Tank Journal Archive

[Jake Hower]

At the start of the month we got my daughter a goldfish tank for her 4th birthday... helping her look after that tank inspired me to get something of my own.

I had a tropical fresh water tank years ago in my late teens and loved it. Myself and my wife moved every year or two through our 20s, relocating and maintaining a tank was too much effort so I sold it.

I have a lot more time on my hands now and we have settled down on the Mornington Peninsula. I work from home, in a converted garage office. I waste a decent amount of time in the office so having something meaningful to waste that time on was really attractive.

So, over the course of the past month, I've been digging around in here, on Reef2Reef and Youtube, learning as much as possible about reefing.

Initially I was looking at a Nano All-In-One system as I wanted something easy and compact. The more I studied, the more I realised something a little bigger would work better.

The biggest issue for me though was cost. Being my first attempt at reefing, I'm not sure if the hobby is right for me, or if it's just a stage I'm going through .

Over the past few weeks I've purchased a 3ft tank, stand and an Aqua One Marisys 240 Series 2 filtration system, extra Aqua One G216 Protein Skimmer, cheap LED lights off of Gumtree for a decent price (under $200), then I found 30kg of live rock on Gumtree for $120 and I thought I'd accomplished a cheap setup! How wrong I was...

Since, I've upgraded the lights to a 165W LED black box off of Amazon, purchased a cheap power head, substrate, a bunch of buckets, hoses, Red Sea testing kits, PH pen, Refractometer, Sonoff Smart Switches etc and I've realized I've spent way more than I expected when I was first starting. Hopefully this isn't just a "stage" I'm going through.

The live rock came directly out of a tank that was being shut down. It was then transported in buckets and water from the tank being shut down. I added the rock and the water to the tank then topped off the rest with NSW, which I have easy access to given I live a few hundred metres from the ocean.

I don't have an RO unit so I'm using treated tap water for top off. I'll look to move across to RO as soon as I can.

So far, so good.

I'll test how it's going next week then hopefully look to add the first livestock once the cycle has moved past where it needs to be. I'm thinking a couple clown fish and cleanup crew initially.

I'll also tidy up the setup over the next week or so, I don't like having cords all over the place but was eager to get it all running.

Happy to hear any feedback anyone has or any tips etc.

 

[Sam Parker]

Hi Jake, welcome to the reefuge!

Neat looking little tank you have there and welcome to the continual learning that will come with it :P

What are your aims for the tank? I find that to be the best question to ask so that we can help guide you through some areas that we have made mistakes with before to hopefully save you from making the same mistakes. Are you looking for a fish only setup, soft corals, mixed reef or SPS only setup?

Enjoy the hobby :)

 

[Jake Hower]

Hi Jake, welcome to the reefuge!

Neat looking little tank you have there and welcome to the continual learning that will come with it :p

What are your aims for the tank? I find that to be the best question to ask so that we can help guide you through some areas that we have made mistakes with before to hopefully save you from making the same mistakes. Are you looking for a fish only setup, soft corals, mixed reef or SPS only setup?

Enjoy the hobby :)

Nothing set in stone, I'm happy to let it evolve as I learn more.

As of this point I'd like a few fish, some prawns and snails and as much coral as possible. Likely a mixed reef but there is no rush to get to that point.

I'll be hitting you up soon as I think you might be able to help out with some corals?

 

[Sam Parker]

Hi Jake,

I do have a number of frags cooking away, but I'm sure your local fish store has some available too?

From your pics, it looks as if you are running without a sump, yet you mention that you have a g216 protein skimmer. Are you planning on adding a sump? A skimmer will help immensly plus it makes it much easier to hide other equipment and filtration in a sump rather than the display.

I'd most certainly look into either purchasing RO water or getting an RO machine, the outlay will save you a fortune in time and money down the track.

Other than that, keep your water changes up and watch the top off water and you will be off to a great start. Take your time, enjoy the highs as you will encounter a few lows. :)

 

[Jake Hower]

Hi Jake,

I do have a number of frags cooking away, but I'm sure your local fish store has some available too?

From your pics, it looks as if you are running without a sump, yet you mention that you have a g216 protein skimmer. Are you planning on adding a sump? A skimmer will help immensly plus it makes it much easier to hide other equipment and filtration in a sump rather than the display.

I'd most certainly look into either purchasing RO water or getting an RO machine, the outlay will save you a fortune in time and money down the track.

Other than that, keep your water changes up and watch the top off water and you will be off to a great start. Take your time, enjoy the highs as you will encounter a few lows. :)

I have an Aqua One Marisys 240 which is as attached. An enclosed sump with filtration system. Currently I'm using that with some carbon pads, bio balls and CeramiSub.

It's running without the inbuilt skimmer at the moment, basically because I somehow jammed the skimmer head into the base and it's leaking lots when I try to use it. I cannot separate the skimmer head from the unit! I've got to pull it out and have a real go of fixing it. I dare say I'm going to break that section though.

The previous owner was running this unit without the media boxes, he had the G216 in that section and a few bags of media loosely around/above that. Which is what I'll likely do if I can't fix the inbuilt skimmer.

The LFS closest to me is Bunarong, so they have a great selection of corals.

Regarding an RO unit, do you think the 3 stage 125 gallon system from Fish Street would be sufficient (at least in the short term)? I can't post links yet, otherwise I would.

