Reef
Introduction
I've been in the fish keeping hobby since 2015. My 630ltr glass aquarium was the first piece of furniture that went into our home. Heck it was installed before the house plumbing was completed. Back then I kept malawi cichlids and early 2017 decided to switch to a reef tank.
Since then it has been a daily challenge and tons of research to get this tank the way I want it. Currently it's still far off my dream reef tank but it will get there given enough time and patience.
Since then it has been a daily challenge and tons of research to get this tank the way I want it. Currently it's still far off my dream reef tank but it will get there given enough time and patience.
Background
This tank was converted to a reef tank early 2017. The plan was and still is to have this incredible reef tank with many beautiful corals and exotic fish.
As per design there was never a real plan. The goal was and still is to have the least amount of maintenance possible. I have designs and idea for automatic water changes, automated light cycles, automated feeding, leak detection, automatic flow management, etc... Up till the day of writing most of this is still in the planning / prototyping stage but it will get there.
As per design there was never a real plan. The goal was and still is to have the least amount of maintenance possible. I have designs and idea for automatic water changes, automated light cycles, automated feeding, leak detection, automatic flow management, etc... Up till the day of writing most of this is still in the planning / prototyping stage but it will get there.
Lighting
Lighting is one of my major goals for 2017. Currently it just has 6x LED flood lights that you would use in your garden and even though they are able to sustain my leather corals it's nowhere near good enough for the corals I plan to keep.
As soon I have the budget for it, I will go with 6 or 8 T5 bulbs and the goal is to have the reef look as natural as possible. I personally don't like the tank that very blue heavy it feels 'fake' I will go with a lot more whites and a subtle hint of blue just to give it that crisp look.
Apart from the T5 I plan to add 2 small LED lights which will have for moonlighting and sunrise/sunset these will be very small just enough not to shock the corals every morning with a burst of light from the T5s.
As per cycle I plan to have:
T5: 9hrs staggered
Led Sunrise / Sunset: 1hr
Led Moonlight: 12hr
As soon I have the budget for it, I will go with 6 or 8 T5 bulbs and the goal is to have the reef look as natural as possible. I personally don't like the tank that very blue heavy it feels 'fake' I will go with a lot more whites and a subtle hint of blue just to give it that crisp look.
Apart from the T5 I plan to add 2 small LED lights which will have for moonlighting and sunrise/sunset these will be very small just enough not to shock the corals every morning with a burst of light from the T5s.
As per cycle I plan to have:
T5: 9hrs staggered
Led Sunrise / Sunset: 1hr
Led Moonlight: 12hr
pH
Salinity
Temperature
Magnesium
Calcium
Phosphate
Nitrate
Alkalinity
Iron
Iodine
Ammonia
6 Coral
15 Fish
9 Invertebrate
1 Plant
Equipment
Additive
AF Iron
Aquaforest Mg Plus
IODUM
Bulb
Cleaning
Controller
Heater Controller
Food
AF Phyto Mix
dki marine
Filter
Sand Filter
Water Softner
Heater
Lighting
GLO A1557 Electronic Ballast x2
6
LED Flood Light
Niello LED Grow Light
Media
Crystal Bio
Probe
Thermal Probe
Powerhead
Rossmont Mover MX9800
Pump
Refractometer
LemonBest
Refugium
Caulerpa
RODI
Salt
Skimmer
Stand
Steel Stand
Sump
0.9 x 0.5 x 0.4(h)
0.9m x 0.5m x 0.4(h)
TestKit
Etekcity PH Meter Pen
Other
Dosing See more
CaribSea Purple Up 15 ml · CaribSea Purple Up 10 ml · Magnesium 200 ml · AF IODUM 9 drops · AF Kh Buffer 20 ml · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 15 ml · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 15 ml · AF Kh Buffer 80 ml · AF IODUM 9 drops · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 15 ml · AF Kh Buffer 80 ml · AF IODUM 9 drops · AF Kh Buffer 80 ml · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 15 ml · AF Kh Buffer 160 ml · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · AF IODUM 9 drops · AF IODUM 9 drops · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · AF Kh Buffer 160 ml · AF Kh Buffer 160 ml · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · AF IODUM 9 drops · AF IODUM 9 drops · CaribSea Purple Up 10 ml · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 20 ml · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 20 ml · CaribSea Purple Up 10 ml · AF IODUM 9 drops · AF IODUM 9 drops · CaribSea Purple Up 10 ml · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · Red Sea Coral Colors 50 ml · AF IODUM 7 drops · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · CaribSea Purple