Runs a soft-coral-dominant tank at a premier SPS retailer, deliberately ignoring the SPS hype to keep what he actually enjoys.
Blaine's personal Red Sea Reefer 425 G2 Plus XL is a nearly 2-year-old soft coral dominant mixed reef with a wide range of toadstools, leathers, and bounce mushrooms plus a few LPS and one SPS. Many corals were gifted after he lost most of his livestock moving from California, giving each piece a personal story. He runs it simply and nutrient-rich, embracing a 'reef your way' soft-coral philosophy despite working at an SPS-focused shop.
Intentionally runs higher nitrate (10-20) and phosphate (0.1-0.12), backing off the skimmer, because bounce mushrooms color up better with more nutrients.
Blaine's 100-Gallon Soft Coral Reef — Full Equipment List
$400
est. build cost
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Filtration
Regal
INT 150
Protein skimmer
Deliberately throttled back — nitrate stays at 10-20 on purpose because the bounce mushrooms color up better with food in the water.
Lighting
EcoTech Marine
Gen 5 XR30 Pro
Display lights ×2
Runs a whiter, more natural spectrum instead of heavy blues — a deliberate anti-fluorescence choice for a softy display.
