I have not had a personal tank set up at my house for the past couple years after a catastrophe claimed my 300 gallon (3 day power shutdown over high winds, while out of town and no cell service, luckily my brother was able to rescue a lot of the livestock). However, with the recent birth of my first child, I felt I had to set one up.
We had an unused space under the stairs I figured would be perfect. However, depending on the height of the system, I was limited to around 36-40” to not have it stick out past the edge of the stairs. Because this area is in the center of our home, I knew it had to be peninsula style.
Red Sea launched the new 350 peninsula shortly after I began looking, so after double checking measurements and using their online visualization tool, I ordered the tank immediately after it was released.
This location also meant that I would need power, so in the time it took for the tank to ship, I pulled power for four new plugs to the intended location.
I also used the time to build my aqua scape, for this I used dried shelf rock that I had acquired over the years and set aside as my favorite pieces, some of which had come from my previous tank. Knowing the tank was intended to be viewed from 3 sides, I wanted to still make sure I provided hiding spots and plenty of caves so that fish and inverts would feel comfortable. I worked on the scape for a few days to get something I was happy with, propping the rocks up on boxes and buckets for temporary support before using 2 part underwater epoxy to secure the final structure. I’ve always found the epoxy by itself to not be that “sticky” so I always use it in conjunction with cyanoacrylate gel / frag glue.
I did not have the final dimensions when I actually started building the structure, so when I actually got it in-tank I noticed it was a little too close to the front glass if I positioned it down the middle as originally intended. Rather than be too frustrated, I just angled the whole structure slightly, which I found to be much more aesthetically pleasing, giving me ample clearance all around and a large focal sand bed area.
I definitely should have soaked the dry rock in RO water before setting up, because after I built the structure I didn’t have a container large enough to do the whole thing, and brushed the task aside. I would later come to regret this decision. Haha
I added 4x 20lb bags live sand, classic Fiji pink. Later after some movement of the sand bed due to flow, I added another 10lbs and feel that gave me the appropriate depth I wanted.
I did briefly play around with a SCWD, (switching current water director), as with the Red Sea plumbing design, there are 2 return nozzles that can each be fed individually via two different pumps, or by a single using a Y or T, or. So with just some soft tubing, I was able to easily install it. I also felt with the peninsula design, the effects on flow would be more noticeable. While the tank was cycling, I put in a long fake freshwater plant decoration so I could observe and experiment with flow patterns throughout the tank.
Ultimately, I ended up removing it to run the one return constantly via the 2 stock returns. I felt this gave me a much higher overall flow rate without the restriction, which I feel outweighed the benefits of the switching current. I may revisit this with a stronger pump, or if I ever upgrade to a controllable DC pump which would allow for a lot of fine tuning. I’m on a mission for as few in-tank power heads as possible while still having a dynamic flow (tho I know that can be a bit oxymoronic in a reef tank).
I added the bacteria and starter ammonia and let things go, however I had an “ugly phase” / pea soup for over a month. After testing the water, I found the phosphate had spiked to a 0.93 via Hanna checker. All I could surmise was this it was leaching from the old, dry, live-rock I used, tho it was still a pretty shocking level. I used seachem phosgaurd to drop the Phosphate down to a manageable level, as well as running poly filter media to help absorb any other stray contaminates that may have leached in.
I added the first fish, 5 chromis and 2 clowns, a month in well after the ammonia and nitrite spikes had subsided. The tank still fluctuated with various stages of cloudy water for the next few weeks, which I suspect could’ve been remedied with a larger skimmer.
The first corals went in at around the 2 month mark and were a selection of zoanthid frags and mushrooms, which have done great from the start, since then have been gradually adding more pieces from my frag/ qt tank.
I’m currently only running one of the Reef LED 90s at around 65% while the corals acclimate; the other one for this tank is currently being used on the frag tank until I can buy an additional one. I’m pretty impressed with how well lit the tank is off of just 1 light though. I didn’t plan on keeping the frag tank going after the tank was established, however am quickly discovering…. That is not the way haha
Nothing else too fancy equipment wise:
- Sicce Syncra 5.0 return pump (1321gph, estimated 750-950gph after head loss),
- MP40 as the sole powerhead for now,
-Vertex Somatic skimmer,
- heater
- small media reactor.
I also have the new Red Sea ATO and JBJ maxum battery backup air pump I still need to install.
Media wise just running carbon and clear fx pro.
.
![IMG_0148.jpeg IMG_0148.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183868-f31ece5a8eec2abb5240951e6e341307.jpg)
We had an unused space under the stairs I figured would be perfect. However, depending on the height of the system, I was limited to around 36-40” to not have it stick out past the edge of the stairs. Because this area is in the center of our home, I knew it had to be peninsula style.
