My Red Sea Reefer 170

Smells_fishy · 07/02/2017, 10:43 AM

So I've taken a break from keeping aquariums for about 5 years now. About two months ago my girlfriend and I had nothing going on, so we decided to take a trip to the King of Prussia mall to walk around and pass the time. I had remembered there is a fish store not too far away from KOP, so I asked her if she wanted to go there first, then we could go to the mall on the way back. She likes animals so she was down for it.

Let me tell you, as soon as I walked into that store, and I saw the Red Sea tank in the front on display, I realized I had made a mistake. Spent about an hour in there talking with one of the workers, looking at all the fish and coral. This hour in the store brought back a lot of memories of fun I had with this hobby. Two days later I bought a Red Sea Reefer 170.

Below are some pictures of my progress up to today!

Tank is in, stand is assembled, light is on!

Leak testing to make sure all plumbing is running correctly.

Tank is now cleaned and dried. Rocks have been added and aquascaped to my liking while 44 gallons of RODI saltwater was ready to go in a brute trash can.

Water added!

Sand was up next!

Cleared up some.

I had added a shrimp to kick start the cycle. Ammonia jumped to 1.2 PPM in 24 hours. I had removed the shrimp and let nature take its course. Over the course of two weeks my ammonia dropped to zero and my nitrite spiked to .5 and fell to zero. I at the end of the cycle I added a carbon reactor and am now running ROX carbon from BRS.

Shot of my sump

I like the small footprint of the Aquamaxx WS-1 skimmer. A fellow member recommended it and as of now I'm glad I went with it.

I would like to get a kessil grow light and rig something together to grow chaetomorpha in the sump.

Tank as of today after it's cycle!

I don't know what the next piece of gear will be. Probably a vortech so I can get rid of that stupid eheim pump. That or the grow light so I can start ridding the tank of nitrates.

I would like to get my nitrates out of the tank so I am not running my lights just yet. I'll get them on schedule after the nutrients have been removed.

I'll update as more happens

Ryan Darilek · 07/02/2017, 10:54 AM

I wish there was a 'like' button!! Looks great man! Welcome back to the hobby!!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Smells_fishy · 07/02/2017, 11:52 AM

Thanks! I think I might get some black put curtains since it's right next to the window. I didn't want to put it next to the window but it looked really good there lol.

07/02/2017, 10:43 AM	#1
Smells_fishy Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Posts: 54	My Red Sea Reefer 170 So I've taken a break from keeping aquariums for about 5 years now. About two months ago my girlfriend and I had nothing going on, so we decided to take a trip to the King of Prussia mall to walk around and pass the time. I had remembered there is a fish store not too far away from KOP, so I asked her if she wanted to go there first, then we could go to the mall on the way back. She likes animals so she was down for it. Let me tell you, as soon as I walked into that store, and I saw the Red Sea tank in the front on display, I realized I had made a mistake. Spent about an hour in there talking with one of the workers, looking at all the fish and coral. This hour in the store brought back a lot of memories of fun I had with this hobby. Two days later I bought a Red Sea Reefer 170. Below are some pictures of my progress up to today! Tank is in, stand is assembled, light is on! Leak testing to make sure all plumbing is running correctly. Tank is now cleaned and dried. Rocks have been added and aquascaped to my liking while 44 gallons of RODI saltwater was ready to go in a brute trash can. Water added! Sand was up next! Cleared up some. I had added a shrimp to kick start the cycle. Ammonia jumped to 1.2 PPM in 24 hours. I had removed the shrimp and let nature take its course. Over the course of two weeks my ammonia dropped to zero and my nitrite spiked to .5 and fell to zero. I at the end of the cycle I added a carbon reactor and am now running ROX carbon from BRS. Shot of my sump I like the small footprint of the Aquamaxx WS-1 skimmer. A fellow member recommended it and as of now I'm glad I went with it. I would like to get a kessil grow light and rig something together to grow chaetomorpha in the sump. Tank as of today after it's cycle! I don't know what the next piece of gear will be. Probably a vortech so I can get rid of that stupid eheim pump. That or the grow light so I can start ridding the tank of nitrates. I would like to get my nitrates out of the tank so I am not running my lights just yet. I'll get them on schedule after the nutrients have been removed. I'll update as more happens

07/02/2017, 10:54 AM	#2
Ryan Darilek Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 376	I wish there was a 'like' button!! Looks great man! Welcome back to the hobby!! Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

07/02/2017, 11:52 AM	#3
Smells_fishy Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Posts: 54	Thanks! I think I might get some black put curtains since it's right next to the window. I didn't want to put it next to the window but it looked really good there lol.