Jacked Reefer
Valuable Member
Good morning, evening, or whatever time of day it happens to be when you read this thread! Decided to post the build/stocking/inevitable demise (or upgrade) of this 20 gallon tall, running BARE minimum equipment for coral and fish health.
Background
I love fish. That is the #1 fact people learn about me when they meet me. My obsession started when I was merely months old. Traditional kids shows didn’t stop me from being fussy when I was a kid. Only BBC’s blue planet did. Due to this, my parents decided to purchase me an aquarium to look at when I was one year old. This freshwater aquarium housed many oddities that my parents did not care to research, so it ended up killing quite a few fish. This 10 gallon would eventually be taken down about 7 years later.
It wasn’t until I was 14 that I decided to set back up this same 10 gallon tank for freshwater fish. It ran successfully for about two months before I contracted MTS. I need a 55, a 180 gallon (that never saw water, living with your parents sucks), a 20 gallon, and a saltwater tank… My first saltwater tank would be created from the corpse of the 10 gallon that had its “ugly” black rims removed.
this tank was an expiriment. I tried black box leds, build my own led, and eventually switched to a 150w metal halide. The halide was my favorite and I had great growth and colors on everything (when I remembered to change the water).
after the 10 gallon I upgraded to a 20 gallon innovative marine. Right after I purchased this tank I started working at an LFS. So it kind of became neglected and I don’t have any good pictures of it.
but due to me working at the LFS I had some amazing discounts and acquired a Red Sea Reefer 200xl. This was a great tank! I loved the size, the quality, however the stand was a little to talk to make maintenance easy. So this tank, while more successful than my other two, still suffered from neglect
I ended up gifting this tank to my mother and converting it to a soft coral tank when I moved to Florida to study Marine Biology. But I had my dorm tank, which was an Innovative Marine 10 gallon. Which got 0 maintenance at all. Kept my rock cycled I guess!
Current System
Aqueon 20 gallon tall
Filter: Marineland Biowheel (free)
Light: AI prime 16HD (free)
Flow: AI Nero 3 (arriving tomorrow)
Frag rack: 3D print (free from friend)
As you can see. 3/4 pieces of equipment cost me nothing. Which is the best thing you can feel a broke college student. And I really think this will help me. As I have noticed the tanks that I put the least money, I end up putting more time into, and those tanks end up doing much better (at least in my 9 freshwater systems). Ask for livestock the list will be continually expanded. But as of 11:16 on Thursday the 22nd of February, We have
Fish
1x Yellow Spot Scorpionfish
(planned)
2x pink skunk clownfish / true percula
1x wrasse, probably a flasher of some sort (once I have a lid)
Inverts
2x Turbo Snails
1x Cerith
1x Babylonia Nassarius
1x Terry the Tunicate
Infinite bivalves and spiroid worms
Coral
The main event here TBH. Loving the tank so far!!!!
Blueberry Zoanthids
Armor of God Paly
Brown Hammer
Red discosoma
Sunkist Bounce (splitting)
“The Eternal Favia” (the only coral from my OG ten gallon to survive ALL my tanks and not be sold off. Lived in a bucket for a month, moved cross country, survived Dino’s, Cyano, Bryopsis, High Alk, High salinity, no heat, no air, and just about everything else. I will one day submit a genetic sample for coral conservation efforts.
Todd’s Torch (purchased tonight)
Dark green watermelon looking torch (purchased tonight)
Purple Stylophora
Red digi
and finally my red Goni
don’t have picture for everything. Especially the fish. He alludes me. I know he’s in there tho.
hope you enjoy my thread. There will be much more content coming soon…
Background
I love fish. That is the #1 fact people learn about me when they meet me. My obsession started when I was merely months old. Traditional kids shows didn’t stop me from being fussy when I was a kid. Only BBC’s blue planet did. Due to this, my parents decided to purchase me an aquarium to look at when I was one year old. This freshwater aquarium housed many oddities that my parents did not care to research, so it ended up killing quite a few fish. This 10 gallon would eventually be taken down about 7 years later.
It wasn’t until I was 14 that I decided to set back up this same 10 gallon tank for freshwater fish. It ran successfully for about two months before I contracted MTS. I need a 55, a 180 gallon (that never saw water, living with your parents sucks), a 20 gallon, and a saltwater tank… My first saltwater tank would be created from the corpse of the 10 gallon that had its “ugly” black rims removed.
this tank was an expiriment. I tried black box leds, build my own led, and eventually switched to a 150w metal halide. The halide was my favorite and I had great growth and colors on everything (when I remembered to change the water).
after the 10 gallon I upgraded to a 20 gallon innovative marine. Right after I purchased this tank I started working at an LFS. So it kind of became neglected and I don’t have any good pictures of it.
but due to me working at the LFS I had some amazing discounts and acquired a Red Sea Reefer 200xl. This was a great tank! I loved the size, the quality, however the stand was a little to talk to make maintenance easy. So this tank, while more successful than my other two, still suffered from neglect
I ended up gifting this tank to my mother and converting it to a soft coral tank when I moved to Florida to study Marine Biology. But I had my dorm tank, which was an Innovative Marine 10 gallon. Which got 0 maintenance at all. Kept my rock cycled I guess!
Current System
Aqueon 20 gallon tall
Filter: Marineland Biowheel (free)
Light: AI prime 16HD (free)
Flow: AI Nero 3 (arriving tomorrow)
Frag rack: 3D print (free from friend)
As you can see. 3/4 pieces of equipment cost me nothing. Which is the best thing you can feel a broke college student. And I really think this will help me. As I have noticed the tanks that I put the least money, I end up putting more time into, and those tanks end up doing much better (at least in my 9 freshwater systems). Ask for livestock the list will be continually expanded. But as of 11:16 on Thursday the 22nd of February, We have
Fish
1x Yellow Spot Scorpionfish
(planned)
2x pink skunk clownfish / true percula
1x wrasse, probably a flasher of some sort (once I have a lid)
Inverts
2x Turbo Snails
1x Cerith
1x Babylonia Nassarius
1x Terry the Tunicate
Infinite bivalves and spiroid worms
Coral
The main event here TBH. Loving the tank so far!!!!
Blueberry Zoanthids
Armor of God Paly
Brown Hammer
Red discosoma
Sunkist Bounce (splitting)
“The Eternal Favia” (the only coral from my OG ten gallon to survive ALL my tanks and not be sold off. Lived in a bucket for a month, moved cross country, survived Dino’s, Cyano, Bryopsis, High Alk, High salinity, no heat, no air, and just about everything else. I will one day submit a genetic sample for coral conservation efforts.
Todd’s Torch (purchased tonight)
Dark green watermelon looking torch (purchased tonight)
Purple Stylophora
Red digi
and finally my red Goni
don’t have picture for everything. Especially the fish. He alludes me. I know he’s in there tho.
hope you enjoy my thread. There will be much more content coming soon…
