ISUFishTank's first reef

[isufishtank]

Hello everyone! This will be my first post on R2R and will be all about my first reef tank build! I currently live in a dorm at Iowa State University with a 28g freshwater and a new 20g long saltwater tank. The saltwater has been running for a little over a month, here are some quick specs:

Equipment:
1 x Jager heater
1 x AquaClear 50 HoB filter with Purigen
2 x Hydor Korelia powerheads
1 x Current USA Orbit LED pro (old version, more powerful)
1 x Current USA Orbit LED (new version)

Livestock:
~20lbs Live rock
~20lbs Live sand
1 x Firefish Goby
1 x Coral Banded Shrimp
Hermits, Astreas, and Nassarius for cleanup

The tank is clearly in its early stages but I plan on adding a McCosker's Flasher Wrasse as well as various softies, LPS, and maybe even easy SPS. I'm also a Software Engineering major and am currently working on a tank monitoring and control device that utilizes Amazon's cloud IoT service to remotely monitor and control the tank and give me live updates and notifications. I'll post some more info on that in a new thread eventually.

 

[WV Reefer]

Hello everyone! This will be my first post on R2R and will be all about my first reef tank build! I currently live in a dorm at Iowa State University with a 28g freshwater and a new 20g long saltwater tank. The saltwater has been running for a little over a month, here are some quick specs:

Equipment:
1 x Jager heater
1 x AquaClear 50 HoB filter with Purigen
2 x Hydor Korelia powerheads
1 x Current USA Orbit LED pro (old version, more powerful)
1 x Current USA Orbit LED (new version)

Livestock:
~20lbs Live rock
~20lbs Live sand
1 x Firefish Goby
1 x Coral Banded Shrimp
Hermits, Astreas, and Nassarius for cleanup

The tank is clearly in its early stages but I plan on adding a McCosker's Flasher Wrasse as well as various softies, LPS, and maybe even easy SPS. I'm also a Software Engineering major and am currently working on a tank monitoring and control device that utilizes Amazon's cloud IoT service to remotely monitor and control the tank and give me live updates and notifications. I'll post some more info on that in a new thread eventually.

Welcome to R2R!!

Everything looks really nice so far.

 

[Reab]

Looking good

Keep an eye on the coral banded as they can go after other inverts

Diggin the rock work

 

[isufishtank]

Looking good

Keep an eye on the coral banded as they can go after other inverts

Diggin the rock work

I've had him for a week and so far he has been nice as can be. He showed some interest in the hermits at first but he backed off and is docile as can be now

 

[isufishtank]

UPDATE #1: I've got a new fish! Meet Casper, a McCosker's Flasher Wrasse He's still a little shy but has already colored up nicely and has acclimated well! I've also got an AquaClear 30 and LED grow light en route to make a custom HoB refugium. More updates to come!

 

[Gonebad395]

Hey tank looks great welcome to R2R this place rocks man enjoy

 

[isufishtank]

Update #2: My Banded Coral Shrimp that I purchased from Petco is undergoing an interesting change: It's stomach has turned bright blue! I have read that this occurs in pregnant females, however I only have one shrimp so I find that HIGHLY unlikely. My only other theory is that it's actually a Blue Coral Banded Shrimp and just didn't colored up until it got into a better home and got settled in. If that's the case then I got a pretty good deal on a rarer shrimp! If anyone could explain EXACTLY why this color change is occurring so I no longer have to speculate, that would be awesome

 

[isufishtank]

Update #3: I added a DIY HoB Skimmer! I won't rewrite everything here but check my thread in the DIY forum for the details!

 

[isufishtank]

Update #4: It has been a while but a lot has changed! First off, the refugium is finished and growing chaeto like crazy:
And I can now OFFICIALLY say I have a reef tank! I picked up some Pink and Gold Paly's for free from a local club member and a Favia frag from my LFS!
Both seem to have acclimated well, more updates to come and more coral on the way!