Zappy
New Member
Been a while, but I finally decided to jump back into the reefing hobby—and honestly, I’m so glad I did. I forgot how much I genuinely enjoy this hobby. I started my new tank back in October and cycled it using Fritz Turbo Start 900. This time around, I went with a pre-made aquascape from Reef Scape Designs. I figured that was the smarter move because when I first got into the hobby, I thought I did all the research… yeah, not even close. I barely scratched the surface of how much there is to learn in reefing.
The tank is an IceCap 45g AIO, and equipment-wise I’m running a Jebao wavemaker and a Jebao gyre for flow, along with two 30” AI Blade Coral Grow lights. I also picked up a Kamoer X1 Pro-T to dose All-For-Reef, plus an IceCap 240 skimmer. For the sandbed, I went with black Hawaiian sand because I really wanted the corals to pop and stand out.
Right now, I’ve got a plate of zoas, a hammer, two duncans, and a Monti digitata since my parameters are stable. I’ve also been using Hanna testers to keep a close eye on everything, which has made a huge difference in staying consistent and confident with my numbers. This time around, I actually have a plan for the tank instead of just buying corals because they’re cheap. I definitely learned that lesson the hard way before—I introduced way too many pests, ended up tearing the tank down, and took a long break.
Now I’m taking things slow and steady, with the goal of eventually keeping SPS corals. I’ve completely fallen in love with other reefers’ SPS tanks and told myself, yeah, I want one of those. I’ll be running Nyos Pure Salt for this setup. Livestock-wise, I currently have two clowns and a firefish, plus my clean-up crew that I added during the ugly stage. I’m still not sure if I want to add more fish since keeping it lightly stocked should help with stability and maintenance.
I’m also planning to add a CO₂ scrubber to help raise and keep my pH more stable for coral growth. The bottom tank is my quarantine tank for whenever I decide to add more fish in the future.
The tank is an IceCap 45g AIO, and equipment-wise I’m running a Jebao wavemaker and a Jebao gyre for flow, along with two 30” AI Blade Coral Grow lights. I also picked up a Kamoer X1 Pro-T to dose All-For-Reef, plus an IceCap 240 skimmer. For the sandbed, I went with black Hawaiian sand because I really wanted the corals to pop and stand out.
Right now, I’ve got a plate of zoas, a hammer, two duncans, and a Monti digitata since my parameters are stable. I’ve also been using Hanna testers to keep a close eye on everything, which has made a huge difference in staying consistent and confident with my numbers. This time around, I actually have a plan for the tank instead of just buying corals because they’re cheap. I definitely learned that lesson the hard way before—I introduced way too many pests, ended up tearing the tank down, and took a long break.
Now I’m taking things slow and steady, with the goal of eventually keeping SPS corals. I’ve completely fallen in love with other reefers’ SPS tanks and told myself, yeah, I want one of those. I’ll be running Nyos Pure Salt for this setup. Livestock-wise, I currently have two clowns and a firefish, plus my clean-up crew that I added during the ugly stage. I’m still not sure if I want to add more fish since keeping it lightly stocked should help with stability and maintenance.
I’m also planning to add a CO₂ scrubber to help raise and keep my pH more stable for coral growth. The bottom tank is my quarantine tank for whenever I decide to add more fish in the future.
jk. Love to see you getting back into it with a super forward and thought out plan! Hope the tank cruises!
... i was reading up on it and they seem to be fast growers maybe i should trade1 or 2 of the frags for something else. also what would be a good placement for these baby frags after acclimation.
