Ethan's Enchanting Queer Rainbow Reef (Reefer 250 Build)

[ScubaEthan]

Rockscpaing time! Sorry there's so much glare. My lights should arrive today or tomorrow!

So here's what I have so far. I've tested out so many different layouts in an area that I outlined with string. But once I moved my "finished ideas" to the tank, it changed again.

I'm wondering how "full" the tank should look with just rock, and also how high to go. I want a mixed reef, maybe a few SPS in the center in the future or a big toadstool. Wondering if I should bring up the height of the purple rock on the right side.

Angle view because you'll be walking past the tank a lot on this side from the living room to kitchen.

I really like how this left side turned out with the see through and overhang (purple over white rock in the front).

Here's a top down to give you a better idea. you can see a little sandy cove will be on the right side, and a rock island middle/left.

 

[saltcats]

Looks very nice! And nice feline assistants, too mine hasn't helped much so far, aside from trying to dig in my sand...

 

[ScubaEthan]

Looks very nice! And nice feline assistants, too mine hasn't helped much so far, aside from trying to dig in my sand...

I hope they dig in the right sand!

And thanks!

 

[ScubaEthan]

Obligatory *I got a bunch of new boxes in front of my empty tank* post

 

[ScubaEthan]

I'm unboxing all this stuff from Black Friday (which I've seen some people call Big Friday now and I like that) as if it's Christmas...

And I'm mixing up saltwater to fill the tank!

 

[samnaz]

I'm unboxing all this stuff from Black Friday (which I've seen some people call Big Friday now and I like that) as if it's Christmas...

And I'm mixing up saltwater to fill the tank!

Weeee I’m excited for you!

 

[saltcats]

Very nice! Can't wait to see it officially up and running

 

[ScubaEthan]

Welp, I have a leak. I believe it is from the middle bulkhead. The water level in the tank is just below the line to go into the overflow. So I'm waiting a bit for the overflow to fully leak out... I'm hoping this happens, otherwise that means I don't have a good seal around the overflow and that will make this harder to solve.

Hoping it's not too hard to remove that pipe tomorrow and put silicone sealant or plumber's tape on it or something. Also hoping it doesn't keep leaking and flood. I almost feel like I should set an alarm every couple hours overnight to check it - I'm a nervous sump newbie!

In other news, the tank is full, I set up my Kessil AP9X and Red Sea ReefWave 45 with their respective apps. Both feel like beautiful products and make me giddy haha. The ReefWave is huge! Bigger than I expected. But I went with the 45 to try to get away with only one circulating pump to leave the other side of the tank free of any equipment since it is such a viewable side in our home.

I also went ahead and poured in Fritz Zyme 9 and water clarifier.

 

[ScubaEthan]

I worked more on the leak Saturday but after more research, I think I just need to replace the orings in the Red Sea pipes. I'm waiting for those to come in the mail. Adding ptfe tape around the threads didn't work. It's leaking at the emergency overflow pipe (middle one) right between the pipe and bulkhead where you can see the bright white tape I had just added.

I noticed the bottom of the cabinet was wet and its annoying that the leak falls in the tiny space between the sump and cabinet instead of into the sump. Doh! So I drained the sump and took apart all the plumbing in order to pull the sump out and dry everything. Ugh! But I guess its better to get familiar and comfortable with more plumbing stuff sooner than later.

Also ordered wireless water/leak detectors.

 

[ScubaEthan]

Now that I'm almost in the cycle, time to start narrowing down my stocklist! I'm only going to buy captive-bred fish unless I find fish from other reefers who are rehoming. And I plan to have mostly softies, LPS, and perhaps a SPS or two. I'm also interested in a clam and maybe gorgonian.

Definites:
Clown pair with anemone(s)
Watchman goby and pistol shrimp
Firefish
I'd like to plan for a mandarin in case I reach the confidence to get one in the future

I'd like to have one more fish so here are my maybes:
-Yellow corris wrasse. I read it could compete with the mandarin for food
-A damsel like the lemon peel or orange tail. I read to be cautious of them with firefish. Are damsels too aggressive?
-A dwarf angel like cherub, flameback, or coral beauty. It seems like some people love these fish and others regret them due to nipping at coral.
-A blenny such as starry, harptail/forktail, flametail/bicolor, canary, bundoon, or backline. I read to be cautious with blennies and mandarins together.
-A basslet such as the royal gramma. I read to be cautious with these along with blennies, firefish, and mandarins, but why?

