Red Sea reefer 250 - Mixed reef!

Chrille26

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
470
Reaction score
396
Location
Sweden
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Update 2021-02-08, tank upgrade on page 9!
49EAC122-3B09-4899-A750-A01922D6CABF.jpeg


Below this line is the start of the 35 gallon cube, the Reefer 250 transfer and build starts at page 9!

—————————————————


Hey! Two years ago I made my first attempt at keeping a reef at home. That time I went with a 13g cube with a HOB filter and I made most of the misstakes you can read about in the beginnersection of this forum.



This time I decided to do my homework and really create the tank I visioned last time and the type of tank you can see all over this forum with beautiful colours and such.

Wont list all the specs of the tank but if someone is interested I bought this complete kit:

So the plan is at least in the beginning to do a lps and softie coral mix with some active fishes.

So, here is my process up until this point in time:

Packages arrive, my son is excited:

IMG_20200212_171247.jpg

Lots of stuff to unpack, Im starting to feel a little nervous about assembling it all:
IMG_20200212_171254.jpg


Finally complete, the wireing is a snakepit that will get tidied up:
IMG_20200212_201702.jpg


First batch of LR and live sand goes in:
IMG_20200213_193152.jpg


Water clearing up, got a good feeling about this tank :) :
IMG_20200215_145920.jpg


First morning after turning tank on, bristle worms checking the surroundings:
received_215022349675659.jpeg


Adding some more dry rock to the scape, no plan just building as I go:
IMG_20200222_125038.jpg


FTS at week 3 of cycle, diatoms starting to show:
IMG_20200228_182224.jpg


LR really coming to life now, got Aiptasia, feather dusters a random snail and a baby hermitcrab pop up:
IMG_20200221_171329.jpg

IMG_20200223_193217.jpg
IMG_20200223_194748.jpg


Test shows cycle should be at the end and the tank really is full of life so I decided to do the first waterchange and add some CUC. Went with 10 turbo snails and 2 diamond gobys to turn the sand. (I am feeding the gobies sinking pellets since the sandbed is so new) :
IMG_20200229_134457.jpg

IMG_20200228_182237.jpg
IMG_20200229_134536.jpg


FTS as of today:
IMG_20200229_134519.jpg


So happy to enter this journey again with more confidence and Im going to enjoy all the steps of the way!
I really appreciate all the tips and pointers I can get!
Thanks!
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
Chrille26

Chrille26

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
470
Reaction score
396
Location
Sweden
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Some info about the sump also! Its aprox 14 gallons
divided into three sections.
First is outlet from overflow, right now it got the original filtersponge but Im planning on doing some type of biological filtration through ceramic plates or something similar, Im open to suggestions though.
Second chamber holds the skimmer and the heater.
Third chamber right now is just the returnpump at this moment. I will add some type if filtration here also, Im thinking chaeto in a basket at this moment.

IMG_20200228_182320.jpg
 
OP
OP
Chrille26

Chrille26

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
470
Reaction score
396
Location
Sweden
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Sad day today. Woke up to find one of my new diamond gobies carpet surfing.
Ordered a DIY screentop kit but it was out of stock at the store so they estimated 10 days delivery time.
The large one I bought is still going strong so just hoping he will stay in his burrow til the screentop arrives. :(

No point in doing cpr here, dead on arrival:
IMG_20200301_072242.jpg


The other decided to look arround, sorry for crappy pics he is really shy so the second I get close he dives into his cave.
IMG_20200301_094759.jpg

IMG_20200301_094745.jpg
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
Chrille26

Chrille26

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
470
Reaction score
396
Location
Sweden
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Small update:
Came home today after a four day business trip to find my skimmer overflowing:
IMG_20200305_194329.jpg


Also my diamond goby has really settled in witch means sandstorm in the tank and sandcovered everything:
IMG_20200305_194316.jpg


Also on my way home I stopped by a lfs and bought some bio spheres to help with some filtration in the sump, I also bought some dip since Im planning to add the first couple of corals real soon! :
IMG_20200305_194254.jpg


Still looking for tips and pointers to help make it a smoother journey! :)
 
OP
OP
Chrille26

Chrille26

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
470
Reaction score
396
Location
Sweden
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Todays update!
Finally got my DIY screentop, unfortunatly too late for one of my gobies but still:
IMG_20200306_133747.jpg


Decided to celebrate by adding some more livestock. Two captive bred ocellaris clowns and a cleanershrimp:
112.jpg

