SuncrestReef's Red Sea Reefer XL 425 build

[SuncrestReef]

Somewhere along the way a stomatella snail hitchhiked into my tank. I rarely ever see it, but I spotted it again today and captured a little video, along with a view of some of the corals at the front of my tank:

 

[SuncrestReef]

I picked up a pair of Dragonface Pipefish. They are super cute, seem to be getting comfortable in my tank, and are already pecking at everything to suck up some pods. My hope is that they will tackle the red bugs on my acros, but so far they have been laying low on the sand and lower rocks. They're a fascinating addition to my tank.







It's cool how their eyes rotate independently in every direction. They remind me of a chameleon's eyes:

 

[SuncrestReef]

I just noticed if I look through my tank at a certain angle, I see a rainbow at the end:

 

[NY_Caveman]

Ha! That is awesome!

 

[BigMo]

I picked up a pair of Dragonface Pipefish.

It's cool how their eyes rotate independently in every direction. They remind me of a chameleon's eyes:

WoW, really fun to watch, thank you very much for sharing. [emoji106]

 

[SuncrestReef]

I've been enjoying some of my fish interactions lately. A local reefer generously gave me a replacement birdsnest colony since I lost one in December. My blue chromis really like hanging out in the birdsnest:



Also, some of my fish have finally started trusting the cleaner shrimp enough to take him up on offers for a good cleaning:

 

[SuncrestReef]

Here's my latest coral addition, a purple & orange leptastrea:

 

[SuncrestReef]

I ordered a new glass scraper and am really glad I did. My Flipper glass cleaner does a decent job of removing any film algae and light deposits of coraline, but I've never been able to keep the bottom 1" of glass really clean right above the sand bed. For whatever reason, the Flipper's blunt edge blade just slides over the buildup without removing it.

This new razor blade scraper from Segarty works perfectly to remove what the Flipper won't. At 26" long, I can clean the bottom of the tank without getting my hands wet. The entire unit is made of stainless steel, and the handle has 3 sections so you can shorten it if you like. It uses standard flat razor blades and ships with 10 blades. It's the best $14 I've spent in a long time!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074KFZF7W

 

[Mystikal]

That looks like a great find! I hate cleaning the glass.

 

[BigMo]

Here's my latest coral addition, a purple & orange leptastrea:

I love this coral, very beautiful[emoji106]

 

[SuncrestReef]

Wow, I just realized today is the one year anniversary of this build thread, and I can't believe it's gotten 30,000 views! When I started this hobby last year I had no idea how much I would learn, how much I would enjoy it, how much excellent advice I would receive, and how many nice people I would meet. Thank you all!

Here are a few highlights over the past year:



















Here's the tank on Sept 4, 2018:


And here it is today, Feb 12, 2019:




Here's to another great year. Happy reefing!

 

[RJ Murphy]

Congratulations on 1 year.

 

[Crabby48]

Congratulations on the 1 Year anniversary. Do I understand correctly that this was your first tank? It is incredible and was very well thought out for being new.

It is very impressive and hope my 425 looks as good as yours one day!

 

[Indiana Reefin]

This is an amazing setup!
I love your attention to details in your sump setup. That took a lot of thoughtful planning.
Really nice looking reef as well!
I am going to be purchasing that scraper. It looks perfect around the sand bed.

 

[SuncrestReef]

Congratulations on the 1 Year anniversary. Do I understand correctly that this was your first tank? It is incredible and was very well thought out for being new.

It is very impressive and hope my 425 looks as good as yours one day!

It's true, this is the first aquarium I've ever had. I tend to really dive into hobbies and rarely ever do anything without a ton of research and planning. I can honestly say this hobby has sucked me in more than I ever expected. It's fun, interesting, challenging, frustrating, and obsessive all rolled into one.

 

[Crabby48]

I agree fully with that statement. I only had water in my tank since Christmas but it is sucking me in way more the expected. The challenge was a big part of me getting involved.
Thanks for a outstanding build thread. I learned a lot and found everything useful for when I add reactors and or a refugium.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Happy one year birthday to your thread!

 

[erichuyn]

Congrats and thanks for all the inspiration!

 

[SuncrestReef]

Happy one year birthday to your thread!

Congrats and thanks for all the inspiration!

Thanks! Glad you're enjoying my build thread. I'll try to keep posting useful info as things progress.

 

[BigMo]

Wow, I just realized today is the one year anniversary of this build thread, and I can't believe it's gotten 30,000 views!



Here's to another great year. Happy reefing!

Happy first year anniversary
I always enjoy reading your thread, I use it to get some really nice ideas, it is very well thought all the way, definitely enjoying it, wish you a really happy reefing.