75 gallon reef tank update

So I thought I would post a update on my 75 gallon reef tank since its been a while and now that I have everything stable(knock on wood LoL). I have brought the light right down on top of the tank and have upgraded the skimmer to a model rated for up to a 250g tank. LoL The only thing I dose/do is B-ionic 2 part every other day and weekly 10 gallon W.C.

Stock List(so far LoL)

Fish and Inverts

1 Maroon Clownfish
1 Yellow Watchmen Goby
1 Spotted Goby
! Lawnmower Blenny(this is my dude I LOVE the way he looks LoL)
1 All Blue Damsel
2 Blue with yellow tail Damsels
1 All black with yellow tipped fins Damsel
an army of blue and red legged Hermit Crabs
4 Ceirth Snails
8 Mexican Turbo snails
4 Emerald Crabs
1 Chocolate Chip Starfish (yes I know hes not reef safe but he was a gift so he lives in the sump where he can't eat my corals LoL)
1 Pistol Shrimp

Corals
Dragon Eye Zoas
Whammin Watermelon Zoas
Agent Orange Zoas
Pulsating Xenia
Devil's Hand Leather
Carpet Anemone
Purple Athelia
Green Star Polyps
Sun Coral
Kenya Trees
Tube Worms
Purple Mushroom
Ricordea mushroom
Blue Trumpet Coral
and a few I can't identify LoL

So enough talking and on to the pics.































more pics in next post LoL




























Pics of the sump which I am already thinking of upgrading to a 40 breeder. LoL It's a 29 gallon now




























If anyone knows what the coral is hanging down between the Anenome and Devils hand that would be awesome just grew out of the live rock and can't figure out what it is.

 

Great work! Beautiful tank.

 

**UPDATED PICS ADDED**

So I have upgraded the lights on the reef and have had some great results with it in the first week alone thought I would post some updated pics and pics of some of the new frags I have gotten. I have also added 70 more pounds of live rock into the tank. I got a new phone too so the pic quality is way better than my other phone as you can tell. LoL

pics of the tank









New Neon Blue Mushroom




Can you find the Sea Urchin LoL






The Cabbage Leather, Hammer and Purple Athelia




My Ricordia Mushroom which is getting huge




My hitchicker Blue and Purple Palyothas






The Whammin Watermelon Zoas have doubled in size




more pics in the next post

The Trumpet Corals I thought for sure were dead are coming back to life. I was soo happy when I seen this.






The Cabbage Leather is exploding




Same with the Blue Clove Polyps




The Purple with Green Mouth Blasto heads have doubled in size






The Green DigI frag I picked up for $10 the other day






I also picked this Red DigI up for another $10 too






more pics in next post............

The Feather Duster with Pink with Purple Tips Waving Hands Xenia I picked up for $15






The Sun Coral Eating Shrimps LoL








The Sun Coral in full bloom after the lights go out






The Hammer Coral has doubled in size too






I made a videotoo. I'm waiting for it to upload to Youtube will post a link to it as soon as it uploads.

Hope you guys/gals enjoy the pis and let me know what you think of the progress so far.

 

This reef tank has come a long way . Thanks for keeping us updated and great job - especially like that sun coral. I see the new skimmer and lighting is working out and as far as a larger sump goes - bigger is always better as we all know so look forward to seeing that soon hopefully.

 

Thanks roadrunner I kinda was bad and splurged a little in the last two days. LoL I have added two different brain coral colonies to the reef and some Blue Sypodium I also picked up a new refractometer finally. Told myself today no more corals till what I have now grows some. LoL

On a bad note I came home today and Scar the yellow tang was dead in the back left corner. Kinda sad don't know what happened had a big red mark by his lower back when I found him like he had been attacked by something. He was out and pecking at the rocks when I left this morning.

