Jtechaqua
New Member
Howdy Everybody,
I’ve been a member of Reef2Reef for a while now, I figure it’s about time I did an intro to say ‘Hi.’
I’ve kept freshwater tanks since 2018, nothing I love better than a nice planted tank. But I was always intrigued by the colors and variety of marine fish. My first reef tank was back in 2020 with a Waterbox 20 Cube. That tank went really well so, you know, multi-tank syndrome and all, I started a second 20 cube.
Now I was hooked, I wanted Tangs! Purple tangs, All the tangs! I needed a bigger, longer tank. In 2021, I ordered a Waterbox Frag 165.6 tank. I love this tank, the slick form factor, everything. For equipment, I had Current USA Marine Orbit LEDs, Current USA Powerheads, Bubble Magnus skimmer, Tunze ATO 3155, Inkbird.
I got my Tangs! Had Wrasses, Royal Gramma, Clowns, Blennies, Engineer gobies, snails, shrimps, crabs, conch, corals, all the fun stuff (and pests, cant forget about those - bristle worms, vermetid, a few Aiptaisa). Dealt with algae, red slime, diatoms as well.
Ran into quite a few challenges/constraints, new baby, promoted at work, etc. Ultimately, I wasn’t able to keep up with maintenance. I decided to break the tank down and sell off most of the reef components. Then converted the Waterbox to a big, planted tank.
Here’s the funny thing, recently I started missing the blue lights of a reef tank. I missed having a Royal Gramma (ended up being my favorite fish in the prior tank). So in February, I started a 20L tank. I wanted to challenge myself to go as cheap and simple as possible. Decided to try bare bottom since I haven’t tried it before. Ideally, I am thinking of making this an anemone tank but, maybe LPS or soft corals instead.
Equipment
Tank: Aqueon 20L (Petco Sale)
Light: Hipargero AquaKnight A029 (I have Viparspectra 165W – need to figure out how best to mount)
Filtration: AquaClear 50, Coralife Marine Filter with Protein Skimmer
Heater: Orlushy 150W + Inkbird
ATO: Tunze ATO 3155 (kept from prior build)
Wave Maker: Hygger Mini Wave Maker
Rock: Caribsea Life Branch Rock, Real Reef FANCY Branch Rock (I love the look of Real Reef's rock)
Salt: Instant Ocean
RODI: 50-100 GPD - 4 Stage Inline RODI
Livestock
2 designer clowns, 1 royal gramma, 1 azure damsel. Pondering a Tailspot blenny to cap off the fish but, maybe pushing it through.
Curious to thoughts from anyone regarding the blenny and BTA's in this setup. Any case “Hello” everyone! Love the conversations threads. Going back to lurking now
I’ve been a member of Reef2Reef for a while now, I figure it’s about time I did an intro to say ‘Hi.’
I’ve kept freshwater tanks since 2018, nothing I love better than a nice planted tank. But I was always intrigued by the colors and variety of marine fish. My first reef tank was back in 2020 with a Waterbox 20 Cube. That tank went really well so, you know, multi-tank syndrome and all, I started a second 20 cube.
Now I was hooked, I wanted Tangs! Purple tangs, All the tangs! I needed a bigger, longer tank. In 2021, I ordered a Waterbox Frag 165.6 tank. I love this tank, the slick form factor, everything. For equipment, I had Current USA Marine Orbit LEDs, Current USA Powerheads, Bubble Magnus skimmer, Tunze ATO 3155, Inkbird.
I got my Tangs! Had Wrasses, Royal Gramma, Clowns, Blennies, Engineer gobies, snails, shrimps, crabs, conch, corals, all the fun stuff (and pests, cant forget about those - bristle worms, vermetid, a few Aiptaisa). Dealt with algae, red slime, diatoms as well.
Ran into quite a few challenges/constraints, new baby, promoted at work, etc. Ultimately, I wasn’t able to keep up with maintenance. I decided to break the tank down and sell off most of the reef components. Then converted the Waterbox to a big, planted tank.
Here’s the funny thing, recently I started missing the blue lights of a reef tank. I missed having a Royal Gramma (ended up being my favorite fish in the prior tank). So in February, I started a 20L tank. I wanted to challenge myself to go as cheap and simple as possible. Decided to try bare bottom since I haven’t tried it before. Ideally, I am thinking of making this an anemone tank but, maybe LPS or soft corals instead.
Equipment
Tank: Aqueon 20L (Petco Sale)
Light: Hipargero AquaKnight A029 (I have Viparspectra 165W – need to figure out how best to mount)
Filtration: AquaClear 50, Coralife Marine Filter with Protein Skimmer
Heater: Orlushy 150W + Inkbird
ATO: Tunze ATO 3155 (kept from prior build)
Wave Maker: Hygger Mini Wave Maker
Rock: Caribsea Life Branch Rock, Real Reef FANCY Branch Rock (I love the look of Real Reef's rock)
Salt: Instant Ocean
RODI: 50-100 GPD - 4 Stage Inline RODI
Livestock
2 designer clowns, 1 royal gramma, 1 azure damsel. Pondering a Tailspot blenny to cap off the fish but, maybe pushing it through.
Curious to thoughts from anyone regarding the blenny and BTA's in this setup. Any case “Hello” everyone! Love the conversations threads. Going back to lurking now
