I Created a Vivid Indoor Ocean in 365 Days

One year ago, I set up my very first saltwater reef aquarium. From planted aquariums, to paludariums, and everything in between, I'd been designing and maintaining aquatic environments for 16 years prior. I'm incredibly confident within this framework, but I had no idea what to expect from a marine environment. My only frame of reference was always hearing how much easier freshwater is in comparison. How would I know unless I tried, though? The past year and this side of the hobby has been a journey, that's for sure. I know many of you have been curious about its progress as well. I've documented the journey, but to fully understand the scope of what's transpired, it makes sense to go back to the very beginning. Everything began when a freight shipment arrived at my house. These boxes contained various items from hardscape to filtration components, and of course a stand and tank. I managed to move everything into the animal room myself, except for the enclosure. That was until Nate arrived. I should mention as well that the aquarium holds 90 gallons. After leveling the tank, we installed the overflow box, other necessary components, and the sump which holds around 15 gallons of water. That makes the total system volume around 105 gallons. I had built and designed sumps before, so all of this was familiar. I've also made countless hardscapes, but never with these materials. With arches, chunks, and flats, Nate and I spent the next 6 hours meticulously crafting an incredible framework for the system. As we scaped, our priority was visual interest, derived from depth and movement that would create visual barriers for livestock and surface for corals. Such an intricate layout demanded support in the form of epoxy, which will stabilize everything for the duration of the aquarium's life. My friends from Fritz Aquatics who sponsored the original build and this video arrived at my house the following day. Sean brought the lighting which he installed. He addressed the protein skimmer as well. At last, the aquarium was ready for saltwater, which Nate and I prepared the previous day. We combined water that ran through an RODI system with Fritz RPM. Seeing it with water was cool, but things got real when we arrived at an unassuming warehouse in Ohio, Tidal Gardens. I had seen corals before, but never like this. The diversity of types, colors, and sizes was incredibly inspiring. And as if that wasn't enough, I also hand selected and bagged most of them myself. On the way back to Pennsylvania, we also stopped by a small fish store to get livestock. Since I'm a beginner, the consensus was that I should start with clownfish. They're easy to care for, forgiving of mistakes, and generally captive bred. Truthfully, I wanted normals, but decided on orange storms because of their personalities. Additionally, we picked up some reef safe hermit crabs and snails. When we returned to the animal room, the acclimation process began. The corals and inverts floated in the aquarium while the fish strip acclimated in a bucket below. After that, we introduced the snails, crabs, corals, and fish into their new home. Since this was a new setup, I had to turbo start nitrifying bacteria to ensure it was safe for everything. Within a few days, I went from never keeping saltwater to having a full-blown reef aquarium. It was surreal, and I was nervous because it was all new to me. However, the fish helped ease my stress. They became comfortable by the second day and were always there to greet me. A lot has happened since. A month after being established, a significant change occurred. Besides expected algae growth on the sand and hardscape, everything appeared to be doing well. However, what I did next is something I had planned from the very beginning that will have many up in arms. That, of course, was the addition of bubble tip anemones. Nate brought me seven small ones to start. He nested most atop the rockwork where I didn't intend to add corals. Over the following two weeks, they did well. This inspired me to get additional corals. I dipped them in Fritz Bugout to remove any potential parasites. Then, I placed them in locations I thought would be appropriate. After seeing how they reacted to the environment, I returned a little later and anchored them with epoxy. At three months, the side effects from a two-fold problem surfaced. First were water parameters that didn't promote coral health. I had not yet tested or dosed for alkalinity, calcium, or magnesium. Let's just say my levels weren't optimal. I've since got that all in check. Second was a problem I didn't recognize or address until much later, lack of light. The issue wasn't with the lights, but the lid. I didn't intend to use one at all, but something I failed to consider happened. About a week after the original setup, the fish got too excited during feeding and one jumped out. I was able to get it back immediately without harm, but I knew it may not be as lucky the