Sup SoCaliReefs! Now that I'm moved into my apartment and *mostly* settled, it's time for a tank! I'll be posting updates here and on my old local forum (Boston Reefer Society). The goal is to keep it SPS dominant, but we'll see how that goes. My main focus is to keep this tank as clean and organized as possible, in the past I've definitely gone a bit overboard and stretched myself a bit too thin. Gonna take this build nice and slow.
Tank: Used ReefOcto T60 (about 35 gallons). I scored this from a member of my old club a long time ago. Came with the tank, stand, sump (nice DIY inserts built by the previous owner), and plumbing. There was a lot of coralline and organics build up on the glass, so after I leak tested it, I changed the water out and added a mild dose of citric acid - this worked WONDERS. All the gunk on the tank just melted off, even with a VERY low concentration. Citric acid over vinegar any day of the week, this stuff works way better and is much more gentle.
Return Pump: Syncra 3.0, probably a bit overkill but I prefer to have higher turnover, and I went with this pump because it's adjustable if I need to turn it down, but the loss in GPH due to head pressure should get me close to where I want to be.
Flow: MP40 on the back glass. Also a bit overkill, but I had this leftover form my 80g build and this will be an SPS tank mainly. I wanted something discreet and adjustable and this fit the bill.
Lights: TBD. Looking for something used ideally, and there's some people on this forum with good deals, so I'm sure I'll find one soon. I'm still a long way off from adding corals. (PM me if you've got something for a two foot tank, lol)
Skimmer: YCA DC13 skimmer. Again, overkill (a common theme with this build), but it's a DC pump (adjustable) and I like to keep my fish well fed. Scored this from a reefer here.
Reactor: BRS mini w/ MJ feed pump. Planning on running carbon in this once the time comes. Another piece of equipment leftover from the 80g.
Mechanical Filtration: Filter floss in a media cup after the overflow. Not a huge filter sock guy, I might even remove this if I end up getting lazy lol.
Refugium: Honestly, I always go back and forth on whether or not I like refugiums, lol. Not sure if I'm going to set one up for this build, the tank came with a grow light and has a dedicated chamber for it so I might just go for it. I like to keep nutrients on the lower end and I feed my fish heavily, so having some algae in the sump should act as a nice buffer. We'll see....
Dosing: I picked up a SeaSide aquatics dosing pump from a reefer here, and I've honestly got way too many supplements at this point hahah. 2 part, kalk, balling, all for reef, random trace elements, etc. I'll probably start with manual dosing until I get too lazy to keep up with demand, then I plan on starting with kalk and taking that as far as I can before adding alk/ca as needed. I want to move away from water changes, as I live in a smaller apt/no RODI filter, and I'm lazy. I'll probably do some funky DIY triton/moonshiners method, I have some random trace element complexes I want to use, and the AFR should hopefully minimize the amounts of trace needed. I guess we'll see what the ICP says! I'll also incorporate some DIY nopox for nutrient control/bacteria growth.
Salt: Fritz RPM blue, I had a whole box leftover from the 80g and I'm a big fan of this stuff. Always had good results, mixes clean, and most importantly has an alkalinity level near where I want my tank to be (~8.5 dKH).
Rock/Sand: Leftover dry rock from older builds. Sand is dry, a mix of fine grain I had leftover and some thicker, almost gravel like chunks of aragonite. Usually special grade is my go to, but this was the cheapest option for me and considering the amount of flow I have in the tank I definitely needed something more coarse that won't blow around. I also do not plan to have any burrowing or sand sifting fish so I can get away with this.
Controller: My apex is still on the east coast controlling my 10g (did I mention overkill?), I still have it running with two fish so it's nice to have the peace of mind while my family is tank-sitting. I'll eventually bring this back with me and set it up once this tank is running with fish/corals.
Stocking: I plan on bringing my old wyoming white clown and diadem dotty from CT, I've flown with fish before and had no issues. I will definitely grab another clown once they make it, probably a midnight or a naked. I've been thinking about trying to pair the dotty, though I'm not quite sure if this tank will have enough space for them to co-exist. We'll see. As far as corals, definitely acropora dominant. I've really been into smoothies lately, I will probably start with a hawkins echinata and red dragon as testers and go from there. I don't necessarily want a nem, but I think I'll get one for the clowns.
Wow, that's a lot of text! Anything I'm missing? Tank is officially cooking, filled it with salt last night! I'm excited to see this journey unfold...Feel free to post any questions, comments, or suggestions, I'm always looking for ways to improve! A few things I know people will mention - Ball valve vs gate valve: it was already plumbed this way, I know gates give you much finer control over water level, but I can still get it pretty dang quiet and it isn't that much of a pain to dial in. Check valve: again, it was plumbed this way, but I'm not relying on it to prevent a flood as I already have a siphon break in the return output.
