r/ReefTank

This little .5 gal bowl has been running for about 4 months and is getting through the worst of the uglies. Almost time to trim the Xenia!

edit: glad you all like this one! some more details for the curious

Stocking:

Xenia (obvs)

Halimeda

Blade caulerpa

Sea lettuce

1 dwarf cerith snail

1 blue leg hermit

There's also a very large population of copepods, amphipods, scuds, and who knows what other microfauna.

I feed 1 or 2 drops of phyto per day while I'm feeding my other tanks. Same when I'm feeding reef roids or other similar products. I also drop in a tiny crumble of algae wafer or a single mysis shrimp once or twice a week to make sure the hermit is getting enough to eat (unlike the cerith he is 0% necessary for the health of the tank I just like him)

Light is a no-name full spectrum white clip on light. They're a dime a dozen online - this one draws 5 watts.

Circulation is provided by a 3 watt pump with some rubber tubing affixed to direct flow toward the surface.

I had a tiny heater in here but it never turned on so I removed it and things have been going fine. In hindsight that's probably the best option - the smallest heater I could buy was 5 watts which would positively cook this volume of water if it malfunctioned. The temperature is pretty swingy (75-80ish), and while I've had a lot of success with xenia, zoas, and mushrooms in these conditions I think most other corals would struggle.

I top up daily (a few mL lol) and change about 20% of the water every two weeks.

Despite the common advice being "small tanks are really hard, don't bother", I've actually found the care of this guy to be pretty straightforward. It would be a bit of a pain if it was my only tank, but as a side project to a larger tank all it really takes is a few extra seconds while feeding and doing water changes. It was also really cheap to spin up (maybe $50 in materials without livestock) so the barrier to entry is low. Give it a shot!

What do you Guys think of my first reeftank ??

Currently in cycle.

So my new Flame Angelfish just died, which I'm very sad about. RIP. I noticed significant damage to the fins and the tail. Would this be from from other fish in the tank, or a disease? I did notice it getting chased every now and again. Just worried there is something here that could affect the others. Water parameters all seem fine.

Despite the current corporate policies which unfortunately neglect the well-being of certain animals in other departments at Petco, I’d like to give my local store a quick shoutout.

‘Assorted corals’ which I purchased for typically $15-20 with discounts: Merilunidae / brain coral (blue - 1st picture), Leptastrea (blue/yellow- 2nd picture), and possibly montipora or lithophyllon?(yellow- 3rd picture). Their Duncan’s are also $15 without any discount (first pic)

Dipping in hydrogen peroxide is necessary but I’ve honesty seen more pests on frags from friends and hobbyists

Tank have been running now for 3 months.

It's a TMC 79L 80x30cm

As you can see I have the return on the top left corner, I printed a turbulent flow nozzle and on the right side I have a wave maker.

Is this enough flow for now?

How can I improve my flow or make it more random?

I need some advice since I moved from fresh water to reef and flow ins something new for me

Added the bright green torch last weekend along with several frags. The anemones took over the top of the rockscape, but I’ve been working to keep them contained since they are starting to shade other corals.

All angles.

A six-line wrasse! May he live a long healthy life. After my bi-color blenny passed due to old age (presumably) a few weeks ago the tank needed some much needed life added back.

got my jar package from TBS yesterday and finally got my 3 gallon set up! I have spent a definitely healthy amount of time with my face inches from the glass, there’s so much life on these rocks I’m constantly finding something new to stare at. live barnacles, so many different sponges, hidden cup coral clusters and another type (or two?) I can’t ID. feather dusters and so many other tiny filter feeders, and some really cool shades of coralline.

the little corner with the clam is my favorite spot so far, and I really hope I don’t screw anything up too badly and cause die off. looking forward to watching this develop, I currently have no plans to add anything else to it. okay.. maybe sexy shrimp depending on what inhabitants come out over the next few months.

a bit concerned over what I think is a partially dying sponge in the last pic (pretty sure my own fault, I think I applied too much pressure to it accidentally before I realized it was there) - but hoping it resolves itself.

Found my tank at 87°F in the morning (due a combination of suspected faulty heater, a heatwave and other perfect storm factors) with dead livestock, disintegrating corals… etc. basically a hot seafood soup at that point - the first crash I’ve ever had. I did my best to save my Holy Grail BTA that had shrunk down from about 2” to .5 inch and was about to flow off the rock it had been at for months. I moved it into a separate cooler small tank in a glass holder with gentle flow and an airstone nearby. Then its stomach turned inside out and back in over and over.. Now 40 hours later is looks like it has lost all of its tentacles, but the base is still together but not really holding on to the glass.

Any advice on what to do to help it recover will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Anyone have experiences with them killing each other? I have a torch and frogspawn near each other, and plan to move the frog spawn at the first sign of trouble, but so far.. just peace. Will it last?

If you want it you just pay shipping. I can give you a 100% off coupon on my online store (Etsy) for safe transaction. Can send it with as many plugs as you want.

This is my new Tideline 38 Gallon. Roughly 48x14x14. This is going to get an overflow on the left side as a peninsula tank, probably an xaqua inout, I'd love to keep equipment minimal and concentrated to the same side as the overflow. Between the size constraints with the overflow/return taking up space, the length and depth of the tank and not kicking up sand, I'm not sure what to do about flow. Pumps rated for 4 foot tanks will almost certainly kick up the sand or make the flow way too strong on the left side of the tank. I was thinking either a gyre style on the left side or two eco tech mp10s or dmp10? The location of the overflow on the left panel determines what I can use so I'm trying to figure it out before drilling it. I'm really trying to avoid having to add a wavemaker to the right side viewing panel. Any advice or help would be appreciated.

I got this frag last weekend thinking that it was xenia but it looks more like a goni. Can someone help ID this frag?

Some of the progress that’s been made with the spawned birdsnest. Over 6 varieties with some being nearly basketball sized. Did a little before and after on the first two that I found. Followed by all of the ones that popped up later and even some spawning in places where there were never any birdsnest to begin with. Things like this keep me in love with my job!