Well, I meant to start this over a year ago, but one thing didn't lead to another, and I kept abandoning it halfway. So perhaps today we'll actually get the build thread posted for real!
First, the most current FTS:
And here's the current equipment and livestock list:
Lights:
Aquatic Life T5 Hybrid (48") with the floating wall mount, currently running 2x ATI Blue Plus, 1x ATI ActinicPlus, 1x ATI Purple Plus
2x EcoTech Radion XR15 Pro G4
1x Tunze Submersible EcoChic 8831
Powerheads:
1x Neptune WAV
1x Maxspect XF230 Gyre
Return Pump:
Reef Octopus Varios2
Dosing Pump:
3x Kamoer X1 Bluetooth pumps
Controller:
Apex EL w/ Trident
Skimmer:
Red Sea RSK-300, w/ BRS Carbon Dioxide Scrubber attached
Heater:
BRS Heating Controller
300w Finnex Titanium Heating Element
150w Eheim Jager
ATO:
Tunze Osmolator 3155
Livestock:
Fish:
Tomini Tang
Pink Skunk Clownfish
Purple Firefish
Sapphire Damsel
Forktail Blenny (Biota captive-bred)
Six-line Wrasse
Invertebrates:
Trochus Snail (Uncountable)
Dwarf Cerith Snail (Uncountable)
Cerith Snail (Uncountable)
Nassarius Snail (Uncountable)
Nerites Snail (Uncountable)
Asterina stars (benign and uncountable)
3x Money Cowries
3x Fighting Conches
1x Pincushion Urchin
2x Purple Pincushion Urchin
1-2 Hermit Crabs
Back in the Before Times (before COVID made things like this challenging), my LFS, Barrier Reef Aquariums in Renton, WA, held their annual anniversary sale... and the price was just too good to pass up on a Reefer 350. It wasn't really an impulse purchase - I'd been saving for it since we bought our house in 2016 - but that was what helped me finally pull the trigger on it.
Took a few weeks for the tank to arrive from the distribution center, and then I was in for the third-most harrowing drive of my life. I decided to see if I could fit the tank and stand:
Into my 2009 Scion tC:
(Photo and Car belong to someone else... don't have a good picture of my actual car on my phone).
Anyhow, turns out it fit! Just barely. The front seat had to fold down, and I had absolutely NO visibility out of my right-hand side. In retrospect I should've just rented a van, but where's the fun in that?
Long story short (too late!), made it home safe and sound, and after much wrangling got it into the house.
Little bit of time putting the stand together with my trusty assistant...
Taking shape...
Finally, it earned his seal of approval:
(Insert obligatory catfish joke)
Then, after thoroughly leak-testing it, it was time to get rid of the old tank and put the Reefer into the place of honor. Thankfully, my wife is a patient and long-suffering soul who, I think, secretly enjoys the tank more than I do. To say it was messy would be an understatement:
Finally, after much work and trial and tribulation, success!
If only it had stayed like that... But more on that in the second post.
First, the most current FTS:
And here's the current equipment and livestock list:
Lights:
Aquatic Life T5 Hybrid (48") with the floating wall mount, currently running 2x ATI Blue Plus, 1x ATI ActinicPlus, 1x ATI Purple Plus
2x EcoTech Radion XR15 Pro G4
1x Tunze Submersible EcoChic 8831
Powerheads:
1x Neptune WAV
1x Maxspect XF230 Gyre
Return Pump:
Reef Octopus Varios2
Dosing Pump:
3x Kamoer X1 Bluetooth pumps
Controller:
Apex EL w/ Trident
Skimmer:
Red Sea RSK-300, w/ BRS Carbon Dioxide Scrubber attached
Heater:
BRS Heating Controller
300w Finnex Titanium Heating Element
150w Eheim Jager
ATO:
Tunze Osmolator 3155
Livestock:
Fish:
Tomini Tang
Pink Skunk Clownfish
Purple Firefish
Sapphire Damsel
Forktail Blenny (Biota captive-bred)
Six-line Wrasse
Invertebrates:
Trochus Snail (Uncountable)
Dwarf Cerith Snail (Uncountable)
Cerith Snail (Uncountable)
Nassarius Snail (Uncountable)
Nerites Snail (Uncountable)
Asterina stars (benign and uncountable)
3x Money Cowries
3x Fighting Conches
1x Pincushion Urchin
2x Purple Pincushion Urchin
1-2 Hermit Crabs
Back in the Before Times (before COVID made things like this challenging), my LFS, Barrier Reef Aquariums in Renton, WA, held their annual anniversary sale... and the price was just too good to pass up on a Reefer 350. It wasn't really an impulse purchase - I'd been saving for it since we bought our house in 2016 - but that was what helped me finally pull the trigger on it.
Took a few weeks for the tank to arrive from the distribution center, and then I was in for the third-most harrowing drive of my life. I decided to see if I could fit the tank and stand:
Into my 2009 Scion tC:
(Photo and Car belong to someone else... don't have a good picture of my actual car on my phone).
Anyhow, turns out it fit! Just barely. The front seat had to fold down, and I had absolutely NO visibility out of my right-hand side. In retrospect I should've just rented a van, but where's the fun in that?
Long story short (too late!), made it home safe and sound, and after much wrangling got it into the house.
Little bit of time putting the stand together with my trusty assistant...
Taking shape...
Finally, it earned his seal of approval:
(Insert obligatory catfish joke)
Then, after thoroughly leak-testing it, it was time to get rid of the old tank and put the Reefer into the place of honor. Thankfully, my wife is a patient and long-suffering soul who, I think, secretly enjoys the tank more than I do. To say it was messy would be an understatement:
Finally, after much work and trial and tribulation, success!
If only it had stayed like that... But more on that in the second post.