![IMG_9235.jpeg IMG_9235.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183856-ba0ff22c01d8a6fe187b9f21f3f30f19.jpg)
Red Sea launched the new 350 peninsula shortly after I began looking, so after double checking measurements and using their online visualization tool, I ordered the tank immediately after it was released.
![IMG_8923.jpeg IMG_8923.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183854-e82525d40eaf874115c96f5f7489667b.jpg)
![IMG_8922.jpeg IMG_8922.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183853-190ed3df15a390dd91155f327abc505a.jpg)
This location also meant that I would need power, so in the time it took for the tank to ship, I pulled power for four new plugs to the intended location.
![IMG_9252.jpeg IMG_9252.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183857-433b289d18a63b9e7d23cc9759761542.jpg)
I also used the time to build my aqua scape, for this I used dried shelf rock that I had acquired over the years and set aside as my favorite pieces, some of which had come from my previous tank. Knowing the tank was intended to be viewed from 3 sides, I wanted to still make sure I provided hiding spots and plenty of caves so that fish and inverts would feel comfortable. I worked on the scape for a few days to get something I was happy with, propping the rocks up on boxes and buckets for temporary support before using 2 part underwater epoxy to secure the final structure. I’ve always found the epoxy by itself to not be that “sticky” so I always use it in conjunction with cyanoacrylate gel / frag glue.
![69992105624__71DE569D-D6DA-440F-8F06-377D4570C151.fullsizerender.jpeg 69992105624__71DE569D-D6DA-440F-8F06-377D4570C151.fullsizerender.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183847-f0d6186417c3d519bcbaaafc35c7518b.jpg)
![69993086103__67AF94E1-E532-40AC-8100-1B4C0EC3A582.fullsizerender.jpeg 69993086103__67AF94E1-E532-40AC-8100-1B4C0EC3A582.fullsizerender.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183848-d293839158d5e5a15d49b8a99b220a69.jpg)
![IMG_8836.jpeg IMG_8836.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183849-7ef7180b3d2f60ad4ebc905ead090eb3.jpg)
![IMG_8846.jpeg IMG_8846.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183850-df9374fefce15f7186694c017e2745a1.jpg)
![IMG_8847.jpeg IMG_8847.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183851-d09822859badb1dddfebc90b9ae3c7eb.jpg)
I did not have the final dimensions when I actually started building the structure, so when I actually got it in-tank I noticed it was a little too close to the front glass if I positioned it down the middle as originally intended. Rather than be too frustrated, I just angled the whole structure slightly, which I found to be much more aesthetically pleasing, giving me ample clearance all around and a large focal sand bed area.
![IMG_9277.jpeg IMG_9277.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183859-ba3b580320db8ae3456a6d80485c815b.jpg)
![IMG_9258.jpeg IMG_9258.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183858-59f608745ac62f294418d0ec6c29f8a8.jpg)
I definitely should have soaked the dry rock in RO water before setting up, because after I built the structure I didn’t have a container large enough to do the whole thing, and brushed the task aside. I would later come to regret this decision. Haha
![IMG_9278.jpeg IMG_9278.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183862-47b8bc5f18faa2ef83f0fadb6ab79cf6.jpg)
![IMG_9347.jpeg IMG_9347.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183864-289a450542e411158dc2c1562755c1fa.jpg)
I added 4x 20lb bags live sand, classic Fiji pink. Later after some movement of the sand bed due to flow, I added another 10lbs and feel that gave me the appropriate depth I wanted.
![IMG_9345.jpeg IMG_9345.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183863-0a0709c153df35e7c647a6e3dabe7356.jpg)
I did briefly play around with a SCWD, (switching current water director), as with the Red Sea plumbing design, there are 2 return nozzles that can each be fed individually via two different pumps, or by a single using a Y or T, or. So with just some soft tubing, I was able to easily install it. I also felt with the peninsula design, the effects on flow would be more noticeable. While the tank was cycling, I put in a long fake freshwater plant decoration so I could observe and experiment with flow patterns throughout the tank.
![IMG_9488.jpeg IMG_9488.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183867-d50e96ca5d6811d9a8fc2ab6a5d3d052.jpg)
Ultimately, I ended up removing it to run the one return constantly via the 2 stock returns. I felt this gave me a much higher overall flow rate without the restriction, which I feel outweighed the benefits of the switching current. I may revisit this with a stronger pump, or if I ever upgrade to a controllable DC pump which would allow for a lot of fine tuning. I’m on a mission for as few in-tank power heads as possible while still having a dynamic flow (tho I know that can be a bit oxymoronic in a reef tank).
