25g Reef Tank!

[jinsheng_yip]

Hello everyone! I've decided to document my reef tank setup, and update periodically. Hopefully I can learn a thing or two along the way!

This tank was setup on the 9th of August 2020. 

 

Tank size: 25gallon / 120Litres Internal Overflow System, 10gallon / 40Litres Sump

[jinsheng_yip]

Initial Cycle

9th of August

I chose to use Caribsea Life Rocks to scape my tank for the dormant bacteria and the purple colour. I broke it into smaller chunks, and then glued them together with sand and super glue (method I saw on Tidal Gardens YouTube Channel). The structure is holding very well even till today.

When I first set this tank up, I bought 30W FROK LED lights from East Ocean. I also went for a bare bottom tank as I heard that it would have lesser issues in the long term. As for the scape, I created different tunnels and hiding spots for the fish, as well as shelves for corals. The salt that I went with was the standard RedSea salt. Initially, I wanted to go for the Coral Pro Salt, but heard about the elevated dkh levels affecting fish. At the back of the tank, I also installed a powerhead that will produce a current against the return outlet to generate random flow in the middle section. 

 

20 August

 A few days after I added the saltwater, I decided to add an anchovy into the tank to produce some ammonia. A bacteria bloom followed, lasting around a week before the water was clear again.

I then decided to buy a few small live rocks to aid with the cycling, as well as a vial of Prodibio Bio Digest. Tank water was still a little cloudy at this point in time.

I found two small rock crabs and a chiton in the live rock, as well as a few tube worms.

 

Edited September 25, 2020 by jinsheng_yip

[jinsheng_yip]

Livestock Introduction

30th August

It has been 3 weeks since the setup, and I decided to introduce some livestock into the tank. After a few days of planning, I went for a Ocellaris Clownfish pair. I bought them at SeaLife Aquarium (Indus Road), along with a pulsing xenia frag and three Ricordea Yuma mushrooms. These two corals have been a few of my favourite since I started the hobby, so I definitely had to get them. 

One of the Yuma was not attached to any rubble, so I put it in a little hospital tank for the time being. (Spoiler: it did not attach until I found it a larger rock with a nice hole in the middle)

[jinsheng_yip]

Week 4 Update

Bought a few corals for a fellow reefer! Even gave me a GSP and Xenia frag FOC. If you spot an error in the ID, pls let me know!

Corals:

1 x Green Rhodactis

Blue Hornet zoas 4pp

Pandora Palys 2pp

little GSP mat

Pulsing Xenia 3 Branches 

Put the Pulsing Xenias into a jar with rubble as it was not attached. The Green Rhodactis did not make it unfortunately, I found it with a lesion, and was spewing out its guts from the foot. Placed it in a hospital container, but a few days later it melted away.

I also bought a cleaner shrimp to pick up excess food that the clownfish missed.

At this point, I also noticed small aiptasia heads popping out of a live rock piece, and I decided to (hopefully) eradicate this early on and tossed the rock away.

I also installed LED Grow lights I bought from Lazada for the blue LEDs as I really wanted to see my corals under blue lighting.

 

Edited September 25, 2020 by jinsheng_yip

[jinsheng_yip]

Week 6 Update

Week 5 & 6 was filled with diatom blooms! Saw this as a good sign instead of panicking. Nitrate levels were also decreasing steadily, from 40ppm in week 5 to 20ppm in week 6. I added 3 x Spiny Star Astraeas to chomp on the diatoms and Green Hair Algae growth. 

I also caved in to my mum's request to buy an anemone, and bought a Sunburst(?) anemone. Not gonna lie, I've been eyeing it since week 4. 

After watching the fishes the past few weeks, I decided to also change out the powerhead for a weaker one as it looked a little to turbulent. My Ricordeas are opening up much more since the change.

 

 

If you notice something I'm doing wrong or could do better, please let me know! Happy to hear some feedback. Stay tuned for more weekly updates!

Edited September 25, 2020 by jinsheng_yip

[Otaku Reefer]

Nice setup! not 100% sure that the rock crab is reef safe. Probably when small is reef safe, once larger can pose a danger? better stick to tried and tested hermit crabs lol. u got add any biomedia? probably a good idea to add some bio media like bio balls or cubes in the ios compartments. but do remember to put in nettings or media basket for easy removal for maintenance next time. Happy reefing!


Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

[jinsheng_yip]

@Otaku Reefer Yeah I might have to move him into my sump when I manage to get a hold of him. I moved one down so far haha

I'm currently running a 1kg bag of ceramic rings down in the sump. The bio balls sounds like a great idea! Might try doing that in the overflow compartment. 

Thanks for the feedback!

[jinsheng_yip]

Week 7 Update

Current Nitrate level: 10ppm

pH: 8.0

Salinity: 1.023

Temp: 28C-29C

 

I changed out my stock LEDs to a second hand Kessil A80, and immediately realized I should've invested in them from the start hahaa

Not much has changed except a decrease in diatoms and a few small tufts of GHA. I also made a small frag rack for extra frags.

[Admiraltian]

Sunburst anemone u referring as is the small rose bubble tip anemone?

[jinsheng_yip]

On 9/27/2020 at 6:43 PM, Admiraltian said:

Sunburst anemone u referring as is the small rose bubble tip anemone?

Yes, the orange colored BTA. I was wondering if there was a name for that variant, and according to some pics on google its a sunburst haha but im not too sure myself

[jinsheng_yip]

Week 8 Update

NO3: 10ppm

PO4: 5ppm !!

pH: 8.0

Salinity: 1.023

Temp: 28C-29C

 

Quite abit happened over this week! 

I added branching Duncans early on in the week, and started feeding reef roids at 1/2 the recommended dosage on Wednesday and Saturday. 

Also noticed my phosphates spike from 0-5ppm. I'm suspecting its the addition of the reef roids, and will be reducing the dose to once a week. The spike in PO4 might have started some brown slime growth. I also added some chaeto to help with some nutrient export. 

I also found hydra jellyfish growing on the glass near the back, but I read on other forums that it is normal to have them in a new tank and is not much of a concern. Here's a thread if anyone else has them as well.

I designed a hanging frag rack as well, but the first prototype failed quite a bit, and I managed to salvage half of it for my personal use. I aim to sell these racks in the future at a budget friendly price, stay tuned! You can follow the development and progress here.

Hope the following week will be a better week!