IMG_20200306_184255.jpg


And last a FTS, kinda crappy but I blame the diamond goby for doing such a good job with turning the sand :D :
IMG_20200306_191815.jpg



Rocks still look cold and empty, cant wait to fill them with corals. :)
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
Chrille26

Chrille26

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
470
Reaction score
396
Location
Sweden
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
The first corals are officially in!
So happy to get to pick up my first additions to the reef! I dont want to butcher any names and Im not sure exactly what they are called specifically but I know its two Eupyllias, a Caulastrea and a small patch of what I think is Bam bam zoas.
I just temp acclimated them and gave them a 5 minute dip in Coral Rx before droppning them in so they are not fully opened in the pics. :)
Also sorry for crappy shots I will work on the camerawork. :)
FTS:
k1.jpg


Think this is a golden Euphyllia? :
k2.jpg


And this a purple Euphyllia? :
k3.jpg


The very green Caulastrea:
k4.jpg


And last but not least the Bam bam zoas:
k5.jpg


So exited to see how the open up and develop these coming days! Im also super pumped about getting more and more movement and colour into the tank.
I will probobly slow down for a bit now to let everything settle in and let the bacteria grow alongside the bioload. :)
 
OP
OP
Chrille26

Chrille26

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
470
Reaction score
396
Location
Sweden
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Small update!
All the corals have really opened up and are looking happy (exept the zoas in the pictures since a turbo decided to walk over them ;Joyful) :
s1-01.jpeg

s2-01.jpeg

IMG_20200312_190720-01.jpeg

IMG_20200312_190709-01.jpeg


Also caught my diamond goby getting a cleaning session from my shrimp witch was cool to see:
received_483399129213353.jpeg

Screenshot_20200312_190145.jpg


Though about starting to add some nutrients for the corals so bought a Liquid reef from Brightwell but got some good advice in another thread so Ill hold of with that.
IMG_20200312_184343.jpg


Thats it for now hope to update soon again with some more additions to the tank. :)
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
Chrille26

Chrille26

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
470
Reaction score
396
Location
Sweden
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
More corals!
Decided to add some additional corals to the tank today. My first thought when I went to buy was LPS and soft corals, but when there I saw some SPS and just couldent help myself. Bought a Duncan, some rasta Zoas, a birdsnest/ Hysterix, a plating green Montipora and a small Stylophora.
Hopefully Im not over my head with these SPS corals, but Im ready to stay ontop of the tank and keep the conditions right make them thrive.

Im not completely happy with the placement, will move around a little when I have decided were to place them all:
IMG_20200314_080912.jpg


SPS on top:
IMG_20200314_080928.jpg


Duncan got the floor seat:
IMG_20200314_080937.jpg


Rasta zoas, placed next to my closed up bambam zoas, hopefully a garden soon:
IMG_20200314_080946.jpg


IMG_20200314_081029.jpg

IMG_20200314_081123.jpg


Thats it for now! Have a nice Saturday! :)
 
Last edited:

DeniableArc

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 19, 2019
Messages
645
Reaction score
962
Location
Sydney
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Looks very promising mate! The only thing I can think of is the lights look very close to the water
 
OP
OP
Chrille26

Chrille26

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
470
Reaction score
396
Location
Sweden
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Looks very promising mate! The only thing I can think of is the lights look very close to the water

Thank you!
Yes I have been trying to adjust the light a little to get a better coverage and not so intense light, but the mount is pretty hard to adjust more then fine adjustments and angles so Im not sure how to fix that right now without replacing the fixture.
 
OP
OP
Chrille26

Chrille26

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
470
Reaction score
396
Location
Sweden
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Some shots from tonight, still moving around a little trying to find a solid spot for everyone depending on flow and light.
Also managed to unintentionally fragg the montipora so glued the piece down, hopefully it grows out. :)
Realising I will need lense for the camera.
k1-01.jpeg


My bambam zoas have been closed for a day now, moved them a bit more shaded:
k2-01.jpeg


My unintentional monti frag, glued in the back of the tank, hoping for the best:
IMG_20200314_180405-01.jpeg


Duncan found his spot right away, extends fully:
IMG_20200314_180318-01.jpeg


One last for now :) :
IMG_20200314_180344-01.jpeg
 
OP
OP
Chrille26

Chrille26

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
470
Reaction score
396
Location
Sweden
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Good morning! In my top post I mentioned a small ricegrain sized hermitcrab that hitchhiked in my LR.
Well it appered again this morning. It seems to be a blue legged veriety, to keep or not to keep is the question?
Choose a CUC without hermits this time because last time they ate my snails, but guess Ill have atleast one this time again. :)
IMG_20200315_083445-01.jpeg

