First reef tank build thread.

[Subtropic Reefer]

This is for documentation so I can remember the tank for myself and has many irrelevant and boring parts. So this is off of memory and did not know of reef2reef until recently. Also, my apologies for not being very good with reef2reef yet as I am new to it. note: I wasn’t even in high school yet when I set this tank up. So I dive and fish and snorkel because I live in Florida. I started to love coral and aquariums and decided to get one. At the time, I decided to get a mantis shrimp tank so I decided on a 30g breeder. Not to big or too small for a mantis shrimp. I quickly changed my mind and decided to get a reef tank instead. I had already bought the tank and didn’t have much more money so I decided that I would use that tank. (Now I realize those dimensions suck. Why couldn’t I just get a 40 breeder.) I bought a bunch of random pieces of live rock and it didn’t look to good, but it was my first scape so... ok. I used sand and added chunky gravel sand which I thought would look good but really was just terrible. Also I mixed the salt IN the tank after the rock was in.I had a canastar filter from an unsuccessful mini pond and used that and a hob filter. I had to place a Nike sock over the canister filter return because of all the bubbles. That sock was covered in algae in no time. Which... my tank was covered in algae in the first month after the cycle. I started the cycle in September. I decided to spend the extra cash combined with an early Christmas gift for 2 ai prime hd 14 lights. Then I got my first fish. Two clowns.

soon after, I got a heater. I should’ve gotten one before fish but I was a beginner. Not to long after, I got my first coral. Some green and red zoas and some blue eye blond zoas as a gift from my grandparents.

my camera skills weren’t very good. Then, I payed literally all the money I had for a neon green hammer which was $150.

it actually didn’t do too bad.A few weeks later, I tried growing corals in my canal. A $10 favia and a $10 green/ brown zoa frag. It didn’t work out so it went to my tank. Despite so much algae, my corals were healthy. I will go to bed now so I will finish this post a different time.

 

[Max_nano]

Do you use the canal water for you tank? I would be worried about runoff from people’s yards and whatnot contaminating the water.

I suggest getting the underwater lights for your canal, if you’re allowed. It’s an awesome way to bring in bait fish, and if you go late at night it’s amazing to see how much life the light can attract

 

[Subtropic Reefer]

Do you use the canal water for you tank? I would be worried about runoff from people’s yards and whatnot contaminating the water.

I suggest getting the underwater lights for your canal, if you’re allowed. It’s an awesome way to bring in bait fish, and if you go late at night it’s amazing to see how much life the light can attract

No, I use Red Sea saltwater for my tank, and my neighbors have underwater lights, so I don’t need to get my own lol.

 

[Subtropic Reefer]

Ok so I am finally finishing this. So the tank had few water changes and maintenance has slacked. I got a new leather and Dunca. I also rarely did top it off. Then the true dark age hit. I had the tank only partly filled and algae was everywhere. Also a huge red planeria issue.I hate myself for this and it was my darkest time. I then moved everything into a ten gal. While it was there, I removed all rock and sand. I converted the 30 to an aio by putting a acrylic laser cut piece to make an all in one. I used a 300 gph pump and new ehime heater. I also got a Nero 5 pump. I filled it with water, added fresh rock and sand, put new water in and added everything the next day. Kinda stupid but it all survived. Except my leather which went missing and I never saw it again. It all went well and a few weeks later I got a royal gramma. I then wild harvested a gorgonian. A month later I got a birds nest, monitopora red cap, and a hammer, and a green frogspawn. Then got invited to help out at a coral institution to help reefs. He also had a personal tank which I got a frag of bird nest, bleached candycane, beginner acro, and toadstool and montipora stellata. Everything went well and I put a few mangrove seeds in the tank. Later got a rock flower anemone. All the mangroves sprouted a few months later. I just got tired of the tank and thought it was ugly and the dimensions were so weird and I started to have a flatworm issue.so I got a nuvo 25. Before I got it, I put a Florida ricordia and clove polyps:l/zoas that came with it, and some wild zoas. The second setup of the 30 was kind of a success. On the second setup I also tested a lot more. Like once a week instead once a month. I might add details later but this is it. Thanks for reading.