I haven't had time to work on the new sump yet probably just going to go with the 40 gallon breeder its the the biggest tank that will fit under the tank in the sump area so I will be upgraded to the max and be done with it. LoL

I tried to upload a video of the reef to youtube to share but it disappeared after uploading and when I try to reupload the video it says duplicate video and deletes it. I hate youtube. LoL

 

I was going to ask about Scar, sorry for his loss and try to figure out what happened. I'm currently working on two different sumps, pumps and PVC galore - been away from FL doing this and pleasantly driving myself nuts but will be well worth it in the end. I was wondering if a 40 gallon breeder would fit from your pics but if you can fit one, there is tons of info and youtubes on sumps built from them. One of the sumps I'm working with is a Trigger Systems Ruby Elite 36 which I found real cheap on CL, if you want to go with a pre-built sump I highly recommend it as a 40 gallon sump.

 

Yeah the 40 gallon breeder is the exact same dimentions as the sump area so it should in theory fit under it like a glove. I'm probably going to keep it close to what I have now setup wise except one extra chamber for the skimmer after the intake chamber might just combine the two so I can use more of it for a bigger fuge. We'll see when I get to working on it. LoL Can't wait to see pics of your builds.

 

Heres one I have for when I started the Ruby,



*I'm further along than this but...

Remember (if you may need) to possibly leave some room under there for maybe a bio-pellet reactor or BRS dual reactor (GFO and Carb) unless they will be held in the sump etc..

 

man I wish I could do a saltwater taank but I'm not on a concrete slab so I can't get a forgining tank like a 100 gaallon.

 

you don't have to be on a concrete slab to have a saltwater tank. I live in a 100+ year old house with a dirt floor cellar (friend's call it a Silence of the Lambs cellar LoL) and I just added extra supports beams down there to compensate for all the weight of my tanks. LoL You don't have to do a 100 gallon tank either to start out with I started the reef in a 50 gallon breeder and upgraded to the 75 gallon after getting it off Craigslist for a steal. LoL

I'm trying to hold off on adding reactors at the moment roadrunner I have gotten the nitrates down to 5 ppm maybe 10ppm on a heavy feed day.
I actually got to get the two blue with yellow tail damsels and the all blue damsel and maybe the black/yellow chromos out and start working on the final fish stocking for the tank. Wanna get another Yellow Tang or at least another tang of some sort. Debating on taking the Maroon Clown out too cause it has killed the last four smaller Maroon Clowns I have added to the tank to try to pair up with it and I want a pair of clowns. Thinking of a six line wrasse to maybe I don't know yet. LoL

 

yeah sure...but I'm 13 so imagine this see ya mom I'm off to add some heavy support beams in the basement that floods a lot and that has mold fungus and everything in between. and that can kill me if I breathe in the water.

 

True you could always try your hand at a nano tank they are not recommended for beginners but if you do enough research and reading you could probably pull it off no problem. Saltwater isn't any harder than fresh in my opinion. It's just a little more intimidating at first but once you get into it your hooked. LoL It's a awesome feeling when the lights come on in the tank and you get to see EVERYTHING in the tank come to life for the day I love my little slice of the ocean. LoL

 

I know I was gonna do a 29 gallon saltwater tank but at the last second at the store I chickened out and its freshwater. really I am a bit scared more stuff to buy on my parents behalf. and more expensive fish.and everything new.oh oh, and I have to get another 10 gallon tank to do water changes in the salty one.

 

Some pics of the two different brain corals I added to the tank and the blue sypodium been looking forever for them and finally got them. LoL



I am loving the camera on my new phone some more pics from today. I really like how the shots of the trumpet corals look. I think those two might be the best shots I have ever taken. LoL



The continious shot mode actually let me get some awesome pics of the elusive Lawnmower Blemmy. LoL Little buggers aleays faster than the camera. LoL

 

I've always wanted a Lawnmower Blenny . Hey, I just saw that starfish in the refuge-very cool as are your new corals though I still like the Sun Coral best! I don't want to worry you/ others but IME the nitrates become a problem after a year or two no matter how much maintenance is done within reason. Mine were tolerable in the 150 gallon I had, but after time the trates became a real problem which led me to chaeto then also a BP reactor. I LOVE my BP reactor!!!. Keep one in mind (and GFO) if the need is ever there, they are tricky at first but easy once you get the hang of them. My chaeto now is more to grow pods and such for my Dragonets and help with PO4 but could just re-start my GFO reactor (to control PO4) for which I'll do for my 180g.

