My "rushed" sps build

[jordans_reef]

Before we begin i would just like to say writing is not my strong suit, so get ready for an eclectic story.

So ive been reefing for about 5 years now and started with a 40 gallon bow front, then upgraded to a 125 oceanic and then finally to a 280 custom. As i upgraded over the years i always transfered all my fish, rock, coral and as you may guess all the mistakes ive made along the way. I had a successful tank packed with sps and alot of odd ball fish including 2 adult morays and a humu trigger. But the stock and all the pests that had accumulated took its toll on everything when i didnt have the time for the major upkeep this system required. So when i started lossing sps colonies from aipstasia , nutrients and god knows what other pests i decided it was time to start from scratch.

So i wanted a "easy to keep" barebottom sps dominated reef with a medium bioload and mostly peaceful fish. Below is my journey to hopefully success.

After i sold all the remaining livestock i drained the tank and began cleaning my live rock. I decided that a bleach bath for a week should kill anything pest related, i then cured in ro for another week. During this time i figured out how to make my tank as maintenance free as possible and decided to setup autowater changes and a water change station. Luckily my wife has let me dedicate a portion of our basement as a fishroom, so i have plenty of room for setting up virtually anything.


Upstairs 72x30x30 display
4x mp40
2x jebao rw8s
1x jebao rw15
1- sunpole return pump blasting the bottom with flow

72" Aqautic life t5ho c/w 5 kessil a360we and 2x reefbreeder uv bars (60")

Downstairs in the sump 60x24x24
2- curve 9 dc+ skimmers
Geo 818 reactor (not running currently)
Jebao 15000 return pump
Pentair 40w uv (debating if i will run this again)
Smartaqua awc system
Apex el to run everything


I also have a large water change station consisting of 2x 55 g poly drums and a panworld pump to circulate it all.


I used about 250 lbs of rock and marcos e cement to make some very nice structures, which turned out to be suprising strong. Once i had the structures cured inside the tank i began refilling the system with ro. This took about 2 days which felt like a year. Once salt went in i used some fritz turbo start and a table shrimp to get the ball rolling, and the tank suprising started producing nitrate in 5 days with next to no ammonia. So i added a couple dottybacks (coronavirus has made marine fish in canada next to impossible to source). A reefing buddy of mine got wind that i already had fish in the tank and suprised me with a couple of frags to "test the waters" with. Some rainbow incenerators, red planet acro and pink caddilac acro, i was laughed at him suggesting acros in a tank less than 2 weeks old but he insisted. What suprised me most is them starting to encrust the following week, which made me go on a big coral spree. I now have over 20 frags in the tank and the following stock 1 regal tang, 5 blue chromis, 1 six line wrasse, 2 fire fish, 1 lawnmower blenny, 2 orchid dottybacks. It seems crazy but everything is doing so well for a tank just over a month old. But i figured now that i have fish and a bunch of coral i better slow things down, im hoping by starting up this journal that will help halt the brakes.

If anyone has suggestions, questions about the build have at it and feel free to ask, ill be posting pictures when i figure out how too.

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[jordans_reef]

A picture of the old tank

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[jordans_reef]

Draining, cleaning the tank

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[monks600]

Love the scape! Really nice tank! Looks brill


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