Astro's 250 Reefer Mixed Reef Tank
11/14
12/07:
Hey all! I am a new reefer and member of this forum from Canada!
I started the hobby with a Fluval 32.5g tank, but after a month in I decided to upgrade to a Red Sea Reefer 250.
With a new tank comes a new build thread, and here it is!
For this tank I plan on slowly adding a very wide range of corals, CUCs, and fish.
Disclaimer: I am very new to the hobby and have already made many mistakes, so please feel free to share any tips, ideas, or any resources that you think could help me in this journey.
Timeline:
- 11/15 Transferred 25 gallons, all rocks, all livestock to the new tank and added 40 gallons of new SW
- 11/16 Added two reefwave 25's, and two reefLED 90's.
- 11/23 Added yellow watchmen goby, tiger pistol shrimp, skimmer
- 11/26 Created Zoanthid garden & Got two clownfish
Gear:
- Red Sea Reefer 250 tank with sump
- Red Sea DIY Lid
- ~30 lbs of CaribSea life rock
- ~5 lbs of live rock from LFS
- CaribSea Aragonite substrate
- Reefwave 25 x2
- ReefLED 90 x2
- Coral box DCA4000 return pump
- Cobalt 200W Heater
- Shopro Power Bar 8-Outlets
- Aquaforest Reef Salt
- RedSea test kits (Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, dKH, Ca, Mg)
- Bubble Magus 5 Protein Skimmer
- Tunze long scraper
- Kamoer ATO
Current Livestock:
- 2 Astrea snails
- 4 hermit crabs
- 9 Trochus snails
- 4 Nasaria snails
- 2 Bullethole Clownfish
- Yellow Watchman Goby
- Tiger Pistol Shrimp
- Rainbow Bubble Tip Anemone
- Small Bubble Coral
- A GSP frag - glued to a rock
- 10 zoanthids
- LA LAkers
- Eagle Eye
- Fire and Ice
- Pluto passion
- RR Purple Panther
- Disco inferno
- Playboy Bunny
- Sakura sunrise
- Painted War Favia
- Green Acropora Millepora
Future Plans:
- Get a toadstool or finger leather coral
- Get encrusting corals: cyphastrea, astreo, favia, etc.
- Get a clam
- Eventually with enough livestock I plan to add a controller system: Apex/Profilux seems to be the most popular, but unsure.
Modified Cabinet:
Transferring Tank:
Cable Management:
Before:
After:
After:
Mistakes:
- I bought a red sea starter kit with nopox and didn't realize that without a skimmer, it would suffocate my fish. As a result I lost both of my clown fish and an urchin.
- I should have definitely aquascaped before adding all of the water over
- Bought too many things from my LFS that I didn't need: starter kit that I didn't use due to having a live rock, and Ca/Mg/Alk dosing kit despite not having any testers for it.
- Did not realize just how bright my lights are on my tank, having wanted it in my room, it makes it rather blue throughout the day.
- tbh, I should have gotten the XL 200 instead. I knew I could afford the tank itself, but when you add in the lights and powerheads, you're looking at 2x the cost of the tank. Plus, all the expenses for maintenance and future livestock will be more due to the extra size. However it is nice knowing I can keep this reeftank for 20+ years due to not needing to upgrade.
Shoutouts:
- /r/ReefTank and their discord! All awesome people who have been so helpful in starting out this hobby.
- Nano Tank Reefer & Hobby Sci Awesome youtubers with the same tank; very inspiring setups!
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