illemonati - Reef Casa Tide 12 Shallow Macroalgae Setup

[illemonati]

Current FTS:

Time for a redo, going in a bit of a different direction...
January 8th, 2026​

 

[Tahoe61]

It's gorgeous.
I would appreciate knowing the specifics of the system. I have been looking at the 12 gallon, I already have the Reefcasa 6 Pico.

 

[illemonati]

Equipment list:

• Tank
  • Reef Casa Tide 12-gallon shallow aquarium
• Lighting
  • AI Prime 16HD Freshwater
  • Reef Brite XHO-K15
  • Plant Light (for mangroves)
• Temperature
  • Eheim JAGER 70W Aquarium Heater
• Filtration/Flow
  • Aqua Illumination Axis 20
  • Aqua Illumination Nero 3
  • Aquatop SSK-65 Surface Skimmer
• Additional Equipment
  • Fzone optical sensor ATO with solenoid
  • Custom stand made of aluminum extrusion and oriented strand board
• Live rock
  • 20 lbs dry rock
• Live sand
  • 22 lbs SeaChem Pearl Beach sand

Filtration, feeding, and maintenance:

• Filter pad changed out bi-weekly
• Red Sea Reef Spec carbon
• 3-gallon weekly water change with Red Sea Coral Pro Salt
• Bulk Reef Supply 6 Stage 75GPD RO/DI system
• Dosing Brightwell Chaetogro 1.5ml daily
• Dosing Brightwell Neophos ?ml daily
• Dosing Brightwell Neonitro ?ml daily

Livestock:

• Macroalgae:
  • Caulerpa lentillifera 'Grape Caulerpa' (12/29/2025)
  • Caulerpa prolifera 'Leafy Caulerpa' (12/29/2025)
  • Corallina sp. 'Thin Branching Coralline' (01/15/2026)
  • Cryptonemia crenulata 'Gorgonian Encrusting' (01/15/2026)
  • Unknown sp. 'Crimson Heart' (01/15/2026)
  • Unknown sp. 'Rusty Ribbon' (01/15/2026)
  • Fauchea sp. 'Purple Fauchea' (01/15/2026)
  • Gracilaria sp. 'Cherry Tree Gracilaria' (01/15/2026)
  • Laurencia sp. 'Purple Intricate Laurencia' (01/15/2026)
  • Laurencia iridescens 'Color-Shifting Laurencia' (01/15/2026)
  • Bryothamnion triquetrum 'Red Razor' (01/15/2026)
  • Galaxaura sp. 'Bramble Thicket' (01/15/2026)
  • Digenea simplex 'Fuzzy Antler' (01/15/2026)
  • Laurencia sp. 'Corky Brown Laurencia' (01/15/2026)
  • Laurencia sp. 'Flat Purple Laurencia' (01/15/2026)
  • Laurencia sp. 'Purple Asparagus Laurencia' (01/15/2026)
  • Hypnea pannosa 'Blue Hypnea' (01/15/2026)
  • Haliptilon sp. 'Red Fern' (01/15/2026)
  • Botryocladia occidentalis 'Red Grape' (01/15/2026)
  • Udotea sp. 'Mermaids Tail' (01/15/2026)
  • Cymopolia barbata 'Jointed Tuft' (01/15/2026)
  • Halimeda opuntia 'Carpeting Halimeda' (01/15/2026)
  • Unknown sp. 'Brittle Sea Lettuce' (01/15/2026)
  • Chaetomorpha sp. 'Seagrass Chaeto' (01/15/2026)
  • Halymenia stipitata 'Orange Galaxy' (pending)
  • Lobophora sp. 'Brown Ruffles' (pending)
  • Dictyosphaeria cavernosa' Mosaic Snakeskin (pending)
  • Sargassum sp. 'Pseudo Kelp' (pending)
  • Heterosiphonia gibbesii 'Flamingo Feather' (pending)
  • Additional TBD (pending)
• Plants:
  • Rhizophora mangle 'Red Mangrove' (01/10/2026)
  • Batis maritima 'Saltwort' (pending)
• Coral
  • Firework Clove Polyps (03/30/2025)
  • Neon Green Star Polyps (06/15/2025)
  • Green Star Polyps (06/15/2025)
  • 'Vamps in Drag' zoas (06/21/2025)
  • 'Rainbow Hornets' zoas (06/21/2025)
• Fish
  • Amphiprion ocellaris 'Wyoming White Clownfish' (11/24/2022)
  • Amphiprion ocellaris 'Mocha Storm' (10/02/2023)
  • Ecsenius stigmatura ‘Tail Spot Blenny’ (04/18/2025)
  • Wetmorella nigropinnata 'Yellow Banded Possum Wrasse' (08/14/2025)
  • Synchiropus picturatus 'Spotted Mandarin' (01/06/2026)
• Invertebrates
  • Tectus fenestratus 'Turban Snail' (02/01/2025)
  • Clibanarius tricolor 'Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit Crab' (02/01/2025)
  • Astraea sp. 'Astraea snail' (03/20/2025)
  • Neopetrolisthes ohshimai 'Porcelain Anemone Crab' (04/07/2025)
  • Mithraculus sculptus 'Emerald Crab' (04/27/2025)
  • Paguristes cadenati ‘Scarlet Hermit Crab’ (04/27/2025)
  • Monetaria moneta 'Money Cowrie Snail' (08/14/2025)
  • Acanthopleura sp. 'Fuzzy Chiton' (01/10/2026)
  • Sabellastarte sp. 'Feather Duster' (01/10/2026)
  • Stenorhynchus sp. 'Decorator Arrow Crab' (01/10/2026)
  • Nassarius sp. 'Nassarius Snail' (01/10/2026)
  • Strombus maculatus 'Nano Conch Snail' (01/10/2026)
  • Ciliopagurus strigatus 'Halloween Hermit Crab' (wanted)
  • Lybia sp. 'Pom Pom Crab' (wanted)
  • Epialtus sp 'Heart Mime Crab' (wanted)
  • Parhippolyte mistica 'Cave Cleaner Shrimp' (wanted)
  • Chione cancellata 'Cross Barred Venus Clam' (wanted)

 

[illemonati]

Backstory:
I have always owned nano tanks, and over the last few years I have had a few iterations of a Ultum Nature Systems 45u going (mixed reef, saltwater macroalgae planted, RBTA focused, mixed reef again). I ended up scoring an amazing deal on a Waterbox Marine X 110.4 that needs a glass pane replaced (which you can follow along here), and ended up transferring things out of the UNS into a 20 gallon long while I got that sorted out.

