HelloReef Clownfish & Anemone Kit

[schrodingersfish]

Hey! New reefer here. Been really excited to start up my first saltwater system. There is a ton of information involved and lots of different suggestions from different sources. I figured I should start with a beginner kit so I picked up a HelloReef 15 gallon aquarium last week off of Facebook Marketplace. It’s got all the equipment, sand, rock— everything but bacteria and livestock. Unfortunately the person I bought it from didn’t include how to access the instructional video series. I messaged them inquiring how I can view the videos and they aren’t responding. I kind of wish I had just bought the system off of BRS or Amazon so it would have included this, since a part of the justification in pricing is having access to these useful tools for beginners, and I didn’t actually save that much buying it secondhand. There are general instructional series on YouTube but what I really need is a step-by-step on starting up and maintaining this exact tank, i.e. all of the little baby steps. I was wondering if anyone owns the HelloReef tank and could link me to the detailed instructional video series? It would really help me to get started and feel like I have a guide for what to do throughout the process. Appreciate any help! Please be kind, I am new to this :)

 

[Fish Fan]

Welcome to Reef2Reef and to saltwater tanks! You don't need the instructional series, we can help you here.

If you're brand new to all this I would start here:

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean, but it is no where near simple. This task is going to take patience, a ton of...

www.reef2reef.com

And I think this is a good video series:


If you have specific questions about your tank or or the process, just post here and someone will help you.

Good luck!

 

[2clowns1455]

I bought a Hello Reef tank from my local fish stores and it didn't have the QR code with it. I messaged them on the hello reef page chat and they got right back to me immediately

 

[Fish Fan]

@schrodingersfish how's your tank doing, did you get it going yet?

 

[schrodingersfish]

I bought a Hello Reef tank from my local fish stores and it didn't have the QR code with it. I messaged them on the hello reef page chat and they got right back to me immediately

Thanks for this, I will try it and report back here if it works for me

 

[schrodingersfish]

@schrodingersfish how's your tank doing, did you get it going yet?

Not great unfortunately. My 2 clownfish were doing well so I was feeling confident and bought a really cool torch coral from the local reef store for $150. It died of brown jelly within 2 weeks. Lots of red fuzzy and hair algae problems and high phosphates which I haven’t been able to bring down even a little with the GFO I purchased. They also sold me a bunch of dosing stuff but didn’t really give me good instructions so nothing changes and I feel like I’m not doing it right. Bit defeated at this point

 

[Fish Fan]

Not great unfortunately. My 2 clownfish were doing well so I was feeling confident and bought a really cool torch coral from the local reef store for $150. It died of brown jelly within 2 weeks. Lots of red fuzzy and hair algae problems and high phosphates which I haven’t been able to bring down even a little with the GFO I purchased. They also sold me a bunch of dosing stuff but didn’t really give me good instructions so nothing changes and I feel like I’m not doing it right. Bit defeated at this point

I'm sorry to hear about your torch coral, that's a tough loss. In my experience, they are not as easy to keep as many suggest, and they tend to not do well in new tanks.

We need to figure out where the phosphates are coming from. Are you using tap water or RODI filter water to make saltwater? Did you use the CaribSea rocks in the Hello Reef kit?

 

[Gukashar]

Sorry to hear about the loss.
Rooting for you and your clownfish. Keep us updated.

 

[schrodingersfish]

I'm sorry to hear about your torch coral, that's a tough loss. In my experience, they are not as easy to keep as many suggest, and they tend to not do well in new tanks.

We need to figure out where the phosphates are coming from. Are you using tap water or RODI filter water to make saltwater? Did you use the CaribSea rocks in the Hello Reef kit?

I buy RO water from Whole Foods and store it in 5 gallon water containers. Yep I use all the stuff that came with the kit so the Caribsea rocks/sand as well as Aquaforest reef salt. I’m almost out of the salt though so I might switch to a different brand if there is a better option for my tank.

 

[Fish Fan]

I buy RO water from Whole Foods and store it in 5 gallon water containers. Yep I use all the stuff that came with the kit so the Caribsea rocks/sand as well as Aquaforest reef salt. I’m almost out of the salt though so I might switch to a different brand if there is a better option for my tank.

The Whole Foods water is raising a red flag with me. I'm assuming that's drinking water. Drinking water is often made by Reverse Osmosis (RO) filtration, and then many times they add back extra minerals to improve taste.

Usually, we make saltwater from Reverse Osmosis with Deionization (RODI) filtered water. This is RO water, which is fairly clean, run through an additional DeIonization stage(s), which makes it practically pure. This is arguably "the best" way a home hobbyist can make saltwater.

Rather than the Whole Foods water I would suggest using distilled water that can be found at any pharmacy, grocery store, or your local Mega-Lo-Mart. If you don't see it with the drinking water, look for it by baby stuff. Here's 6 gallons for less than $8.00 in my market:
Distilled Water At The Mega-Lo-Mart

I was asking about the rock because some rocks can leech phosphates, but I've not heard of this with the CaribSea rocks.

 

[schrodingersfish]

The Whole Foods water is raising a red flag with me. I'm assuming that's drinking water. Drinking water is often made by Reverse Osmosis (RO) filtration, and then many times they add back extra minerals to improve taste.

Usually, we make saltwater from Reverse Osmosis with Deionization (RODI) filtered water. This is RO water, which is fairly clean, run through an additional DeIonization stage(s), which makes it practically pure. This is arguably "the best" way a home hobbyist can make saltwater.

Rather than the Whole Foods water I would suggest using distilled water that can be found at any pharmacy, grocery store, or your local Mega-Lo-Mart. If you don't see it with the drinking water, look for it by baby stuff. Here's 6 gallons for less than $8.00 in my market:
Distilled Water At The Mega-Lo-Mart

I was asking about the rock because some rocks can leech phosphates, but I've not heard of this with the CaribSea rocks.

Interesting, I actually didn’t know that RO was different from RODI. I will look into changing my supply. I see they sell filters for that online. I really appreciate your help and advice!

 

[Fish Fan]

Interesting, I actually didn’t know that RO was different from RODI. I will look into changing my supply. I see they sell filters for that online. I really appreciate your help and advice!

Yes, RO is not the same as RODI, and again, some RO filtered drinking waters have extra "stuff" added back in. It would be best to start with RODI that you buy at a trusted Local Fish Store (LFS) or make your own with a home RODI filter. Using distilled water, like I suggested above, is also fine, it just gets a little expensive to use over time.

I'm thinking (hoping) this is a large part of your problems.

Would anyone else - #reefsquad - want to take a look at the OP's problem here?

 

[hatteras hank]

Could be a water issue with the phosphate buildup. Feed lightly too. Those cute suckers will convince you they are starving at all times. Test the water before adding on your next water change and see if it’s reading high on phosphate. Not sure if the test results are the same on fresh water so once mixed with salt might not be a bad idea to test before adding to tank. Hope it’s something simple like that. Don’t get discouraged. You got this.

 

[schrodingersfish]

I bought a Hello Reef tank from my local fish stores and it didn't have the QR code with it. I messaged them on the hello reef page chat and they got right back to me immediately

Just an update for anyone curious about this— it did not work for me because I bought the kit secondhand.

 

[Fish Fan]

Just an update for anyone curious about this— it did not work for me because I bought the kit secondhand.

What's not working for you? Can we help?