next time. I promptly made a polycarbonate lid, which filtered out a lot of the usable light. Unfortunately, this unfavorable combination caused all of the corals, especially the chalices, to show their skeletons. Dosing over the following two months saved some of the corals. However, I was still using the lid, which took its toll on the chalices. All that remained of the Raja Rampage was a skeleton that I decided to remove. However, since the other corals were on the mend, I added a few more, including one I wanted from the start, the infamous Pulsing Xenia. I know I was a madman already, but I decided to include yet another bubble tip anemone. About a month later, a friend sent me this orange frog spawn razzle. He got it from a friend of his at Long Island Corals, but didn't have room for it. Needless to say, I was happy to take it off his hands. The tank did well over the following three months, except for the Space Invader Chalice. I decided it was time for a few more corals, including my first trident SPS, which tend to be more difficult. My guess is that you probably realized I developed a severe love for anemones by this point, and may have ended up with two more. I think that's partly because the clownfish finally began hosting them, but more about that later. A few more invertebrates, including emerald crabs, and a giraffe serpent starfish also moved in. That wouldn't be the last time either. I introduced an arrow crab and a few peppermint shrimp the following month. On the same day, I finally got a coral I'd been trying to get for months as well, blue mushrooms. Sean brought me a few right before the build-a-butterfly pavilion. An issue that took a while to become apparent was with this frog spawn. As you can see, a lot of its skeleton was still exposed from the issue I had before. However, it never truly grew back properly, and I think that's because of the anemones. Most likely, they were stinging it, so I moved it to a more appropriate location nearby. Just shy of 11 months later, and I finally decided to get more fish. I wasn't about to add them directly to the tank though. I made a proper quarantine setup that I can use from here on out for this very purpose. It's comprised of a simple hardscape atop a layer of sand. Anyway, after getting the fish and drip acclimation, I released them into the tank. Many weeks later in the current day, all the fish are doing well. I decided on a small skull of pajama cardinal fish and a tail spot blenny named Benny. Together, they are Benny and the jammies. Trust me, that wasn't my idea, but inevitably, it became canon in Serpa design lore. They're healthy, personable, and eating well, so needless to say, they're ready to go hobbyist. What do you think? I know this aquarium is nightmare fuel to some, which I'll elaborate on shortly, but it's precisely what I wanted. I realize you don't find colors like this in freshwater, but that's not what I find appealing. I like to see movement and life everywhere. And what provides more movement than the pulsing zinnia? Not only does it sway with the flow of water, but the polyps pulse to increase water movement. It's widely considered an invasive nuisance, but it's probably my favorite coral in the entire tank and one I wanted years before ever considering saltwater. Another potentially more infamous coral here is the green star polyp or GSP. It creates encrusting carpets that have the potential to grow everywhere. It's generally considered problematic, but I don't think anyone would argue that a carpet of GSP is an impressive display. Clove polyps also have the potential to be a nuisance, but they tend not to bother other corals. I suppose I should address the other elephant in the room, the anemones. I knew I wanted to include them from the start, but what I didn't expect is how much I'd like them. Truthfully, I prefer them over every coral. There's just something about the cluster on top that's appealing. Not to mention how cool the symbiotic relationship with the clownfish is. The fish just seem so content swimming about them, and watching this unfold is the thing I probably enjoy most about this aquarium. That said, I'm not oblivious to the issues associated with anemones. They can move whenever they please and stick to anything else, including corals. There are also horror stories of them getting chopped up by powerheads. You can get anemone guards that prevent this from happening, though. I'm still waiting for mine to arrive. They can sting corals as well, which I mentioned before. Luckily, the frog spawn is on the mend and looking better these days. It will take months before it's nice and full again, though. Otherwise, I haven't had many issues with them and only had to move two, which is easy. I simply connect an airline tube to a pump and situate it near the anemone's foot. It takes about 10 minutes, but eventually it releases. Additionally, I'll have to start pulling these out of here as they continue to reproduce and grow if I want to