This will be my third reef tank over the 15+ years I have been in the hobby, but this one will be special. Heck, this one already is special!
Background:
My current tank is a standard 29 gallon, Aqueon aquarium that my then girlfriend and I won at the MAX Aquarium Expo in 2016. We spent time building this into a reef aquarium with all HOB equipment. After suffering a minor crash a year and a half ago (didn't change the DI resin), the tank has bounced back and is better than ever!
Fast forward to Christmas 2018... My now fiance and I were attending our local marine aquarium club's Holiday Party. Our club puts on a tremendous party with an amazing raffle. We had been discussing upgrading to a larger, more high tech aquarium in 2019, and happened to see that one of the raffle prizes was a Red Sea Reefer 250. We joked and said we will purchase $140 worth of raffle tickets and put the majority into that bucket...well wouldn't you know it, we won! It was the best feeling in the world! One Uber XL later, and the RSR 250 was back in our apartment.
Current Status:
The tank has been sitting in our spare bedroom, much to the despise of my fiance, waiting to be set up. We are set to get married in April 2019 and may be moving to a new apartment complex in the upcoming months. I do not see the tank being assembled until after the wedding, but that hasn't stopped me from gathering equipment for the build.
My brother is also in the hobby, and notified me of a client of his that was selling his entire set up for a ridiculously low price (relatively speaking, but I assure you it was a steal). After some talks with the fiance, remember we have a wedding coming up in April, we decided to purchase the equipment.
Quick list of what was purchased:
- (2) EcoTech Radion XR30 Pro Gen 4
- (2) Radion Tank Mount
- (2) EcoTech VorTech MP40wQD
- (2) Additional MP40 Wet Side
- EcoTech Reef Link
- Apex w/ DOS & DDR
- Apex Power Panel
- Neptune ATK
- ATO Reservoir
- (2) Reef Octopus VarioS 4
- Reef Octopus Regal 150 INT 6" Skimmer
- Reef Octopus 152-S-6" Skimmer
- Skimz Algae Reactor
- (2) GEO Media Reactor
- BRS RO/DI w/ Extra DI Chamber
- Along with many other items (including the 75 gallon tank and stand) that I plan to sell.
With the equipment purchased, the tricky part is to get it all the way from Pennsylvania (brother lives) to California (I live). The plan is for my family to bring as much with them as possible during their upcoming trips from PA to CA for the wedding. Some of it has already made the journey and is sitting patiently until the build can begin.
I am currently in the process of trading/selling some of my corals for more desired corals for the new tank. The current tank will be completely broken down, corals fragged, and quarantined prior to making their debut in the RSR 250.
So that is it for now. I will continue to update with news regarding future plans, the build, and life events!
Background:
My current tank is a standard 29 gallon, Aqueon aquarium that my then girlfriend and I won at the MAX Aquarium Expo in 2016. We spent time building this into a reef aquarium with all HOB equipment. After suffering a minor crash a year and a half ago (didn't change the DI resin), the tank has bounced back and is better than ever!
Fast forward to Christmas 2018... My now fiance and I were attending our local marine aquarium club's Holiday Party. Our club puts on a tremendous party with an amazing raffle. We had been discussing upgrading to a larger, more high tech aquarium in 2019, and happened to see that one of the raffle prizes was a Red Sea Reefer 250. We joked and said we will purchase $140 worth of raffle tickets and put the majority into that bucket...well wouldn't you know it, we won! It was the best feeling in the world! One Uber XL later, and the RSR 250 was back in our apartment.
Current Status:
The tank has been sitting in our spare bedroom, much to the despise of my fiance, waiting to be set up. We are set to get married in April 2019 and may be moving to a new apartment complex in the upcoming months. I do not see the tank being assembled until after the wedding, but that hasn't stopped me from gathering equipment for the build.
My brother is also in the hobby, and notified me of a client of his that was selling his entire set up for a ridiculously low price (relatively speaking, but I assure you it was a steal). After some talks with the fiance, remember we have a wedding coming up in April, we decided to purchase the equipment.
Quick list of what was purchased:
- (2) EcoTech Radion XR30 Pro Gen 4
- (2) Radion Tank Mount
- (2) EcoTech VorTech MP40wQD
- (2) Additional MP40 Wet Side
- EcoTech Reef Link
- Apex w/ DOS & DDR
- Apex Power Panel
- Neptune ATK
- ATO Reservoir
- (2) Reef Octopus VarioS 4
- Reef Octopus Regal 150 INT 6" Skimmer
- Reef Octopus 152-S-6" Skimmer
- Skimz Algae Reactor
- (2) GEO Media Reactor
- BRS RO/DI w/ Extra DI Chamber
- Along with many other items (including the 75 gallon tank and stand) that I plan to sell.
With the equipment purchased, the tricky part is to get it all the way from Pennsylvania (brother lives) to California (I live). The plan is for my family to bring as much with them as possible during their upcoming trips from PA to CA for the wedding. Some of it has already made the journey and is sitting patiently until the build can begin.
I am currently in the process of trading/selling some of my corals for more desired corals for the new tank. The current tank will be completely broken down, corals fragged, and quarantined prior to making their debut in the RSR 250.
So that is it for now. I will continue to update with news regarding future plans, the build, and life events!
