45 Gallon Reef Diary Year Two

[SkiFletch]

Well folks, its hard to believe that its been a year since I started down this great saltwater advendure. I've learned so much and met many great friends through the past year. Many of you and others have helped shape my knowledge and experience to bring me where I am today, and for that I have to thank all of you. Way back when a year ago, many of you helped me venture out of "noobdom" and I've been stumbling along ever since . I hope that my first journal was informative and useful for everyone, if even only to inspire. Planning on starting with a "clean slate" of internet space here for continued entertainment and experience. To start, I'd like to list some of the most important lessons I learned from my first year of reefkeeping. So...

SkiFletch's List of Things he Wished he did Differently
1 - Used Rowaphos (phosphate remover) from Day 1 of the aquarium. After the great algae wars, all cleared up by the addition of a tiny suppliment, man was I naive
2 - Had a Wider tank (front to back) to start with. Acquascaping a 12" wide tank is a MASSIVE pain/challenge, and even with creative solutions I was left needing/wanting more
3 - Used a big protein skimmer from the start. Seaclones, Prisms, Jebos, etc are cheap for a reason... They're pieces of junk. Wish I'd known that before I designed my sump around a smaller skimmer
4 - Drilled my tank for the sump. Overflow boxes work, but damn drilled tanks are simpler, and drilling really isnt that hard.
5 - Used a closed loop for flowrate. Powerheads have really limited my ability to keep soft-bodied invertebrates.
6 - Used Metal Halide lighting from the start. PC's are cheap for a reason, their light output/quality is very low. And contrary to popular belief, metal halide lighting is not that expensive.

Following that up, I'd like to sort of detail some of the big events of last year with some pictures.

First up, a couple shots of the tank within its first month

A few corals and algae begin

First painful lesson in coral aggression

Power outage for 3 days... NOT FUN

The algae really starts to take hold

Re-acquascape, rowaphos added. Note decreasing algae

From PC's to Halides, oh what a difference

And to wrap up the pictures, a few current shots of the tank and some of its most photogenic inhabitants, including a new pink/orange Pavona Maldivensis

And a current Full Tank Shot

So where does SkiFletch go from here? Well, my priority #1 is to get a Mantis Shrimp for my nano which has been patiently waiting for months now. Once that's done, you guessed it, time for a bigger tank . Unfortunately I only have 3 feet of length for space, but I just happened to help a fellow reef club member wire up his new 120gallon tank, and as compensation he's going to donate his old 65g to me . I'll finally have some width and sand room. And once I get more sand space....

Cynarina

Hope you all enjoyed this look back into history, and I hope you're all as excited about the future as I am

 

[Mr Miagi]

That doesnt look like a Cynaria to me! Looks more like a Trachy or another form of Brain. Amazing progress though. Fantastic.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

can't believe you've only been doing this a year!

 

[sianeds]

Looks great Ski. Can't wait to see what you do with a bigger space!

I think you should move to the UK and help me start my new tank

 

[JaminRat]

Looking good as always Ski. It's amazing how steep the learning curve is in this hobby I bet you couldn't of answered half of the questions that came up 12 months ago now your the oracle for a lot of us.

1 question though. Are you providing all of your flow with the seio and the sump return or do you have another ph in the rockwork somewhere?

 

[Matthew5664]

BIG TANK
BIG TANK, BIG TANK, BIG TANK.....



BIG TANK
BIG TANK, BIG TANK, BIG TA-NK



BIGGER TANK!!!!!!!





COME ON, COME ON
COME ON, COME ON
COME ON ,COME ON, COME ON

I SAY!

COME ON, COME ON
COME ON, COME ON
COME ON ,COME ON, COME ON​

 

[gigmeyer]

Awesome job Ski. I'm shocked it has only been a year as you have been an inspiration to me in my short venture and your insights have appeared to come from many years of practical experience. Clearly you've done your homework and deserve an award . Here's to continued success in your projects.

 

[SkiFletch]

Thanks for the compliments guys You're right JaminRat, the learning curve is steep, but once you crest that hill, you really feel like you know a lot. I appreciate all the kind words of wisdom, but truth be told, the only thing I did special was read a lot and follow those with more experience than I. Pretty simple formula yielding fantastic results.

Mr M. you've never seen a Cynarina Deshayesiana like that? My LFS is full of em

And keep dreaming Matt .

 

[SkiFletch]

And before I forget, yes JaminRat, all flowrate is coming from the one Seio M820 and the sump return which I calculate is 400-500GPH. I'm pretty low on the flowrate side, but I'm catering to the elegance coral here which doesn't like the flesh ripped off it . With the next tank, I think I'm gonna drill and do a closed loop

 

[Lynden]

I agree with the others, yours is a very impressive tank SkiFletch. We all wish you continued success (but if you could pass a little of that to me, I would be even happier ).

 

[SkiFletch]

Lol Lynden, I'll see if customs lets me ship "success"

 

[Lynden]

I should hope so. I could really use some!

By the way, I've made up my mind and I am getting a Dragon Wrasse after all. Thanks for all the help over the past year. It's people like you that keep this forum going.

 

[SkiFletch]

Please tell me its going in a fish only Mr M?

 

[Lynden]

Well if by 'Mr M' you mean me, then by all means yes it is going in a reef tank. The only invertebrates, however, are going to be soft corals and perhaps a few large hermit crabs (Electric Blues often live in cowrie shells, which are nearly impenetrable, and a large Dardanus crab is about as likely to kill a large wrasse as the wrasse is to kill it) as well as my Cleaner Shrimp. If they get eaten, I'll buy you a coke.

 

[Redstratplayer1]

Lynden
Dont Dragon Wrasses get ugly and bland?
They look cool when young but after a year BLaaa