urgolden
New Member
Hi everyone,
Been following all the good info for a while and finally joined. Haven’t had a saltwater tank since the mid 90’s and decided to dive back in with my first reef tank (Marineland 5 gal Portrait). I have been full time RVing in my motorhome since 2020 so it created a few good obstacles to figure out.
The initial setup consisted of live sand, dry rocks, and LFS water, 25 watt heater, NICREW 30w LED. It was placed on the dining table and kept out of direct sunlight. A small chiller was on hand in case I had a temp spike which was needed twice while in the CA deserts. On travel days 1 gallon of water was removed and stored in a salt prep jug, tank placed on the floor in a plastic storage bin. The power remained on and a small fan was facing it just for good measure. I was surprised how well this worked and rarely had any water splash out around the glass top. The light was removed during travel so the weight of it wouldn’t break the tank. Soft corals were added after cycling probably more rapidly than one would suggest and they all thrived. 90% water changes were done every week and I made the salt water using distilled water and Coral Pro Salt. A shark nose goby and then a tiny ocellaris clownfish became residents.
After 9 months of traveling the US with this tank we have put the RV away for a good rest and moved back into bricks and sticks. The only casualty during the trek was a discosoma mushroom that lost its color and shriveled. After the fish were added I did struggle for a while with GHA from over feeding and bio waste. A female emerald crab was added but I waited too long to do this. It had spread so quickly that I decided to risk it and bath all the affected corals and rocks with a diluted hydrogen peroxide using a pipette during a water change. Each area got a quick splash of the HP and then I refilled the tank after 5 minutes. The next day all the GHA was gone.
The montipora digitata and the birdsnest looked dead for two days but came back 100%. Phew!
Now I’m looking to start a Waterbox Cube 20 in our home once I figure out a good stand for it. If anyone has a good suggestion for a stand other that what Waterbox sells I would appreciate it.
Been following all the good info for a while and finally joined. Haven’t had a saltwater tank since the mid 90’s and decided to dive back in with my first reef tank (Marineland 5 gal Portrait). I have been full time RVing in my motorhome since 2020 so it created a few good obstacles to figure out.
The initial setup consisted of live sand, dry rocks, and LFS water, 25 watt heater, NICREW 30w LED. It was placed on the dining table and kept out of direct sunlight. A small chiller was on hand in case I had a temp spike which was needed twice while in the CA deserts. On travel days 1 gallon of water was removed and stored in a salt prep jug, tank placed on the floor in a plastic storage bin. The power remained on and a small fan was facing it just for good measure. I was surprised how well this worked and rarely had any water splash out around the glass top. The light was removed during travel so the weight of it wouldn’t break the tank. Soft corals were added after cycling probably more rapidly than one would suggest and they all thrived. 90% water changes were done every week and I made the salt water using distilled water and Coral Pro Salt. A shark nose goby and then a tiny ocellaris clownfish became residents.
After 9 months of traveling the US with this tank we have put the RV away for a good rest and moved back into bricks and sticks. The only casualty during the trek was a discosoma mushroom that lost its color and shriveled. After the fish were added I did struggle for a while with GHA from over feeding and bio waste. A female emerald crab was added but I waited too long to do this. It had spread so quickly that I decided to risk it and bath all the affected corals and rocks with a diluted hydrogen peroxide using a pipette during a water change. Each area got a quick splash of the HP and then I refilled the tank after 5 minutes. The next day all the GHA was gone.
Now I’m looking to start a Waterbox Cube 20 in our home once I figure out a good stand for it. If anyone has a good suggestion for a stand other that what Waterbox sells I would appreciate it.