 

Hey everyone been a while since I did a update and I finally got Youtube to upload a video. I have added some more rock and a lot more corals and have had some amazing growth since the last update. Here's the video


75 gallon Reef Update:

Let me know what you guys think.

 

Great job man, that reef tank is the real deal !!!

 

Thanks a lot of the new corals actually came from a friend who's tank crashed and he decided to go freshwater. So I got all his live rock, live sand and corals and was able to save everythiing except his xenia, athelia and kenya trees they just melted into nothing.

Green Button Polyps of some kind with a Toadstool Leather




more Radiaoactive Dragon Eye Zoas and what I believe are Joker Zoas




Yellow Button Polyps




A whole bunch of frogspawn that I hope come back they all have some meat left on the skeletons still and everything I have read said they can come back so fingers crossed




A purple Anenome I thought this thing was dead it was deflated and guts all out has made a complete recovery though




the sump is now pod heaven and the rock is only in with the skimmer section for a few days till I move it up to the DT




and these I was just playing with the panaramic mode on my phones camera and thought they were pretty sweet looking







Update Some new pics from today have some amazing growth going on in the tank. Have switched to Fluval Sea salt mix to recently after seeing some awesome results with it on a LFS employees personal tank.

The Hammer coral seems to just keeps doubling in size







The Yellow Polyps came back full force







Crazy polyp extention on my green digI and growing fast







Some Leather Corals I got that are almost as big as my face LoL




One of the Green Polyp colonys with a Toadstool







more pics in next post won't let me add more than 10 per post LoL

The Open Brain has doubled in size







Several new heads on this one too




The Condy has found it's spot finally hopefully




I got a all new tiny head of Frogspawn sprouting out of one of the dead skeletons




The Trumpet Corals and Mushrooms are doubling in size too







You can see how much growth I have on the Blue Clove Polyps and Red DigI in this pic it's insane




The other colony of the Green Polyps I got have just exploded

 

The tank is coming along beautifully, really know your stuff!!! Hey, what salt mix do you use/recommend for starting a reef tank that includes both SPS & LPS etc...I'll start a new thread for this later-thanks krazyone2006.

*I know keepers change what they use along the way for what they are keeping but something to use as a starter brand? I hear the-Coral Pro- brand being kicked around a lot?

 

1971roadrunner THX, I was using and I know I am/will get hate for this the normal purple Instant Ocean Salt Mix because I dose the B-Ionic 2 part every other day. I have recently switched though to the Fluval Sea brand salt mix after my favorite LFS started using it and the growth and colors ect tripled for them. They also gave me a good 1/2 price deal on a 50 gallon bag to try LoL and I am hooked on it now. It cost me $19.99 + tax for a 50 gallon bag so it's only a few dollars more than what I was using and a few dollars cheaper than the Instant Ocean Reef Crystals and is better than the Reef Crystals in my opinion and I had read the Fluval Sea was good and am now convinced and would suggest it to anyone considering a reef tank of any kind.

Now if I can just get my Maroon Clowns to finally pair and host any of the corals in the tank I will finally be happy. LoL

 

I'm considering maybe complicating my life even further by altering my 125g to a reef and this info is of great help-thanks man. I'll go with what you say, seems to make sense and want the results your getting for my possible set up. NICE WORK on yours!

in regards to the clowns pairing, try playing some Barry White .

