Craigslist Reef Tank

[sandiegonative]

Hey everyone,

 

I had been running a 10G reef built into a simple Petco glass box but I wanted to upgrade. I figured since I had pictures I would share my tank and experience. 

 

Everytime I come on here I see these amazing tanks with all the gadgets and I love them. Unfortunately, at this moment I don't have the extra cash to make that happen. So this is my used, second hand, Craigslist reef tank.

 

Luckily I am somewhat patient so I waited until I found exactly what I was looking for, plus I know a guy who maintains tanks for a living and gets a lot of stuff for free. 

 

As for now I have spent:

 

$100 - 45 Gallon Clear for Life Uniquarium with pine stand. Tank is 36L x 20H x 15D

$20 - sandpaper and black paint for the pine stand

$70 - used, CPR Bak Pak skimmer, 100w heater, and a 36 inch Fluval dual T5 HO running 10k and Actinic with spare bulbs. (From fish tank guy)

$25 - 20lb bag of Arag Alive Fiji Pink

$40 - 15lbs BRS Reef Saver Rock. (Will be using 15 lbs LR from established 10G)

 

Total of $255 as of now

 

luckily my "fish tank guy" is going to help me out with some established water and LR rubble to get the tank started. 

 

Will continue to update as I go!

Thanks

[Christopher Marks]

Great setup, that's a screaming deal! The stand looks nice refinished too. Is it an all in one tank with filtration in the back?

 

What are your livestock plans? A 20" deep tank has some interesting opportunities!

[Weetabix7]

14 minutes ago, sandiegonative said:

Hey everyone,

 

I had been running a 10G reef built into a simple Petco glass box but I wanted to upgrade. I figured since I had pictures I would share my tank and experience. 

 

Everytime I come on here I see these amazing tanks with all the gadgets and I love them. Unfortunately, at this moment I don't have the extra cash to make that happen. So this is my used, second hand, Craigslist reef tank.

 

Luckily I am somewhat patient so I waited until I found exactly what I was looking for, plus I know a guy who maintains tanks for a living and gets a lot of stuff for free. 

 

As for now I have spent:

 

$100 - 45 Gallon Clear for Life Uniquarium with pine stand. Tank is 36L x 20H x 15D

$20 - sandpaper and black paint for the pine stand

$70 - used, CPR Bak Pak skimmer, 100w heater, and a 36 inch Fluval dual T5 HO running 10k and Actinic with spare bulbs. (From fish tank guy)

$25 - 20lb bag of Arag Alive Fiji Pink

$40 - 15lbs BRS Reef Saver Rock. (Will be using 15 lbs LR from established 10G)

 

Total of $255 as of now

 

luckily my "fish tank guy" is going to help me out with some established water and LR rubble to get the tank started. 

 

Will continue to update as I go!

Thanks

 

Nice!!!

By the way, you can have a nice tank without having a lot of cool equipment.

[sandiegonative]

1 hour ago, Christopher Marks said:

Great setup, that's a screaming deal! The stand looks nice refinished too. Is it an all in one tank with filtration in the back?

 

What are your livestock plans? A 20" deep tank has some interesting opportunities!

Yes it's an all in one tank. I think you were trying to help on my last post about filtration. The glare made it impossible to get a good picture, but I figured it out. 

 

The back has 6 spaces, will have sponge to catch solids, heater, LR rubble, and a protein skimmer back there. Maybe chaeto down the road if needed and I can figure out how to keep it secure. 

 

As far as fish go, the actual tank only measures 36 x 20 x 10 which comes out to 31 gallons so I'm a bit limited. 

 

All i I know for now is I will be moving my Yasha Goby and Tiger Pistol from my 10G. Want to get:

 

Coral Beaty or Flame Angel

Pair of Clowns with anemone 

Flame Tail or Tailspot Blenny

Cleaner Shrimp

 

If I don't do the clowns I'd like some other "swimming fish" like a cool wrasse. 

 

Would love to get a tang, but I've read this is too small of a tank. 

 

Open to suggestions honestly. Why would the 20" tall add options?

