Brandon's West GA Reefer 350

[BrandonR]

Good Afternoon,

Long time viewer, first time Posting. I have been in the hobby for approximately 7 years. I have gone from a 55 gallon tank i bought on craigslist to a 150 to a 220 to a 30 gallon IM to a 150 Tall and a 30 IM to finally where I am now with my Red Sea Reefer 350. I have tried almost everything from FOWLR, Sea horses, Mix Reef,and a NPS tank. I like to try a little of everything. about a year ago my wife and I bought 33 acres in the middle of nowhere GA right next to the AL line(I mean right on the AL, I had to turn off auto update on my phone because i bounce off a AL tower) with the move I was able to talk my wife into a new Red Sea reefer series 350. it has been up for about a year now. About a month and a half ago, we got about 19 inches of snow, lost power for over 30 hours. I lost pretty much everything. I was devastated. I lost a Red Sea Purple tang I have had for 5 years, that my LFS gave me for free because of how bad its lateral line was. didn't expect it to last a day. after that I was trying to decide if I wanted to sell and give up or go all in. If you hadn't guessed I have decided to go all in.

Currently I am running:

Red sea reefer 350
2 Ocean revive LED
reef octopus 150 INT skimmer
DC return pump(forgot the name)
Gyre 250.

Fish
pair of skunk clowns
yellow eye Kole tang
fire fish(only survivor of freeze)
target mandran
and a tiny Purple tang(have to have one)

Coral
3 green cody Anemones( need to get these buggers out, knew better when I got them)
neon green tiny toadstool
Large toadstool(have had for 3 years)
Green and red bubble tip anemone
pinkish Frogspawn 2 head
Green frogspawn 2 head
some type of blue with red polyp crusting thing....not a big SPS guy(want to be tho)
purple clove polyps(I know most advanced hobbyists hate them, my wife loves them)
random zoas I can never remember the name of
and 2 colonies of pipe organ. started as one, when moved the rock some had attached to rock next door and started a new colony.

Plans
Well my tank looks empty so over the next year i have some amazing plans. I have always been a simple waterchange and keep going guy. My corals have been happy(mostly LPS and Anemones) but I am ready to take the next step. I want to really start to get my corals to grow, and start dabbling in SPS. so for the first time in 8 years, I am going to start dosing BRS 2 part CA and ALK with Mg. and bought a full red sea test kits. (if you have any tips please let me know)i work from my bedroom so I am going to start by manually dosing with the thought of a auto doser in my mind. I also picked up a BRS reactor and a 2 little fishes reactor I have in vinegar. I plan to start carbon in one, and an algea reactor in the other. Just got strip gro lighting from Amazon today. I also received a DJ power strip, Apex is on my wish list but still not at the top of my list. I want to upgrade my lighting soon. I was a huge fan of the Rapid LED Onyx, so I am thinking of the Corona. Open to suggestions though. I also plan on going to quite a few frag shows this year. got my calendar marked for at least 4. I need to fill in all my open space. now that i have gone on forever let me take some pics and try to upload them.

 

[BrandonR]

does this work for pics? having trouble adding to the site says to big...

 

[BrandonR]

after taking pics i forgot to add this tuba and my Duncan colony to my list

 

[BrandonR]

FTS

 

[BrandonR]

 

[BrandonR]

those with a trained eye will see I have been fighting aptasia for a long time have tried almost anything. picked up a Majano wand. it seems to work, I just have a lot!!!

 

[BrandonR]

well my goodies from BRS are held up because of ICE here in GA

Question, Does carbon just go in the BRS reactor? or do I need to put it in one of these:

 

[BrandonR]

so I have received tons of goodies from BRS and have my Carbon reactor running. The only thing holding up my Cheto Reactor is the fact i need a new O ring. Started it up and started leaking from the top. I have a friend building me an equipment cabinet for the right side of my reefer stand. should turn out awesome. going to SC for a frag expo this weekend and really excited about the goodies I am going to pick up. feel ready to pick up some sticks.

 

[BrandonR]

Finally got my carbon and algae reactors up and running still waiting on my cabinet to organize wiring. Got some goodies this weekend. Will post pics once I get them placed.

 

[BrandonR]

Tank is looking good, however, SPS is not working. I don't know if its my well water,or what but every SPS piece I put in slowly turns white. maybe my ocean revieve spectrum is off. i am at a loss. well my AP700 comes in tomorrow so maybe i will give it another shot down the road, but my zoas and LPS are doing amazing. I will post pics once I get the new light up.

 

[BrandonR]

got my AP-700 online last night. Loving the colors, I opted to get the major Diffuser to lighten the shimmer. Need to figure out how to not be blinded looking at the tank from my couch. all my corals seem to be adjusting well, seeing colors in my corals much better then the ocean revive. starting my acclimation at a max of 30%

 

[BrandonR]

 

[BrandonR]

but looks so much more open now. especially now I can view from the top now.

 

[BrandonR]

 

[Gregorjw]

Tank is looking good, however, SPS is not working. I don't know if its my well water,or what but every SPS piece I put in slowly turns white. maybe my ocean revieve spectrum is off. i am at a loss. well my AP700 comes in tomorrow so maybe i will give it another shot down the road, but my zoas and LPS are doing amazing. I will post pics once I get the new light up.

Are you using an ro/di system on your well water?

 

[BrandonR]

yes. I have a Air, water, and Ice typhoon 3 that I swap filters every 6 months due to my Iron in my well. I am contemplating paying the money to have the county run water, but haven't pulled the trigger.