Hi Everyone,
My apologies! This is long overdue! I was busy at work up until recently. Ugh. But here’s my tank journal.
I randomly picked up a used Reefer 250 tank on Craigslist this past January. I was talking to a friend about his tank and he was raving about RED SEA. My interest peaked as I raised goldfishes and betas for over 10 years as a kid. He suggested I pick one up used as there are plenty of people who exit this hobby because of time, expenses, etc. Sure enough, someone was selling a 250 on Craigslist. I reached out to the seller and we agreed on a price and decided on a pickup date that weekend. I spent the whole week researching what I needed to do to get it up and running. I definitely was not prepared! I ordered a bunch of stuff without thinking too hard about it and without any regrets.
Here was the picture in the ad.
I was very intrigued by a saltwater tank and I like challenges, so I decided to keep it salt water. BOY was I in for a huge surprise. Saltwater is nothing like freshwater! The amount of horror stories I was reading and trying to prep myself wasn’t helpful. Even my BUDDY was skeptical of having a saltwater tank as he only did fresh. However, I was very determined.
I kept the live rocks but didn’t arrange them yet. I bought a couple of things and Red Sea REEFLED90 and started the cycling process. The system came with an underpowered pump, which I upgraded to the jebao. It also came with the skimmer and a modified ATO for refugium. It also came with an Apex classic with a couple of heaters.
After a couple of weeks of cycling, I found my first bristle worm! I was freaked out and hit the forums and holy moly there’s a ton of misinformation out there. The general consensus was that they were helpful in the tank and people said to keep 'em. But man they are they ugly. Even my buddy said that MOST people break down their tanks over it. I kept them in there but I picked out the big ones. I am not even sure how they even survived as I was adding ammonia for cycling.
I reached out to AC to see if they can help me with this tank. They referred me to @Coral reefer . He’s been a ton of help. Especially with all the misinformation on the internet. He also introduced me to BAR, rearranged my rocks and gave me some suggestions on fish. I got a royal gamma and coral beauty to start.
After a couple of weeks, I picked up someone’s lot of fish. It was two clowns, a goby, a flame angel, belurus angel, and an azure damsel. I added them all to the tank. I made a mistake of having two dwarf angels. They were picking at each other, so I sold the flame after hours and hours of trying to catch him. He’s kinda dumb and likes to fight things, so it made him easier to catch but that’s after hours of trying.
Not so tough now eh?
The lot also came with a goby. I didn’t want him to be alone so I took him with the intention of giving him away as I have no sand. I didn't want him to be unhappy. So I had him on the side of the tank and he jumped into the display! I couldn’t get him out at all. After a month, I ask Mike to take apart the tank to remove him!
Hopefully, his new home will have a masseuse. I caught the cleaner shrimp working on him.
Originally, I wanted something low maintenance and was thinking just mostly softies. But after a couple of months, I do want to mix it up and have a bit of LPS/SPS. I will eventually get some other cool items but I’ll let the tank settle a bit more. I also decided to upgrade to something larger. So stay tuned for that….
Here’s what the tank looks like today:
Here's my current setup:
Reefer 250 V2 or 1(unsure).
Jebao DCT-6000 Return Pump
2x ReeferLED 90s
Apex EL
Apex ATOv2
2x MP40s with WMX module
ATO converted refuge
OCTO Classic Skimmer
DOS dosing calcium and alkalinity
Trident
Here's my current stock:
Cleaner Shrimp
Coral Beauty
Royal Gramma
Three Trochus Snails
Belarus Angel
Two Clowns
Two Anemone until the split. Now there's three.
Ora Blue Chalice
Stop light chalice
An unknown bubble coral that sprouted from a stem (came with the rock). Looks like Hammers maybe.
Green Porties
Montipora Setosa
Spicy Lemon Favia
Purple Stylophora
Green Acro
Just got a forest fire montipora and a purple acropora from AC.