 

Thx LoL @ the Barry White. Corals really are not that hard to keep if you already know saltwater from the fish side moving into corals is going to be a breeze for you and your going to get addicted. LoL 1971roadrunner Let me know when your ready to try corals the Leathers I got that are as big as my face LoL I am going to be cutting some frags off of for my first actual fragging and will try to hook you up with some. They are good fast growing easy corals to care for very forgiving. LoL I'm also tryng to get the green and the yellow polyps to spread onto some rubble pieces. LoL

I also dose 20 mls of B-Ionic 2 part every other day and also have that beast of a skimmer on this tank and I do a 10 gallon WC every 7 days religiously. I only test every other day too on the days I don't dose the B-Ionic. I also have a pretty heavy feeding schedule LoL my corals and fish eat better than I do. LoL

 

I have T5 lighting on the tank from it's Freshwater days? I could always upgrade if necessary . I'll continue to read up on the chemistries and take it from there and will continue to question you on the particulars-thanks. I'd really like to get some of your frags-sounds like fun. Could post pic's so you could see how their doing!

 

1971roadrunner T-5's are not bad I ran that 48 inch 4 bulb Corlife T-5 fixture till I upgraded to the new light. Just make sure you replace bulbs at least every 7-8 months or else there will be algae issues. LoL With the T-5s I got the best growth outta 2 x 10,000k bulbs, 1 Antic bulb and 1 Blue Plus Bulb.

My plan this weekend is to setup this 36g long I have as a small frag tank. So as soon as I get that setup and stable I'm going to attempt a fraging. LoL So hopefully in a few weeks some frags will be ready to share. I'm trying to get the Kahuna's up to frag the Sun Coral just can't bring myself to whack it with a hammer and chisel yet. LoL

You don't have to dose the B-Ionic or anything really in a Reef Tank I just dose it to up my Calcium and Alk a little bit.

 

I'm going to start researching the possibility of having certain types of anemones in the 125g first. I heard they can be had with most of my stocking list? I'm lovin' keeping inverts now and having fun with that, so between the two tanks I'm staying busy for now but can't imagine corals aren't going to be something I HAVE to do at some point. I'll look into what you posted including the B-Ionic-thanks!!!

just got these guys.



*how your CChip star?

 

1971roadrunner Patrick is being a pain he's about to go to a fellow reefer I met that has a 75 gallon FOWLR cause he keeps getting between the baffles in the sump causing havok. LoL I swear he likes to play the game hey I'm as big as your face but look at this tiny spot I can cram myself into. LoL

Sweet you should get a giant carpet anemone my baby carpet is getting huge now. I will have to post some pics of it soon. He's getting the nice teal/green tips on it's tenticles too it's pretty sweet looking under the antics. Oh I can't wait till your addicted to corals it always starts with a anemone. LoL

 

Now that's a plan. I have fish as you can see in my 125g profile that are not necessarily reef safe but would be fine with a carpet anemone which is exactly what I'd want - I really like (especially the green carpet) those! I can get those bulbs you mention above for this, my lighting holds four and the whites need replacing anyway. I'll start looking into this on my end. Thanks for helping me along. sorry about Patrick .

 

N/P anything to help.Yeah looking at your profile I would start with a nem and maybe a leather or two even some Kenya trees all cheap and easy corals the only thing that could really get picked at is the kenyas but most fish/inverts leave them alone. You could probably safely do some Purple Athelia too I love mine the way it flows with the current of the tank like a big field of tall grass in the wind. LoL

It sucks to get rid of Patrick but I knew I would have to when I got him plus he needs a bigger space than the skimmer area of my sump LoL and I can't afford to keep replacing the filter socks he decides to chew holes in too. LoL

I was just feeding the reef and got a chance to get the Lawnmower Blenny, 1 of the Maroon Clownfish, The Mandarinete and the Coral Banded Shrimp I got the other day who was poking itself out of its cave all in one pic. LoL Don't know if the planets aligned just right for this to happen but here's the pics. LoL

 

I have the Odyssea T5 lighting that's two separate fixtures (not one long). The lights were for my 125g dimentions that I bought off CL (I thought till now they were made by Marineland but Odyssea model name- shows what I know about lighting?). My dwarf lions sometimes try picking up some of my inverts to try to eat them but they are fine otherwise.

