gmdcdvm
Supporting Member
Hello everyone,
I posted an introduction thread a few weeks back and I am now getting around to starting my tank journal. Since I was looking for an all-in-one setup to make my return to the hobby a little easier I decided to go with a Red Sea Max 206E. This was the largest tank I wanted to try out given my current space constraints. Maybe I will upgrade in the future if everything goes well, but for now, I'm pretty happy with this tank.
Step 1: stand build and initial set up. The instructions for the stand felt like I was putting together a piece of Ikea furniture although this was of a much higher quality. One of the panels was slightly damaged, but it is not noticeable and I did not want to pack it back up and drive an hour back to Aquatic Collections to return it.
Step 2: Filling the tank. I placed plastic egg crate material from a fluorescent light fixture and then about a 1.5 to 2 inch bed of sand along the bottom. I started cycling the tank using Dr. Tim's bacteria.
Step 4: Aquascaping: I purchased some shapes and arches from Aquatic Collections, and my wife and I worked on coming up with a design we both liked. Ended cementing these together.
Step 5: Time for the first fish: After about a month of constant monitoring it was time for the first fish. I purchased a pair of small clowns as the first inhabitants. These fish were a priority since my son really wanted to have some clownfish in the tank. These two have been getting along really well. The only time they leave each other's side is during feeding time.
Step 6: More fish, first corals: Well, it was now time for some more fish and corals. I got some free frags and two bulb tip anemones form a fellow reefer I met on reefcentral along with two brain corals from aquarium depot. Brain corals have always been a personal favorite of mine along with anemones. We have since gradually added two shrimp, a cleanup crew of various snails and crabs, a filamented flasher wrasse, a royal grama, a fiji damsel, and a scooter blenny. The fuji damsel was a concern, but my son really liked the colors. So far he has been leaving everyone alone, and everyone is getting along just fine. The scooter blenny was eating frozen brine and mysis shrimp from day one. I had also purchased some live copepods from aquarium depot that I placed in the tank and sump along with extras that I have set up in a 5-gallon tank. These are my back up plan should something happen with the scooter blenny.
Step 7: Time to relax and enjoy: At this point, I am looking to add some more coral frags, but have not been able to connect with anyone to purchase frags or pick up some free ones. Too much family stuff going on right now. I hope to add some more corals in the future. Water parameters are good. The two bulb tip anemones look great. The corals all have nice polyp extension. The algae issues have improved (thanks clean up crew, and maybe a little less over feeding). So far so good. Let's hope this keeps up.
Gerry
p.s.
The iPhone pics make the tank look crappy and dirty. Looks a hell of a lot better in real life. There is algae on the walls, but the snails take care of most of it and it’s hardly an issue now.
I posted an introduction thread a few weeks back and I am now getting around to starting my tank journal. Since I was looking for an all-in-one setup to make my return to the hobby a little easier I decided to go with a Red Sea Max 206E. This was the largest tank I wanted to try out given my current space constraints. Maybe I will upgrade in the future if everything goes well, but for now, I'm pretty happy with this tank.
Step 1: stand build and initial set up. The instructions for the stand felt like I was putting together a piece of Ikea furniture although this was of a much higher quality. One of the panels was slightly damaged, but it is not noticeable and I did not want to pack it back up and drive an hour back to Aquatic Collections to return it.
Step 2: Filling the tank. I placed plastic egg crate material from a fluorescent light fixture and then about a 1.5 to 2 inch bed of sand along the bottom. I started cycling the tank using Dr. Tim's bacteria.
Step 4: Aquascaping: I purchased some shapes and arches from Aquatic Collections, and my wife and I worked on coming up with a design we both liked. Ended cementing these together.
Step 5: Time for the first fish: After about a month of constant monitoring it was time for the first fish. I purchased a pair of small clowns as the first inhabitants. These fish were a priority since my son really wanted to have some clownfish in the tank. These two have been getting along really well. The only time they leave each other's side is during feeding time.
Step 6: More fish, first corals: Well, it was now time for some more fish and corals. I got some free frags and two bulb tip anemones form a fellow reefer I met on reefcentral along with two brain corals from aquarium depot. Brain corals have always been a personal favorite of mine along with anemones. We have since gradually added two shrimp, a cleanup crew of various snails and crabs, a filamented flasher wrasse, a royal grama, a fiji damsel, and a scooter blenny. The fuji damsel was a concern, but my son really liked the colors. So far he has been leaving everyone alone, and everyone is getting along just fine. The scooter blenny was eating frozen brine and mysis shrimp from day one. I had also purchased some live copepods from aquarium depot that I placed in the tank and sump along with extras that I have set up in a 5-gallon tank. These are my back up plan should something happen with the scooter blenny.
Step 7: Time to relax and enjoy: At this point, I am looking to add some more coral frags, but have not been able to connect with anyone to purchase frags or pick up some free ones. Too much family stuff going on right now. I hope to add some more corals in the future. Water parameters are good. The two bulb tip anemones look great. The corals all have nice polyp extension. The algae issues have improved (thanks clean up crew, and maybe a little less over feeding). So far so good. Let's hope this keeps up.
Gerry
p.s.
The iPhone pics make the tank look crappy and dirty. Looks a hell of a lot better in real life. There is algae on the walls, but the snails take care of most of it and it’s hardly an issue now.
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