Tank: Used ReefOcto T60 (about 35 gallons). I scored this from a member of my old club a long time ago. Came with the tank, stand, sump (nice DIY inserts built by the previous owner), and plumbing. There was a lot of coralline and organics build up on the glass, so after I leak tested it, I changed the water out and added a mild dose of citric acid - this worked WONDERS. All the gunk on the tank just melted off, even with a VERY low concentration. Citric acid over vinegar any day of the week, this stuff works way better and is much more gentle.
Return Pump: Syncra 3.0, probably a bit overkill but I prefer to have higher turnover, and I went with this pump because it's adjustable if I need to turn it down, but the loss in GPH due to head pressure should get me close to where I want to be.
Flow: MP40 on the back glass. Also a bit overkill, but I had this leftover form my 80g build and this will be an SPS tank mainly. I wanted something discreet and adjustable and this fit the bill.
Lights: TBD. Looking for something used ideally, and there's some people on this forum with good deals, so I'm sure I'll find one soon. I'm still a long way off from adding corals. (PM me if you've got something for a two foot tank, lol)
Skimmer: YCA DC13 skimmer. Again, overkill (a common theme with this build), but it's a DC pump (adjustable) and I like to keep my fish well fed. Scored this from a reefer here.
Reactor: BRS mini w/ MJ feed pump. Planning on running carbon in this once the time comes. Another piece of equipment leftover from the 80g.
Mechanical Filtration: Filter floss in a media cup after the overflow. Not a huge filter sock guy, I might even remove this if I end up getting lazy lol.
Refugium: Honestly, I always go back and forth on whether or not I like refugiums, lol. Not sure if I'm going to set one up for this build, the tank came with a grow light and has a dedicated chamber for it so I might just go for it. I like to keep nutrients on the lower end and I feed my fish heavily, so having some algae in the sump should act as a nice buffer. We'll see....
Dosing: I picked up a SeaSide aquatics dosing pump from a reefer here, and I've honestly got way too many supplements at this point hahah. 2 part, kalk, balling, all for reef, random trace elements, etc. I'll probably start with manual dosing until I get too lazy to keep up with demand, then I plan on starting with kalk and taking that as far as I can before adding alk/ca as needed. I want to move away from water changes, as I live in a smaller apt/no RODI filter, and I'm lazy. I'll probably do some funky DIY triton/moonshiners method, I have some random trace element complexes I want to use, and the AFR should hopefully minimize the amounts of trace needed. I guess we'll see what the ICP says! I'll also incorporate some DIY nopox for nutrient control/bacteria growth.
Salt: Fritz RPM blue, I had a whole box leftover from the 80g and I'm a big fan of this stuff. Always had good results, mixes clean, and most importantly has an alkalinity level near where I want my tank to be (~8.5 dKH).
Rock/Sand: Leftover dry rock from older builds. Sand is dry, a mix of fine grain I had leftover and some thicker, almost gravel like chunks of aragonite. Usually special grade is my go to, but this was the cheapest option for me and considering the amount of flow I have in the tank I definitely needed something more coarse that won't blow around. I also do not plan to have any burrowing or sand sifting fish so I can get away with this.
Controller: My apex is still on the east coast controlling my 10g (did I mention overkill?), I still have it running with two fish so it's nice to have the peace of mind while my family is tank-sitting. I'll eventually bring this back with me and set it up once this tank is running with fish/corals.
Stocking: I plan on bringing my old wyoming white clown and diadem dotty from CT, I've flown with fish before and had no issues. I will definitely grab another clown once they make it, probably a midnight or a naked. I've been thinking about trying to pair the dotty, though I'm not quite sure if this tank will have enough space for them to co-exist. We'll see. As far as corals, definitely acropora dominant. I've really been into smoothies lately, I will probably start with a hawkins echinata and red dragon as testers and go from there. I don't necessarily want a nem, but I think I'll get one for the clowns.
Wow, that's a lot of text! Anything I'm missing? Tank is officially cooking, filled it with salt last night! I'm excited to see this journey unfold...Feel free to post any questions, comments, or suggestions, I'm always looking for ways to improve! A few things I know people will mention - Ball valve vs gate valve: it was already plumbed this way, I know gates give you much finer control over water level, but I can still get it pretty dang quiet and it isn't that much of a pain to dial in. Check valve: again, it was plumbed this way, but I'm not relying on it to prevent a flood as I already have a siphon break in the return output.
