I'm new to BRS and after inheriting my brothers "reef tank in progress" 4 years ago (he had it for 12 yrs prior) I have become an addict. The setup is a 29 gal running an Amiracle HOB wet/dry with skimmer. Inside the tank are the two fish that came with the setup-a clown and striped damsel. A banded coral shrimp, emerald crab, tiger tail sea cucumber, several hermit crabs/various snails and a colony of Zoos have been added over the years. Aside from adding a pair of Koralia power heads and a lighting upgrade-PC's to T5's, the tank is running well on all the equipment that came with it.
But, it's been four years of good and bad. The worst being a BAD hair algae outbreak in February. I swear it appeared overnight, although I know it didn't. I almost broke down the tank and called it quits but I was able to get it under control by good old fashioned water changes and being extra diligent about routine maintenance. The lesson I learned was the absolute importance of routine/regular maintenance, which I had been uncharacteristically lax about around the time of the outbreak.
And recently I thought I'd try my luck with an Anemone. All was going great until this past Tuesday when I came home and noticed something 'smelled' off. I checked the tank and the water was a cloudy, stinky mess. It got sucked into the pump that feeds the HOB filter!! I immediately did a 25% change, cleaned the pump and have been testing to make sure the parameters remain stable. Then, after consulting with my friend, the internet, I found that this is not all that uncommon and there are great tips to prevent this from happening.
I guess my point is this, though I really hate having living creatures be my own personal lab experiment, I have learned so much in the past 4 years with my current setup. I have done some things well and miserably failed at others but every day I learn something new that will help me to be more knowledgeable and better prepared to take on the responsibility of a larger "reef ecosystem". I am seriously considering a 55 gal to be my next/final step due to space limitations and the Red Sea Max 250 has really piqued my interest, so thoughts/opinions are most welcome.
P.S. Am I in the minority in saying that the 'critters' in the tank are way more enjoyable than the fish? Even when I go to an LFS, I always gravitate towards the invertebrates.
But, it's been four years of good and bad. The worst being a BAD hair algae outbreak in February. I swear it appeared overnight, although I know it didn't. I almost broke down the tank and called it quits but I was able to get it under control by good old fashioned water changes and being extra diligent about routine maintenance. The lesson I learned was the absolute importance of routine/regular maintenance, which I had been uncharacteristically lax about around the time of the outbreak.
And recently I thought I'd try my luck with an Anemone. All was going great until this past Tuesday when I came home and noticed something 'smelled' off. I checked the tank and the water was a cloudy, stinky mess. It got sucked into the pump that feeds the HOB filter!! I immediately did a 25% change, cleaned the pump and have been testing to make sure the parameters remain stable. Then, after consulting with my friend, the internet, I found that this is not all that uncommon and there are great tips to prevent this from happening.
I guess my point is this, though I really hate having living creatures be my own personal lab experiment, I have learned so much in the past 4 years with my current setup. I have done some things well and miserably failed at others but every day I learn something new that will help me to be more knowledgeable and better prepared to take on the responsibility of a larger "reef ecosystem". I am seriously considering a 55 gal to be my next/final step due to space limitations and the Red Sea Max 250 has really piqued my interest, so thoughts/opinions are most welcome.
P.S. Am I in the minority in saying that the 'critters' in the tank are way more enjoyable than the fish? Even when I go to an LFS, I always gravitate towards the invertebrates.