Up 10 ml · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · AF IODUM 7 drops · Red Sea Coral Colors 50 ml · Red Sea Coral Colors 50 ml · AF IODUM 7 drops · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · Red Sea Coral Colors 50 ml · AF IODUM 5 drops · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · Red Sea Coral Colors 50 ml · AF IODUM 5 drops · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · AF IODUM 5 drops · Red Sea Coral Colors 50 ml · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · AF IODUM 5 drops · Red Sea Coral Colors 50 ml · CaribSea Purple Up 10 ml · Red Sea Coral Colors 50 ml · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · AF IODUM 5 drops · AF IODUM 5 drops · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · Red Sea Coral Colors 50 ml · AF IODUM 5 drops · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · Red Sea Coral Colors 50 ml · CaribSea Purple Up 13 ml · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · AF IODUM 5 drops · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · AF IODUM 5 drops · AF IODUM 5 drops · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · AF IODUM 5 drops · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · AF IODUM 5 drops · CaribSea Purple Up 15 ml · Red Sea Coral Colors 30 ml · AF IODUM 5 drops · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · AF IODUM 5 drops · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · Red Sea Coral Colors 30 ml · AF IODUM 5 drops · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · Red Sea Coral Colors 30 ml · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · AF IODUM 5 drops · Red Sea Coral Colors 30 ml · Red Sea Coral Colors 30 ml · AF IODUM 5 drops · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · AF IODUM 5 drops · Red Sea Coral Colors 30 ml · Red Sea Coral Colors 30 ml · AF IODUM 5 drops · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · Red Sea NO3PO4-X 10 ml · AF IODUM 5 drops · Red Sea Coral Colors 30 mlFeeding See more
Fed Phytoplakton 10 ml · Fed masstick 0.2 g · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed Red Nori 0.5 sheet · Fed Red Nori 0.2 sheet · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed masstick 0.2 g · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 2 ml · Fed Phytoplakton 5 ml · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed masstick 0.2 g · Fed masstick 0.2 g · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed Phytoplakton 5 ml · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed masstick 0.2 g · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 2 ml · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 2 ml · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 2 ml · Fed Reef Booster - Easy Reef 5 ml · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 2 ml · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed masstick 0.2 g · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed masstick 0.2 g · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed masstick 0.2 g · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed masstick 0.2 g · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed masstick 0.2 g · Fed AF Phyto Mix 5 ml · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed masstick 0.2 g · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed masstick 0.2 g · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed AF Phyto Mix 5 ml · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed AF Phyto Mix 5 ml · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed AF Phyto Mix 5 ml · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 1 ml · Fed Polyp Lab Polyp-Booster 2 ml · Fed dki marine 0.5 tsp · Fed dki marine 0.5 tspMaintenance
Maintenance is key in any system. Think of your car... how long do you think it would last if you didn't change the oil? Probably not more than a year. Same goes for aquariums, as much as I despise water changes I usually do 10-20% weekly and hoping to be able to reduce that quite a bit as soon more filtration equipment is installed.
As per other maintenance it's not that bad, I have to manually top-off water daily, I have to replace filter floss and carbon weekly and then clean the glass & sumps somethings weekly sometimes bi-weekly.
Overall it's not that bad however it will get much better as soon I can get more reactors and automatic top-off installed.
As per other maintenance it's not that bad, I have to manually top-off water daily, I have to replace filter floss and carbon weekly and then clean the glass & sumps somethings weekly sometimes bi-weekly.
Overall it's not that bad however it will get much better as soon I can get more reactors and automatic top-off installed.
On average you perform a 9.1% water change every 9 days.
0% total water change in 2024-11-28T06:51:59.120492Z[GMT].