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Unfortunately, I had a crash during the transition due to a faulty ATO sensor, and ended up taking the tank down entirely for over a year. I decided to get things going again, and started the nano back up toward the beginning of this year. This tank has been going fine, but I noticed a leak that led me to discover a crack where the bulkhead sits, and decided to just scrap the tank entirely for a Reef Casa Tide.

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I figured this was the perfect tank for me, as I have a growing collection of Rock Flower Anemones that I really wanted to showcase. The shallow setup allows for an interesting aquascape from the front, but is even more amazing when viewed top down.

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I'm still working on the Waterbox, and need to finish building the stand for this tank to get it off my kitchen counter, but it is otherwise fully transitioned! Some coral that is in here is going straight into the big tank when ready, but I will be filling this one out a bit more with some things a friend of mine has been fragging.

Stay tuned!

 

[illemonati]

It's gorgeous.
I would appreciate knowing the specifics of the system. I have been looking at the 12 gallon, I already have the Reefcasa 6 Pico.

Thank you! I added some more information in additional replies, and will try to keep things up to date as I add/change things.

I LOVE this tank so far, but I'll have to check out your 6-gallon!

 

[illemonati]

Caught one of my Trimma gobies out long enough to snag a shot.

 

[illemonati]

I grabbed a few shots of some of the zoas, mostly to document growth for the future. Some of these shots aren't that great with how the polyps are sitting.

Mind Tricks already have 3 new polyps since I got it.

GMK with a new polyp just a few weeks after getting it.

Stratosphere with some tiny feather duster buddies.

What I believe are Blue Phoenix, really pretty in person but a bit (for me) hard to edit properly.

Not a super great edit of the QCC Fire Brigades, but they were kind of in the sun when I got this shot.
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I also picked up a Tail Spot Blenny today, which I am going to name Blenny "the Jet" Rodgriguez, as I loved that name far too much with my old one to not use it again. He is being shy still, but I'll hopefully be able to grab a photo tomorrow.

 

[Bohemian Waxwing]

I’m torn. I dislike reef Casa (owner is not cool and I wish people wouldn’t give him their money) but I love trimma gobies :star-struck:

 

[illemonati]

I’m torn. I dislike reef Casa (owner is not cool and I wish people wouldn’t give him their money) but I love trimma gobies :star-struck:

Oh really? I had no idea, granted I hadn’t really done a ton of investigation into the company itself. I’d always just heard great things about he aquariums and my buddy has one that looked very well built, so I pulled the trigger.

 

[illemonati]

I got 3 mushrooms in today; a 3.5" Magic Carpet, a .5" Golden Gonzo Dragon, and an almost pinhead-sized OG bounce.

I'll grab some actual decent photos when I can, but I wanted to at least try to share the OG just because of how small it is:

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I also went to the LFS yesterday to pick up an Emerald Crab and some more Hermit Crabs, and saw that they had a Red Burrowing Crab in stock! I've been looking for one of these for a while, but haven't had a tank with enough exposed rockwork since my ADA 30c from over a decade ago. Although the exact species is unknown, she is some kind of female Fiddler Crab (Uca sp.), and from my research should be reef-safe. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on her.

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She was actually in a tank without access to air, so she has been out of the water quite a bit since being introduced to my tank.

 

[bubbgee]

That's an amazing setup! I might revive my PNC 2.5 for a RFA setup!
What do you use for pics? Thanks!

 

[illemonati]

That's an amazing setup! I might revive my PNC 2.5 for a RFA setup!
What do you use for pics? Thanks!

Thank you! You absolutely should, I think are too underrepresented lol.

I currently use a Sony a7ii with a Sigmra 105mm macro lens, but I am actually going to dip my toes into some more professional phone photography and see if I can get solid results.

 

[illemonati]

I didn't really clean the glass super well, but I grabbed a full tank shot last night just to show the current status:

 

[Tahoe61]

I didn't really clean the glass super well, but I grabbed a full tank shot last night just to show the current status:

One of my favorite tanks on R2R.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I didn't really clean the glass super well, but I grabbed a full tank shot last night just to show the current status:

Such a clean looking tank!

 

[illemonati]

One of my favorite tanks on R2R.

Such a clean looking tank!

Awe shucks, thanks guys! Hoping this remains true as it fills out.

 

[nickscorals]

Looking good!

 

[illemonati]

Looking good!

Thank you!


I got a new lens so I wanted to post up some better photos, especially because I have added some new coral and also forgot a top-down shot last time. I feel like these photos are better, but I am still not super stoked with them.

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This tank is probably going to just be on cruise control for a little bit, as I now have 9 RFAs and have coral most everywhere I want it to grow out. I will let things grow a bit, and then may replace the hammers once my Waterbox 110.4 is ready, as the plan was always for them to be in the bigger tank.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I love the top down photo!

 

[Tahoe61]

Still stunning! These tanks really do display better top down.
Is part of your scape above the water line?