great-reef
New Member
Hello everyone,
My name is Alex, and I am from Germany. I have been passionate about reefing for about 8 years and deeply enjoy the hobby.
Until now, I have only been passively reading in this forum, but as I am embarking on a new chapter of my reefing journey, I thought it would be beneficial to document it somewhere.
I began in 2015 with an 8-gallon cube. It was initially stocked with some critters, leathers, and zoanthids. However, this setup didn't last long, as I wanted to properly accommodate fish. About six months later, I upgraded to a 57-gallon cube. It was quite budget-friendly, considering I was still in high school. I acquired a used tank for about $30 from my local marketplace, built a DIY stand, and equipped it with a used HQI/T5 light, a Chinese wave maker, and used rocks... You get the idea. In total, I probably spent about $250. This setup also didn’t last long, as I later discovered that the rocks were full of phosphates—far more than I could filter out. So, I redesigned the scape, this time using fossil reef rock from CaribSea, which worked quite well, and I learned my lesson. Fast forward two years, I upgraded to the tank I’ve had ever since. The dimensions are 51x27.5x27.5 inches, with a volume of 168 gallons. I included a sizable sump and started entirely with live rock. Although it took some time and the tank experienced its ups and downs (and survived two moves), it looks really nice nowadays.
Yes, there are many things I would do differently now, but it works. However, there is one issue that brings me back to why I created my account today: my tank is full, with no more space for corals.
I am starting a new tank. This time, it will be the largest size I can accommodate, as I am not planning to move anytime soon. In fact, the tank is so large that it needs to be built in my living room. It will measure 145.6 x 35.5 x 31.5 inches and serve as a room divider, offering views from both of the long sides and one of the short sides.
More on that in a separate thread that I will create shortly...
Cheers,
Alex
My name is Alex, and I am from Germany. I have been passionate about reefing for about 8 years and deeply enjoy the hobby.
Until now, I have only been passively reading in this forum, but as I am embarking on a new chapter of my reefing journey, I thought it would be beneficial to document it somewhere.
I began in 2015 with an 8-gallon cube. It was initially stocked with some critters, leathers, and zoanthids. However, this setup didn't last long, as I wanted to properly accommodate fish. About six months later, I upgraded to a 57-gallon cube. It was quite budget-friendly, considering I was still in high school. I acquired a used tank for about $30 from my local marketplace, built a DIY stand, and equipped it with a used HQI/T5 light, a Chinese wave maker, and used rocks... You get the idea. In total, I probably spent about $250. This setup also didn’t last long, as I later discovered that the rocks were full of phosphates—far more than I could filter out. So, I redesigned the scape, this time using fossil reef rock from CaribSea, which worked quite well, and I learned my lesson. Fast forward two years, I upgraded to the tank I’ve had ever since. The dimensions are 51x27.5x27.5 inches, with a volume of 168 gallons. I included a sizable sump and started entirely with live rock. Although it took some time and the tank experienced its ups and downs (and survived two moves), it looks really nice nowadays.
Yes, there are many things I would do differently now, but it works. However, there is one issue that brings me back to why I created my account today: my tank is full, with no more space for corals.
I am starting a new tank. This time, it will be the largest size I can accommodate, as I am not planning to move anytime soon. In fact, the tank is so large that it needs to be built in my living room. It will measure 145.6 x 35.5 x 31.5 inches and serve as a room divider, offering views from both of the long sides and one of the short sides.
More on that in a separate thread that I will create shortly...
Cheers,
Alex
