# my 100ltr(ish) marine reef tank! (pic heavy and long winded)



## ryanking045 (Jun 20, 2010)

hi guys, been meaning to post this for ages.

i got a juwel rekord 800 about 3 months ago and planned on using it as a cichlid tank, i got 2 convicts but then the salty bug bit again so i sold them and alll the ocean rock and am now in the process of setting it up as a reef tank.

after i sold the fish and rock i cleaned it out, went to my lfs and bought some very nice white sand and put the 2 peices of rock i kept in itm installed the powerhead and left it dry for 2 weeks untill i could afford everything else









Then after 2 weeks i got the filter media, live rock, salt water for lfs
and it then looked like this.









And as many of you salt people will know, t8 tropical tubed just wont do!
so i went and bought a t5 light unit of ebay.
wasnt planning on going open top but im glad i did now as it looks ace!
ended up with this









after this i then bought and Auto Top off Unit.
went to the lfs when it had cycled and bought a CUC, more salt water for change, RO water and 3kg of live rock and ended up with this









clean up crew consists of 
4 Turbo snails
1 conch
3 blue leg hermits

I am planning on getting a skimmer but i might wait till i get my upgrade as there is alot of space taken up in the tank already.

Let me know what you guys think
Ryan


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## pellale123 (Oct 5, 2011)

Hey Ryan  I keep tropical fish and have noooo knowledge on marine fish whatsoever :lol2: However i love a good looking marine tank  Is urs finished yet looks wise? Oh and the t5 makes a HUUUUGE difference btw 

Alex :2thumb:


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## ryanking045 (Jun 20, 2010)

pellale123 said:


> Hey Ryan  I keep tropical fish and have noooo knowledge on marine fish whatsoever :lol2: However i love a good looking marine tank  Is urs finished yet looks wise? Oh and the t5 makes a HUUUUGE difference btw
> 
> Alex :2thumb:


 hi, thanks for the reply, 
the tank is almost finnished, gonna move that arch of rock to the right abit and do another structer like it on the left.

then im going to get an assortment of corals and some nice looking fish then it will be done me thinks.


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

ryanking045 said:


> hi guys, been meaning to post this for ages.
> 
> i got a juwel rekord 800 about 3 months ago and planned on using it as a cichlid tank, i got 2 convicts but then the salty bug bit again so i sold them and alll the ocean rock and am now in the process of setting it up as a reef tank.
> 
> ...


although it's open topped, i would add a condensation tray to stop any fish you get jumping out.


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## ryanking045 (Jun 20, 2010)

wilkinss77 said:


> although it's open topped, i would add a condensation tray to stop any fish you get jumping out.


Yh I will when I can find one lol


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

ryanking045 said:


> Yh I will when I can find one lol


your lfs should sell them- if you can't get the right size for your tank, get a size bigger & trim it to size.


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## ryanking045 (Jun 20, 2010)

wilkinss77 said:


> your lfs should sell them- if you can't get the right size for your tank, get a size bigger & trim it to size.


Ok thanks, I will have a look on saturday


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

It's looking good so far, personally would have taken the filter out for more space though. What have you got in that filter section?

I would have thought a condensation tray would diffuse the light somewhat. Why not just go for fish that are not known jumpers? You can get at least 10KG of rock in your tank.

What flow is that wavemaker putting out? I've got 48x the tank volume in my 125L.


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## ryanking045 (Jun 20, 2010)

_simon_ said:


> It's looking good so far, personally would have taken the filter out for more space though. What have you got in that filter section?
> 
> I would have thought a condensation tray would diffuse the light somewhat. Why not just go for fish that are not known jumpers? You can get at least 10KG of rock in your tank.
> 
> What flow is that wavemaker putting out? I've got 48x the tank volume in my 125L.


Hi, I will be taking the box out as soon as I can the cash for a canister but for now I have activated carbon and rowaphos in it
And after having a look at the trays I thought that to so I'm not gonna use one
The pump is 2200l/ph but in getting 2 koralia 16000 soon

What are some fish that are not known jumpers? The last tank i had, had a lid so didn't look into it to much

Thanks 
Ryan


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

That filter will be a pain to get out now mate, would have been better doing it when it was empty. 

I couldn't tell which fish are jumpers, the only ones I know for sure are firefish. I always intending having 1 or 2 in my tank but I looked into them and they're known for it. Basically just research the fish you like the look of and don't buy on impulse and you'll be ok.


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

_simon_ said:


> It's looking good so far, personally would have taken the filter out for more space though. What have you got in that filter section?
> 
> I would have thought a condensation tray would diffuse the light somewhat. Why not just go for fish that are not known jumpers?


tmc do nano tanks with condensation trays, i doubt that the very thin plasticard they're made from would diffuse the light to any significant degree. & all fish are potential jumpers- it's always a risk in an open tank. shrimps are known to jump too, i've lost them from open tanks a few times.


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## caribe (Mar 21, 2010)

I used to have a fine net that sat just under the lip of the tank on an old Marine tank. Too fine for anything to get through, just you will get alot of condensation with no lid on.

My way aint the best way like by any means, but the trays I had dimmed the light. Stuff available now might be better. What about getting a piece of glass cut?

I have 6 large glass sliders on top of my tank now.

ALL FISH CAN JUMP!!!

I had a lion fish jump out an open tank before....

Be warned!!!!


