I just wanted to post my current plan for my new tank to get a gut check and make sure I'm being reasonable, as this is my first reef tank. The tank has been fully cycled for about 2-3 weeks now (cycling took something like 2.5 weeks fishless Dr. Tims, after which I also added 5 pounds of TBS live rock, which was great.). It's a 40 gallon cube (IM), with about a 2 inch sand bed and mostly dry rock (photo below).
On 11/15/25 I added a red banded hi-fin goby, a tiny candy cane pistol shrimp, two hermit crabs and 2 trochus snails. Sadly the goby died suddenly after three days of healthy behavior. All the inverts were fine, water parameters good (except Alk is a bit low). At that time I did a decent sized water change and waited 8 days before adding in a Yasha Goby. Fingers crossed, but 5 days later the Yasha is doing great, loving life in his empty tank and gobbling up his food twice a day.
I don't have any coral yet (outside whatever is growing on my live rock) but I intend to get some started soon, once I address my alkalinity (more on that below).
Current water parameters are:
Temp: 77F
Salinity: 1.026 (I might try to creep that down to 1.025 at my next water change)
Nitrate: 20.5
Phosphate: 0.2
Alk: 5.9
pH: 8.15
Calc: 440
Mag: 1290
For the alkalinity, I'd like to get that up to perhaps 8.5 and then maintain it there by starting to dose AFR. At the moment I'm using Red Sea blue bucket salt (8 dkh) and the bacteria and live rock in my tank is dropping my alkalinity something like 0.1 dkh per day. At my next water change I'm going to start using Red Sea coral pro salt (12 dkh purple bucket). I estimate a 25% water change doing that would bump my alkalinity up to about 7, and I'll do the same the next week and so on until I reach about 8.5. After that I'd mix 50/50 blue bucket and purple bucket to get an Alk of about 10 on my water change. (And then I'll sort out AFR dosing once I get to where I want to be).
Anyway...once Alk is happy, I'll add my first few coral frags.
But back to my original point (if I had one), I'm looking to add more livestock now as well. I'm considering picking up a pair of clownfish and a midas blenny from Dr. Reef (pre-quarantined, assuming a couple weeks to ship but I don't know) and adding them all at the same time (currently the only other fish is the yasha goby). At some point in the future, I'd also like to add a royal gramma, and perhaps a wrasse or basslet that's on the calm side of the spectrum...but those last two would be some time down the road after the clowns and blenny have settled in and we see how they are doing. Total number of fish in this tank I will be capping at 5 or 6, as I'm hoping they will all be with me quite a while and growing.
I'm also considering adding a couple members to the clean up crew and starting a small refugium in the back of the AIO...but probably not yet on those as my parameters are currrently where I want them to be. I've been running without lights so far, so haven't yet started the ugly stage, any algae or other bits are currently being handled by the small CUC that I have.
Anyway, just sort of throwing my plan out there. I'd appreciate any advice that anyone has. Thanks!
On 11/15/25 I added a red banded hi-fin goby, a tiny candy cane pistol shrimp, two hermit crabs and 2 trochus snails. Sadly the goby died suddenly after three days of healthy behavior. All the inverts were fine, water parameters good (except Alk is a bit low). At that time I did a decent sized water change and waited 8 days before adding in a Yasha Goby. Fingers crossed, but 5 days later the Yasha is doing great, loving life in his empty tank and gobbling up his food twice a day.
I don't have any coral yet (outside whatever is growing on my live rock) but I intend to get some started soon, once I address my alkalinity (more on that below).
Current water parameters are:
Temp: 77F
Salinity: 1.026 (I might try to creep that down to 1.025 at my next water change)
Nitrate: 20.5
Phosphate: 0.2
Alk: 5.9
pH: 8.15
Calc: 440
Mag: 1290
For the alkalinity, I'd like to get that up to perhaps 8.5 and then maintain it there by starting to dose AFR. At the moment I'm using Red Sea blue bucket salt (8 dkh) and the bacteria and live rock in my tank is dropping my alkalinity something like 0.1 dkh per day. At my next water change I'm going to start using Red Sea coral pro salt (12 dkh purple bucket). I estimate a 25% water change doing that would bump my alkalinity up to about 7, and I'll do the same the next week and so on until I reach about 8.5. After that I'd mix 50/50 blue bucket and purple bucket to get an Alk of about 10 on my water change. (And then I'll sort out AFR dosing once I get to where I want to be).
Anyway...once Alk is happy, I'll add my first few coral frags.
But back to my original point (if I had one), I'm looking to add more livestock now as well. I'm considering picking up a pair of clownfish and a midas blenny from Dr. Reef (pre-quarantined, assuming a couple weeks to ship but I don't know) and adding them all at the same time (currently the only other fish is the yasha goby). At some point in the future, I'd also like to add a royal gramma, and perhaps a wrasse or basslet that's on the calm side of the spectrum...but those last two would be some time down the road after the clowns and blenny have settled in and we see how they are doing. Total number of fish in this tank I will be capping at 5 or 6, as I'm hoping they will all be with me quite a while and growing.
I'm also considering adding a couple members to the clean up crew and starting a small refugium in the back of the AIO...but probably not yet on those as my parameters are currrently where I want them to be. I've been running without lights so far, so haven't yet started the ugly stage, any algae or other bits are currently being handled by the small CUC that I have.
Anyway, just sort of throwing my plan out there. I'd appreciate any advice that anyone has. Thanks!