My apologies! This is long overdue! I was busy at work up until recently. Ugh. But here’s my tank journal.
I randomly picked up a used Reefer 250 tank on Craigslist this past January. I was talking to a friend about his tank and he was raving about RED SEA. My interest peaked as I raised goldfishes and betas for over 10 years as a kid. He suggested I pick one up used as there are plenty of people who exit this hobby because of time, expenses, etc. Sure enough, someone was selling a 250 on Craigslist. I reached out to the seller and we agreed on a price and decided on a pickup date that weekend. I spent the whole week researching what I needed to do to get it up and running. I definitely was not prepared! I ordered a bunch of stuff without thinking too hard about it and without any regrets.
Here was the picture in the ad.
I was very intrigued by a saltwater tank and I like challenges, so I decided to keep it salt water. BOY was I in for a huge surprise. Saltwater is nothing like freshwater! The amount of horror stories I was reading and trying to prep myself wasn’t helpful. Even my BUDDY was skeptical of having a saltwater tank as he only did fresh. However, I was very determined.
I kept the live rocks but didn’t arrange them yet. I bought a couple of things and Red Sea REEFLED90 and started the cycling process. The system came with an underpowered pump, which I upgraded to the jebao. It also came with the skimmer and a modified ATO for refugium. It also came with an Apex classic with a couple of heaters.
After a couple of weeks of cycling, I found my first bristle worm! I was freaked out and hit the forums and holy moly there’s a ton of misinformation out there. The general consensus was that they were helpful in the tank and people said to keep 'em. But man they are they ugly. Even my buddy said that MOST people break down their tanks over it. I kept them in there but I picked out the big ones. I am not even sure how they even survived as I was adding ammonia for cycling.
I reached out to AC to see if they can help me with this tank. They referred me to @Coral reefer . He’s been a ton of help. Especially with all the misinformation on the internet. He also introduced me to BAR, rearranged my rocks and gave me some suggestions on fish. I got a royal gamma and coral beauty to start.
After a couple of weeks, I picked up someone’s lot of fish. It was two clowns, a goby, a flame angel, belurus angel, and an azure damsel. I added them all to the tank. I made a mistake of having two dwarf angels. They were picking at each other, so I sold the flame after hours and hours of trying to catch him. He’s kinda dumb and likes to fight things, so it made him easier to catch but that’s after hours of trying.
Not so tough now eh?
The lot also came with a goby. I didn’t want him to be alone so I took him with the intention of giving him away as I have no sand. I didn't want him to be unhappy. So I had him on the side of the tank and he jumped into the display! I couldn’t get him out at all. After a month, I ask Mike to take apart the tank to remove him!
Hopefully, his new home will have a masseuse. I caught the cleaner shrimp working on him.
Originally, I wanted something low maintenance and was thinking just mostly softies. But after a couple of months, I do want to mix it up and have a bit of LPS/SPS. I will eventually get some other cool items but I’ll let the tank settle a bit more. I also decided to upgrade to something larger. So stay tuned for that….
Here’s what the tank looks like today:
Here's my current setup:
Reefer 250 V2 or 1(unsure).
Jebao DCT-6000 Return Pump
2x ReeferLED 90s
Apex EL
Apex ATOv2
2x MP40s with WMX module
ATO converted refuge
OCTO Classic Skimmer
DOS dosing calcium and alkalinity
Trident
Here's my current stock:
Cleaner Shrimp
Coral Beauty
Royal Gramma
Three Trochus Snails
Belarus Angel
Two Clowns
Two Anemone until the split. Now there's three.
Ora Blue Chalice
Stop light chalice
An unknown bubble coral that sprouted from a stem (came with the rock). Looks like Hammers maybe.
Green Porties
Montipora Setosa
Spicy Lemon Favia
Purple Stylophora
Green Acro
Just got a forest fire montipora and a purple acropora from AC.
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