HTown Reef - 200g Waterbox Reef LX 270.6 (SPS Dominant)

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Plumbing compete!

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Leak test is a great success

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Aquascape is done! I wanted two cove-like structures and an island.


20220108_151118.jpg



Filled it with as much rodi as i could store in 2 brute trash cans... gonna need another 3 sets to fill the tank and sump completely...

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I'm officially exhausted working on the tank hard for the last 2 days. We're close though!
 

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Aquascape is done! I wanted two cove-like structures and an island.


20220108_151118.jpg



Filled it with as much rodi as i could store in 2 brute trash cans... gonna need another 3 sets to fill the tank and sump completely...

20220108_164650.jpg


I'm officially exhausted working on the tank hard for the last 2 days. We're close though!
i really like the scape!
 
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Tank finally filled up past the overflow box this afternoon. No leaks so far! *knocks on wood*

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I don't have enough water yet to start the return pump, but in the next 2~ hours the system should be fully operational.

20220109_153917.jpg


I added in a biobrick in a low flow chamber for added bacterial goodness.

20220109_153927.jpg
 
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The tank officially ran overnight for the first time with enough water to run the return pump. I'm trying to tune the noise on the overflow by getting the waterline right below the emergency drain, but man is it hard ... I'm doing minor changes and letting it sit for 10min+ to hear for changes and it's a struggle.

The Cycle
I've begun using Brightwell's cycle products (XLM/something). I dosed their ammonia first then their bottled bacteria.

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Looking good so far at 2.00ppm ammonia.

The Salt

So.... I bought red sea blue bucket salt from BRS and though I bought enough salt... I did not. Using a calibrated hannah checker I'm sitting at 1.016 sg after using the entire box of salt. I'm heading to my LFS after work once I confirm they carry blue bucket.
 
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Fish ORDERED

The tank isn't cycled yet, however as mentioned before I'm ordering fish through a service that prophylatically QT's fish for the full 4-6 week period. That includes...
  • Dosing CP @ 4mg/gal or Copper @ 1.75-2ppm
  • Prazipro / Metro
  • Bendazole / Metronidazole
I've dealt with Ich in the past and had my old tank go fallow. Never again. I'm also keeping inverts in QT for 76 days before they're introduced to the tank.

Which fish??

I'm ordering fish in batches as to not overload my bacterial population post-cycle. Below is the first batch:

Checkerboard/Marble Wrasse
1641831788188.png


Orange-Back Fairy Wrasse
1641831826846.png


Radiant Wrasse
1641831909602.png


Midas Blenny
1641831940603.png


Lyretail Anthias x3
1641831995553.png


Inverts
QT'ing a batch of trochus + nassarius snails.
 

Brett Miller

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Fish ORDERED

The tank isn't cycled yet, however as mentioned before I'm ordering fish through a service that prophylatically QT's fish for the full 4-6 week period. That includes...
  • Dosing CP @ 4mg/gal or Copper @ 1.75-2ppm
  • Prazipro / Metro
  • Bendazole / Metronidazole
I've dealt with Ich in the past and had my old tank go fallow. Never again. I'm also keeping inverts in QT for 76 days before they're introduced to the tank.

Which fish??

I'm ordering fish in batches as to not overload my bacterial population post-cycle. Below is the first batch:

Checkerboard/Marble Wrasse
1641831788188.png


Orange-Back Fairy Wrasse
1641831826846.png


Radiant Wrasse
1641831909602.png


Midas Blenny
1641831940603.png


Lyretail Anthias x3
1641831995553.png


Inverts
QT'ing a batch of trochus + nassarius snails.
Congrats! Where did you buy the fish?
 

Sean Clark

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No one can say Waterbox doesn't pack their tanks well...

20220103_155401.jpg

When I first opened the box I had a mini heart. From a distance, this sure looked like a hairline crack:

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On closer inspection, it peeled away with the clingfilm... phew!

