Red Sea 250 Build - New to Hobby, asking for feedback

[BluewaterMP]

Hey guys -

I am fairly new to the hobby. I started this Red Sea 250 tank about 5 months ago, after starting with the Fluval Evo 13.5 for about a year prior as my only other experience.

This forum has been very helpful to me starting my journey. I wanted to start this thread so I could get feedback from the forum, as I am still learning and feel like there is alot I don't know about builds, livestock and everything in between.

Below are the current details of my build. I would invite any and all feedback on what I have here, as well as a few specific questions I have below. Thank you!

Tank:
Red Sea 250 - 54g display, 11g sump. Installed and cycle began in late May 2022

Quick Video tour of Tank and Sump here

Equipment:
Lighting – 1x AI Hydra 32, 1 AI Prime 16
-Salvaged the AI Prime from my EVO Build, ultimately want to replace with a second Hydra
- PAR Levels seem solid in the tank, but decrease quickly on the far sides due to the narrow light placement. Top of rock in tank in middle is about 300 par, to about 150 at bottom of tank in middle.
Pump- Hygger 24v DC 800 GPH
Powerheads- 2x Jebao SW-4, one Hygger Mini Wavemaker DC powerhead
-1 Jebao and the Hygger are near the surface, pointing at each other with alternating currents. The other Jebao is set to a lower flow and is lower in the tank pointed diagonal
Heater- Hygger 300w (in sump chamber w/ Skimmer)
Protein Skimmer – Reef Octopus 110 int classic
Filtration- Chemipure Blue 11 oz (in red sea filter sock in sump), Red sea filter socks
Dosing - Doing it manually, on to do list to get an auto set up
ATO - Smart ATO Lite

Livestock
Fish - 2 clowns from prior tank.
Cleanup- 5 crabs, 3 snails
Coral- Grab bag of mostly frags, about 15 pieces. 2x Zoa's, 1 GSP, 1 Green Leather full piece, 1 Stylaphora, 1 Monticora, 1 Porites, 2 Kenya Tree, 1 Paly, 2 Hammer Coral, 1 Blastimosa, 1 Duncan, 1 Ricordea
- Most corals in the tank have been installed in the last 2 months, and in generally I think they are healthy and happy. I did have to take 1 grumpy Paly out that got manhandled during install, and was emitting some kind of waste and wasn't opening. But otherwise everyone seems healthy most days. I have not seen a ton of growth yet though, outside of some GSP territory expansion.

Current Parameters:
Salinity: 1.0245
Alk: 8.2
Calcium: 400
Nitrates: 10ppm
Lighting - Middle of the tank top of rock work is about 300 PAR, about 150 at floor in the middle. Lighting seems strong enough, but does fall off at the far edges of the tank due to narrow light spread

Dosing - Red Sea Alkalinity and Calcium manually daily in line with what I calc as my current uptake.

Initial Questions

• I am generally happy with my aquascape, but I am worried it might be too sparse as I add more livestock. There are places to hide for fish, but not a ton. And will run out of real estate as the corals grow. Any general feedback on the aquascape and where I might adjust or add?
• Fish - Currently only have the 2 clowns, but want to start adding fish soon. I've only tried one other addition, a lawnmower Blenny that died after 3 days (detailed here).
  • Any general suggestions for colorful, reef safe fish that would be good tank mates for the Clowns and are suitable for a new hobbyist?
  • On my fish wishlist is a juvenile Coral Beauty Angel. However much of what I read online says it is best for them to have 70g plus. Anyone had success keeping them in a tank this side? Or would it be not fair to the fish?
• I test frequently for Alk, Calc, Nitrates. Currently only dosing Alk and Calcium - but should I also be doing Magnesium? Ive held off because the Magnesium test kit I bought is cumbersome and doesn't seem too accurate
• Equipment questions:
  • Running the AI Hydra and the AI prime for now, until I can spring for the second Hydra. My PAR readings seem fine and corals are generally happy, but should I make it a priority to get the new Hydra in?
  • Outside of light upgrades and getting an auto doser in, any key pieces of equipment I am missing that seem like must haves?

Any other feedback that anyone has on my build, layout or anything is certainly welcome. Trying my best to do things the right way, but still a ton to learn. Thank you in advance!

 

[OfficeReefer]

This is a loaded question but here's my responses. I too am still building a similar tank, it's been pretty easy minus the rock work before.

• I am generally happy with my aquascape, but I am worried it might be too sparse as I add more livestock. There are places to hide for fish, but not a ton. And will run out of real estate as the corals grow. Any general feedback on the aquascape and where I might adjust or add? Hopefully, you planned this when you added this to the tank. It needs to be planned in the beginning and is related to your goals and what you want to do with or what you desire to keep in the tank. I did a partial HNSA with mine.
• Fish - Currently only have the 2 clowns, but want to start adding fish soon. I've only tried one other addition, a lawnmower Blenny that died after 3 days (detailed here).
  • Any general suggestions for colorful, reef safe fish that would be good tank mates for the Clowns and are suitable for a new hobbyist? There is a fish compatibility chart on several sites, including R2R. I recommend to not keep more fish than multiples of 10 US gal. unless one has some means to deal with the excess wastes and exports associated with increased livestock and/or feeding. For you and I, this would mean seven (7) fish is probably the max and that would depend on the size of the fish. Example, I added a Tomini Tang to mine recently with the Chromis and Clowns. This is the last fish I can add and will need to come out as it gets older.
  • On my fish wishlist is a juvenile Coral Beauty Angel. However much of what I read online says it is best for them to have 70g plus. Anyone had success keeping them in a tank this side? Or would it be not fair to the fish? You can keep this in this tank just fine, just make sure it's towards the last or is the last and you ensure it has food to eat, as they are quite the herbivorous type from what I have seen and will nibble at softies and some LPS if underfed. If there is another angel, such as a Flame, be sure they are added at the same time to minimize aggression and be ready to QT again. This is a fish prone to disease as well, make sure to QT and observe.
• I test frequently for Alk, Calc, Nitrates. Currently only dosing Alk and Calcium - but should I also be doing Magnesium? Ive held off because the Magnesium test kit I bought is cumbersome and doesn't seem too accurate
• Equipment questions:
  • Running the AI Hydra and the AI prime for now, until I can spring for the second Hydra. My PAR readings seem fine and corals are generally happy, but should I make it a priority to get the new Hydra in? I don't see why not if you have hopes to get corals to maximize growth and are photosyntentic, the faster the better provided you have enough bioload to deal with the resulting algae that could arise if the live rock and sump biomes are deficient.
  • Outside of light upgrades and getting an auto doser in, any key pieces of equipment I am missing that seem like must haves? Er, I don't think anything is mandatory after what you've added, just optional and the industry depends on sales of new toys.