Reef Tanks

Barely any maintenance some weeks, just top offs and a water change when I remember. The anthias and chromis school around the rock while the watchman gobies dig their usual holes. Acro and the hammer are both growing which feels like a win since I had no idea what I was doing back in December

Barely touch this one. Top off, dose alk, done. Gordon and the wrasse handle the rest, apparently.

should have gone bigger on flow from day one, kept fighting dead spots behind the rockwork until i finally added the wavemaker.

Been running a good while now and it's changed a ton from those early bare rock days. Anthias school together most of the time, firefish scatter the second anything moves too fast, chromis just kind of float around ignoring everyone. Montipora and acro have both colored up nicely, goniopora sways whenever the pump kicks on. Small tank but it fills up fast once the coral gets going lol.

A mixed reef built around a rock arch that never quite worked out, so it ended up as a more open scape than planned, and honestly it looks better for it. Two firefish gobies hover near their little caves most of the day, darting back in if anything moves too fast near the glass. The lyretail anthias school together over the rockwork, always in motion, which makes the whole tank feel busier than it is. Rock was bare white for a while but it's filled out with coralline and a few frags glued in odd gaps. Running an Oase BioMaster Thermo for filtration and an Eheim Compact pump for flow, swapped in a while back. It's got a different hum than the old one, still notice it sometimes in a quiet room. Salinity gets checked with a refractometer more often than it probably needs to be, old habit from the early cycling days. Sand near the base rock shifts a little differently now with the new flow pattern, small thing but I notice it every time I look.

Rock's got that brown film still but the six lines make it feel alive lol

Not a lot of hands-on time goes into this one - a top off and a glance at the glass most days is about it. The goby pair chase each other around the rock and the clownfish just holds its spot near the hammer. Coralline keeps spreading, coming in slow on its own without me doing much of anything.

Called it that for how dark it stays back by the seiryu stone, even under the kessil.

Rock, water, a couple wrasses.

Doesn't need much from me most weeks, just top offs and checking the Eheim isn't clogged. Tang cruises the open rock work while the anthias and firefish stay up top. Favia and chalice are both puffing out nicely these days

The spot by the window gets just enough afternoon light to make the Kessil look unnecessary, though the fan disagrees every summer. Mango the Tang claimed the rockwork early and still patrols it like rent's due. Zoanthids and a Favia colony fill in the gaps, snails handle cleanup, algae throws the occasional party

so apparently 'a small reef' just means more test kits and less sleep. wrasses hide in the dragon stone, chalice's coloring up nicely.

Went with dry rock the first time and hated how it looked once water hit it, way too stark. Cycled slower than expected and had a stretch where algae took over completely. Clownfish, wrasses and the chalice colony now, cleaner shrimp picking through the rockwork most days.

Replaced an old reef that never really clicked, mostly dry rock and bad luck. This one's the redo. Two royal grammas patrol the cave near the back, clownfish parked in the bubble tip anemones, and coralline's finally covering the rock the way I wanted the first time.

wife says the rockwork looks like rubble but the chromis and anthias dont seem to mind, theyre all over it now. bubble tip anemones found their spots and the chalice is finally opening up wide. coralline creeping in under the zoas too.

Upgraded from a smaller mixed reef that just couldnt hold what I wanted anymore. Rock is mostly covered now, coralline creeping over the bare spots, montipora and a couple hammer heads filling in. Watchman goby flips sand nonstop, clownfish claimed a corner near the anemones. Fluval canister still gurgles sometimes and my kid still thinks its a fountain.

Upgraded from a bare-bones first reef that never really had flow figured out... This one's got chromis darting around the rock and a couple chalice heads finally opening up nicely.

Seiryu stone, wide open water - the royal gramma crew owns it now.

Got hooked on reef tanks after staring way too long at a friend's setup and asking a hundred questions about every rock and fish in it. Went with a Waterbox Clear Mini because the footprint fit the spot I had and the rimless look sold me. The eheim classic still gurgles a bit when it kicks on and I kind of love that sound now. Royal gramma was the first fish in and still zips around the rockwork like he owns it. Yellow watchman claimed a cave and sits right at the entrance watching everything, cleaner shrimp keeps stealing his spot when he's not looking. Chalice and favia are filling out slow but steady, bubble tip anemone found its own corner and hasn't moved since.

Coming up on a year now and it's changed a lot from the pile of dry rock it started as. Six line's still zipping around like it owns the place, firefish hover mid-water, and the hammer and zoas have filled out nicely. One monti frag stayed stubborn for a while but even that's come around. Pretty happy with where it's at.

People ask why a reef guy has a tank named after Malawi and I just shrug, no cichlids here, I liked the name and it stuck. This one runs on a Fluval 307 and a Jebao wavemaker doing most of the heavy lifting while I mess with parameters more than I should. The yellow tangs claimed the open sandbed up front pretty early and still chase each other around it like they own the place. Anthias school near the top of the rockwork most of the day, still a little skittish if I walk by too fast. Firefish gobies dart into their holes at the slightest movement, classic. Goniopora and the zoanthid colony have filled out nicely across the rock, favia and montipora tucked into the caves I stacked for exactly that. Coralline is spreading over the bare spots now which I like watching more than I probably should. A small army of nassarius snails keeps the sand turned over so I don't have to think about it much. Feeding time is honestly the best part of my day.

Barely touch this one most weeks (checking dosing and topping off is about it, and even that feels like a lot some weeks). The royal grammas ignore me completely, cleaner shrimp come out whenever food hits the water, and the montipora and favia just sit there doing their coloring up thing under the kessil. Wavemaker keeps flow moving so I don't have to. Low effort, good results so far.

After my first reef attempt basically taught me what not to do, this one's the redo with better instincts and less guesswork. The rockwork's got real coralline coming in now instead of bare white patches, and the anthias school out in the open the second the lights come on, which is more than my old tank ever managed. Wrasse still bolts for cover on sight, some things don't change.