IMG_20200315_083435-01.jpeg
 
OP
OP
Chrille26

Chrille26

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
470
Reaction score
396
Location
Sweden
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Copepods!
Decided to add some diversity to the tank in the form of pods. Im not really looking to add a picky fish or such any time soon I just want to have a healthy population to create a more diverse reef. And its a plus if they help the cuc with keeping algae of the glass. :)
IMG_20200317_171213.jpg


Each bag poping with movement:
c1.jpg


Also added a peppermint shrimp to the sump, bought him to eat aiptasia in the display but after reading some horror stories of eaten corals I decided to house him in the sump for now.
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
Chrille26

Chrille26

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
470
Reaction score
396
Location
Sweden
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Nice set up you got going on there! Where did you get the pods from? Good idea waiting on the liquid foods and other supplements. I went a bit nuts with some reef roids in my 40b and paid for it with algae.....

Thank you appreciate it!
I bought the bags of pods at a lfs here in Sweden called Företagsakvarium.
I poured two of the bags in the display while the lights where on witch was a little mistake cause the clowns got a nice snack. :)
Yeah I did some reading and figured I need to start to test more and build some understanding of whats going on before pouring additives and nutrients into the tank.
 
OP
OP
Chrille26

Chrille26

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
470
Reaction score
396
Location
Sweden
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
New additions to the tank!
I need a slap and a telling to slow down. :D Everywere I read the saying "nothing good happens fast in this hobby" is repeated, but I just cant help myself I love seeing it all come together.
I made a promise to myself to let the tank be now and let everything settle for atleast a month.
Anyway enough excuses, here are the newcomers. 2 firefish, one red and one purple.
n4.jpg


They seem to have found eachother right away:
n1.jpg

n3.jpg


Hope they stick together and even form a pair, I have heard they can get aggressive against their own sometimes.
n2.jpg

IMG_20200318_170651.jpg
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
Chrille26

Chrille26

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
470
Reaction score
396
Location
Sweden
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Sad day today, but with a happy ending!
Woke up this morning to find my diamond goby dead on the livingroom floor. Despite having a mesh top he managed to find the smallest of openings where the lightfixture is mounted. :(
He really kept the sandbed pristine and spotless and he was kind enough to not spit sand on my lower lps corals, so a toast to Silke.

Well, I figured I couldnt keep up with the cleaning of the sandbed like a Diamond goby can so after work off I went to the LFS.
While looking at gobies I couldnt help but notice a juvenile yellow wrasse swimming around looking all happy, waiting for a home. So ofcourse, I ending up buying the wrasse along with the goby. :D
(The top is completely sealed now with a temp fix)
Here is the new additions:
w1.jpg

w2.jpg


The goby found his spot rightaway and started sifting through the sand:
IMG_20200320_171031.jpg


No actionshots of the wrasse since he swam straight into a cave and burrowed himself, so here are some FTS instead :)
k11.jpg

k22.jpg
 
OP
OP
Chrille26

Chrille26

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
470
Reaction score
396
Location
Sweden
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Wrasse out and about!
Thought he would be burried for a couple of days but all it took was a 5 gallon waterchange for him to peak out.
Noticed several aiptasia and also a bubble algae while cleaning the tank so thats something I need to deal with.
Also had to move and rearange some lower lps due to the new goby being a sandblasting ****** right now! :D
w11-01.jpeg


Nipping away at what I believe is pods:
w22-01.jpeg
 
OP
OP
Chrille26

Chrille26

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
470
Reaction score
396
Location
Sweden
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Some new sps corals added!
Couldnt pass on a great opportunity to buy some nice frags of sps corals so made some room in the tank for some more additions. :) so, here are the newcomers:

Acropora yongei (green slimer) :
232-01.jpeg

IMG_20200323_181926-01.jpeg


acropora tricolor:
233-01.jpeg

IMG_20200323_181948.jpg


And lastly some FTS as of tonight. Not all of them is glued down Im still working with placement regardning flow and lighting:
2311-01.jpeg

231-01.jpeg
235-01.jpeg

236-01.jpeg


Thats it for now! And as I have mentioned in several posts Im very interested in pointers and tips and just general ideas of were I can improve or do stuff better!
Thanks! :)
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 65 37.1%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 59 33.7%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 14.3%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 26 14.9%
  • Other.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
Back
Top