[Christopher Marks]

Angelfish are gorgeous but they can sometimes be difficult in community tanks, flame angels like to nip at coral polyps, for example. Not impossible, but something to be mindful of, if there are other fish that interest you. I agree the tank isn't really suited for a tang. Clownfish are a great addition to any tank, they have a lot of personality, and you might even get them to host in a coral rather than an anemone (leathers, torch corals, etc.).

 

Having a tall tank generally creates more open water at the top for fish to swim, perhaps some schooling fish like damsels? I was also thinking about your aquascape, having the extra height you could keep tall gorgonians or big leather corals, or attach rock outcroppings magnetically through the false rear wall to mount corals on to give it some added depth. That might make for a cool DIY project!

[sandiegonative]

42 minutes ago, Christopher Marks said:

Angelfish are gorgeous but they can sometimes be difficult in community tanks, flame angels like to nip at coral polyps, for example. Not impossible, but something to be mindful of, if there are other fish that interest you. I agree the tank isn't really suited for a tang. Clownfish are a great addition to any tank, they have a lot of personality, and you might even get them to host in a coral rather than an anemone (leathers, torch corals, etc.).

 

Having a tall tank generally creates more open water at the top for fish to swim, perhaps some schooling fish like damsels? I was also thinking about your aquascape, having the extra height you could keep tall gorgonians or big leather corals, or attach rock outcroppings magnetically through the false rear wall to mount corals on to give it some added depth. That might make for a cool DIY project!

I'll look into all of this! Actually my fish guy just picked up a tall leather coral that I'm sure I could get a frag of. 

 

The rock outcropping attached ached to a magnet is a super cool idea!! I would love to find a picture of that in a tank for reference. 

 

Will update again once water and rock have been added. 

 

[Dominator]

Awesome man...I just scored a 29 biocube and have pretty much done the same thing. Stand was varnished. I took it down with a sander and painted it matte black. Good work. Love seeing craigslist scores. 

[sandiegonative]

53 minutes ago, Dominator said:

Awesome man...I just scored a 29 biocube and have pretty much done the same thing. Stand was varnished. I took it down with a sander and painted it matte black. Good work. Love seeing craigslist scores. 

Thanks! I honestly just wanted to see if I could setup an awesome reef tank and not have to shell out thousands for new, top of the line everything. 

 

The tank is for my enjoyment, and I will enjoy it more knowing I didn't break the bank!

[Dominator]

Just now, sandiegonative said:

Thanks! I honestly just wanted to see if I could setup an awesome reef tank and not have to shell out thousands for new, top of the line everything. 

 

The tank is for my enjoyment, and I will enjoy it more knowing I didn't break the bank!

Totally agree..Most of this stuff on craigslist will end up being trashed if no one buys it. Id like to think that we give it a second chance =) 

[sandiegonative]

Update 8/10/17

 

Tank is now filled with sand and water and the cloudiness is almost gone. Tank has been running for 48 hours...

 

Tank holds 40 gallons. Received 20 gallons from a very established tank and I made a fresh 20 to fill it up. I also added Dr. Tims nitrifying bacteria. 

 

My friend who maintains tanks gave me the water and about 5 lbs of LR (some is rubble in the back chamber) from the same established tank. I have 15 lbs of dry rock from BRS being delivered today and I will get more LR rubble from my LFS today. 

 

Would it be ok to put in my six line wrasse and some LR from my established 10G to get some ammonia in the tank? The six line will be going back to the LFS once the tank has matured and I'm ready to add the permanent livestock. I obviously don't want to hurt the wrasse, but my fish guy said between his water, LR, and the added bacteria it would be fine. 

 

Thanks!

 

[sandiegonative]

Update 8/17/17

 

Tank going through small diatom bloom.  Received a free mature clown pair that seem to be adjusting (still a little shy) and a 1" RBTA, 4 head gold tipped hammer, and some zoas. Threw the corals in my established 10G for now until I'm ready to transfer everything over. 

 

Getting ready to move all my corals to the big tank here pretty soon along with my Yasha Goby and Tiger Pistol. 

