Starting a much delayed build thread for my "new" tank that is now a year old.
I have also been mildly posting progress on an instagram account (@desertreefaz).
Backstory:
I got into reefing summer 2020 when we were quarantining ourselves because I wanted an at-home hobby and my wife and I visited our local aquarium. I did a bunch of research online and settled on a Red Sea Reefer-250 (55g tank, ~10g sump). I won't get into details of this tank but will post some pictures below. I had this tank for 2 years and ultimately decided to upgrade because (1) I realized I love tangs, and 55g isn't enough for tangs (2) the fish that I had were generally very timid and inactive and I wanted big active fish. I decided to upgrade and focused on what fish I want (tangs!!!) to drive my tank choice. I was debating Red Sea vs Waterbox and ultimately landed on Red Sea because of how nicely the ReefMat supposedly fit in and because of the nice big ATO tank that came with the Reefer-S.
Learnings from tank 1 I wanted to apply to tank 2:
* Diseases are everywhere and annoying. QT is essential. 100% eradication is the goal going forward.
* Don't impulse-buy corals from the LFS - you will end up with lots of boring green corals and the reef aspect will not look cohesive. Related, I also realized I like "coral gardens" vs just placing corals randomly spaced around the rockwork.
* Plan out aquascape instead of just piling rocks together
* Don't go overboard on equipment/gadgets. More equipment helps automation but also introduces more moving parts to maintain.
* Be more thoughtful about how you organize equipment in and around the tank
* I like fish more than coral. Prioritize building the system around the fish I want and work backwards.
Goals for tank 2, other than learning from the above:
* Reduce maintenance as much as possible, especially in a way where I can leave the tank for a weekend on its own without concerns. This means mostly easy corals.
* Try to eliminate water changes if possible
* Active fish with a variety of bright colors
* Good balance of color and movement in coral choices. Buy multiple of the same coral and put them in gardens.
* Make sure I am getting fish and coral that my wife is interested in as well to help her enjoy the tank more with me
I have also been mildly posting progress on an instagram account (@desertreefaz).
Backstory:
I got into reefing summer 2020 when we were quarantining ourselves because I wanted an at-home hobby and my wife and I visited our local aquarium. I did a bunch of research online and settled on a Red Sea Reefer-250 (55g tank, ~10g sump). I won't get into details of this tank but will post some pictures below. I had this tank for 2 years and ultimately decided to upgrade because (1) I realized I love tangs, and 55g isn't enough for tangs (2) the fish that I had were generally very timid and inactive and I wanted big active fish. I decided to upgrade and focused on what fish I want (tangs!!!) to drive my tank choice. I was debating Red Sea vs Waterbox and ultimately landed on Red Sea because of how nicely the ReefMat supposedly fit in and because of the nice big ATO tank that came with the Reefer-S.
Learnings from tank 1 I wanted to apply to tank 2:
* Diseases are everywhere and annoying. QT is essential. 100% eradication is the goal going forward.
* Don't impulse-buy corals from the LFS - you will end up with lots of boring green corals and the reef aspect will not look cohesive. Related, I also realized I like "coral gardens" vs just placing corals randomly spaced around the rockwork.
* Plan out aquascape instead of just piling rocks together
* Don't go overboard on equipment/gadgets. More equipment helps automation but also introduces more moving parts to maintain.
* Be more thoughtful about how you organize equipment in and around the tank
* I like fish more than coral. Prioritize building the system around the fish I want and work backwards.
Goals for tank 2, other than learning from the above:
* Reduce maintenance as much as possible, especially in a way where I can leave the tank for a weekend on its own without concerns. This means mostly easy corals.
* Try to eliminate water changes if possible
* Active fish with a variety of bright colors
* Good balance of color and movement in coral choices. Buy multiple of the same coral and put them in gardens.
* Make sure I am getting fish and coral that my wife is interested in as well to help her enjoy the tank more with me