MidwestReefer1989
New Member
- Joined
- May 26, 2020
- Messages
- 21
- Reaction score
- 11
Hello Everyone,
So I am about 2 months into the hobby and it feels like its been an eternity since I started but I have learned so much and have tried things that some people have told me not to try and have been successful so I am going to share my recent photos of my build and hopefully you love it as much as I do right now.
So to start out, I have a Fluval 13.5 EVO (my first intro tank) and as I cycled I quickly removed all the stock filtration and purchased an InTank Chamber 1 Custom Caddy for the system. I have dumped the eheim heater (sorry for those Eheim fans) and upgraded to Cobalt Automatic heater. This slim heater fits well into either chamber so when I decide to add some more customization back there I will have options on where to put the heater. I was going to upgrade the output pump but after consideration I ended up adding the Aqamai KPS to my tank. I cannot say enough great things about building a more "automated" tank. The Aqamai KPS (albeit an investment) has been amazing and I have a fully customized program that works for this size tank and increases flow in the tank dramatically. I also love the variety I have with programs throughout the day so that my corals and fish get different effects from morning til night. Lastly, you will notice I removed the hood from the tank and went for a custom Red Sea cover to give it a "rimless look". Its a project so make sure you have an afternoon to work on it depending on how custom you want the top to be. Lastly, I invested in the RedSea Reef LED 50 light and this is another one of my "auto" additions and currently have a custom program with 80% Blue, 35% White, 35% Moon at night. I have the lunar schedule on because I like that variety.
Now for creatures, where to start.... lets start with the actual "fish-like" creatures: I have 2 clown fish (One regular ocellaris, one black), 1 orchid dottyback, 1 skunk cleaner shrimp, 1 firefish, 1 lawnmower blenny, 1 watchman goby + paired pistol shrimp, and 1 banggai cardinal fish. For corals I have 1 duncan, 1 purple hammer, 1 green torch, daisy polyps, firework clove polyps, 1 acan chunk (red and blue), 3 ricordeas (one split a baby), 1 multicolored trachy, 1 bubble coral, 1 frogspawn, 1 leather/toadstool, and an elegance coral. Now, I know that some people are going to cringe when they hear the next part but I started with 4 rock flower anemones (which have had substantial growth since I got them) and so I decided to add a Rose Bubble Tip Anemone. Now, I am lucky that I have a solid support system here so if I have a major issue with my anemone I am able to trade for credit and I got this BTA for free from a friend whom is in the hobby. If you know me, I had tried a corkscrew anemone and he would not settle in the tank (there was too much flow) and I ended up trading him back in but decided I could try the BTA. He moved from the original spot I put him in before he landed where he is now which is perfect because he is kind of the centerpiece. The reason I decided to try the BTA was 1) it was free and 2) my parameters are pretty much steady and tend to stay in a certain range.
Here is what I want people to know, you can keep a BTA when you get to a steady point and when you do enough research. I know people say "6 months" but I think if your tank parameters are steady and you can provide the BTA with its needs then you should be fine. I am also home studying for the bar so if something goes wrong in the tank I am able to address it fairly quickly. However, the best thing I can say for you to do is to DO YOUR RESEARCH. Every time I see an individual at the local store just buying random things with no rhyme or reason I kind of cringe because you are building a habitat where all the creatures have to work together. You cannot be successful by just throwing things in the tank and hoping for the best because there are so many saltwater creatures whom don't like other ones and so many fish that can be detrimental to others. With that being said, there is no reason why you cannot keep the more intimidating corals and anemones if you have done the research and are good with your care routine.
I have everything above because I have an eye for the future and plan to upgrade this fall to a red sea all in one as soon as I settle somewhere, but I am in love with the visuals and the interactions that this tank provides. My partner has even caught the bug and is developing his own 10 gallon aquarium and following in my footsteps. So that is all for now but I definitely like to share my experience because there were times when I definitely thought I was killing everything and it was all down hill from there, but with the research and the steady hand you can conquer this hobby. Sorry the pictures are sideways, my camera does not correct them for some reason when I download them. Oh and if you haven't heard of the "IceCap Aquarium Lens Kit" you need to buy one because the pictures it can get are amazing and it snaps right onto your phone.
