Aquariums
So you are thinking of buying a Reef Casa reef tank. Or maybe you have already purchased one and it’s sitting in a box on your floor and you are wondering, “how long will it take to set this up”. The honest answer to that question is “it depends”. Your new tank can be up and running in about an hour or you can spend days planning and creating your aquascape and preparing the setup. In this article we will briefly describe how to get your tank set up and running in an hour or two. For more in depth details please take a look at our “Start Reefing” how to guides. Please also remember that cycling your tank will take a couple of weeks so it will not be ready for livestock until then.
Step one is to carefully take your new Reef Casa aquarium out of the box and place it in the location of your choosing. It should be placed on a level surface near an outlet. Make sure to leave room behind the tank for equipment etc. This will probably take about 5 minutes. Step two is to add your rockwork. For tips on creating an aquascape check out our Aquascaping How To Guide. Assuming you have already given your aquascape some thought, this will likely take around 10 minutes. Once your aquascape is in place, give your sand a quick rinse and add it to your tank around the aquascape, likely a 5 minute job. Step 3 involves setting up the equipment. Attach the return pump to the included tubing and the tubing to the return nozzle. This is also a good time to set up the heater as well. Add a piece of the included Reef Casa filter floss to the first chamber. Again, this should all take about 5 minutes. Step 4 involves setting up your lighting. While specific instructions will vary, the Reef Casa Halo and Beam lights can be up and running in about 10 minutes and the AI Prime may take about 20 minutes, including time spent downloading the app. In Step 5 you will add the salt water that you either mixed previously or purchased from your local fish store. Add the water slowly to prevent the sand from being stirred up. The last step is to add Reef Casa Ammonia Chloride to kick start the cycle and plug in the return pump.
As you can see, your Reef Casa can be up and cycling in about an hour or two. However, this hobby rewards patience so make sure that you give yourself a little bit of extra time just in case. Enjoy your new Reef Casa aquarium and Happy Reefing!