 

Tank itself is 30 gallons with a built in 15 Gallon sump. Hydro Korlia 240. Roughly 30 lbs of LR. 25 lbs live sand. 

 

Looking for suggestions on stocking. 

 

Have:

Clownfish pair (2" each)

Yasha Goby / Tiger Pistol

Blue Legged Hermit

Turbo Snail (large)

 

Want:

Skunk Cleaner or Blood Red Shrimp

1 Goby (suggestions?)

1 swimming fish (suggestions?) - We don't care for Firefish or Cardinals. Was thinking a Flasher/Fairy Wrasse but open to suggestions. 

 

I have a sixline by himself in the 10G tank that I will probably end up trading in to the LFS. Also, I will be getting more CUC as needed. Luckily San Diego has a ton of awesome reef shops so I can always get what I need. 

 

Running two ATI T5HO - Coral Plus and Blue Plus. Will add my small Current Orbit on just blues for added color. 

 

Corals:

RBTA

Gold tip hammer

Purple Tip Hammer

GSP

candy Cane

random zoas 

(Want: Leather Coral, open to suggestions)

 

Thanks!

[Lula_Mae]

On 8/10/2017 at 1:18 PM, sandiegonative said:

Update 8/10/17

 

Tank is now filled with sand and water and the cloudiness is almost gone. Tank has been running for 48 hours...

 

Tank holds 40 gallons. Received 20 gallons from a very established tank and I made a fresh 20 to fill it up. I also added Dr. Tims nitrifying bacteria. 

 

My friend who maintains tanks gave me the water and about 5 lbs of LR (some is rubble in the back chamber) from the same established tank. I have 15 lbs of dry rock from BRS being delivered today and I will get more LR rubble from my LFS today. 

 

Would it be ok to put in my six line wrasse and some LR from my established 10G to get some ammonia in the tank? The six line will be going back to the LFS once the tank has matured and I'm ready to add the permanent livestock. I obviously don't want to hurt the wrasse, but my fish guy said between his water, LR, and the added bacteria it would be fine. 

 

Thanks!

 

I don't know what you ended up doing about this, but it's generally frowned upon to cycle a tank with fish.

 

As far as stocking suggestions--green banded gobies are a popular choice because they're adorable and do well in small groups or pairs.  Clown gobies are good too.  Toadstools or sinularia are fairly easy leathers.  Fiji leathers are beautiful but can be more difficult sometimes.  Instead of a six line, consider a pink-streaked wrasse as they are gorgeous and much nicer temperament usually than six lines.  For corals, consider blastos, they are some of my favorites!

[sandiegonative]

3 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said:

I don't know what you ended up doing about this, but it's generally frowned upon to cycle a tank with fish.

 

As far as stocking suggestions--green banded gobies are a popular choice because they're adorable and do well in small groups or pairs.  Clown gobies are good too.  Toadstools or sinularia are fairly easy leathers.  Fiji leathers are beautiful but can be more difficult sometimes.  Instead of a six line, consider a pink-streaked wrasse as they are gorgeous and much nicer temperament usually than six lines.  For corals, consider blastos, they are some of my favorites!

Normally I would not have cycled with fish but I did add almost all the water from established tanks, LR from established tanks, and Dr. Tims bacteria. Then let it sit for a week and spike ammonia before putting anything in. 

Also, my mistake, I want a Blenny and am open to suggestions. I already have a Goby. 

[Lula_Mae]

26 minutes ago, sandiegonative said:

Normally I would not have cycled with fish but I did add almost all the water from established tanks, LR from established tanks, and Dr. Tims bacteria. Then let it sit for a week and spike ammonia before putting anything in. 

Also, my mistake, I want a Blenny and am open to suggestions. I already have a Goby. 

Tailspot blennies are popular as are starry blennies for your tank size.  Their eyebrows are hilarious!

[jamie1210]

How about a shoal of chromises?I think 3 to 4 would look good in there. 

[Sancho]

What's your go to LFS? 

