Bedroom 45gal Reef Tank

[GavinF007]

Week 0 - Getting Started
1/25/26
Finally getting my bedroom tank started! I will be using this thread to document my tank's progress on a weekly basis. I plan on turning this into a mixed reef dominated by Softies and LPS, with some SPS.

Setup:
Tank:
IceCap 45 gal AIO
Dimensions:

36Lx14Wx16H​

2x Pre-Filtration Chambers:

5.3Lx4Wx15.2H​

2x Filtration Chambers:

6Lx4Wx15.2H​

Pump Chamber:
8.5Lx4Wx15.2H
Sand:
40lbs CaribSea Fiji Pink

Approx. 1.5in Deep​

Rock:
Coralline Marco Rock

Superglued for initial construction, then used E-Marco 400 to get a more permanent bond​

Stand:

Homemade​

Equipment:
2x Vortech MP40s
BRS Titanium heater w/ InkBird Controller
Nautilus 600gph DC Return Pump
Kessil AP9X

Processes:
Completed:
Filled Tank with sand, rock, and seawater (Aquaforest Sea Salt) and filtered out some of the fines from the sand that was causing water clarity issues
Added in roughly 2ppm MicroBacter QuikCycl ammonia source
Added 12 capfuls of MicroBacterStartXLM beneficial bacteria
To-Do:
Monitor Ammonia and Nitrite, once Nitrite begins to show up, start monitoring Nitrate after a day or so
Make some custom media baskets to replace the mesh filter socks the tank came with
Set up the refugium section and get it ready to add Chaeto
Set up a QT Tank so I can begin to QT fish after cycle is complete
Upon Cycle Completion:

Do a 25% water change (depending on water parameters)​

Add Copepods (and phyto as food source)​

Add Chaeto​

Add First CUC Members​

Parameters:
Temp: 78°
Salinity: 35ppt
Ammonia: 2ppm

Notes:
Got a good deal on the Aquaforest Sea Salt, but will switch to another salt later on when I need more elements/minerals.
Picture with the light on was for looks, but will be keeping it off for the duration of the cycle to avoid nuisance algae growth
BioCubes are in the main display temporarily until my media baskets are made, at which point they will be moved to the Filtration Section.

 

[TX_REEF]

the cabinet looks very nice. what's the point of those bio bricks in the display?

 

[GavinF007]

the cabinet looks very nice. what's the point of those bio bricks in the display?

Thank you! I am making some media shelves for the back filtration that will have a spot for them. Just put them in the display when I added in the bacteria to get them seeded for now

 

[TX_REEF]

also good choice on the kessil!!!

 

[GavinF007]

also good choice on the kessil!!!

Thanks, app took me a minute to figure out, could definitely be improved. Absolutely no complains with the light itself though, great form factor, perfect shimmer, can't mess up the spectrum, and plenty intensity for my purposes.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along!

 

[GavinF007]

Week 1 - Cycling
2/4/26
This post is a touch late due to a business trip, but everything is going fairly smoothly so far. The Cycle has been moving along as expected, and I am starting to get more and more excited about the long road ahead to filling this tank.

Processes:
Completed:
Have been continuing to monitor Ammonia, Nitrite, and began to monitor Nitrate
Began making the custom media baskets
Sourced a tailspot blenny from Dr. Reef that is currently in QT, so when my cycle is complete I should be able to add in my first fish!
To-Do:
Finish the media baskets/setup refugium section
Get an ATO system
Upon Cycle Completion:
Do a 25% water change (depending on water parameters)
Add Copepods (and phyto as food source)
Add Chaeto
Decide on my first CUC members and source them
Add Tailspot Blenny

Parameters:
Temp: 78°
Salinity: 35ppt
Ammonia: 0.8ppm
Nitrite: 1+ppm (test maxed out)
Nitrate: 15ppm

Notes:
Not going to setup a QT tank immediately because I decided to buy a pre-quarantined fish to start out
Nitrite is maxed out on my RedSea test kit at the moment so it is likely higher, but that shouldn't be a big deal.
I think I was incorrect on my initial ammonia dose. It was likely closer to 2.5-3ppm, but the test kit maxes out at 2. Shouldn't make a big difference, but my water change after the cycle is done will likely need to be larger to account for increased nitrate levels.
ATO is definitely the next piece of equipment to be added. I have seen my salinity go up to 1.027 due to evaporation and want that to be more stable.

 

[GavinF007]

Week 3 - Cycle Complete!
2/16/26
No post last week because there was nothing significant to mention as the tank was still cycling. However, my cycle is officially complete! I have also been becoming more and more interested in corals and really look forward to adding some.

Processes:
Completed:
The Cycle!
A 15gal water change, bringing nitrate back down to about 10ppm
Completed/installed the first media basket (more info below)
Added a tunze osmolator 3 nano ATO
To-Do:
Finish/setup refugium section
Measure Parameters after last water change (updating here tonight)
Dose AFR up to alk of 8.5 (see details below)
Measure PAR in tank with different lighting settings
Add Microbacter Clean
Add Pods/Phyto
Add Chaeto
Once I see some algae, pick up a starter CUC.

Parameters:
Temp: 78°
Salinity: 1.026
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm
Will Update remaining parameters later tonight

Notes:
The Cycle is finally complete, so I am really starting to get ready for corals/fish. As mentioned previously, I used AF sea salt due to a sale, but knew I would need to switch salts at some point. However, with the new timeline established of adding corals sooner rather than later, I decided to pick up some Tropic Marin Pro Reef Salt, which is what I used for my water change. This should have brought down my alk and raised ca, from what I had measured before said water change, however I will confirm actual parameters tonight. I'd like to target 8.5 alk (range of 8-9), which is higher than the new reef salt. The reason being is to give myself a little more of a buffer in case a test kit is off or if I have an unexpected uptake in alk so it doesn't drop dangerously low. For this first go around, I will use AFR to slowly bring alk up to my target range, as ca and mg will also need to be bumped up a little. For future water changes however, I will mix in some alk additive along with the salt to match up the new water with the existing water in the tank. Before adding any coral, I will be checking ca, and may still need to dose a small amount to get to my desired range. Once everything is at my desired range, I will use AFR to maintain those levels as needed (likely won't need to do much for a while, but that is the plan for the future)
As for the media basket, it came out great! I am running filter floss as mechanical filtration, followed by some bio-media, then 2 shelves below for chemical filtration. I am currently only using carbon to help polish the water and make sure I don't have some unknown contaminant in the tank prior to adding in fish. The other shelf will likely be used very sparingly, but can accommodate something like GFO or Chemiclean.

As far as the rest of the changes, I should have pods and chaeto coming in very soon, as well as a variety of fish foods that should hold me over for a very long time. Other than that, I am just waiting on the tailspot to be done with qt over at dr reefs.