Trav-nerys Oceanborn's RSR-170

chunkylovah · Jul 8, 2021

I have been maintaining my aquarium for the last 5-years. Some would say 5-years is the minimum requirement to be considered a genius reef keeper. That is why I, Trav-nerys Oceanborne, consider myself a reef genius. Is there room for improvement? No. Oh but you've seen someone with such a nicer tank, and more growth, and all in a shorter amount of time? Well guess what? I chose for my tank to look and grow at the rate it does. I like large spaces of emptiness, and coral that question the stability of their environment. Will I sometimes ask for help or advice? Likely, but keep in mind I only do it for the entertainment of watching all your feeble braincells flicker in the empty and endless darkness that is your skulls.
I don't need help, you need help.

I have kept a build journal for many a year and have kept it confined within the safety and great invisibility of my Wordpress. Rejoice for today is a blessed day as I, Trav-nerys Oceanborne, have decided to bless you all with the contents of it's digital pages. Your praise and thanks are not necessary, but highly advised and even expected.
Allow me to assume control, give me your eyes and I will give you,

THE GREATEST CONTENT THIS FORUM HAS EVER SEEN.

Table of Contents:
1. In the Beginning
2. The Adoption Auction
3. Let There Be Light

NowGlazeIT · Jul 9, 2021

;Blackeye

Feels like the beginning of a great movie! I’ll be back to check on you, and possibly avenge you. Afterwards for when the good guys come and get you.

chunkylovah · Jul 14, 2021

I started to build a saltwater reef aquarium. Why you ask? Maybe I am bored or lonely? Maybe I just need to feel like something in this world relies on my very existence, I don't know, I have deep seated parental issues, stop looking at me like that. But worry not furrowed browed strangers for I am not jumping into this hobby completely blind. I have traveled the world, scoured every aquarium forum, studied every single one of the most holiest of reefing tomes, I even took a community college course on contemporary dance just so I could use their scholarly journal database. Don't judge me, judge yourself, freak.

First thing I did after deciding to dive head first into the deep blue depths of this hobby was buy a tank. I picked out a used red sea reefer 170, 34 gallon display, 9 gallon sump for a total of 43 soaking wet gallons.

I decided to wait for the saltiest of deals during Black Friday/Cyber Monday, which included:

Sicce 3.0 Return Pump
Vortech MP10QD Powerhead
Aquamaxx WS-1 Protein Skimmer
Tunze 3155 ATO
Jager 150 Watt Heater
BRS 75 GPD RO/DI Filter
25 lbs of Live Rock (from a kind stranger)
RS Coral Pro Salt, Carbon, Rainwater from the mountains of Nepal
One sadry dead little Shrimpy McShrimperton (for cycling)

But despair not! With Shrimpy McShrimperton's death comes the birth of a thriving reef tank. I plan on erecting a memorial for him, so my fish may have a starting point for an eventual rich history or possibly even religion. Because without a bit of moral grounding in place, god only knows what anarchy and chaos my tank could slip into and I did not spend this much money so my fish could act like a bunch of reckless heathens.

I mixed my saltwater in my actual tank because I didn't have a container big enough to do it otherwise. After mixing the water, I added in my live rock, dropped in the recently deceased Shrimpy McShrimperton, left him to rot until my ammonium spiked, which was about 4 days, pulled him out, gave him the burial he deserved.

I began the long wait for my ammonium levels to drop to zero, because putting fish in a high ammonium environment is like spraying your kids in the face with pepper spray and saying welcome home.

After a week of waiting my nitrifying bacteria decided to get off the proverbial couch. Ammonium is starting to drop and nitrates are beginning to climb.

I will make another update as soon as cycling has completed and my first mysterious resident moves in.

Until next time weary web surfers,

Trav-nerys Oceanborne of the Basement of My Mum's Place, First of My Name, The Unemployed, King of the Inverts and the First Fish, Master of the Great Reef Sea, Breaker of Bank Accounts, and Father of Scaly Finned Creatures alike.

chunkylovah · Jul 22, 2021

Ok so once I got my water parameters all situated, I ran down to my LFS where I met Chad. I came in not wanting to buy anything crazy because I didn't want the blood of some innocent creature on my moist silken hands. So I was planning on getting a cheap test fish, but Chad talked me into having a bit of confidence and promised me I was beautiful... Or rather that I wasn't going to massacre a fish. So I decided to get two regular, but very special juvenile clownfish.

The two I picked up were already hanging out with eachother. It felt right in the moment, kind of like after prom, when the stars are out and he/she says all the right things. So I took them home, acclimated them and dropped them in my tank. They immediately were duking it out and it ended with the smaller one getting a microscopic nibble from its tail.

I like to imagine it's a sign of affection, sort of like a love bite from a cat and not a sign of domestic abuse. This differentiation is important because when the other neighbors move into the tank, I want them to see a power couple, not some meth fueled trailer trash of a husband and an alcoholic emotional punching bag of a wife or well I guess its reversed in the case of clownfish? I don't know, I'm new at this, give me a f***ing break!

I also chose their names assuming the worse case scenario. I named the bullying big one Penny and the fearful smaller one Georgie. Later found out a lot of people do this and that I am super un-original, great.

So the take away on todays reef tank update? Don't start unhealthy relationships in high school that will end up with you, a few years later, in a trailer throwing and/or receiving punches and don't accept things from strangers in sewers...

That feels about right.

Until next time weary web surfers,

Trav-nerys Oceanborne of the Basement of My Mum's Place, First of My Name, The Unemployed, King of the Inverts and the First Fish, Master of the Great Reef Sea, Breaker of Bank Accounts, and Father of Scaly Finned Creatures alike.

chunkylovah · Jul 28, 2021

I awoke one marvelous morning, as I tend to do, and went to view the miracle that is my tank. But something was different. Yes, two fantastic specimens of clownfish were gallivanting about in the most joyous of ways, but something ill lay just beyond view. Peering closer, low and behold, a fresh crop of diatom algae lay upon my rock work. Dear God, what lunacy, what treachery, what kind of psychopath would come in the midst of the night and do such a thing to Georgie's and Penny's home? Well sadly my friends, the answer is my new light. The lights prodigiously bright beams of photosynthetically active radiation was the catalyst that unleashed the vile brown monstrosity that is diatom algae upon my Tank.

What light you ask? It's a Nanobox Duo M. Why you ask? Well there is obvious favorites in the community like Radion, Kessil, and AI. Long story short, lights are way over priced for what they are. I went with the cheapest led at the time with two light pucks or what equated to slightly better spread.

Until next time ya bunch of salt obsessed jackaloons,

Trav-nerys Oceanborn of the Basement of My Mum’s Place, First of My Name, The Unemployed, King of the Inverts and the First Fish, Master of the Great Reef Sea, Breaker of Bank Accounts, and Father of Scaly Finned Creatures alike.