So I am about 2 months into the hobby and it feels like its been an eternity since I started but I have learned so much and have tried things that some people have told me not to try and have been successful so I am going to share my recent photos of my build and hopefully you love it as much as I do right now.
So to start out, I have a Fluval 13.5 EVO (my first intro tank) and as I cycled I quickly removed all the stock filtration and purchased an InTank Chamber 1 Custom Caddy for the system. I have dumped the eheim heater (sorry for those Eheim fans) and upgraded to Cobalt Automatic heater. This slim heater fits well into either chamber so when I decide to add some more customization back there I will have options on where to put the heater. I was going to upgrade the output pump but after consideration I ended up adding the Aqamai KPS to my tank. I cannot say enough great things about building a more "automated" tank. The Aqamai KPS (albeit an investment) has been amazing and I have a fully customized program that works for this size tank and increases flow in the tank dramatically. I also love the variety I have with programs throughout the day so that my corals and fish get different effects from morning til night. Lastly, you will notice I removed the hood from the tank and went for a custom Red Sea cover to give it a "rimless look". Its a project so make sure you have an afternoon to work on it depending on how custom you want the top to be. Lastly, I invested in the RedSea Reef LED 50 light and this is another one of my "auto" additions and currently have a custom program with 80% Blue, 35% White, 35% Moon at night. I have the lunar schedule on because I like that variety.
Now for creatures, where to start.... lets start with the actual "fish-like" creatures: I have 2 clown fish (One regular ocellaris, one black), 1 orchid dottyback, 1 skunk cleaner shrimp, 1 firefish, 1 lawnmower blenny, 1 watchman goby + paired pistol shrimp, and 1 banggai cardinal fish. For corals I have 1 duncan, 1 purple hammer, 1 green torch, daisy polyps, firework clove polyps, 1 acan chunk (red and blue), 3 ricordeas (one split a baby), 1 multicolored trachy, 1 bubble coral, 1 frogspawn, 1 leather/toadstool, and an elegance coral. Now, I know that some people are going to cringe when they hear the next part but I started with 4 rock flower anemones (which have had substantial growth since I got them) and so I decided to add a Rose Bubble Tip Anemone. Now, I am lucky that I have a solid support system here so if I have a major issue with my anemone I am able to trade for credit and I got this BTA for free from a friend whom is in the hobby. If you know me, I had tried a corkscrew anemone and he would not settle in the tank (there was too much flow) and I ended up trading him back in but decided I could try the BTA. He moved from the original spot I put him in before he landed where he is now which is perfect because he is kind of the centerpiece. The reason I decided to try the BTA was 1) it was free and 2) my parameters are pretty much steady and tend to stay in a certain range.
Here is what I want people to know, you can keep a BTA when you get to a steady point and when you do enough research. I know people say "6 months" but I think if your tank parameters are steady and you can provide the BTA with its needs then you should be fine. I am also home studying for the bar so if something goes wrong in the tank I am able to address it fairly quickly. However, the best thing I can say for you to do is to DO YOUR RESEARCH. Every time I see an individual at the local store just buying random things with no rhyme or reason I kind of cringe because you are building a habitat where all the creatures have to work together. You cannot be successful by just throwing things in the tank and hoping for the best because there are so many saltwater creatures whom don't like other ones and so many fish that can be detrimental to others. With that being said, there is no reason why you cannot keep the more intimidating corals and anemones if you have done the research and are good with your care routine.
I have everything above because I have an eye for the future and plan to upgrade this fall to a red sea all in one as soon as I settle somewhere, but I am in love with the visuals and the interactions that this tank provides. My partner has even caught the bug and is developing his own 10 gallon aquarium and following in my footsteps. So that is all for now but I definitely like to share my experience because there were times when I definitely thought I was killing everything and it was all down hill from there, but with the research and the steady hand you can conquer this hobby. Sorry the pictures are sideways, my camera does not correct them for some reason when I download them. Oh and if you haven't heard of the "IceCap Aquarium Lens Kit" you need to buy one because the pictures it can get are amazing and it snaps right onto your phone.
