Cspencer
Supporting Member
Firing up my first reef tank after purchasing a setup from @Turkeysammich. It’s an IM 25 AIO modified with an external overflow to a sump, a 10g auxiliary rimless display and enough complexities for future add-ons to keep me learning for a while. Just setup the 25g and sump for now, the 10g will follow.
Thanks to the club for the free live rock. Did my best to keep it alive during the tank setup, and it seems to have worked. I’ve seen asterina starfish, a few small red anemones I can’t ID yet, and other movement. Some coral remnants on the rock looked DOA at first but are starting to show color again, so they might have some fight left in them.
The tank was partially set up on 9/6 and fully running on 9/7. After a day to watch for die-off, initial tests showed 0 ammonia / 0 nitrite, so I dosed to 0.25 ppm ammonia, which cleared in 24 h. A 1 ppm dose the next day dropped to zero in under 36 h (nitrite stayed at zero). I plan to dose 1 ppm again to confirm it can process fully within 24 hr.
I’m also considering swapping the crushed coral substrate for aragonite sand this weekend to keep options open for a sand-sifter or pistol shrimp/goby pair.
Thanks to the club for the free live rock. Did my best to keep it alive during the tank setup, and it seems to have worked. I’ve seen asterina starfish, a few small red anemones I can’t ID yet, and other movement. Some coral remnants on the rock looked DOA at first but are starting to show color again, so they might have some fight left in them.
The tank was partially set up on 9/6 and fully running on 9/7. After a day to watch for die-off, initial tests showed 0 ammonia / 0 nitrite, so I dosed to 0.25 ppm ammonia, which cleared in 24 h. A 1 ppm dose the next day dropped to zero in under 36 h (nitrite stayed at zero). I plan to dose 1 ppm again to confirm it can process fully within 24 hr.
I’m also considering swapping the crushed coral substrate for aragonite sand this weekend to keep options open for a sand-sifter or pistol shrimp/goby pair.