I had originally really wanted a filefish, but then decided I'd rather had a goby/shrimp pair and the filefish might eat inverts.

I plan to add the 2 clowns first, then cleanup crew, then goby/shrimp, then firefish. After that we'll see! Anyone have advice or thoughts?

 

[ichthyogeek]

I’d do firefish, then shrimp/goby, then clownfish in order of aggressiveness.

With basslets/grammas, it boils down to body shape and niche. Broadly, fish aggression happens if the rival fish is perceived to have the same: color, body shape, and feeding habit. With firefish and other cylindrical fish, it’s a lot of “this fish looks as tubular as I do. Oh wait, it’s eating zooplankton like me. Competitor!!”

Damsels I feel might be a bit too aggressive with firefish. Firefish are...really wimpy. Mine are currently being outcompeted by a group of mollies that are a third of their size....yeah...

I’d hold off on any wrasses while you make the decision of to buy a dragonet or not.

 

[shred5]

Now that I'm almost in the cycle, time to start narrowing down my stocklist! I'm only going to buy captive-bred fish unless I find fish from other reefers who are rehoming. And I plan to have mostly softies, LPS, and perhaps a SPS or two. I'm also interested in a clam and maybe gorgonian.

Definites:
Clown pair with anemone(s)
Watchman goby and pistol shrimp
Firefish
I'd like to plan for a mandarin in case I reach the confidence to get one in the future

I'd like to have one more fish so here are my maybes:
-Yellow corris wrasse. I read it could compete with the mandarin for food
-A damsel like the lemon peel or orange tail. I read to be cautious of them with firefish. Are damsels too aggressive?
-A dwarf angel like cherub, flameback, or coral beauty. It seems like some people love these fish and others regret them due to nipping at coral.
-A blenny such as starry, harptail/forktail, flametail/bicolor, canary, bundoon, or backline. I read to be cautious with blennies and mandarins together.
-A basslet such as the royal gramma. I read to be cautious with these along with blennies, firefish, and mandarins, but why?

I had originally really wanted a filefish, but then decided I'd rather had a goby/shrimp pair and the filefish might eat inverts.

I plan to add the 2 clowns first, then cleanup crew, then goby/shrimp, then firefish. After that we'll see! Anyone have advice or thoughts?

Some of those are not captive bred or are hard to find captive bred.
Here is a decent list of what is available.

https://www.liveaquaria.com/category/1500/captive-bred-fish?c=15+1500&r=

There are pretty many fish that have been captive bred but are not available or really expensive because of how hard they are to breed.

 

[samnaz]

Biotas captive bred Mandarins apparently eat pellets. Maybe something to look into if you’re concerned about providing adequate live food for them.

 

[saltcats]

Are you going to aim for captive bred for the CUC as well? I think some of the snail species reproduce readily, as well as micro brittle stars, so it might be doable!

 

[samnaz]

Are you going to aim for captive bred for the CUC as well? I think some of the snail species reproduce readily, as well as micro brittle stars, so it might be doable!

Great question! Algae Barn has the widest selection of captive bred invertebrates available that I’m aware of. Worth the extra expense, IMO.

 

[Nanojoe]

Nice setup man! Same tank AND same RODI unit... are we twins? Brothers? hahah good stuff. Am excited for you.

 

[ScubaEthan]

I’d do firefish, then shrimp/goby, then clownfish in order of aggressiveness.

With basslets/grammas, it boils down to body shape and niche. Broadly, fish aggression happens if the rival fish is perceived to have the same: color, body shape, and feeding habit. With firefish and other cylindrical fish, it’s a lot of “this fish looks as tubular as I do. Oh wait, it’s eating zooplankton like me. Competitor!!”

Damsels I feel might be a bit too aggressive with firefish. Firefish are...really wimpy. Mine are currently being outcompeted by a group of mollies that are a third of their size....yeah...

I’d hold off on any wrasses while you make the decision of to buy a dragonet or not.

I really appreciate having an ichthyo geek That totally makes sense about the same size/shape/color/food equaling a threat. Now I'm looking at fish trying to imagine how other fish would see it when I think about combining fish that are deemed "with caution" in writing haha.