 

[somethingfishy76]

Welcome mate! Great to see another reefer in the making.

 

[Sam Parker]

I have an Aqua One Marisys 240 which is as attached. An enclosed sump with filtration system. Currently I'm using that with some carbon pads, bio balls and CeramiSub.

It's running without the inbuilt skimmer at the moment, basically because I somehow jammed the skimmer head into the base and it's leaking lots when I try to use it. I cannot separate the skimmer head from the unit! I've got to pull it out and have a real go of fixing it. I dare say I'm going to break that section though.

The previous owner was running this unit without the media boxes, he had the G216 in that section and a few bags of media loosely around/above that. Which is what I'll likely do if I can't fix the inbuilt skimmer.

The LFS closest to me is Bunarong, so they have a great selection of corals.

Regarding an RO unit, do you think the 3 stage 125 gallon system from Fish Street would be sufficient (at least in the short term)? I can't post links yet, otherwise I would.

Oh wow, that is a neat little enclosed sump! I've just googled it to get a look and it is indeed almost a hybrid hang-on sump with a small conventional sump! I'd recommend spending some time on it as the skimmer will really help clear out some gunk plus it will also do a fantastic job of keeping your reef well oxygenated. I wouldn't worry too much about the media, just a skimmer and return pump would be enough for now. Down the track you could look into some modern media such as maxspect bio sphere's or perhaps even some blue life resins, but in this early stage any media is just likely to catch detritus and cause more trouble than good.

Bunarong is a sensational store, it's a flipping mile from me so I have only been a handful of times, but thoroughly enjoyed every visit.

Take your time, buy quality gear first (and therefore buy it once), ask lots of questions and keep track of your journey here :)

 

[Jake Hower]

Oh wow, that is a neat little enclosed sump! I've just googled it to get a look and it is indeed almost a hybrid hang-on sump with a small conventional sump! I'd recommend spending some time on it as the skimmer will really help clear out some gunk plus it will also do a fantastic job of keeping your reef well oxygenated. I wouldn't worry too much about the media, just a skimmer and return pump would be enough for now. Down the track you could look into some modern media such as maxspect bio sphere's or perhaps even some blue life resins, but in this early stage any media is just likely to catch detritus and cause more trouble than good.

Bunarong is a sensational store, it's a flipping mile from me so I have only been a handful of times, but thoroughly enjoyed every visit.

Take your time, buy quality gear first (and therefore buy it once), ask lots of questions and keep track of your journey here :)

Unreal. Thanks for the advice. I've just hooked up the skimmer. I left some of the media in there just because there is a decent drop between the water flowing from the pump and it hitting the water level in the tank. It was sending way too many bubbles into the tank. Adding the media there for now is buffering that drop. I'll work out something more permanent later.

I can't believe how quickly it's started producing skimmate.

 

[Jake Hower]

Welcome mate! Great to see another reefer in the making.

Thanks. Glad to be here!

 

[Sam Parker]

Everyone will tell you those skimmers are junk and to replace it, but for now - it will meet your needs. If it removes anything its a win, because just the oxygen is the main purpose. Just saw the media - it's a siporax type copy, that'll be fine and work quite well. Just give it a shake out every week or so :)

 

[slin1977]

Bunarong is a great no bull shit store , Brett is a great bloke who will look after your interests in your hobby. Only wish I could visit that LFS more than I do.

 

[Jake Hower]

A little mini update.

Parameters have been steady since I started testing shortly after the first post. I added two trochus and five turbo snails last Monday then added a pair of occys, a Lobo and Nepthea on Saturday and did a 15% water change yesterday.

Still have a little bit of diatom and hair algae but it seems to be clearing up and falling off over the past couple of days.

I've not been getting a Nitrate reading since turning on the skimmer so hoping that will increase a little with the introduction of the clowns and food.

I'd like to add a few more corals and potentially some more fish over the coming weeks. Any suggestions?

 

[Buddy]

Some Zoas would be nice, they are fairly easy to look after and can add a good splash of colour.
If you want some movement then look at something like a hammer or torch coral. You can get them fairly cheap if you wanted to see how one went before adding more expensive corals.
I would probably hold off on anymore fish at least until the diatoms are gone just to let you tank settle in a bit while its cycling.
You will most likely get some sort of hair algae soon so I think a Blenny would be a great addition for your next fish as they love to much on it. They also have a ton of personality!

 

[Jake Hower]

Seem to be through the diatom bloom now. Added a bicolour angel, a torch and a few different zoa frags.

I also added a few more troccus and nassarius snails.

Water was looking cloudy so I added some filter wool into the sump and it cleared up within a day.

Parameters I'm measuring have been steady, still not getting a Nitrate reading over 0. I've been over feeding the tank to try to increase it a little but it doesn't seem to have had much effect. I'd assume this could be because I have so much LR in the tank that its getting rid of it quickly?

PH sits at about 8.06-8.1
Alk at ~6-7
I haven't tested for Calcium or Magnesium yet so I think test kits for those are the next purchase.

Coral wise I'm think some acans and perhaps some gonipora.

Fish wise I'm not sure. I really like the personality of the angel. The rock I've got in the tank is full of caves and he weaves his way in and out of those all day. I was thinking of adding a coral beauty angel but was advised I should only have one angel in the tank.

Does anyone have any good sources for buying coral frags? I used Exotic Aquaculture for the zoas I got.