Hey y'all, I'm a brand new reefer from Toronto Canada and I'm very excited to share my journey. From a young age I've been captivated by marine aquariums, now finally having set up my own I still feel that same youthful enthusiasm every time I look at my (mostly empty ) tank. Reef2reef is an amazing community and resource! I've spent dozens of hours reading and learning from everyone here.
In the short time I've been a reefer I've made many mistakes which I have learned from. A few days after initially setting up my tank, I heard a loud snap in the middle of the night. The next morning I realized the particle-board constructed piece of furniture it was on formed a large crack running along the underside directly under the tank. It was a mad scramble to empty the tank, find a suitable replacement stand capable of supporting the weight of the tank, and then setting everything back up again. A second mistake was that I bought a pistol/YWG pair and on the very first night the goby decided to fly and was found crusty on the floor the next morning. Lesson learned, a lid is on the way. These along with other smaller mistakes(I chipped the rim of my tank on the very day I received it) were certainly discouraging, but I'm sharing these mistakes I've made to encourage other new reefers not to give up!
Equipment:
Inhabitants:
1/27/2021 (About 10 days in)
2/24/2021
I welcome any questions, comments, suggestions and advice!
In the short time I've been a reefer I've made many mistakes which I have learned from. A few days after initially setting up my tank, I heard a loud snap in the middle of the night. The next morning I realized the particle-board constructed piece of furniture it was on formed a large crack running along the underside directly under the tank. It was a mad scramble to empty the tank, find a suitable replacement stand capable of supporting the weight of the tank, and then setting everything back up again. A second mistake was that I bought a pistol/YWG pair and on the very first night the goby decided to fly and was found crusty on the floor the next morning. Lesson learned, a lid is on the way. These along with other smaller mistakes(I chipped the rim of my tank on the very day I received it) were certainly discouraging, but I'm sharing these mistakes I've made to encourage other new reefers not to give up!
Equipment:
- Lighting - AI Prime 16HD - Running a modified Saxby schedule (Shortened by 1 hour and max intensity down to 80%)
- Powerhead - AI Nero 3 - (Random mode 12% - 25% power, High variance)
- Heater - 100W EHEIM Jager ( ~ 77.5 degrees , I use a battery powered thermometer for a digital temp readout)
- Auto Top Off - XP Aqua Duetto ( I use a 5 gallon bucket for a reservoir, sensor and hose placed in the rear third chamber)
- Pump - Stock pump ( I plan to upgrade to a Sicce 1.0 as the stock pump produces an audible and annoying hum in my living room)
- Filtration - 5 sets of Waterbox 225 micron felt filter socks ( This is along with weekly 20% water changes are my planned long term filtration methods)
- Testing - I use the Red Sea line of testing products including a Red Sea refractometer that I calibrate before each use
- Rock - 21 pounds of live rock ( From a local reefers sump)
- Substrate - Approximately 20 pounds of aragonite (washed in a bucket for 30+ mins before going into tank)
- Salt - Instant Ocean Sea Salt (Low priced and widely available)
- MISC. - I have a bag of carbon (about 1/2 cup) in a mesh sack in the rear 2nd chamber that I change out every 2 weeks
- MISC. - Nano Flipper Float glass cleaner
- MISC. - Aquatic Life RO Buddie 50 GPD RO system ( plumbed into the cold water line under my kitchen sink, I strongly recommend this set up as opposed to connecting it to the faucet)
- MISC. - Jumpguard DIY Lid
- MISC. - A Turkey Baster ( For feeding )
Inhabitants:
- Invertebrates:
- 1 Trochus snail
- 1 Nassarius snail
- 1 Margarita snail
- 2 Cerith snails
- 1 Pistol shrimp
- Fish:
- 2 Ocellarus Clownfish
- Coral:
- Frogspawn
- Other:
- Dragons Breath MacroAlgae
1/27/2021 (About 10 days in)
2/24/2021
I welcome any questions, comments, suggestions and advice!
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