[Flexin]

A toadstool sheds, so consider having it down stream of other corals.  Some are sensitive to the mucus.  I had a hammer in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[sandiegonative]

4 hours ago, jamie1210 said:

How about a shoal of chromises?I think 3 to 4 would look good in there. 

I was thinking of that if I can find a group of nice blue Reef chromis. 

 

2 hours ago, Sancho said:

What's your go to LFS? 

I live in La Mesa so I usually go to SD Corals (it's newish) or Aquatic Warehouse. Sometimes I drive up to Vista to Reefers Garage cuz their prices are awesome. 

[Sancho]

Yep Louis at Reefers is the the best shop, location a bit ghetto but  prices are amazing. Have you ever been to his black friday event? It gets pretty crazy when he has his sales. The guys at SD corals are legit 

[sandiegonative]

14 hours ago, Sancho said:

Yep Louis at Reefers is the the best shop, location a bit ghetto but  prices are amazing. Have you ever been to his black friday event? It gets pretty crazy when he has his sales. The guys at SD corals are legit 

I think they are actually having a big sale this weekend that I want to hit up. Unfortunately its 45 minutes each way!

[sandiegonative]

Ammonia & Nitrite is down to Zero. Nitrate at 20PPM so I did a 5 gallon water change.

 

Started bringing over some rock from my other tank and building a scape. Was unaware that clownfish will bite the shit out of you when your hand is in their tank. The big female probably bit me 20 times while I was moving rocks around!! I don't know if this aquascape is conducive to growth and flow but I like the look of the two islands with a bridge in between. The tank is not very deep front to back so building sort of a "cove" look wasn't happening. Will be waiting a few more days to add the RBTA and Hammer Corals. The wavemaker is still in the smaller tank to keep those happy.

 

I am not sure why but the Yasha Goby and Pistol Shrimp didn't make it, maybe too much stress from me moving things around.

[Lula_Mae]

On 8/18/2017 at 1:06 PM, sandiegonative said:

Ammonia & Nitrite is down to Zero. Nitrate at 20PPM so I did a 5 gallon water change.

 

Started bringing over some rock from my other tank and building a scape. Was unaware that clownfish will bite the shit out of you when your hand is in their tank. The big female probably bit me 20 times while I was moving rocks around!! I don't know if this aquascape is conducive to growth and flow but I like the look of the two islands with a bridge in between. The tank is not very deep front to back so building sort of a "cove" look wasn't happening. Will be waiting a few more days to add the RBTA and Hammer Corals. The wavemaker is still in the smaller tank to keep those happy.

 

I am not sure why but the Yasha Goby and Pistol Shrimp didn't make it, maybe too much stress from me moving things around.

Could it have been aggression from the clowns?  If she's that bad tempered, I wonder!

[lkoechle]

14 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said:

Could it have been aggression from the clowns?  If she's that bad tempered, I wonder!

This.  I've had to remove clowns, add new fish, then re-add clowns.  Shakes them up so they aren't as focused on the newbie.  I've only had to do that once.  Female was super aggressive.

[sandiegonative]

1 hour ago, Lula_Mae said:

Could it have been aggression from the clowns?  If she's that bad tempered, I wonder!

Clowns are in the new bigger tank by themselves right now. I can't even put my hand in without the big female nipping at me. I might have to exchange them to the LFS for a younger pair. Can't enjoy the tank if I can't even put my hand in it to clean or adjust anything.

 

The Goby/Pistol were still in the 10G because I knew the shrimp would be sensitive to the tank being new. I tried to be as careful as possible with the shrimp/goby but something messed with them.

 

Now the bubble tip I got for free and added to my small tank (temporarily) is sucked in on itself and the six line wrasse I had is nowhere to be found! I have a lid, there is a space in the back, but he is nowhere to be found. I moved most of the LR over to the new tank so I know he's not hiding. Can a Bubble Tip eat fish? I have been feeding it a little frozen food every day to satisfy it.

 

Always something new to learn!

[Flexin]

When working in my tank, I use the handle of my scraper to keep them away.  I gently move it between them and my arm or hand.  If you plan on having clowns, this will happen.  They have now stopped doing that.

 

I'm not sure always returning them will be the answer.