Nanologist
Active Member
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2017
- Messages
- 147
- Reaction score
- 162
- Location
- Chicago
- What state or country do you live in
- Illinois
Hey all! Decided it's time to start a journal of my first reef tank. My saltwater adventure started last year in a standard 10g FOWLR when my GF wanted to get hermit crabs. Knowing nothing about keeping a saltwater tank I obviously hesitated, but with the help of online friends and forums my worries waned. We started with 3 scarlet hermits, nassarius snails, nerite snails, a bunch of friendly hitchhikers from the LFS live rock and later on we added a purple pseudochromis, porcelain crab and a banded trochus snail. Here's a pic of the old setup and it's caretaker.
I ran the FOWLR for about 7 months before getting an IM Fusion AIO 10 gallon and moving everything over in December 2017. During this time I also invested in a RODI unit, water testing equipment, an inTank media basket, a Smart ATO Micro, VCA Random Flow Generator nozzle and small things like filter media, Reef Roids, etc. Since rock flower anemones(RFA) and shrooms don't require intense lighting I went with a Kessil A80 Tuna Blue. The filter media I'm currently running is filter floss, Poly Fiber, Chemi-Pure Blue, and MarinePure balls. Here's a pic of the new tank and location.
Not long after I setup the new tank VIP Reef shared some pics of their RFA garden. It's incredible and if you're on Instagram I highly suggest you check it out. There was no alternative for me after seeing it and I just had to try something similar. I wanted a little more variety than just the nems though so someone suggested Ricordea Florida and other mushrooms.
My first RFAs were added at the start of the new year of 2018 and I lost a couple within the first two weeks. They were to "test the waters" since I was a bit concerned at the age of the tank regardless that all the live rock and contents in it had been going strong for the last 7 months in the other tank. Whether it was shipping stress or the tank I thought it best to wait until summer before adding more nems though.
After a month or so WWC put on one of their epic R2R live sales and it was the perfect opportunity for me to pick up some Ricordea Florida and a Superman Rhodactis for a great price. Of course I couldn't turn down some $5 frags so I ended up with some WWC Nuclear Halo Zoas, Merletti Blastos, and their daisy style GSP.
The frags were just removed from the plugs last weekend, except for the zoa and blasto frags. They aren't part of my grand plan so they won't be staying. Figured I'll let them grow out for awhile and trade them at a frag show for another RFA or shroom. I kept the GSP though and mounted it on the back wall since the daisy look will compliment the garden.
I ran the FOWLR for about 7 months before getting an IM Fusion AIO 10 gallon and moving everything over in December 2017. During this time I also invested in a RODI unit, water testing equipment, an inTank media basket, a Smart ATO Micro, VCA Random Flow Generator nozzle and small things like filter media, Reef Roids, etc. Since rock flower anemones(RFA) and shrooms don't require intense lighting I went with a Kessil A80 Tuna Blue. The filter media I'm currently running is filter floss, Poly Fiber, Chemi-Pure Blue, and MarinePure balls. Here's a pic of the new tank and location.
Not long after I setup the new tank VIP Reef shared some pics of their RFA garden. It's incredible and if you're on Instagram I highly suggest you check it out. There was no alternative for me after seeing it and I just had to try something similar. I wanted a little more variety than just the nems though so someone suggested Ricordea Florida and other mushrooms.
My first RFAs were added at the start of the new year of 2018 and I lost a couple within the first two weeks. They were to "test the waters" since I was a bit concerned at the age of the tank regardless that all the live rock and contents in it had been going strong for the last 7 months in the other tank. Whether it was shipping stress or the tank I thought it best to wait until summer before adding more nems though.
After a month or so WWC put on one of their epic R2R live sales and it was the perfect opportunity for me to pick up some Ricordea Florida and a Superman Rhodactis for a great price. Of course I couldn't turn down some $5 frags so I ended up with some WWC Nuclear Halo Zoas, Merletti Blastos, and their daisy style GSP.
The frags were just removed from the plugs last weekend, except for the zoa and blasto frags. They aren't part of my grand plan so they won't be staying. Figured I'll let them grow out for awhile and trade them at a frag show for another RFA or shroom. I kept the GSP though and mounted it on the back wall since the daisy look will compliment the garden.
