305 Steve
Community Member
Hey all, its been 6 months since I shut down my tanks and donated all of my corals and inhabitants along with selling my own home and uprooting my family to move to our paradise! With that being said I think it is fair time to start a new first build in our new home!
I have found my passion and recently joined the team over at The Underwater Gardener in Islamorada and they have hooked me up with some great gear and have sponsored this build. I will be updating this thread daily when possible, while also working on a short vlog style series that takes us through the joys, trials, tribulations, and rewards that come with starting, maturing, and maintaining a small mixed reef tank!
Taking full advantage of the opportunity I decided to have some fun with the cycle start of this new 15 gallon Reef Casa tank. Premium cured ocean rock will be used including all of the natural sponges, macros, tunicates. The anticipation is die off with a large ammonia spike that allows for the bacteria to adjust appropriately instead of having to kickstart the process with ammonia or subjecting fish to a harsh conditions (especially toxins from dying sponges). I wont be dosing any beneficial bacteria(not that it would hurt) for the first week or so as I monitor how the existing biome in the Two Little Fishes Outsanding Selections Substrate(packed with biopronto) reacts and establishes paired along with the ultra active biome on the premium rock.
Equiptment list:
Reef Casa 15 gallon AIO
Reef casa AIO starter kit pump
IceCap ATO
AI Prime 16HD
(skimmer to come after cycling and parameters stable if nutrient levels permit the use of one or PH need a boost)
Substrate/Media:
Two Little Fishes Outsanding Selections refugium substrate
KP Aquatics Premium rock ( i would not recommend using this on your initial "cycle") grab the starter rock instead
Water:
Saltwater direct from well (compounding biofiltering and off-gassing to achieve the "perfect" makeup)
fresh water from on site RO/DI unit
I will be working this week on dialing in the light spectrum for a full schedule though i will be running lights very sparingly over the next few weeks while the tank incubates.
I will also be updating this post with some earlier photos from the actual setup!
Be sure to follow along and you will see me more active on here contrary to my previous decade on r2r! Vlog posts to come as soon as some editing gets done!
I have found my passion and recently joined the team over at The Underwater Gardener in Islamorada and they have hooked me up with some great gear and have sponsored this build. I will be updating this thread daily when possible, while also working on a short vlog style series that takes us through the joys, trials, tribulations, and rewards that come with starting, maturing, and maintaining a small mixed reef tank!
Taking full advantage of the opportunity I decided to have some fun with the cycle start of this new 15 gallon Reef Casa tank. Premium cured ocean rock will be used including all of the natural sponges, macros, tunicates. The anticipation is die off with a large ammonia spike that allows for the bacteria to adjust appropriately instead of having to kickstart the process with ammonia or subjecting fish to a harsh conditions (especially toxins from dying sponges). I wont be dosing any beneficial bacteria(not that it would hurt) for the first week or so as I monitor how the existing biome in the Two Little Fishes Outsanding Selections Substrate(packed with biopronto) reacts and establishes paired along with the ultra active biome on the premium rock.
Equiptment list:
Reef Casa 15 gallon AIO
Reef casa AIO starter kit pump
IceCap ATO
AI Prime 16HD
(skimmer to come after cycling and parameters stable if nutrient levels permit the use of one or PH need a boost)
Substrate/Media:
Two Little Fishes Outsanding Selections refugium substrate
KP Aquatics Premium rock ( i would not recommend using this on your initial "cycle") grab the starter rock instead
Water:
Saltwater direct from well (compounding biofiltering and off-gassing to achieve the "perfect" makeup)
fresh water from on site RO/DI unit
I will be working this week on dialing in the light spectrum for a full schedule though i will be running lights very sparingly over the next few weeks while the tank incubates.
I will also be updating this post with some earlier photos from the actual setup!
Be sure to follow along and you will see me more active on here contrary to my previous decade on r2r! Vlog posts to come as soon as some editing gets done!
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