childress5tyler
Well-Known Member
Hello!
After ~3 years off from the hobby I have had an itching to get back in and start a new reef tank. I wanted to start this thread to organize my thoughts and to track my progress throughout the life of this reef. Now through May I will be organizing the startup and planning out the structure, etc. I will not be putting water into the tank until May because this is my anticipated move month, so I'd rather not start it up and have to tear it back down 5 months later. As mentioned in the title, the aquarium will be a 28 gallon Deep Blue rimless aquarium with a focus on SPS coral. My tentative plan is to have the following:
-6 acropora colonies (Considering: Red Planet Acro, Strawberry Shortcake Acro, PC Rainbow Acro, and MANY more; need to brush up on the new acro names out there)
-3 millepora colonies (Undecided, need to familiarize myself with the different milleporas out there)
-3 encrusting montipora colonies (Considering: JF Aquaman Monti, Rainbow Monti, and Sunset Monti)
-2 plating montipora colonies (Considering: Sunburst Monti Cap and a Grafted Monti Cap)
-4 undecided colonies (potentially a stag, pocillopora, bird’s nest, stylopora, etc).
Aside from the SPS coral, I would like for the showpiece of the reef to be a nice 4-5" maxima clam. Regarding fish, currently I only plan to add two designer clowns (possibly onyx clowns). Below is a list of the equipment that I have either decided on or am debating:
- Light: AI Prime Hydra 26 HD
- Sump: ICECAP 15
- Skimmer: CAD Light PLS-100
- Return Pump: Possibly Quiet One Lifeguard 317 GPH
- Powerhead: 1x MP10 Vortech Pump
- Salt: Undecided (Considering RSCP, but am afraid of the high alkalinity, looking into other options)
- ATO: Tunze Nano Osmolator
- Dosing: Auto Dosing B-Ionic Ca/kH/Mag and Phytoplankton (Undecided on dosing pump, not wanting to spend an insane amount on one)
I'm wanting my tank to be fairly clean and simple; not a ton of rock, but just enough to allow the coral to grow and cover, but also giving enough free space for them to grow. I've considered purchasing the dry, man-made rock and curing it in a friend’s tank over the next few months or spending the extra money to buy live, cured rock. I’ve also been doing a lot of browsing regarding bare-bottom tanks. Given the fact that I plan to have ~18 4-6” colonies in such a small tank, I plan to utilize every square inch that I possibly can (growing colonies on the walls, bottom glass, and overflow). I’ve not completely decided on this decision yet however I’ve seen a lot of cool reefs out there that are persuading me to lean that way. Additionally, with no sand I’ll be able to maximize flow without causing debris to fly around.
These are my thoughts regarding the reef so far, please feel free to comment on any suggestions, questions, or comments that you may have. I'm looking forward to this build and hope you get some enjoyment by following along
After ~3 years off from the hobby I have had an itching to get back in and start a new reef tank. I wanted to start this thread to organize my thoughts and to track my progress throughout the life of this reef. Now through May I will be organizing the startup and planning out the structure, etc. I will not be putting water into the tank until May because this is my anticipated move month, so I'd rather not start it up and have to tear it back down 5 months later. As mentioned in the title, the aquarium will be a 28 gallon Deep Blue rimless aquarium with a focus on SPS coral. My tentative plan is to have the following:
-6 acropora colonies (Considering: Red Planet Acro, Strawberry Shortcake Acro, PC Rainbow Acro, and MANY more; need to brush up on the new acro names out there)
-3 millepora colonies (Undecided, need to familiarize myself with the different milleporas out there)
-3 encrusting montipora colonies (Considering: JF Aquaman Monti, Rainbow Monti, and Sunset Monti)
-2 plating montipora colonies (Considering: Sunburst Monti Cap and a Grafted Monti Cap)
-4 undecided colonies (potentially a stag, pocillopora, bird’s nest, stylopora, etc).
Aside from the SPS coral, I would like for the showpiece of the reef to be a nice 4-5" maxima clam. Regarding fish, currently I only plan to add two designer clowns (possibly onyx clowns). Below is a list of the equipment that I have either decided on or am debating:
- Light: AI Prime Hydra 26 HD
- Sump: ICECAP 15
- Skimmer: CAD Light PLS-100
- Return Pump: Possibly Quiet One Lifeguard 317 GPH
- Powerhead: 1x MP10 Vortech Pump
- Salt: Undecided (Considering RSCP, but am afraid of the high alkalinity, looking into other options)
- ATO: Tunze Nano Osmolator
- Dosing: Auto Dosing B-Ionic Ca/kH/Mag and Phytoplankton (Undecided on dosing pump, not wanting to spend an insane amount on one)
I'm wanting my tank to be fairly clean and simple; not a ton of rock, but just enough to allow the coral to grow and cover, but also giving enough free space for them to grow. I've considered purchasing the dry, man-made rock and curing it in a friend’s tank over the next few months or spending the extra money to buy live, cured rock. I’ve also been doing a lot of browsing regarding bare-bottom tanks. Given the fact that I plan to have ~18 4-6” colonies in such a small tank, I plan to utilize every square inch that I possibly can (growing colonies on the walls, bottom glass, and overflow). I’ve not completely decided on this decision yet however I’ve seen a lot of cool reefs out there that are persuading me to lean that way. Additionally, with no sand I’ll be able to maximize flow without causing debris to fly around.
These are my thoughts regarding the reef so far, please feel free to comment on any suggestions, questions, or comments that you may have. I'm looking forward to this build and hope you get some enjoyment by following along
