My Very First Reef Tank

[henryhahn]

I have been meaning to get around to this....It has definitely been quite the learning experience!
It all began with the tank....
I had wanted to have a saltwater tank for as long as I could remember. I believe when I was younger, it was said that you couldn't do saltwater in less than a 50 gallon tank. With costs being prohibitive, I set it on the backburner. Well, summer of 2016, one of my senior staff mentioned he was throwing out a 55 gallon tank, and I jumped on it. With the excitement of my 3 boys and the support of my wife, we stormed the LFS and got all "we thought" we'd need.

55gallon tank
Aquatop CF400UV 4-Stage Canister Filter with UV
Aqueon Fixture Optibright LED Light, 48-54"
Marina Submersible Heater for Aquarium, 300-watt
~12lbs of live rock
Case of Instant Ocean Sea Salt
Bottle of MicroBacter7
Sand bottom

A couple days later, I picked up the fish the suggested to cycle with and began reading...And realizing...I probably should have read first....

This is my littlest one talking to the fish

 

[henryhahn]

#reef2reef, #worldwidecorals, #mywwccontest

 

[henryhahn]

Luckily, I stumbled upon R2R and found what I was looking for. A world of advice, and helpful people that would rather guide than admonish.
My first post laid it all on the table, and I got a ton of directions to head in.
I tripled my amount of live rock, was able to get through the cycling process, and all fish made it through (they are still alive today 200+ days later).
I wish I had known more about aquascaping before I started. I definitely would have had more rock and a cooler looking structure.
Shortly thereafter, I picked up my cleanup crew

 

[henryhahn]

I spent the next couple weeks checking each day where every critter was before I'd start my day, and had a real boom in pods...which scared the heck out of me. :D

And then, my first heartbreak:( I purchased a clownfish that had intestinal worms and passed it along to the other fish before going off to die... Luckily, and thanks to the reefsquad and other forum advice from R2R, I was able to keep all the other fish alive and well (Still all happy today).
I had made it over the first hurdle, and I was really enjoying the hobby, so I went ahead and built my own stand. Here is a pic of the tank with the new top on (prior to having to do the process of moving it to it's new stand

 

[henryhahn]

Then came the drain, water change, and swap over to the new stand....what an undertaking....
Now, I was looking to up the ante and finally get that anemone and coral I have always wanted...Until I realized how insufficient my lights were, and I had 0 flow. I then began to understand how sub-par much of my tank was, but I also figured how I could make other things work.
I upgraded the lights, popped in a pair of Hydor Koralia Nano 425 Aquarium Circulation Pumps, and took the plunge.

I went (only to look) at anemones at the LFS, and I saw the most beautiful one I knew I had to have! The anemone brought me so much joy!

I was determined to try and watch while it found it's happy spot....(which I thought I knew).... and this thing moved all over the tank. I awoke one night to find it caught in the intake to the filter. In the end, it took weeks, but it finally ended up where I had originally thought it would.

 

[henryhahn]

Lost a lot of sleep watching that anemone....wife was none too pleased with me falling asleep in front of the tank. :eek:
I then was fortunate enough to hit the LFS at just the right time. An employee had accidentally broken a rather expensive piece of pulsing xenia, and there was a $10 frag that I could buy. No other corals under $25 in the store, and this one that I really wanted was $10....Well, I wasn't planning on coral just yet, but I also couldn't pass this up!

One gorgeous piece of pusling xenia came home with me that day :D

 

[henryhahn]

Heartbreak #2 came when I realized it wasn't doing well because my Camelback shrimp was eating it... By the time I realized what had happened, here is what I was left with

So, I set about getting the shrimp out, (took a few days and a couple of traps), and I donated it back to the store because it was healthy, happy, and well-fed;)

 

[jsker]

You have the reefing bug now. It takes time a patients with reefing. please reach out if you need some help.

 

[henryhahn]

You have the reefing bug now. It takes time a patients with reefing. please reach out if you need some help.

Thank you! I believe you have helped me in the past as well :D (I remember the cartoon)
I am trying to catch this build page up. That last post actually happened back in November. The xenia now are fully grown back and then some

 

[S.O.MLemos]

It's definitely an addiction that's for sure. I'm pretty new to it also, my tank is about 5 months old but the only bump I've had is getting a coral banded shrimp and he's gone now and I don't have anymore missing fish lol. Well good luck keeping everything going

 

[jsker]

Thank you! I believe you have helped me in the past as well :D (I remember the cartoon)
I am trying to catch this build page up. That last post actually happened back in November. The xenia now are fully grown back and then some

Looking forward to the updates.