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Chris Murphy | Reef Aquarium

@murphs_reef

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🐠 Real reefs. Real fish. Real experience.
💡 Honest advice & proven equipment
🌍 Reef keeping without the guesswork
👇 My trusted reef equipment

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Hanging an @ati_aquaristik straton X couldn't be simpler.

Upgrading the Lighting on the Reef: Step-by-Step Installation

Step 1: Secure Ceiling Fixings — Drilled and installed Spring Toggle M3 x 50mm from ScrewFix to provide a rock-solid, heavy-duty anchor point in the ceiling.

Step 2: Suspension Kit Setup — Measured, aligned, and threaded the hanging cables into the toggle mounts, ensuring a balanced drop.

Step 3: Fixture Prep & Wiring — Assembled the mounting hardware on the fixtures and routed the power cables cleanly.

Step 4: Hanging & Levelling — Hoisted the units into place, locking them onto the suspension wires and fine-tuning the height over the display.

Step 5: Power-Up — Fired up the new lights over the reef, running them at 30% intensity to safely acclimate the livestock. by @murphs_reef

The 3-step post-holiday reef checklist you need to save. 🚨

Leaving a complex ecosystem alone for a week is always a gamble. When you walk through the door, don't panic, just follow this exact rescue cheat sheet to safeguard your biological stability:

📋 1. Clear the Sightlines
Get the glass scraped immediately. Clearing a week's worth of film algae isn't just about aesthetics; it lets you properly observe coral tissue extension and livestock health.

📋 2. The Sump & RO Audit
Check the skimmer cup and top up the RO reservoir. Your automatic top-off has been working overtime, so manual verification is vital to ensure salinity hasn't drifted.

📋 3. The Reward Feed
Once the mechanics are verified, tank stability is confirmed, and the view is clear, reward the crew with a high-quality broadcast feed to ensure everyone has a healthy appetite.

Stop chasing perfection the second you get home, just secure the vital stability basics first.

Save this checklist for your next holiday!

#ReefKeeping #AquariumLife #MarineReef by @murphs_reef

Anemones are stunning, but a roaming one ruins a reef fast.

I'm keeping mine in the Safe Space box by @aquaprintuk so it can acclimatise without stinging everything in sight...

#reeftank #aquarium #marineaquarium #anemone by @murphs_reef

I remember the day well. ..
Stood ready to video the reef and a wrasse decided it wanted to be the subject and jumped right in front of me by @murphs_reef

DAY 4 of letting the reef run wild until the space runs out 🌊

Less Montipora, less alk demand? Time to reassess the two-part dosing.

@nyos.aquatics ION-B powder keeping things balanced while the reef finds its new rhythm.

Hands off the corals. Eyes on the numbers. 👀

96 days to go!

#ReefTank #SPSReef #ReefKeeping by @murphs_reef

Tangs fragging for me! Monti already recovering and KH spikes.. 3 days in... by @murphs_reef

ORP BOTTOMED OUT AND KH IS ON THE UP!

The ORP ... No clue yet.. maybe someone can help with that?

The kh ... I should have known better.. the amount of stoney coral I removed yesterday is a no brainer but I didn't think and left my dosing schedule as is. So kh have lifted 0.5 in a 24hr period 💀 by @murphs_reef

DAY 1 OF 100 DAYS. HANDS OFF. WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG? 👀

I'm giving this reef 100 days to do its own thing.
No unnecessary tinkering. No moving corals around. No fragging.

Just letting the reef grow, compete and evolve naturally.
But first… there's one thing that has to go! Get rid of as much plating coral as possible so I have a fighting chance of not shadowing everything out.

Will this be the best thing I've ever done for my reef, or will I regret leaving it alone?

Follow along and let's see what 100 days of hands-off reef keeping really looks like. by @murphs_reef

Day 0! Tomorrow I'm going to trim all of my plating corals back and spend 100 days watching how the corals grow with NO gardening whatsoever.

Watch my reel aquarium grow into a natural reef with me by @murphs_reef

One of the little things that makes keeping a reef aquarium so special. 🧡🐠

Watching the clownfish weave in and out of its Gonis never gets boring. A little piece of the ocean in my own home. 🌊

#ReefAquarium #ReefTank #Clownfish by @murphs_reef

No ifs, no buts, stick to the schedule for an amazing reef aquarium 💪🏼

Monthly @ati_aquaristik ICP for the win

Save this and send it to yourself as a reminder to keep up the maintenance 👍🏼👍🏼 by @murphs_reef

Bro thinks he's the final boss just chilling with the boys 💀

Except "The green death" is actually flexing its reach, stretching out to test the tangs in a little reef-tank turf war.

What's the chances the vampire tang wins another day?

A marine aquarium is a volatile place. It's full of predators looking for a meal. by @murphs_reef