPS corals?

I was also wondering if I could add another fish to my aquarium, but I’m not sure if it’s a good idea as I don’t want to deal with another algae outbreak.

Looks good! Seems like you beat the ugly phase. Birdsnest it a easy SPS. My all time favorite SPS is Motiporas! IME its the easiest SPS. Yes you can definitely add another fish!