Aquaforest Oceanguard 275 has arrived

[johnmac28]

Well, after an 8 year break I’m jumping back into reefing. Today a big crate arrived with my new tank. I’m posting the progress of my journey here. I have purchased the following equipment for it:
-Ecotech xr15 g6 pro
-Aquamax dc skimmer
-Tunze ATO
-Octo pulse 2 pumps with hydros wave maker.
-Red Dragon x40 return pump
-Helios controller with BRS heating element
-I’m sure I forgot something…

Here are my initial thoughts-the quality of this tank is indescribable. Last tank was a Reefer 350 and this is a step above in my opinion. I’m enjoying leveling and assembling it. As I make progress I will post. Gonna be a long road, but I’m glad to be back at it!

 

[Patientman]

OH BOY!!! OH BOY!!! Let the fun begin! Please DO keep us posted on your progress!

 

[johnmac28]

Well I got the light up yesterday. Plan to work on aquascape tonight. Hope to have water in it by end of weekend.

 

[johnmac28]

Beginning the leak test with ro water (with some substrate in) hoping/assuming no leaks will be found.

 

[johnmac28]

Mixing water is such a slow process. Dog is wondering what’s going on and the wife is in bed. I’m determined to get the main pump going before I’m done tonight. Once the tank is running I’ll turn the light off for the next month. Just figuring it out. Liking hydros and my 2 Octo pulse 2 pumps.

 

[johnmac28]

Mechanically all is done but skimmer install and a little final adjustment on cords. I’m very happy with the Adaptive Reef controller panel.
still trying to figure out aquascape. Gonna add more sand and hopefully have aquascape in by weekend.
Been adding Aquaforest Bio S as directed to get some bacteria going. I know I’m doing things a little out of order, but I wanted to see some water flow and hook up my gadgets. It’s been tedious up til now, but I’m happy with the progress so far.

 

[Susan Edwards]

Nice! How many gal is this? Following

 

[johnmac28]

Nice! How many gal is this? Following

It’s 48 up top and specs say 72 total. I think a little less really.

 

[Susan Edwards]

It’s 48 up top and specs say 72 total. I think a little less really.

Probably considering you can never fill the sump all the way, or the display to the top. And then you lose prob. 20 gal to rock and sand. Still nice though! I have the older e170-45 g but no sump. Thinking about eventually putting one in if I keep that tank going (use to be my observation tank)

Best wishes on this new build

 

[johnmac28]

Probably considering you can never fill the sump all the way, or the display to the top. And then you lose prob. 20 gal to rock and sand. Still nice though! I have the older e170-45 g but no sump. Thinking about eventually putting one in if I keep that tank going (use to be my observation tank)

Best wishes on this new build

Thank you-I appreciate it! After 7-8 years away, I feel like I have forgotten a lot of things but I guess it is all part of the fun. Still very, very happy with the quality of this Aquaforest tank!

 

[johnmac28]

After a lot of frustration and trial/error with the rock, I just put in something I think is a good start. I think I will have ample room for fish, flow, and coral placement. Dumped in a bottle of Dr. Tim’s and am giving a try for my first time with no true love rock and a fishless cycle. Next step will be to try to get a pod population established and slowly add fish.
I could not make a scape that I liked with the Aquaforest rocks so I put together this prefab setup from Art Reefrocks. I have some Caribsea life rock arches on the sides and will figure out best placement at some point. Happy to have made some progress this week.

 

[johnmac28]

Pods and plankton arrived today! Looks like there are a ton in there. Probably put them in after another few days when cycle is done.

 

[johnmac28]

Made a little progress and am experimenting with the gadgets. Reactor has biofil in it. Hope this helps in a slower-than expected cycle. I have one more gadget to add, which will be an Aquaultraviolet 15w hang on uv filter.
If anyone sees any mistakes I may be making, please let me know. I’m out of practice.

 

[johnmac28]

First fish added! After looking a lot online I found these 2 guys at petco. 29/each, which I think was a steal! I’ll be keeping an eye on them but so far so good.

 

[johnmac28]

It’s been a few months but I thought I’d post an update. Tank has been a great success so far. No fish or coral casualties, sps/lps are happy and growing. Dosing a small amount of TM All for Reef and Aquaforest Magnesium plus. Parameters have been stable. Not sure what I have done differently with this tank minus what I’m dosing, but I’ve never had a better tank. Love the equipment and the livestock!