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This tank is huge!

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The stand came pre-assembled as I think all of their aluminum frame stands do.

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Electrical side panel. All of the doors/siding came in separate boxes which I already took inside.

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That was a lot of pictures! The next step is going to be bringing the tank inside. I have some guys coming this Thursday with a hydraulic press + vacuum suction cups to give me a hand.

Until then I need to clean out the space where my tank is going. The current occupant is my dearly beloved liquor cabinet which is gonna be fun to move :D

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I'll gladly take that Hibiki off of your hands for you...
 

Sean Clark

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I just checked out Dr. Reef and they look pretty fantastic for the pricing that I saw on quarinted fish. I will give them a try for my next fish. Thanks.
 
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I just checked out Dr. Reef and they look pretty fantastic for the pricing that I saw on quarinted fish. I will give them a try for my next fish. Thanks.
For full transparency, I've never used their services. I spoke with the owner on the phone this morning to verify a special order and they were great. You don't pay till a few days prior to shipping and their DOA policy is solid.

I'll leave my feedback from my first batch in 4-6 weeks

Oh My Gosh Hello GIF by kate spade new york
 
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Consider going even larger on the anthia school, they look great in large numbers!

I originally had 5 Anthias on my list, but knocked it down to 3 because I wasn't sure how my bioload would evolve based on my future planned fish. I think what I may do is before I move into any aggressive fish, I'll evaluate if I want to add more and go from there.

Out of curiosity, what's your opinion on a good sized school of Anthias in this size tank?
 

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I originally had 5 Anthias on my list, but knocked it down to 3 because I wasn't sure how my bioload would evolve based on my future planned fish. I think what I may do is before I move into any aggressive fish, I'll evaluate if I want to add more and go from there.

Out of curiosity, what's your opinion on a good sized school of Anthias in this size tank?
Good question! I swear you stole my notes. I have 5 on my list for my 180, so am interest in what others have to say.
 
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Quick update

Cycling In Progress


I'm using Brightwell Aquatics cycling package and so far here are my params:

Day 1: Ammonia: 2ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
pH: 8.2

Day 2: Ammonia: 2ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
pH: 8.2

Day 3: Ammonia: 1.3ppm
Nitrite: .01-.04ppm (barely readable)
pH: 8.2

I'm on day 3 atm and this is my first sign of ammonia dropping and a very VERY slight increase in nitrites.

Salinity

It took forever to add enough salt for this big boy. I finally got it to 1.025sg

20220111_141741.jpg


I misjudged how much salt I needed so I visited my LFS for more. They had this amazing japanese dragon eel in store which of course I had to snag a picture of:

20220110_161436.jpg
 

kenbennedy

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Quick update

Cycling In Progress


I'm using Brightwell Aquatics cycling package and so far here are my params:

Day 1: Ammonia: 2ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
pH: 8.2

Day 2: Ammonia: 2ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
pH: 8.2

Day 3: Ammonia: 1.3ppm
Nitrite: .01-.04ppm (barely readable)
pH: 8.2

I'm on day 3 atm and this is my first sign of ammonia dropping and a very VERY slight increase in nitrites.

Salinity

It took forever to add enough salt for this big boy. I finally got it to 1.025sg

20220111_141741.jpg


I misjudged how much salt I needed so I visited my LFS for more. They had this amazing japanese dragon eel in store which of course I had to snag a picture of:

20220110_161436.jpg
What a gorgeous eel! Which store is that in? I might have to drop by and have a look...
 

When to mix up fish meal: When was the last time you tried a different brand of food for your reef?

  • I regularly change the food that I feed to the tank.

    Votes: 22 29.7%
  • I occasionally change the food that I feed to the tank.

    Votes: 27 36.5%
  • I rarely change the food that I feed to the tank.

    Votes: 19 25.7%
  • I never change the food that I feed to the tank.

    Votes: 5 6.8%
  • Other.

    Votes: 1 1.4%
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