- Joined
- Feb 26, 2020
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Hi everyone! I want to start by thanking everyone on this forum for all the helpful advice and wisdom your shared over the years! I’ve been in the hobby for about 12 years now and I’ve learned so much along the way. I’ve made some mistakes (too much live rock anyone?) and have had some really great success as well, so I thought I’d share my latest build with you all in the hopes that maybe I’ll inspire someone else or get some helpful feedback from my fellow reefing hobbyists. So here we go!
I currently have a 10 gallon innovative marine all in one tank that I started out as my “little hobby experiment”. I’m in a one bedroom apartment so I don’t have a ton of space. I thought to myself, “10 gallons is perfect! It’s small enough to not be too much maintenance and it won’t take up much space. It’ll be fun. I won’t overstock the tank- maybe only one fish. Maybe two, max! And I’ll only get a few easy corals.” Ha. Boy was I naive. I should have known myself better... I started this 10 gallon tank with two percula clowns. Their names are Bill and Sookie. At first I was going to resist the temptation to get an anemone for the clowns. That didn’t last long though. So the tank had two clowns and a rose BTA. The clowns loved their anemone and took to it pretty quickly and that was awesome. It’s always fun to watch them wiggle around in the anemone tentacles. I wanted some more color in the tank so then I added a dwarf angel, named Lady Mary. I also wanted someone to occupy the bottom part of the tank so I got a goby and pistol shrimp pair. I know the tank is crowded but I also planned on the tank to only be temporary. I just couldn’t let the significant other know that was the plan all along
Here’s a picture of the 10 gallon:
Lady Mary with Sunny D zoa:
Fast forward a few years later and it’s time for an upgrade! The clowns need a new home!
Ive been eyeing the Red Sea Reefer 170and 250 for a while. They look super clean and sleek. I’ve always had very DIY tanks and I’ve loved building my own plumbing, sumps, etc.. but this time I want to just have a clean easy to look at tank. These tanks really look like art: they’re modern and gorgeous.
I wanted to get the biggest tank I could with the space I have available so I wanted to go with the 250 but it would just be too big for my space. So the 170 it is. As I did more research I stumbled across the Red Sea Reefer 200xl. It seemed like the perfect compromise for me. It’s just a little bit deeper and taller than the 170, but the same length. The extra depth and height gives the system volume extra 10 gallons. More water = just a little bit more stable system. The depth gives a little more room for aquascaping, so that’s also a plus. I also really liked the idea that the 200xl has a cabinet made of plywood. So I placed the order for the tank with the white cabinet and waited patiently for a week for it to arrive. That week felt like an eternity because I was so excited for the upgrade!
Here it is- thankfully it was packaged really well and nothing was broken!!!
I currently have a 10 gallon innovative marine all in one tank that I started out as my “little hobby experiment”. I’m in a one bedroom apartment so I don’t have a ton of space. I thought to myself, “10 gallons is perfect! It’s small enough to not be too much maintenance and it won’t take up much space. It’ll be fun. I won’t overstock the tank- maybe only one fish. Maybe two, max! And I’ll only get a few easy corals.” Ha. Boy was I naive. I should have known myself better... I started this 10 gallon tank with two percula clowns. Their names are Bill and Sookie. At first I was going to resist the temptation to get an anemone for the clowns. That didn’t last long though. So the tank had two clowns and a rose BTA. The clowns loved their anemone and took to it pretty quickly and that was awesome. It’s always fun to watch them wiggle around in the anemone tentacles. I wanted some more color in the tank so then I added a dwarf angel, named Lady Mary. I also wanted someone to occupy the bottom part of the tank so I got a goby and pistol shrimp pair. I know the tank is crowded but I also planned on the tank to only be temporary. I just couldn’t let the significant other know that was the plan all along
Here’s a picture of the 10 gallon:
Lady Mary with Sunny D zoa:
Fast forward a few years later and it’s time for an upgrade! The clowns need a new home!
Ive been eyeing the Red Sea Reefer 170and 250 for a while. They look super clean and sleek. I’ve always had very DIY tanks and I’ve loved building my own plumbing, sumps, etc.. but this time I want to just have a clean easy to look at tank. These tanks really look like art: they’re modern and gorgeous.
I wanted to get the biggest tank I could with the space I have available so I wanted to go with the 250 but it would just be too big for my space. So the 170 it is. As I did more research I stumbled across the Red Sea Reefer 200xl. It seemed like the perfect compromise for me. It’s just a little bit deeper and taller than the 170, but the same length. The extra depth and height gives the system volume extra 10 gallons. More water = just a little bit more stable system. The depth gives a little more room for aquascaping, so that’s also a plus. I also really liked the idea that the 200xl has a cabinet made of plywood. So I placed the order for the tank with the white cabinet and waited patiently for a week for it to arrive. That week felt like an eternity because I was so excited for the upgrade!
Here it is- thankfully it was packaged really well and nothing was broken!!!