Blakestanks
New member
So to start I do have some reefing experience in the past. I owned first a Biocube 29, then a Cardiff 24, then a Solana 34 (briefly), and after a few years I have purchased a Red Sea Reefer 170.
I decided to get back into the hobby as I have moved into a single family home after living in a very small condo for about 2 years. I was at a friends house who had a little 7 gallon tank with a few soft corals and it made me get the itch again.
I hunted craigslist in my area as a first choice to try and save some money. I found a reefer 170 used and empty online for $600 w/o return pump and talked him down to $400. So a few hours later I picked it up.but only after the seller didnt dump the overflow and in turn it dumped into the back of my prius (wonderful).
I started with just cleaning the tank out well with a hose and a towel. and filled it with saltwater, sand, and rock later that day.
I used caribsea Arag-Alive sand with Cured liverock from my LFS. 2 rocks from regular bin, 2 rocks from painted bin, and 2 rocks from their 500G show tank which had been taken out only a few days prior. So I threw all this in and started running the tank with a Sicce Syncra Silent 2.0
A few days later I receive in the mail my Bubble Magus Curve 5 and some other little things.
1 - Week Update:
Tank has been running for 1 week with half a shrimp and Dr. Tims bacteria. the skimmer has been running for 4 days without even a hint of not instant cup overflow so I raise the skimmer out of the water 2" and finally produced some tea colored water 24 hours later. although the sump is already shallower than the recommended height for that skimmer with it sitting flat on the bottom. so It will have to be moved down once broken in. I tested all levels and the Ammonia is 0-2.5. i am using an API test kit and it has never shown less than the color I am getting and read this is normal. However I am also colorblind so cant confidently say what color it is anyways. Usually text a picture of the result to 3-4 people and take the consensus.
So ammonia probably 0, Nitrite 0, and Nitrate less than 5.0 ppm.
At one week my AI Prime HD also arrives in the mail so I set that up and add a Blue Reef Chromis. after 72 hours Reef Chromis is doing great and eating more and more each feeding. my CUC from Reef Cleaners is arriving today. I am running lights at 12 hours to get some algae going for the CUC.
I purchased ABC Red Sea dosing chemicals however didnt order the test kit and the dosing directions are based upon tank test results so I have ordered a kit for that.
In Summary:
Tank is going on about 11 days which is surprisingly quick to cycle however I attribute it to the rock from a display tank and the Dr. Tims.
Im feeding the tank with the chromis enough food for 3 fish as I hope to place a clown pair in a couple weeks if the tank can keep stable parameters with feeding for 3.
I plan for this to be a mostly SPS tank with most likely just the 1 Chromis and 2 clowns long term. Also plan on adding another AI Prime HD if the corals arent getting enough light.
I have placed the rocks in the middle of the tank with the MP10 positioned to blow water across the back of the rocks in hopes that all of this motion and minimal no flow space will reduce the level of detritus not picked up my the overflow
Updates soon to come
I decided to get back into the hobby as I have moved into a single family home after living in a very small condo for about 2 years. I was at a friends house who had a little 7 gallon tank with a few soft corals and it made me get the itch again.
I hunted craigslist in my area as a first choice to try and save some money. I found a reefer 170 used and empty online for $600 w/o return pump and talked him down to $400. So a few hours later I picked it up.but only after the seller didnt dump the overflow and in turn it dumped into the back of my prius (wonderful).
I started with just cleaning the tank out well with a hose and a towel. and filled it with saltwater, sand, and rock later that day.
I used caribsea Arag-Alive sand with Cured liverock from my LFS. 2 rocks from regular bin, 2 rocks from painted bin, and 2 rocks from their 500G show tank which had been taken out only a few days prior. So I threw all this in and started running the tank with a Sicce Syncra Silent 2.0
A few days later I receive in the mail my Bubble Magus Curve 5 and some other little things.
1 - Week Update:
Tank has been running for 1 week with half a shrimp and Dr. Tims bacteria. the skimmer has been running for 4 days without even a hint of not instant cup overflow so I raise the skimmer out of the water 2" and finally produced some tea colored water 24 hours later. although the sump is already shallower than the recommended height for that skimmer with it sitting flat on the bottom. so It will have to be moved down once broken in. I tested all levels and the Ammonia is 0-2.5. i am using an API test kit and it has never shown less than the color I am getting and read this is normal. However I am also colorblind so cant confidently say what color it is anyways. Usually text a picture of the result to 3-4 people and take the consensus.
So ammonia probably 0, Nitrite 0, and Nitrate less than 5.0 ppm.
At one week my AI Prime HD also arrives in the mail so I set that up and add a Blue Reef Chromis. after 72 hours Reef Chromis is doing great and eating more and more each feeding. my CUC from Reef Cleaners is arriving today. I am running lights at 12 hours to get some algae going for the CUC.
I purchased ABC Red Sea dosing chemicals however didnt order the test kit and the dosing directions are based upon tank test results so I have ordered a kit for that.
In Summary:
Tank is going on about 11 days which is surprisingly quick to cycle however I attribute it to the rock from a display tank and the Dr. Tims.
Im feeding the tank with the chromis enough food for 3 fish as I hope to place a clown pair in a couple weeks if the tank can keep stable parameters with feeding for 3.
I plan for this to be a mostly SPS tank with most likely just the 1 Chromis and 2 clowns long term. Also plan on adding another AI Prime HD if the corals arent getting enough light.
I have placed the rocks in the middle of the tank with the MP10 positioned to blow water across the back of the rocks in hopes that all of this motion and minimal no flow space will reduce the level of detritus not picked up my the overflow
Updates soon to come
