Planning for Perfection (or as close as I can get!)

squidleydidleydoo · Aug 22, 2023

Hi all! I'm new to the hobby but have been fascinated by aquariums my entire life. I've kept a few small freshwater tanks throughout the years, but I was always making compromises to keep things small and cheap, so I never got to have a tank that was what I truly wanted.
Time to change that! What I've really always dreamed of is having a big, beautiful reef tank, so that's what I'm going to do! I can't pull the trigger just yet though, because I'm getting surgery at the end of this year and between the money I have to save for the procedure and the recovery after, it's just not feasible to start something this big yet.
So I'm just planning obsessively right now! I had a bunch of notes and lists in my phone of fish and corals and equipment and finally decided to compile them. I've spent the past few weeks obsessing over this, but it's at a point now that I'm finally ready to share it!

You can take a look at the detailed (and nicely formatted) plans in my google slides here!

But here's the gist: I'm going to get a Red Sea Reefer MAX 425 G2+ (91 gallon display w/ 23 gal sump), because I personally don't enjoy thinking about gear so a "plug-and-play" system is gonna be the best approach for me.

Here's my ideal stock list *EDIT: updated 8/29*:

2 Ocellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)
1 Helfrichi Firefish (Nemateleotris helfrichi)
1 Scissortail Dartfish (Ptereleotris evides)
1 Royal Gramma (Gramma loreto)
2 Pajama Cardinalfish (Sphaeramia nematoptera)
1 One Spot Foxface Rabbitfish (Siganus unimaculatus)
1 Diamond Watchman Goby (Valenciennea puellaris)
1 Midas Blenny (Ecsenius midas)
1 Pink-Streaked Wrasse (Pseudocheilinops ataenia)
1 Naoko’s Fairy Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus naokoae)
1 Mandarin Dragonet (Synchiropus splendidus)
1 Ruby Red Dragonet (Synchiropus sycorax)

Obviously the dragonets (and the Naoko, for different reasons) are more aspirational, and I don't expect to get them until the tank's been running for at least a year.

As for coral, I plan on going with some pretty standard beginner softies and LPS corals (GSP, zoas, leathers, euphyllia, etc.)

I'm really excited about this, and I'd love any feedback y'all can offer, especially in terms of stock!

Wasabiroot · Aug 22, 2023

Welcome! My feedback:
- I'd wait a while before adding a dragonet, because while you can buy them captive bred, they really need sufficient copepods to thrive which won't be present in a new tank
-seems like a pretty nice stocklist. The rabbitfish will get pretty big
-I'd consider other companies like Cade, Waterbox etc than Red Sea as lately they have been having issues with the seams failing so until I stop seeing that I'm leery of them.
-Dartfishes are really shy and might benefit from being added first.

Darksidereefer · Aug 22, 2023

Currently have a reefer 900 so you’re good with red sea IMO. The stock list looks good but as my guy said above, hold off on the mandarin until you have the pods to support it. They graze all day on those. Even with the plug and play tanks you will need some good gear. So buy the BEST you can afford, it will save money later.

Most important factor here is patience. Don’t rush your build, find a reef guru(someone local) they help big time with tips and tricks. Don’t strive for perfection, remember nature isn’t perfect, so strive for stability. Your animals will adapt as long as it’s stable.

So best of luck. Watch as many vids, and read as many threads as you can.

squidleydidleydoo · Aug 22, 2023

Wasabiroot said:
- I'd wait a while before adding a dragonet, because while you can buy them captive bred, they really need sufficient copepods to thrive which won't be present in a new tank

Darksidereefer said:
The stock list looks good but as my guy said above, hold off on the mandarin until you have the pods to support it. They graze all day on those.

Yes, DEFINITELY planning to wait on that guy, lol. They're one of my all-time favorite fish (if you couldn't tell), so I definitely want to make sure that my tank is the perfect home by the time I get one!

Looking around the forums and other sites it sounds like the first generation red sea reefers had some pretty nasty seam issues, but it seems like they've solved the problem with the new G2s.

And the one good thing about having to wait another 7+ months to get this tank started is that I have plenty of time to learn everything I could possibly learn and more about reefing - not to mention patience!