Brian Jay New Member Intro and Tank Intro

[BrianJay]

Hello All!

 

My name is Brian and I've been in the salt water aquarium hobby for nearly 15 years off and on (mostly on). I am in the military and move somewhat frequently which has given me the opportunity to build, tear down, move, and re-build tanks, improving along the way.  My tanks have ranged in size from a 3.1 gallon pico all the way to a ~ 200 gallon mixed reef.  I recently moved to the greater DC area and decided to go with a Red Sea Reefer 250 (~54 gallons in the display) for my time here. I'm really excited to be a part of this community and look forward to meeting you all at future events!

 

My Tank's Journey So Far:

 The tank has been up and running for nearly 60 days  and cycled quickly since I pre-cycled the dry rock and sand in a brute trash can for about 120 days prior to getting the tank wet. I used Dr Tims One and Only and Microbactor 7 to cycle both the rock alone and then again in the tank itself for a fishless cycle. After about 6 days I read 0ppm ammonia and added 2 snowflake clowns from my old friends at sustainable aquatics in TN. I added a new fish or two (pairs) about every week since then, watching for any signs of ammonia or increased nutrients.  I didn't run into any significant issues adding fish, with only the occasional bacterial bloom that I allowed to clear up naturally.  I quarantine all my fish for 1 week prior to going into my reef to reduce the chance of pests. My reefing philosophy for livestock is that there is a direct correlation of success keeping corals happy for me when the tank is fully stocked with fish who are fed really well, and then the tank is over filtered to remove undesired nutrients. Basically its "Big bio-load + Big Filtration = Happy Reef Tank". I wanted to get my fish stocking list mostly filled first before adding coral so my tank would have the freedom to react to the increase in bio-load each time a new addition arrived without having to worry about finicky corals.  About 1 week ago I added my first round of test corals from WWC and they all appear to be doing well and are starting to slowly consume my alk which is a good sign!  I plan on keeping a mixed reef that is mostly geared towards SPS. However it wouldn't be a reef for me without a zoa garden!   My second round of corals from AquaSD will be arriving tomorrow which includes some more montis, my first test acro, and some ricorda for my wife's ricordia garden (a requirement to keep her happy about the tank).  I'm looking forward to seeing what frags the local community has as I love supporting other local hobbyist!  

 

My Current Reef Tank by the numbers: 

This is my first Red Sea tank and I really love it! I think this size is a good sweet spot to find life/tank balance for while I'm here.  Here are the associated pieces of equipment that go along with it:

         

         HARDWARE

- Marco's Dry Rock and med grain sand

- Apex Classic Controller

- 2 x Kessil A360's (I have a 3rd one I'm trying to get to work but appears to haven't survived the move. It's shorting out. However, two lights cover the tank nicely, but 3 would be better of course!)

- 1 x MP40 QD and 1 x Mp10QD  for flow

- Neptune DOS w/ BRS Two Part

- 1 x Hygger DC return pump

- Reef Octopus Diablo Extreme 160 Protein Skimmer (oversized but will grow into my stocking and feedincheato g plans)

- Tunze ATO

- titanium heaters

- refugium with chaeto  from Algae Barn along with their 5280 Pods and an LED grow light

- RODI from BRS

- Tropic Marin Pro salt

 

          LIVESTOCK 

- 2 x Snowflake Clowns from Sustainable Aquatics

- 2 x Banggai Cardinal Fish (mated pair) (ORA tank bred)

- 2 x Firefish (unproven pair)

- 1 x Juvenile tank bred yellow tang from BIOTA ( He's about 1 inch long and will do great in my tank for about 12-18 months until he gets too big. I will then look at re-homing him and getting another smaller tang).

- 1 x Lawnmower Blenny (ORA tank bred)

- 3 x Sharknose cleaner gobies (ORA tank bred)

- 1 x Melenurus Wrasse (juvi)

- I plan on adding a Midas Blenny to the mix, as well as a goby/pistol shrimp combo. 

 

     CORALS

- LA Lakers Zoas

- WWC Toxic Green Palys

- WWC Jedi Mind Trick Monti

-  JF Klepto Lepto

- ORA Green Stylo

- WWC Toxic Waste Brain Coral (Favite)

 

 

Current Parameters

- Ammonia: 0ppm

- Nitrite: 0ppm

- Nitrate: 0-5ppm

- Salinity: 1.026

- pH: 8.2

- Alkalinity: 9.0

- Calcium: ~450

- Mag: ~1300

 

 

 

 

 

The two pictures I've attached at when the tank first got wet!  I will add some more recent shots soon

 

!

[sethsolomon]

Welcome!!!!  Love the googly eyes on the skimmer!

[BrianJay]

1 minute ago, sethsolomon said:

Welcome!!!!  Love the googly eyes on the skimmer!

 

Thanks!  I've found that the "Mr. Skimmer" Mod helps keep morale up while I'm doing maintenance!  I feel like we've bonded and I want to keep him clean.  Plus the kids love it. 

[sethsolomon]

Just now, BrianJay said:

 

Thanks!  I've found that the "Mr. Skimmer" Mod helps keep morale up while I'm doing maintenance!  I feel like we've bonded and I want to keep him clean.  Plus the kids love it. 

Thats a good idea!  Me personally, i just push the maintenance down the road with a skimmate locker  :P

[BrianJay]

Just now, sethsolomon said:

Thats a good idea!  Me personally, i just push the maintenance down the road with a skimmate locker  :P

I have one of those too and I love it!  I will eventually add it to my tank once I stop adding livestock and can tune the thing properly for the long term!

[treesprite]

Welcome to WAMAS

[VA Reefdog]

Mr. Skimmer!  love that idea.