Reef Baby's Mini Reefer

[I'm_Your_Reef_Baby]

Hey Reefers.

Been weeks in the making but I’m excited to share the journey of setting up my first saltwater aquarium, and I’d love your feedback or tips as I go. Here’s the lowdown on my setup and where I’m currently at:

Tank Specs & Equipment
Tank: Aqua One Mini Reefer 160 (~190L total system volume after accounting for rock and sand displacement).
Lighting: 3ft Coral light with mounting bracket.
Filtration: Multi-chamber sump with filter sock, media pads, and a protein skimmer.
Circulation: High-flow return pump and two Jebao SW-15 wave makers positioned for optimal flow.
ATO: AutoAqua Smart ATO keeping things stable.
Water Source: Blue Lagoon 4-stage RODI system (running at ~60 psi, producing 8L/hour).
Substrate & Rock: Oolitic Aragonite sand (~2 cm bed) and CaribSea Life Rock for aquascaping.
Salt Mix: Red Sea Salt, mixed to 35 ppt.


Where I’m At
After setting up and filling the tank, I’ve just started the cycling process using the Red Sea Reef Mature Starter Kit, Based on research and feedbakc directly from Red Sea, I have made a few tweaks to the cycling program and tailored to my setup. Noting that I am using dry rock instead of live.

Yesterday, I dosed:
Nitro Bac: 28.5 ml
Bacto-Start: 19 ml
KH Coralline Gro: 17.1 ml to bring alkalinity up to 8.4 dKH (was sitting at 7.5 initially).
The temperature is sitting around 26°C.

Plans Moving Forward
I'll be testing ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and alkalinity daily to monitor progress.
Salinity is holding steady at 35 ppt after an adjustment (swapped out 6L of saltwater for RODI).
Once I hit stable 0 ammonia/nitrite levels, I’ll introduce a cleanup crew—thinking trochus snails and hermits, followed by a herbivorous fish such as a tang—and eventually a hardy fish like a clown or blenny.
This community has been a great resource, so I’d love to hear your thoughts on my setup or any advice as I move through the cycling phase. Thanks for being part of the journey!

I have added some photos of the stages from aqua scaping, to post initial filling, and then cycling. Looks to have cleared up well and looking good at the moment!
Cheers,
Phil (aka. Reef Baby)

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along! Aquascape looks great!

 

[I'm_Your_Reef_Baby]

Following along! Aquascape looks great!

Thanks! Will keep the updates coming. Ammonia starting to rise

Just working through another issue which I believe is a result of the flow being too high. The drain pipe back into the sump filter sock is creating some bubbles and gurgling that is splashing back onto the inside of the cabinet (i thought i had a leak for a moment and almost freaked). From my research, appears to a be a common issue with these models so I might need to get a ball valve on the return line to restrict flow a bit. Also going to plumb in a 45 degree elbow at the bottom of the drain to try redirect flow and reduce bubble generation.

Will see how we go!

 

[I'm_Your_Reef_Baby]

Quick update:
I installed a ball valve in the return line and chucked a 45 elbow at the bottom of the drain pipe into the sump to reduce the splashing/misting occurring (Aqua One MiniReef 160) on the internal cabinet walls. I can't imagine I'm the only person who has experienced this issue with this tank so sharing the solution seems valuable.

The upgrades have seemed to mostly solve the issue; however, I've decided I'm also going to install a custom acrylic cover to be 100% confident this wont be an ongoing issue.

I will share more photos once the covers are installed but here's some progress shots anyway.

 

[I'm_Your_Reef_Baby]

Cycle completed! Took 39 days total in the end utilising the reef mature kit and dry rock but still not too bad. I’ve added 2 clown fish and 3 snails. All have been in the tank for about a week and a half and they’re happy and healthy and behaving as expected.

Starting to think about next fish to go in, probably a good utility fish like a lawnmower blenny but we shall see. Will introduce next fish in another week or so.

I kept thinking what’s the ugly phase everyone talks about, my tank looking clean and happy with fish and all. And then bam… within literally 24 hours a bloom of diatom started sprouting up everywhere haha. Hopefully doesn’t last too long but we shall see. Other than that, it’s business as usual and everything seems to be operating well.

Last update, nitrates are sitting quite low… about 0.5ppm. Expect to see it slowly rise but low bioload might have it sitting low for a bit yet. Alkalinity was slightly down at about 7.6dKH after a week of live stock so I dosed some KH Coralline Gro to push it back towards mid 8’s.

Enjoying my new hobby and my first saltwater aquarium thus far