Hello everyone.
Third time attempting a reef journal and hopefully, this one sticks. I plan to update this weekly in the beginning and then monthly moving forward. Try to hold me to that haha cause I'm going to miss some updates for sure. The goal is to have this be a proper journal for me to look back on and hopefully, people tag along in the journey.
Equipment:
Mr Aqua 12 Gallon Long with AIO insert
2x Ai Prime 16HD
5 gallon reservoir with Tunze Osmolator ATO
Vivosun 480 GPH Return Pump
This is the second iteration of this specific tank. I had it running for a year previously and left the house for a week while forgetting to plug in my ato. Unfortunately had a total tank crash due to it. On the other hand, this let me redesign the entire tank philosophy and I am attempting to create a very clean, simple design with minimal equipment and zero wires inside the display portion of the tank. To achieve this, I oversized the return pump and plan to add a random flow generator to the end of my locline nozzle to provide some varied flow. I understand that the flow won't be ideal but again, this is an experiment so let's see what happens.
To pair with the singular direction of the flow and overall lack of varying flow, I don't plan to heavily stock this tank with coral. The center rock structure will be the only place that has coral with a possible exception being a single mushroom colony (probably the OG bounce) on the far right side to balance the negative space there. As for coral species, I am planning to add:
Micromusa Lordes
Green Tree Nepthea
Branching Cyphastrea
Birdsnest
Milka Stylophora
Maybe a zoa or two here and there depending on how much space is left on that rock after I add the above list. I may also try to put some rock flower nems at the base of the rock work if they choose to stay put but that would be much later when the tank matures a bit.
All the coral for this tank will come from my main 100 gallon reef which has been established for 2 years now so they should be healthy and adjusted to tank life. The only exception is the branching cyphastrea as I don't have that at all. I just saw a clip of Jake from Reef Builders gush over his collection and they looked amazing. I had to find a way to plug them into my tanks.
For fish and other inhabitants, I'm not sure. To keep with the design, I want to get a fish that would stay near the rockscape and contrast that with a shoal of open water swimmers. Currently I am leaning towards getting 3-4 chromis or azure damsel for the open water and a pearly or blue spot jawfish to stay near the rockscape. That said, I am using crushed coral and a very thin layer, less than a quarter inch so I don't think a jawfish would work in this system. Any suggestions are welcome.
The immediate next plan of action is to put a blue background on the tank (should be coming in tomorrow) and start the seeding for the cycle and take things from there. I'm hoping this tank is great.
Also, before I forget, my main source of nutrient export will be biweekly water changes. A quick 5 gallon water change is 50% and I expect that will be more than enough to keep parameters in check. My main concern here would actually be instability due to the water change itself.
Third time attempting a reef journal and hopefully, this one sticks. I plan to update this weekly in the beginning and then monthly moving forward. Try to hold me to that haha cause I'm going to miss some updates for sure. The goal is to have this be a proper journal for me to look back on and hopefully, people tag along in the journey.
Equipment:
Mr Aqua 12 Gallon Long with AIO insert
2x Ai Prime 16HD
5 gallon reservoir with Tunze Osmolator ATO
Vivosun 480 GPH Return Pump
This is the second iteration of this specific tank. I had it running for a year previously and left the house for a week while forgetting to plug in my ato. Unfortunately had a total tank crash due to it. On the other hand, this let me redesign the entire tank philosophy and I am attempting to create a very clean, simple design with minimal equipment and zero wires inside the display portion of the tank. To achieve this, I oversized the return pump and plan to add a random flow generator to the end of my locline nozzle to provide some varied flow. I understand that the flow won't be ideal but again, this is an experiment so let's see what happens.
To pair with the singular direction of the flow and overall lack of varying flow, I don't plan to heavily stock this tank with coral. The center rock structure will be the only place that has coral with a possible exception being a single mushroom colony (probably the OG bounce) on the far right side to balance the negative space there. As for coral species, I am planning to add:
Micromusa Lordes
Green Tree Nepthea
Branching Cyphastrea
Birdsnest
Milka Stylophora
Maybe a zoa or two here and there depending on how much space is left on that rock after I add the above list. I may also try to put some rock flower nems at the base of the rock work if they choose to stay put but that would be much later when the tank matures a bit.
All the coral for this tank will come from my main 100 gallon reef which has been established for 2 years now so they should be healthy and adjusted to tank life. The only exception is the branching cyphastrea as I don't have that at all. I just saw a clip of Jake from Reef Builders gush over his collection and they looked amazing. I had to find a way to plug them into my tanks.
For fish and other inhabitants, I'm not sure. To keep with the design, I want to get a fish that would stay near the rockscape and contrast that with a shoal of open water swimmers. Currently I am leaning towards getting 3-4 chromis or azure damsel for the open water and a pearly or blue spot jawfish to stay near the rockscape. That said, I am using crushed coral and a very thin layer, less than a quarter inch so I don't think a jawfish would work in this system. Any suggestions are welcome.
The immediate next plan of action is to put a blue background on the tank (should be coming in tomorrow) and start the seeding for the cycle and take things from there. I'm hoping this tank is great.
Also, before I forget, my main source of nutrient export will be biweekly water changes. A quick 5 gallon water change is 50% and I expect that will be more than enough to keep parameters in check. My main concern here would actually be instability due to the water change itself.