maintain my coral populations. I enjoy them so much, though, that I don't mind intervening when necessary. From what I've read, it probably worked out that I added them so early in the process as well. Apparently, the best results are achieved when they're added before most of the corals. For as much success as I've had with all of that, there were also expected failures. Here's a complete list of every coral I've kept thus far. Anyway, none of the chalices or the brain made it, and the other ones I marked off. I also don't know what happened with the zoanthids. Both did well for a while and then randomly stopped opening, and now they look like this. I never saw anything physical, like zoa eating nudibranch, and the other corals were stable by then. I think it's safe to say that the anacropora isn't thriving either, but I guess I should have expected as much since SPS tend to be more difficult. Otherwise, I was able to revitalize and maintain the other corals I have. Additionally, the vast majority of failures occurred early in the tank's life. The hammer only showed some of its skeleton, but this frog spawn looked like the other one around the 3 month mark. I bring this up again because it was a low point for me. Even though I knew failure was inevitable to some degree, I questioned why I even decided to try. I kept thinking I wouldn't be successful with any of this, and even though it was a challenge, I went the coral reef route for a reason. I originally planned to start with a macro algae scape, and maybe I would have been better off if I did, but I wanted to do something completely new and challenging. This being my first try, I decided that algae wouldn't be different enough from what I do in freshwater. Thankfully, I persevered through the growing pains. Although I took the process slow later on, I think the initial setup could have been drawn out much longer. If I were to do this again with the knowledge I have now, I'd allow the rocks to season for a month or so before adding coral. I think the system's newness played a role in the problems I discussed. I likely would have gone with a different starter selection of coral too. Ultimately, I like what I have though, and only intend to get a few more. I'm enjoying the fish as well. Starting with clownfish was the move, but I didn't want to get more fish until they hosted the anemones. However, I was fine with more inverts like emerald crabs, the serpent starfish, peppermint shrimp, and the arrow crab. I rarely see the emerald crabs or shrimp, which I got to address a few apatasia anemones. They took care of that in no time. The starfish was a great addition too. It primarily stays still until feeding time, where it scurries alongside hermit crabs to find whatever morsels it can. That is unless I feed it which it gladly accepts. However, my favorite invert is the arrow crab. It's constantly sifting through the tank to see what it can find, but I do my best to keep it well fed so it doesn't bother the hermit crabs or snails. Let's not forget about benny and the jammies. Honestly, benny may be my favorite fish in here. I love how calculated each move is, and just the general silliness of blennies. I also think the pajama cardinal fish were a good choice. Originally, I wanted a school of green chromis, but the more research I did, the more I became uninterested. Of course, I'll get a few more fish long term, but I don't intend to stock this aquarium very heavily. I'm curious though, what else do you think I should put in here? Caring for this tank, and saltwater in general, has been a mostly enjoyable experience. Sure, I had trials at first, but that's to be expected. If that's the worst of it, then I can't complain. Also, for reference, here's a comparison with and without the polycarbonate lid. I'm not oblivious to the advantage I had by having the original setup and water treatments provided to me by Fritz Aquatics. And just to be clear, I'd use these products anyway, but they are shown here with a paid promotion. Still, I don't think saltwater is nearly as tricky as it's often portrayed, and is more similar to freshwater than I expected. It's really as simple as maintaining consistent water conditions, unless you're doing something specific or advanced. In other words, having something beautiful isn't much more challenging than a planted tank. The steps to get there are just a little different. However, everything in saltwater is more expensive, and thus the barrier to entry is greater. I will admit though, that I'll always connect more with freshwater on a fundamental level. As amazing as it is to observe corals filling the tank each morning, clownfish hosting their anemones, various inverts scurrying about, and much more, it just doesn't provide me with the same level of comfort that freshwater does. Maybe that will change as I get more experienced though. Regardless, I love this setup, am extremely happy with its progress, and intend to explore other concepts within marine aquaria.