First Tank & Reef Journey

[Davii]

Hey MASA members

My name is David. Ive been a member of MASA for nearly a year or so (Lurking in the background enjoying the forums)

So finally thought I would share some of my tank and journey this far.

I believe this platform used to be very active.

I started my reef keeping journey about a year ago and still enjoy the excitement (and humbling parts) of the hobby and wanted to share

Ive recently had my tank up for sale after resigning from work to start my own business.

Since then things have changed a bit and ive decided to keep the tank.

Will update with a few pictures from the start and where the tank is now.

Based in Cape Town.

Initially it was hard to find local shops for Marine Fish around Cape Town, and it seems like the hobby has downscaled a bit? Correct me if im wrong?

I had always wanted to buy a marine tank ever since I was young. I had only previously kept fresh water fish around 10+ years ago

I bought this tank second hand from Rushdine (who I am now fortunate to call a friend) Pic 1

He suggested visiting Nezaam at Two Oceans Aquatics to get started, and I did. He was my first point of contact into the hobby and I am grateful for the patience and advice I have received. I would reccomend him in a heartbeat

My first thoughts after buying the tank & starting out were:
1 - I didnt realize that learning this hobby is learning a new language
2 - There is so much more to the hobby than I could have ever imagined

I started cycling the tank and didnt know I had to add Ammonia (Classic rookie error)

Added Substrate & It took about a week to fill the tank because I also bought a RO system that was way too small

 

[Davii]

Next it was Bacto Seed to Seed the tank. And I didnt know I had to add ammonia. (Newbie moves)

But by some dumb luck there was a bunch of detritus in the sump which I didnt know about (There was some leftover water in the sump)

I ended up testing two weeks later, and saw that the cycle was fully under way

Fake it till you make it right?

 

[Davii]

The tank came with an old Zetlight ZS 2300 (with no power source)

I had to find & wire up a power source. Which is did with a few bits from Electromechanica

It was a cool moment/s just enjoying the blue lights for the first few weeks

Also realized I also way undershot on the amount of rocks I bought.

You will see that I kept buying/adding more as a I went on

I also had no idea that I could use rocks from the beach if I cleaned them properly. Joys of living near the ocean?

 

[Davii]

About a month and a half in, the bug had bitten HARD

So as one does, I bought another tank..

In the dog box for a bit with the girlfriend,but totally worth it

It was a fully running Boyu TL550

The thought was it was a good deal: looking at coral prices initally was a shock

I would move the tank to my place, then when ready transfer the fish and corals to the big tank

Moving went well and I learnt a lot about the hobby in a short amount of time

(Most of them are still in the tank today)

 

[Davii]

Next the big tank went through the uglies

While the small tank was looking good

These were my first marine fish too from the new tank

For anyone that knows clownfish. They do some weird shit, and everything they did initially had me stressed, but I soon realized it was all pretty normal behavior

 

[Davii]

About two months into the big tank, I transferred the corals & fish across to the big tank

Along with more rock again because I still wasnt happy. Also some of the live rock from the Boyu tank

 

[Davii]

Around three months in I was getting some hair algae

There was a small CUC added

And then it was Tang time

My total volume is 238L, so I went with a Tomini tang

And around a day later there was no Algae in sight..

 

[Davii]

Another or month or so, and a few new honorable members added:

Baby Scopas Tang
Lawnmower Blenny
A few new corals

 

[Davii]

The older zetlight got an upgrade around 5-6 months in to a Qmaven 6600

Really was noticeable on the color of the corals here and better penetration for light to get to the bottom of the tank

 

[Davii]

Over the next few months I have added a few more corals

Ive also lost a few as my parameters stabilized

 

[Davii]

Up until December, I was doing weekly 10% water changes

But with working on my new business, I have been busy and havent been on top of my maintenance

Ive recently had an Alkalinity crash that I have just stabilized (Due to not testing enough)

Until recently I have mostly kept Softies & some SPS

But I have started Adding more SPS Corals to the tank which has brought me to my latest journey of figuring out how to dose

I got an old Jebao doser with some second hand equipment I bought that I have jist set up

So I have recently started dosing Tropic Marin All for reef

My next step will be dosing Individual elements in the next few months

 

[Davii]

These are the latest photos from this week after the Alkalinity crash

A few corals were stressed but trying to do as little as possible at the moment for as little stress as possible

This hobby has taught me a huge amount along the way

Ive also realized there are many ways to skin a cat, but information overload is also a problem

Im really enjoying my SPS at the moment, so figuring out how to keep my parameters as stable as possible with dosing is the current learnings

Will post updates as I go, but excited to have shared this journey till now

I still have that childish giddiness when I get to "reef" after work

What a wild hobby to get into

Dave

 

[Kabeljou]

Your tank looks amazing, wow. If you're in Cape Town feel free to jou the Cape Reef Club capereef.club

 

[LukeJHB]

Stunning tank Dave!

Its looking great, thanks for sharing with us

 

[Davii]

Your tank looks amazing, wow. If you're in Cape Town feel free to jou the Cape Reef Club capereef.club

Thanks man!

Id love to, is that a forum Or group?

 

[Davii]

Stunning tank Dave!

Its looking great, thanks for sharing with us

Thanks man! Just sharing the excitement

 

[Kabeljou]

Thanks man!

Id love to, is that a forum Or group?

It's a group, you can join at Capereef.club