Cammy’s SPS Dominant Reefer 250

[Cammy]

Since I’ve already started a thread for my much further away NPS tank, I thought I’d do one for my now cycling sps-dominant Reefer 250. This will be an upgrade from my acropora dominant Reefer Nano, and to start stocking a few of my fish for a year or so while my dream of a Reefer 700 is saved up for…

General Equipment
Tank : Red Sea Reefer 250 G1 (Sumped Version) - total volume 244L / ~65G(US)
Lighting : Ecotech Radion XR30 Gen 4 Pro with supplementary AI Hydra 26 (x2) all mounted on an Ecotech Rail
Flow : Reef Octopus Octo Pulse 4 (x2)
Skimmer : Reef Octopus Essence 130
Return : TMC Reef Pump 4000
Heating/Cooling : D-D Temperature Controller + D-D 350W Heater + Aquarium Cooling Fan
Dosing Pump, Dosing Product, Containers : Aqua Medic Evo-Doser 4 + 4 Channel Slave, Red Sea (KH, Mg, Ca) + Red Sea (NO3 : PO4X) + Red Sea (ABCD Trace Elements), TBC on the containers

Feeding Equipment
- 3L Bottle Container (food safe plastic)
- Garden water timer to release food for specified lengths of time and at end of day to allow clearing of container
- Regular peralistic dosing pump to bring tank water into container. 1) to move food around before water timer goes off, and 2) to clear out container at end of the day before filling for following day
- Timer Plug : Digital Plug Timer that has a function for seconds for dosing pump
- Laser cut acryllic nori clip and defrosting cone

Foods
Cultured by me

1. Icochrysis
2. Nanochloropsis
3. Tetraselmis

Frozen

1. Rotifers
2. Red Plankton
3. Brine
4. Mysis
5. Lobster Eggs

Dry/Fridge

1. Reef Roids
2. Reef Myst
3. TMC Nori Sheets w/ Garlic
4. TMC Nori Sheets w/ Added Omegao-3
5. Red Sea AB+

Supplementation

1. TMC Ammino and Vitamin spray

These are all the foods that I am used to using and would appreciate any further suggestions to try

Aquascape
Open rockscape using some old wild collected liverock and a couple pieces of man made. Tank is going to be bare bottom for extra flow and prevent detritus buildup, but will use some frag tiles for growing down there in between some lps colonies. Planning to use some custom magnet mounts on the back glass to also have a couple of floating colonies there too

*try to ignore the cling film that I used to keep in the lovely smell of curing rock, I could clean it up but might as well keep the setup process realistic*

Livestock
Gonna try to slowly update this as I figure out what I have…

Fish​

Some of these are already owned, others are planned for down the line… quite a lot of fish and a large bioload but the upgrade is on the horizon and the system can handle the bioload.​

1. Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma flavescens) - x1 - has been with me since the size of a £2 coin just before the Hawaiin ban and I couldn‘t let it go after my 4ft leaked so it has lived in a QT for a wee while. This 250 will be its home for a year or so before it gets the Reefer 625 that it deserves…
2. Springer’s Damselfish (Chrysiptera springeri) - x2-4 - lovely little bright blue damsels without the massive a—hole personality, and also good for flatworm control. Already got a pair in my nano.
3. Longfin Anthias (Pseudanthias pulcherrimus) - x~5 - beautiful small (3”) species of anthias that is much more peaceful than many of its larger counterparts.
4. Longnose Hawkfish (Oxycirrhites typus) / Flame Hawkfish (Neocirrhites armatus) - x1 - Have always wanted a hawkfish, and these two species are my favourite. I’d only get one or the other. My only concern would be their aggression towards other fish on this list.
5. Percula Clownfish (Amphiprion percula) - x2 - Pair that I’ve had for almost 12 years now. My first saltwater fish.
6. Royal Gramma (Gramma loreto) - x1 - Had this little guy from the size of a danio to the submarine it is now 5 years later.

Invertebrates​

1. Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis) - x2 - Love a pair for their scavenging and cleaning abilities, only concern would be hawkfish.
2. True Peppermint Shrimp (Lysmata wurdemanni) - x3 - Need a wee trio to clean up the remaining aiptasia I have in my acropora nano after I couldnt source aip-eating nudibraches.
3. Hippopus Clam (Hippopus hippopus) - x1 - Who doesn’t love sps with clams, plus the regular feeding of particulate food alongside phyto.
4. Derasa Clam (Tridacna derasa) - x1 - See above.
5. Maxima Clam (Tridacna maxima) - x2 - See above above.
6. Emerald Crab (Mithraculus sculptus) - x2 - Great for scavaging, algae control etc, just worry about coral nipping and threat to fish if underfed but in this system that shouldnt be a problem.
7. Tuxedo Urchin (Mespilia globulus) - x1 - Great algae control just need to make sure those corals are tight in place.
8. Shortspine Urchin (Echinometra sp.) - x1 - See above. Saved this guy from being flushed down the toilet by a fellow “reefer” as they shut their tank.

Corals​

This one is gonna take me a while to list so TBC for now…​

 

[Peace River]

Congratulations on the new adventure!!!

 

[Cammy]

And we are finally out the nitrite stage, not too long until I can get those first few fish out of QT

 

[Cammy]

Well the good, the bad, and the ugly belong here, and this tank certainly ain’t a good looking baby

Thankfully that’s the cycle over with 0ppm NH3/NH4, 0ppm NO2, and 10ppm NO3. So far pH is staying stable around 8.2 and kH around 8.7.

The first two fish have migrated out of QT, my pair of springeri damsels.

In even more exciting news, I’ve bought a Xepta Autobalance for both automatic testing and dosing 3-part.

To be continued…

 

[Cammy]

Now here is an ethical question for everyone: would you put a regal tang in a reefer 250 for 1 year before your upgrade?

Critical backstory: the poor thing has been in a reefer 170 for 7 years, at this age it has only grown to 5" or so due to the crap conditions and care. The guy refuses to give it away for the health of the fish and won't accept less than £100 as "it is an adult regal tang". No one local wants to buy one that has HLLE or has been stunted for such a price, and the LFS will only take it for free.

I have the money, do I rehome it? Morally I feel wrong putting this in a reefer 250 even for a year, but it's also a much better home (in the long run with the 700 down the line and whatever comes after that) and no one else seems to want it, nor will the guy give it away. I do not want to give money to someone who mistreats animals like that, but equally it is better for the fish. I'm being somewhat selfish here, I'm aware, and certainly not the ideal scenario.

What do we all think?

PS - I am aware that I could be totally selfless and buy it to give to/reduce the price for someone else, but I was planning to get a regal for the 700 and a stunted one would perhaps be better suited to such a small tank

 

[OctaviusBrine]

How is the tank coming along. I have a 250 and always enjoy seeing and hearing about everyone else’s

 

[Cammy]

How is the tank coming along. I have a 250 and always enjoy seeing and hearing about everyone else’s

Sadly I’ve been in and out of hospital for a while so the reefing plans have gone to the back burner. The tank is running but not much in the way of coral and fish. In good news I managed to convince that other reefer to part with that regal tang, took care of it for about 1.5 months, majorly reversed its HLLE and is now loving life in my friends 500 (UK) Gallon setup (Approx. 600 US Gallons).

 

[ReefLaw]

You must have those octo pulses turned way down! They are strong pumps

 

[Cammy]

You must have those octo pulses turned way down! They are strong pumps

Yep, 30% at the moment, and will turn them up to 40% as things grow in. Absolutely love them though!