Taking the plunge! Slow and steady.

tanooki

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 9, 2025
Messages
11
Reaction score
28
Location
USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hey fellow reefers! After years of jealously watching reef videos on YouTube I finally decided to take the plunge after moving out of an apartment and into a house.

My current setup is a 40g breeder with the FijiCube AIO drop in, two Sicce Nano powerheads, a Tunze 9004 nano skimmer, a Tunze ATO with 10 gallon reservoir, two Kessil Tuna Blue 360 lights with the Wi-Fi dongle, CaribSea Life Rock, and CaribSea live sand.

I’ve got two clowns, and a royal gramma. For my clean up crew I have 4 Astraea snails, 4 trochus snails, and a hermit crab. I’ve had bad luck with the hermit crabs, they seem to die off quickly; I had 7 originally and they all seem to disappear.

My tank has been running since late July and so far no issues except with diatoms and the hermit crab die off. I stocked the clowns on August 17th after the tank cycled and then put the royal gramma in two weeks ago. Going to get a watchman goby in a few weeks after the gramma is settled in.

The plan is to get some easy beginner corals in a few months once the tank is mostly stocked and the nuisance algae is gone.
20250927_103554_B8E34FE9-EE67-4768-9E48-B3B144AF0DCB.png
 
Welcome to your new home for saltwater reef aquarium resources and fun! Welcome to the family! :D
welcome-home-logo-greeting-png.1484246
 
Hey fellow reefers! After years of jealously watching reef videos on YouTube I finally decided to take the plunge after moving out of an apartment and into a house.

My current setup is a 40g breeder with the FijiCube AIO drop in, two Sicce Nano powerheads, a Tunze 9004 nano skimmer, a Tunze ATO with 10 gallon reservoir, two Kessil Tuna Blue 360 lights with the Wi-Fi dongle, CaribSea Life Rock, and CaribSea live sand.

I’ve got two clowns, and a royal gramma. For my clean up crew I have 4 Astraea snails, 4 trochus snails, and a hermit crab. I’ve had bad luck with the hermit crabs, they seem to die off quickly; I had 7 originally and they all seem to disappear.

My tank has been running since late July and so far no issues except with diatoms and the hermit crab die off. I stocked the clowns on August 17th after the tank cycled and then put the royal gramma in two weeks ago. Going to get a watchman goby in a few weeks after the gramma is settled in.

The plan is to get some easy beginner corals in a few months once the tank is mostly stocked and the nuisance algae is gone.
20250927_103554_B8E34FE9-EE67-4768-9E48-B3B144AF0DCB.png
I’d start off with some zoa and maybe a mushroom or two. Do you have a quality test kit?
 
Hey fellow reefers! After years of jealously watching reef videos on YouTube I finally decided to take the plunge after moving out of an apartment and into a house.

My current setup is a 40g breeder with the FijiCube AIO drop in, two Sicce Nano powerheads, a Tunze 9004 nano skimmer, a Tunze ATO with 10 gallon reservoir, two Kessil Tuna Blue 360 lights with the Wi-Fi dongle, CaribSea Life Rock, and CaribSea live sand.

I’ve got two clowns, and a royal gramma. For my clean up crew I have 4 Astraea snails, 4 trochus snails, and a hermit crab. I’ve had bad luck with the hermit crabs, they seem to die off quickly; I had 7 originally and they all seem to disappear.

My tank has been running since late July and so far no issues except with diatoms and the hermit crab die off. I stocked the clowns on August 17th after the tank cycled and then put the royal gramma in two weeks ago. Going to get a watchman goby in a few weeks after the gramma is settled in.

The plan is to get some easy beginner corals in a few months once the tank is mostly stocked and the nuisance algae is gone.
20250927_103554_B8E34FE9-EE67-4768-9E48-B3B144AF0DCB.png
I’d start off with some zoa and maybe a mushroom or two. Do you have a quality test kit?
That’s what I was thinking. I have API liquid tests.
 
That’s what I was thinking. I have API liquid tests.
That’s ok for a Fowler tank but once you start getting into corals especially SPS & LPS your parameters need to be monitored with more accuracy. I use Salifert test kits but there are plenty of good options out there.
 
Welcome to Reef2Reef!!!

Clownfish.gif
 

IF YOU HAD TO OPERATE EVERYTHING ELSE MANUALLY, WHICH AUTOMATED SYSTEM WOULD YOU KEEP?

  • Auto top-off

    Votes: 62 57.9%
  • Automated dosing

    Votes: 6 5.6%
  • Mechanical filtration / roller filter

    Votes: 4 3.7%
  • Automated water testing

    Votes: 3 2.8%
  • Automatic feeding

    Votes: 1 0.9%
  • Lighting schedule

    Votes: 21 19.6%
  • Controller and remote monitoring

    Votes: 4 3.7%
  • Leak detection and emergency shutoff

    Votes: 2 1.9%
  • Automatic water changes

    Votes: 3 2.8%
  • None. I prefer to operate everything manually

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Something else (explain in the comments)

    Votes: 1 0.9%
Back
Top
Home
Post thread…
Market
What's new