AndynotDrew
Supporting Member
Hey everyone! I’m not exactly from the Bay Area seeing as I’m in Riverbank, but I’m in the Bay Area often so I’ve been frequenting High Tide Aquatics and CaliKid Corals. Recently heard about the club and joined up last week. Appreciate the warm welcome and happy to be part of the club!
This is my 2nd go at my first reef tank. Working with a 50gal corner tank. It was a gift from a friend that was running it as freshwater with a hang on filter. I have two other freshwater tanks and decided it’s time to finally try saltwater.
I didn’t have the nerve to drill the out of fear that I’d mess up, so I ran a diy siphon overflow to a sump tank. Things were going well, until they weren’t. Went through algae outbreaks, and made all the newbie mistakes. To make matters worse I would lose siphon every two months like clockwork. I’d then empty the tank to access all the plumbing just to be sure it was still only a siphon issue and not catastrophic failure. I should’ve fixed the problem with an air pump, but I didn’t want to run one more piece of gear. Did I mention I’m reefin on a budget? Lol.
After a while I lost my motivation and the tank sat there with only power heads keeping the water moving. Cut the lights off to let the algae die, and didnt turn them back on. Eventually any coral in there died, and I lost the couple fish I had left (horrible person, I know). There it sat being a representation of my failure for a few months.
Finally, I decided it’s time to regroup, and revamp this system. To my surprise I still had some snails and a few hermit crabs in there! Made a diy above tank sump to avoid the siphon issue, redid the scape (a couple times), and let it run. Took things slow and 8 months later and here we are! Stocked with some fish, inverts, rbta, and I’m officially addicted to corals!
This has been a 2+ year process. I’m still a newbie learning more everyday and enjoying it. Here are some pictures showing my 2nd go at this. Appreciate any and all feedback, or pointers, and look forward to learning more.
This is my 2nd go at my first reef tank. Working with a 50gal corner tank. It was a gift from a friend that was running it as freshwater with a hang on filter. I have two other freshwater tanks and decided it’s time to finally try saltwater.
I didn’t have the nerve to drill the out of fear that I’d mess up, so I ran a diy siphon overflow to a sump tank. Things were going well, until they weren’t. Went through algae outbreaks, and made all the newbie mistakes. To make matters worse I would lose siphon every two months like clockwork. I’d then empty the tank to access all the plumbing just to be sure it was still only a siphon issue and not catastrophic failure. I should’ve fixed the problem with an air pump, but I didn’t want to run one more piece of gear. Did I mention I’m reefin on a budget? Lol.
After a while I lost my motivation and the tank sat there with only power heads keeping the water moving. Cut the lights off to let the algae die, and didnt turn them back on. Eventually any coral in there died, and I lost the couple fish I had left (horrible person, I know). There it sat being a representation of my failure for a few months.
Finally, I decided it’s time to regroup, and revamp this system. To my surprise I still had some snails and a few hermit crabs in there! Made a diy above tank sump to avoid the siphon issue, redid the scape (a couple times), and let it run. Took things slow and 8 months later and here we are! Stocked with some fish, inverts, rbta, and I’m officially addicted to corals!
This has been a 2+ year process. I’m still a newbie learning more everyday and enjoying it. Here are some pictures showing my 2nd go at this. Appreciate any and all feedback, or pointers, and look forward to learning more.
Is there anything that stays small that pecks at algae all day the way a tang will?