I added the bacteria and starter ammonia and let things go, however I had an “ugly phase” / pea soup for over a month. After testing the water, I found the phosphate had spiked to a 0.93 via Hanna checker. All I could surmise was this it was leaching from the old, dry, live-rock I used, tho it was still a pretty shocking level. I used seachem phosgaurd to drop the Phosphate down to a manageable level, as well as running poly filter media to help absorb any other stray contaminates that may have leached in.
![IMG_0150.jpeg IMG_0150.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183870-a943397468af8343bc5d084ce4213b6b.jpg)
I added the first fish, 5 chromis and 2 clowns, a month in well after the ammonia and nitrite spikes had subsided. The tank still fluctuated with various stages of cloudy water for the next few weeks, which I suspect could’ve been remedied with a larger skimmer.
![IMG_0277.jpeg IMG_0277.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183871-8d3bd568b46e780d3fd8417e97e62431.jpg)
![IMG_0377.jpeg IMG_0377.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183872-a510ddac5f353bb24e7db4d9b1d04b24.jpg)
![IMG_0379.jpeg IMG_0379.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183873-5f5b3c9fbc2dc38a876f9eaff957ce36.jpg)
The first corals went in at around the 2 month mark and were a selection of zoanthid frags and mushrooms, which have done great from the start, since then have been gradually adding more pieces from my frag/ qt tank.
![IMG_0606.jpeg IMG_0606.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183874-029e5d92b288b259dadae7439f41c1ec.jpg)
![IMG_0618.jpeg IMG_0618.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183875-a861699532c8fd2419d31242cb269218.jpg)
I’m currently only running one of the Reef LED 90s at around 65% while the corals acclimate; the other one for this tank is currently being used on the frag tank until I can buy an additional one. I’m pretty impressed with how well lit the tank is off of just 1 light though. I didn’t plan on keeping the frag tank going after the tank was established, however am quickly discovering…. That is not the way haha
Nothing else too fancy equipment wise:
- Sicce Syncra 5.0 return pump (1321gph, estimated 750-950gph after head loss),
- MP40 as the sole powerhead for now,
-Vertex Somatic skimmer,
- heater
- small media reactor.
I also have the new Red Sea ATO and JBJ maxum battery backup air pump I still need to install.
Media wise just running carbon and clear fx pro.
![IMG_0614.jpeg IMG_0614.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183876-ba3115d26e8c8a9a351e6f88f8fb811b.jpg)
![IMG_0631.jpeg IMG_0631.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183877-579967a8da2e57d1eef4abb2275a9104.jpg)
![IMG_9278.jpeg IMG_9278.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3182/3182994-47b8bc5f18faa2ef83f0fadb6ab79cf6.jpg)
![IMG_1483.jpeg IMG_1483.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183846-34281ccbdda35baf4018229120f6965a.jpg)
![IMG_9235.jpeg IMG_9235.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3182/3182990-ba0ff22c01d8a6fe187b9f21f3f30f19.jpg)
![IMG_8922.jpeg IMG_8922.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3182/3182991-190ed3df15a390dd91155f327abc505a.jpg)
![IMG_9252.jpeg IMG_9252.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3182/3182992-433b289d18a63b9e7d23cc9759761542.jpg)
![IMG_9258.jpeg IMG_9258.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3182/3182993-59f608745ac62f294418d0ec6c29f8a8.jpg)
![IMG_9277.jpeg IMG_9277.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3182/3182995-ba3b580320db8ae3456a6d80485c815b.jpg)
![IMG_9345.jpeg IMG_9345.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3182/3182996-0a0709c153df35e7c647a6e3dabe7356.jpg)
![IMG_9347.jpeg IMG_9347.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3182/3182997-289a450542e411158dc2c1562755c1fa.jpg)
![IMG_9485.jpeg IMG_9485.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3182/3182999-b5e60fecbd2cb44280741a6d972b0d80.jpg)
![IMG_9491.jpeg IMG_9491.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183000-2c6f88814e6fd33c96c572816c18271c.jpg)
![IMG_0150.jpeg IMG_0150.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183001-a943397468af8343bc5d084ce4213b6b.jpg)
![IMG_0151.jpeg IMG_0151.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183002-880f03a79e3941e201c1776036d8fbf9.jpg)
![IMG_9275.jpeg IMG_9275.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183861-5163a4b44ececaa4d775fedb42777b47.jpg)
![IMG_9364.jpeg IMG_9364.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183865-726920581cc6b56574d6990cc345b54a.jpg)
![IMG_0148.jpeg IMG_0148.jpeg](https://www.reef2reef.com/data/attachments/3183/3183868-f31ece5a8eec2abb5240951e6e341307.jpg)