Popular Post jvalentine83 Posted March 7, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted March 7, 2019 Hello All, I have been a member of this site for a few years but not very active at all, mainly because I have not had a tank up and running since 2013 when I lived in Louisiana. My dive into reef aquariums started in 2008 when I started up my first tank; a 55 gallon (48x12x24) tank with hang on skimmer and T5 lighting. After having that tank for a few years I got an Oceanic 75 gallon (36x18x24) system with a sump and metal halide lighting. Both tanks were really successful and healthy for a few years. Then life happened and my girlfriend and I broke up and since she owned the condo we were living at, this meant I need to take the tanks down (the apartment I had rented after the breakup was on the 2nd floor and couldn't support the weight of the tanks). I was so hard selling all my fish and coral that I had been collecting over the years that I decided that I would not set up another tank until I owned a home of my own and would not have to go through that experience again. Well, here we are 2019 and I have owned a home in Cedar Park since August! I waited until now to start to set up a new Red Sea Reefer 350, mainly because I wanted to get settle into the house! About a week ago I began cycling all my old rock in a brute trash can. Adding Dr Tim's One and Only and some pellet food to kick off the ammonia spike. I am using the BRS 7 Stage RO/DI unit to filter my water. The Red Sea Reefer 350 arrived to my home yesterday evening and I figured it was a good time to formally introduce myself and start a build thread! Current Equipment: BRS 7 Stage RO/DI Unit Red Sea Reefer 350 Sicce Syncra Silent 4.0 Return Pump Planned Equipment: (1) Red Sea RSK-300 Protein Skimmer (2) Kessil A360X LED lights with Mounting Arms (1) Maxspect Gyre XF330 (1) BRS Carbon & GFO Dual Reactor 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diesel3443 Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Awesome! What type of reef are you planning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvalentine83 Posted March 8, 2019 Author Share Posted March 8, 2019 8 hours ago, diesel3443 said: Awesome! What type of reef are you planning? A mixed reef. Mostly SPS, but I have always been a fan of Bubble Coral, Duncans, Ricordea, and Zoas! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhart032 Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 Congrats on the new setup cant wait to see it come alive, TBH the setup is possibly my favorite part due to you really have to give a ton of thought what you want, and what you want to accomplish in the future with a new build. following along. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvalentine83 Posted March 8, 2019 Author Share Posted March 8, 2019 Got the stand built! Put the aquarium on the stand and got everything connected this morning. Waiting on a few equipment shipments to arrive and my rock to finish cycling before adding water. Just must remain patient 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvalentine83 Posted March 17, 2019 Author Share Posted March 17, 2019 Finally got water, sand, and rocks into the tank!! This is not the final aquascape, just put all the rocks in to make sure they cycle fully. I'll aquascape in a few days and update the thread 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvalentine83 Posted March 21, 2019 Author Share Posted March 21, 2019 \ New Aquascape! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefpuck Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 Looks good...like the 2 island setup. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvalentine83 Posted March 22, 2019 Author Share Posted March 22, 2019 Finally got my lights in! Went with the Kessil AP700 over the two A360X's, mainly because its more than enough light for a mixed reef. If I move to a more SPS Dominant tank in the years to come I may upgrade.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhart032 Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 It looks great. the rock work is very nice. In my experience rock against the glass has its challenges, limits flow and could create detritus buildup and could possibly lead to an algae trap and hard to clean without moving the rock and what corals you put in that area. Some are successful with it, ive just never been. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvalentine83 Posted March 26, 2019 Author Share Posted March 26, 2019 On 3/22/2019 at 12:40 PM, mhart032 said: It looks great. the rock work is very nice. In my experience rock against the glass has its challenges, limits flow and could create detritus buildup and could possibly lead to an algae trap and hard to clean without moving the rock and what corals you put in that area. Some are successful with it, ive just never been. after consideration, I decided to take the rock off the glass. I liked the look, but you are right....it'll be hard to control detritus buildup. Here is a video of the new scape: 20190325_195536.mp4 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvalentine83 Posted March 29, 2019 Author Share Posted March 29, 2019 Still waiting on the cycle to finish but grabbed a few shots after installing some under cabinet sump lighting! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvalentine83 Posted April 9, 2019 Author Share Posted April 9, 2019 Cycling finally completed on Thursday of last week! And my skimmer came in: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post jolt Posted April 9, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted April 9, 2019 Very nice. It will never be this clean again. Enjoy it while you can ... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefpuck Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 Looking good! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvalentine83 Posted April 15, 2019 Author Share Posted April 15, 2019 Alright.....tank finished cycling about 2 1/2 weeks ago and I've begun to slowly stock the tank!! Current inhabitants are as follows....Fish and Inverts: (2) DaVinci Clownfish (2) Banggai Cardinalfish (1) Sunburst Anthias (1) Sand Sifting Starfish (1) Cleaner Shrimp (10) Snails (7) Hermit Crabs (1) Christmas Hermit Coral: Hammer Torch GSP Green/Orange Ricordea Mushroom Blue Rhodactis Mushroom Nirvana Zoas Duncans Red Gonoporia Teal and Red Acan Lord 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvalentine83 Posted April 15, 2019 Author Share Posted April 15, 2019 Quick Video: 20190413_171650.mp4 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefpuck Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 Looking good! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvalentine83 Posted May 17, 2019 Author Share Posted May 17, 2019 Its been a while since I updated, tank is doing great! Here is some shots of new and growing coral! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 Looking great! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvalentine83 Posted June 3, 2019 Author Share Posted June 3, 2019 Redid my aquascape and captured a quick video! 20190602_184447.mp4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 Looking great! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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