My first reef aquarium RSM 250

[Vijay]

Since changing over to natural sea water, suffering from a little diatom bloom which I’m hoping will die soon, my white sand is now brown but all in all everything is still alive and well.

 

[Vijay]

And here’s today’s coral of the day that stood out to me

 

[Vijay]

I’m really battling with diatoms, the stuff just doesn’t wanna go away. My nitrates and phosphates are barely detectable so I know it’s not a nutrient issue. I haven’t tested for silicates as I don’t have a test kit for that but hoping to get one soon. The only changes I can think of before this started was changing the T5 lighting over to ecotech radions which I run at 40% on ab+ program and daily water changes using natural sea water. I’m presuming it’s the sea water, apart from that the sps are doing well. Here’s some random shots. Would appreciate any advice as it’s really starting to annoy me. Oh well, I guess it’s time fo a beer, happy reefing to all

 

[RiaanP]

your random shots looks good.

 

[Vijay]

Some morning eye candy

 

[Vijay]

your random shots looks good.

Thanks bud

 

[rob196]

Looking great, every time I see this thread I want to start my tank up again

 

[Vijay]

Thanks bud, what’s stopping you from starting again?

 

[rob196]

Thanks bud, what’s stopping you from starting again?

I previously didn't have the best experience, could never really get the parameters right and could never really get the skimmer right (think an ATO would have helped me a lot).
Although I did travel alot then and could not properly look after the tank and think I rushed it a bit too much.
- I now work from home, so can spend more time on it

Then been thinking should I get a bigger system (from initial setup of the 250 I wanted a bigger one) - although I believe harder to keep right, so maybe not the right move.

Was actually just looking at the startup costs for a Red Sea Reefer Peninsula out of interest as I would love a tank like this and I have a great spot for it in the house. I also another spot for a big custom tank but that will be way out of my price range.

 

[Vijay]

I previously didn't have the best experience, could never really get the parameters right and could never really get the skimmer right (think an ATO would have helped me a lot).
Although I did travel alot then and could not properly look after the tank and think I rushed it a bit too much.
- I now work from home, so can spend more time on it

Then been thinking should I get a bigger system (from initial setup of the 250 I wanted a bigger one) - although I believe harder to keep right, so maybe not the right move.

Was actually just looking at the startup costs for a Red Sea Reefer Peninsula out of interest as I would love a tank like this and I have a great spot for it in the house. I also another spot for a big custom tank but that will be way out of my price range.

My system is a 250 and I’m no expert in the hobby but my tank parameters are stable, I test weekly and the results are more or less the same every week. All I can say is, start from scratch, my tank was cleaned out and the rocks soaked in a solution of bleach so the environment was totally sterile when I started. Patience will lead to success. I believe the bigger the tank the better as more water volume will result in smaller parameter swings. I use a doser and it works well. If you testing regularly, you can adjust the doser to suit the uptake. Funny you speak of a Red Sea peninsula as I have one collecting dust in my garage (not for sale). My wife gave me an ultimatum that I can only start that tank once I retile the house but I’m in no rush, after all Rome wasn’t built in a day

 

[rob196]

Makes sense regarding smaller parameter swings.
I only got a doser shortly before I shut the system down so wasn't able to really see if it helped.

Got me excited for a second, then i saw not for sale

I need to pay for renovations and wedding before I am allowed to splash out again, so even slowly starting up the tank now is going to be a fun talk

 

[Graham 1234]

How much water do you change weekly

 

[Vijay]

How much water do you change weekly

Around 10 liters daily so 70 liters over the week

 

[Vijay]

While enjoying my afternoon brewskie , I heard a coral or two cry out to me to take a photo

 

[Vijay]

I generally don’t take fish pics but this little chromis seems to have sneaked in there. Guess he’s seeking some fame and fortune

 

[Vijay]

some random pics form this evening.

 

[viper357]

What is that coral on the right? Bit of a stunner, lol.

 

[Vijay]

Was told it’s a bonsai when I got it, but like all the corals I have, all I know is that they are acros here’s a pic of it when I added it to my tank in March this year.

 

[viper357]

Very nice, I want one, lol. Good growth too.

 

[Vijay]

Finally starting to see some branching in this little guy