Some of those are not captive bred or are hard to find captive bred.
Here is a decent list of what is available.

https://www.liveaquaria.com/category/1500/captive-bred-fish?c=15+1500&r=

There are pretty many fish that have been captive bred but are not available or really expensive because of how hard they are to breed.

Hmm good point... I did come up with this list based on fish I found captive bred. But thanks to your comment, upon further inspection I see many fish are listed, but not in stock. Darn!

Biotas captive bred Mandarins apparently eat pellets. Maybe something to look into if you’re concerned about providing adequate live food for them.

Yeah, but I'd still want to add it after my tank, and I, have more experience and pods.

Are you going to aim for captive bred for the CUC as well? I think some of the snail species reproduce readily, as well as micro brittle stars, so it might be doable!

I'm more concerned about captive bred fish, but I will definitely buy captive bred inverts when I can! Glad to see some on Algae Barn.


Okay so... I'm thinking about not getting a firefish... that feels like it frees me up a bit to look at other fish. I'm not too attached to them, I was honestly just wanting a fish that swims up in the water column more since clowns, the watchman goby, and potential mandarin will all be lower in the tank.

I had ruled out pseudochromic/dottybacks because of aggressiveness, but maybe without a firefish they would be ok. The splendid one looks so cool. Then maybe a blenny or another goby would work. This is really a discussion for later, but I do want to figure out my first few fish and what order to introduce them. Thoughts?

 

[ScubaEthan]

Also, the starry goby keeps catching my eye. I do feel confused about what's a starry goby vs starry blenny though.

Starry Goby

Asterropteryx semipunctatus-The starry goby is an adorable stocky reef goby that prefers to settle in a rocky area of the reef tank. They are adorned with bright light blue spotting and large curious eyes. The starry goby is a very passive reef fish that maxes out at 1.5. They do well in nano or...

shop.thebiotagroup.com

And I would like to complain for a second... I feel like this image for the orangetail damsel is totally misleading. I was all oogly eyed over this fish but could not find any other photos of it online. Then when I searched the scientific name, I realized this photo is not a good representation of what the species generally looks like.

Biota Orangetail Damselfish

Orangetail damselfish The orangetail damselfish stays small enough to live in smaller aquaria (singly). It is extremely hardy, making it an excellent choice for beginning aquarists. Yet, because of its brilliant blue colors and feisty disposition, even highly experienced reef aquarists cannot...

www.algaebarn.com

Update on the build:
I got Red Sea’s o-ring kit (part R42187) and replaced all the pipe o-rings while I was at it. Good thing cause the old ones are so bad compared to the new ones. I also put silicone around the pipes at the bulkheads just for extra protection. I'll let that dry overnight then do a leak test tomorrow zzz

 

[saltcats]

Also, the starry goby keeps catching my eye. I do feel confused about what's a starry goby vs starry blenny though.

Starry Goby

Asterropteryx semipunctatus-The starry goby is an adorable stocky reef goby that prefers to settle in a rocky area of the reef tank. They are adorned with bright light blue spotting and large curious eyes. The starry goby is a very passive reef fish that maxes out at 1.5. They do well in nano or...

shop.thebiotagroup.com

Definitely a pretty fish! I keep being tempted as well, except I think my tank is a bit small for two gobies...

 

[ScubaEthan]

Let there be water and light!
(I need to fix the sand, there is a hole in the middle you can't see so it's not actually that thick. Although I did put in 60lbs so maybe too much)

I put a whole 32oz bottle of FritzZyme 9 in on 12-5-20. Then life got in the way plus I had to leak issue. So the tank sat without the sump (but had rock, sand, a pump, and heater) until now. I tested ammonia finally yesterday and it was totally 0. Does that mean it has done sort of a mini cycle and the bacteria will just continue to multiply?

Some online sources say to add carbon while cycling with FritzZyme 9. Other people say to add ammonia, others say don't add amonia. My local fish store, which is nice, clean, and has amazing reviews, said I could probably go ahead and add a couple clowns. But I feel cautious.

I bought another bottle of the FritzZyme 9 and I think I'll add it to my tank in 4 doses over 4 days and test ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate to see if I see any cycle happen. Then wait a bit longer before adding fish.

Thoughts?