 

1971roadrunner Do you got a link for the fixtures? I'll check them out.

 

No, not right now but each is 24w x 2. They did alright for the Freshwater plants I had before converting the tank to Saltwater and guess they did OK? I never got into live plants other than helping with filtration, I'm so glad it's a Saltwater tank now. I like growing the chaeto though and doing well in my new sump for the 125 (i'll post a pic if you want?).

 

Yeah throw a pic up I'll check it out. your probably going to have to go 1-10,000k and 1-antic in each fixture if it's only 2 bulbs per fixture. I'd check out Craigslist in your area you might get lucky and find a nice light like I did cheap.

 

your pics befor look awesome - good stuff!!!

Just thought I'd put up my Dragonets, your guy looks awesome - love the coloring!!!

The chaeto is doing well

*btw krazyone2006 are you familiar with pod piles? they are a must have for dragonets and really cool when placed near the front glass so you can see what's going on there!

 

Yeah I think I'm giving up on cheato till I get the new sump made and in place. LoL My cheato is just a ball of Hair Algae. I have a few small piles of ruble in the tank for pods. I have a ton of pods I showed a friend one day by turning the lights out on the reef and shining a red light into it and she freaked out over the pods thought they were creepy. LoL

I would love to have two Dragonetes but I got a Scooter Blenny that only eats pods so I don't want too much compotition for the food source. But then again my sump is pod heaven thanks to all the rock I added to it so I might get a 2nd in a couple months. I wanna work on getting another type of tang and either switching my unpairing set of maroons out for a actual pair of Clownfish that are paired up and will host something. LoL

A video update from 10-17-14 a lot of growth and happy corals. LoL

1971roadrunner claireputput

 

Gorgeous! Love all your corals and you make me want to get more and more and...

 

So shot a update video yesterday. I have taken all three korilia 4's out and replaced them with 1 Jebao WP-25. The flow from this one pump is insane you can see by how white my sand is now it has cleared up all my dead spots. Plus it's so nice being able to see my Coral Garden without having to look through a Wavemaker garden first to see it. LoL

I had a couple losses my Green BalI Slimmer went through some RTN along with half of one of my birdsnest colonies. Hopefully my Favorite LFS gets my Copperband Butterfly in today that will hopefully take care of the apstasia explosion going on in the tank too. Here's the video let me know what you guys think. Oh I am also in the process of working out a trade for a huge100+ head/polyp colony of Camo colored Palyothas they look so sweet. LOL

1971roadrunner claireputput

 

Another great video, the tank as a whole looks awesome and great work with setting up the new circulation pump, thanks ! Sorry about your losses but I'm sure your working hard to rectify the trouble and will have the long term sustainable tank your striving for soon. If I may, be sure to choose your CBB well as I've had/have two in the past 10yrs (though in fowlr tanks) and consider them my favorite semi-aggressive fish but mine only eat the smaller aiptasia, never the more grown ones so you will still have to spot kill those which you may already know and have no trouble doing. If you have any trouble with the CBB post about it, they require some work to feed at times but not too difficult to keep them going for the long haul. NICE reef tank!!!

 

Thanks 1971roadrunner I got the Copperband Butterfly today it has spent the last two weeks in QT at my favorite LFS he wiped out all the apstatia in their QT and he's eating brine and mhyst shrimp so hopefully my DT will be apstasia free or at least almost there soon. LoL I will post some pics when hes in the tank and settled.

 

That's awesome! Beautiful fish, right !!!! It's amazing how many people don't bother to check to see if the fish they're getting at the LFS are eating and what they were fed? Good job and hope to see him soon! You can kiss the aiptasia goodbye and I hope he's alright with the corals etc.., plenty of people seem to do fine with them in reef setup's.

 

I am in love with your tank! It is so beautiful. I ordered a 4 berghia nudibranch today as I saw a few sprouting in the seahorse tank and they can sting and irritate a sea horse.
I absolutely love your tank and I can't say that enough!