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## ryanking045 (Jun 20, 2010)

ok, ive been to living reef aquatics in darftord today and found these little gems.

2 for £20 on coral frags so i got a zoa frag with about 20 polyps and a small xeina frag(not sure if spelt right)
the xenia came on a snails shell lol









A pair of Tangerine clownfish (£18 each)









and a cleaner shrimp (£12.50)









ive acclimated them (been home since 2pm) and the zoa is begining to open up and the clowns have eaten a little bit of brineshrimp so there good signs.
i will get pics of everything in the tank once they have setteld in a bit more.

let me know what you think

thanks for looking 
Ryan


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

Awesome  Poor cleaner shrimp though! Get it a mate and then you can have babies every couple of weeks  (The clowns will love 'em :whistling2


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## ryanking045 (Jun 20, 2010)

AshMashMash said:


> Awesome  Poor cleaner shrimp though! Get it a mate and then you can have babies every couple of weeks  (The clowns will love 'em :whistling2


 lol, i will be getting another in a week or two, i could only afford one today


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

ryanking045 said:


> lol, i will be getting another in a week or two, i could only afford one today


Fairysnuff


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

ryanking045 said:


> lol, i will be getting another in a week or two, i could only afford one today


you could even build a small group of them. btw, if you put your hands in the tank, they will trim your hangnails if you have any, & clean under your fingernails!


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## ryanking045 (Jun 20, 2010)

wilkinss77 said:


> you could even build a small group of them. btw, if you put your hands in the tank, they will trim your hangnails if you have any, & clean under your fingernails!


 yh i know lool, he started doing it yesterday as i was placing the corals, feels so weird


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## Railz (Oct 30, 2010)

grats on the addiitions but i suggest looking for a cheaper lfs or buying privately , xenia is basically a weed and you can get a big frag for £5 , my brother paid £10 for a frag of zoas with 2 different colors greens and red around 80 heads , shop around for better deals


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## ryanking045 (Jun 20, 2010)

ridium said:


> grats on the addiitions but i suggest looking for a cheaper lfs or buying privately , xenia is basically a weed and you can get a big frag for £5 , my brother paid £10 for a frag of zoas with 2 different colors greens and red around 80 heads , shop around for better deals


 hi, thanks for the reply,i know the shop is expensive but the quality is ace, thats why i dont mind paying more for their stuff


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

ryanking045 said:


> hi, thanks for the reply,i know the shop is expensive but the quality is ace, thats why i dont mind paying more for their stuff


if there's a pets at home with a marine section near you, check it out- [email protected] get a lot of stick, but their marine fish are ace. the one at sothend airport has marines, & they have a better selection of corals & other inverts than most specialist shops i've been in- better prices, too. & they're all kept in excellent condition.


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## ryanking045 (Jun 20, 2010)

wilkinss77 said:


> if there's a pets at home with a marine section near you, check it out- [email protected] get a lot of stick, but their marine fish are ace. the one at sothend airport has marines, & they have a better selection of corals & other inverts than most specialist shops i've been in- better prices, too. & they're all kept in excellent condition.


 the one near us dosnt do marines


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## davesbray (Feb 12, 2011)

you realise that adding more rock will probably cause a mini cycle...i would add 1 small bit at a time, build it up over a month or so to try and avoid any casualties. looking good tho mate. just remember to stock slowly, add fish 1 at a time to let your filtration get used to the extra bio-load, andd always add the more agressive fish LAST!!

will look awesome with more rock and a few nice size corals :no1: and the T5's look the part too


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## ryanking045 (Jun 20, 2010)

davesbray said:


> you realise that adding more rock will probably cause a mini cycle...i would add 1 small bit at a time, build it up over a month or so to try and avoid any casualties. looking good tho mate. just remember to stock slowly, add fish 1 at a time to let your filtration get used to the extra bio-load, andd always add the more agressive fish LAST!!
> 
> will look awesome with more rock and a few nice size corals :no1: and the T5's look the part too


hi, thanks for the advise mate, i will be adding, like you said, 1 bit at a time but i will also transport the rock in water to avoid too much die off.

and yh thats what im doing with regards to the fish, i only got the 2 clowns beacuse they were paird up and didnt want to split them appart. 

Cheers
Ryan


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## davesbray (Feb 12, 2011)

yeah 2 clowns together is no issue. but if your planning on something like a royal gramma, or any sort of damsel (although i would strongly advise against a damsel) it would be best to add them last. 

good to hear about the rock. if possible source it from as close to you as possible, obviously this will also reduce die-off. may be an idea to stick a spare heater in the transporting water right up until you leave, then layer over the top of the rock with a towel that has been soaked in the same water, this should reduce the rock moving around too much and makes sure your ok if any is sticking out the top.


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## ryanking045 (Jun 20, 2010)

davesbray said:


> yeah 2 clowns together is no issue. but if your planning on something like a royal gramma, or any sort of damsel (although i would strongly advise against a damsel) it would be best to add them last.
> 
> good to hear about the rock. if possible source it from as close to you as possible, obviously this will also reduce die-off. may be an idea to stick a spare heater in the transporting water right up until you leave, then layer over the top of the rock with a towel that has been soaked in the same water, this should reduce the rock moving around too much and makes sure your ok if any is sticking out the top.


 yh i am going to be getting a royal gramma so thanks alot for the advise, and i will do about the rock 
thanks


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