Hi everyone,
I’m Wayne, based in the UK, and fairly new to Reef2Reef but definitely not new to fishkeeping.
I’ve been keeping freshwater tanks for around 20 years, and made the jump into reefing about 6–7 years ago. At home I’ve currently got a 200-litre soft-coral dominated reef, with the usual suspects – leathers, zoas, GSP, gonys, hammers, etc. – plus a mixed bag of reef-safe fish that keep things interesting without too much drama.
I’ve also got a smaller “office tank”, which is very much my tank of shame
– an old TMC Signature 600 I picked up used for £100 all in (still chuffed with that, even if the previous owner seemed to have an unhealthy obsession with magnet cleaners… or possibly glass etching). It’s basically where anything that doesn’t make the display, or frags/fish that didn’t quite work out, end up getting dumped. At the moment it’s home to a blue Springer’s damsel, a filefish and a lined blenny. The plan for the new year is to stop abusing it and actually turn it back into something half-respectable… so I’ll probably start a build thread once I get going.
On top of that, I also help my 10-year-old son keep on top of his 75-litre planted freshwater tank, which is equal parts aquascaping, water changes, and life lessons about overfeeding fish.
Looking forward to learning, sharing mistakes (I’ve made plenty), and picking up ideas from everyone here — especially around softies, mixed reefs, and budget-friendly fixes for tanks that deserve better treatment!
I’ve attached a few photos of tanks past and present:
Cheers

I’m Wayne, based in the UK, and fairly new to Reef2Reef but definitely not new to fishkeeping.
I’ve been keeping freshwater tanks for around 20 years, and made the jump into reefing about 6–7 years ago. At home I’ve currently got a 200-litre soft-coral dominated reef, with the usual suspects – leathers, zoas, GSP, gonys, hammers, etc. – plus a mixed bag of reef-safe fish that keep things interesting without too much drama.
I’ve also got a smaller “office tank”, which is very much my tank of shame
– an old TMC Signature 600 I picked up used for £100 all in (still chuffed with that, even if the previous owner seemed to have an unhealthy obsession with magnet cleaners… or possibly glass etching). It’s basically where anything that doesn’t make the display, or frags/fish that didn’t quite work out, end up getting dumped. At the moment it’s home to a blue Springer’s damsel, a filefish and a lined blenny. The plan for the new year is to stop abusing it and actually turn it back into something half-respectable… so I’ll probably start a build thread once I get going.On top of that, I also help my 10-year-old son keep on top of his 75-litre planted freshwater tank, which is equal parts aquascaping, water changes, and life lessons about overfeeding fish.
Looking forward to learning, sharing mistakes (I’ve made plenty), and picking up ideas from everyone here — especially around softies, mixed reefs, and budget-friendly fixes for tanks that deserve better treatment!
I’ve attached a few photos of tanks past and present:
- First ever DIY AIO – 24 litres
(thought I’d make the first one easy… turns out bigger really is better!) - Second tank – 60 litres, still very much a budget build
- Third tank – 1 m long × 30 cm wide/deep shallow reef (100 litres) – my first attempt at running a sump
- Fourth & fifth – my current tanks, including the infamous tank of shame…
Cheers



