Bubbles!
New Member
Hello, Reef2Reef!
This is one of my favorite forums and has been for a while now, so I decided to quit lurking and join the party!
A little about me and my tank:
I’ve been in the reefing hobby for almost three years now. I’ve loved marine aquariums pretty much since I was a toddler and for the longest time I wanted to own a marine aquarium. Since a marine aquarium wouldn’t be an option for a long while, I contented myself with freshwater aquariums, hermit crabs, and leopard geckos. After a few years and a move to a different state, my parents decided to surprise me with a marine aquarium, bought from one of my dad’s coworkers, for my 16th birthday. To this day, that has been the best birthday present I have ever received!
After getting the tank in mid-May, I spent the summer obsessing over it… and having a panic attack at the slightest irregularity XD To be honest, school starting in August probably saved my tank because I was too busy to have my hands in the water all the time. Nowadays, I’m pretty much the complete opposite of how I was when I first got the tank. Several algae blooms and plagues of aiptasia, as well as a few fish deaths (no coral deaths thankfully *knock on wood*) and some other issues, taught me that the tank really does best when I just let nature do its thing.
Now that I’ve introduced myself and given a bit of background, onto the fun stuff: tank stats and pictures!
Aquarium dimensions:
36” x 18” x 24” inches. Around 65 gallons. (unsure of tank manufacturer. Probably Aqueon.)
Lights:
AquaticLife 36w Expandable LED Light Fixture
Filtration:
110 Gallon rated AquaClear HOB Filter w/Foam block and Activated carbon (Fluval Brand)
Flow:
Wavepuck, runs at 40%
2 Hydro Koralia powerheads (1150 & 425 gph)
Livestock:
Purple-green hammer coral
Purple-green frogspawn coral
Hot pink torch(?) coral
Leather coral (possibly a cabbage leather)
Some zoanthids (no idea what kind)
Purple & green Blastomussas
Green Star Polyps
Assorted algaes (not a lot)
The odd aiptasia
Pods and other assorted microfauna
Brittle stars (not sure how many)
Yes, I do not have any fish. The tank has been running fishless since April, 2020, and to be quite honest, I love it. A coral only tank is so very easy to care for and I’ve seen tons of microfauna pop up that I’d never seen before when I had fish. It’s pretty cool to watch the tank and notice new (albeit rather small) creatures appear and disappear. If I do add fish in the future, I will likely call it good with a few clown gobies... and maybe a Fathead Sunburst Anthias (one of my dream fish) if I'm feeling brave XD
Tank Progression Pics:
5/2018 (when I first got the tank)
6/2018 Reaquascaped
7/2018 Rearranged some corals cuz the anemone was being a punk
9/2018 Algae, algae everywhere
3/2019 Reaquascaped again, less algae!
8/2019 Disassembled tank (fish & corals went into a tote), cleaned the crap (literally) out of the rock
3/2020 The 'scape some time after the teardown and rebuild.
9/2020 Most recent picture. I went bare-bottom, reaquascaped, and got some new corals in May, 2020.
This is one of my favorite forums and has been for a while now, so I decided to quit lurking and join the party!
A little about me and my tank:
I’ve been in the reefing hobby for almost three years now. I’ve loved marine aquariums pretty much since I was a toddler and for the longest time I wanted to own a marine aquarium. Since a marine aquarium wouldn’t be an option for a long while, I contented myself with freshwater aquariums, hermit crabs, and leopard geckos. After a few years and a move to a different state, my parents decided to surprise me with a marine aquarium, bought from one of my dad’s coworkers, for my 16th birthday. To this day, that has been the best birthday present I have ever received!
After getting the tank in mid-May, I spent the summer obsessing over it… and having a panic attack at the slightest irregularity XD To be honest, school starting in August probably saved my tank because I was too busy to have my hands in the water all the time. Nowadays, I’m pretty much the complete opposite of how I was when I first got the tank. Several algae blooms and plagues of aiptasia, as well as a few fish deaths (no coral deaths thankfully *knock on wood*) and some other issues, taught me that the tank really does best when I just let nature do its thing.
Now that I’ve introduced myself and given a bit of background, onto the fun stuff: tank stats and pictures!
Aquarium dimensions:
36” x 18” x 24” inches. Around 65 gallons. (unsure of tank manufacturer. Probably Aqueon.)
Lights:
AquaticLife 36w Expandable LED Light Fixture
Filtration:
110 Gallon rated AquaClear HOB Filter w/Foam block and Activated carbon (Fluval Brand)
Flow:
Wavepuck, runs at 40%
2 Hydro Koralia powerheads (1150 & 425 gph)
Livestock:
Purple-green hammer coral
Purple-green frogspawn coral
Hot pink torch(?) coral
Leather coral (possibly a cabbage leather)
Some zoanthids (no idea what kind)
Purple & green Blastomussas
Green Star Polyps
Assorted algaes (not a lot)
The odd aiptasia
Pods and other assorted microfauna
Brittle stars (not sure how many)
Yes, I do not have any fish. The tank has been running fishless since April, 2020, and to be quite honest, I love it. A coral only tank is so very easy to care for and I’ve seen tons of microfauna pop up that I’d never seen before when I had fish. It’s pretty cool to watch the tank and notice new (albeit rather small) creatures appear and disappear. If I do add fish in the future, I will likely call it good with a few clown gobies... and maybe a Fathead Sunburst Anthias (one of my dream fish) if I'm feeling brave XD
Tank Progression Pics:
5/2018 (when I first got the tank)
6/2018 Reaquascaped
7/2018 Rearranged some corals cuz the anemone was being a punk
9/2018 Algae, algae everywhere
3/2019 Reaquascaped again, less algae!
8/2019 Disassembled tank (fish & corals went into a tote), cleaned the crap (literally) out of the rock
3/2020 The 'scape some time after the teardown and rebuild.
9/2020 Most recent picture. I went bare-bottom, reaquascaped, and got some new corals in May, 2020.
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