JTumbleweeds 40br SPS/Clam

[youincolor]

I came back to nano-reef after learning a lot from the site two years ago when I started my first saltwater tank. I thought it would be cool to start a thread about my tank here now that I feel that I have a pretty good knowledge base and could possibly be helpful to other people starting out like I did. I have threads on both of my tanks on my local reef club website as well: http://chicoreefclub.org/viewtopic.php?t=440

 

My tank now:

 

 

 

Sump:

 

Both:

 

Tank Specs:

 

Tank: 40 gallon breeder with CPR CS90 overflow, 29 gallon (holds 20 gallons) sump, Mag 5 return pump.

Lighting: Current USA Sunpod 2x150 halide with Phoenix 14 K bulbs, on at 1 pm, off at 1 am, blue moon lights on at 1 am, off at 11am I think. (I need to change this to like 2 or 3 am but haven't yet.)

Filtration: Coralife Super Skimmer 65 for now, it was the only in-sump skimmer I had when I added the sump in August. I made the skimmer chamber big enough to accommodate a Reef Octopus in-sump skimmer when I can afford it. Running a Phosban reactor with Phoslock and carbon, changed monthly. Refugium with grape caulerpa and cheato mixed, and some live rock, need to add more soon.

Water Movement: Koralia 2's x2.

Controller: Reef Keeper Lite with one four slot strip, controlling the halides, moon lights, heater, and 15" cooling fan.

Dosing: I dose two part solution from Bulk Reef Supply everyday. I am currently looking to automate this because I can't just keep pouring it in the tank. I also drip Brightwell Kalk+2 via an Aqualifter and ATO solenoid in the sump.

 

Fish:

True Percula clown hosting Anchor Hammer coral

Yasha Hase goby with pistol shrimp

Clown goby

Pair of PJ Cardinals

Coral Beauty Angel

Six-line Wrasse

 

Corals:

Numerous SPS including Montiporas, Acroporas, Stylophora, and others. LPS including Anchor Hammer, acans, donut coral, fungia, green horn, blastomusa, alevapora, chalice. Softies including various Zoanthids, and ricordias.

 

Other Inverts:

Crocea clam, Maxima clam, Squamosa clam, Derasa clam, serpent star, cucumber, queen conch, peppermint shrimp, etc.

 

Every step I make in the right direction leads me closer to my dream of a colorful, vibrant tank of SPS corals and clams. I used to want to upgrade to something bigger, but since adding the sump, and seeing the stability it added to the tank, it makes me think I do not need to as soon as I though I might. I would like to have a 75 RR eventually I think. Thanks for looking at my obsession.

 

[crrichey]

Simple and amazing!

[youincolor]

I thought I would add some history here just in case it helps anyone. I am open to any questions anyone may have.

 

I started my first tank in September 2007, with a horrible 29g tall that a friend had set up as a reef tank before he upgraded to a 65 RR. I hated the shape of that tank because stacking rocks in a 12x24xway too high was a pain. This tank got me started though and about six months later I bought the 40 gallon breeder I have today.

 

Looking at this picture today is pretty embarrassing, first night set up:

I started with a Coralife light that didn't fit my tank, a used Seio, and a used Prizm skimmer. All horrible products.

 

This is the last full tank shot I took before upgrading to the 40:

I had bought a Current Sunpod 1x150 halide at this point.

 

Transferred to the 40, February 2008:

I had bought a Current Sunpod 2x150 halide by now, and my first Koralia 2 for movement. Still trying to use the crappy Prizm skimmer, I fought diatoms and algae for the first 1.5 years of reef keeping. The tank ran in it's current form for about six months before I moved to a new house. When I moved the tank I was able to ditch some base rock I had cut corners with when I first started, but more importantly I was able to get rid of any softies on the rocks I didn't want because I was going to go SPS dominated.

 

This is after the move:

I lost the ORA pink birdsnest in the move, I think it was the only casualty, it got cold in a small bucket of tank water and never came back.

 

Moving on from here was easy. I swapped out a lot of corals, selling what I didnt think I wanted to keep forever, and started acquiring more pieces, SPS mostly. I also have a love of clams, eventually getting three more to accompany my first blue Crocea. I now have the blue Crocea, and nice tear drop Maxima, a quickly growing Derasa, and the newest one, a little Squamosa with very different colors than most. I have been lucky in this hobby because my friend, the one who gave me my first tank, worked at one of the local reef shops. He would call me when cool things came in and if I was able to get there quickly I would have first pick on corals or clams.

 

Thanks for reading about my past tanks. I have been through a lot, and used a lot of different products over the last two years. Any questions or comments are welcome.

 

Simple and amazing!

 

Thanks a lot! People have noted the simplicity of the tank, is it just the openness of it or the lackluster coral selections? The tank kind of turned out the way it did because I can't afford to spend a lot on it, haha. I just have to let what I have grow out.

[Jacobnano]

Your tank is amazing! And like I said on the gallery pic, very simple. I think it is just the way you organized the coral and the open space, it just looks great!

[nanoreefnate]

AWESOME tank man. love the rockwork and also the shallowness of you tank. your corals are also very colorful. keep up the good work!

[MGDMIRAGE]

Wow an uppercut from out of the dark! Excellent tank, i particularly like the green monti cap in the middle, totally awesome

[youincolor]

Thanks everyone. It's funny to think I started here two years ago knowing nothing at all, and now I'm pretty happy with my tank. I know people who have had tanks for years and years and still haven't figured it out.

[youincolor]

I noticed I have red bugs on two pieces of acro in my tank. I am not willing to use Interceptor because I feel it is way too invasive, and I have a pistol shrimp paired with a Yasha Hase I don't want to kill. A very knowledgeable local employee feels that red bugs do not cause as much harm as 'the internet may lead you to believe.' His shop seems to have them I guess in the reef flat, and I know he had some in his home tank before he broke it down, but they didn't seem to affect his corals at all, his tank was amazing.

 

I wouldn't have a problem with completely removing the corals if the red bugs would be removed completely as well. Do they live in the tank in other areas besides on the coral itself? They only seem to like two pieces in the tank, so maybe they wouldn't survive off the mucus of any of my other pieces. I don't know...

[Hero]

Nice simple tank design.

[youincolor]

Thanks a lot.

[youincolor]

I'm unhappy with the last pictures I posted, but I can't seem to get my camera settings quite right still. I also hated the left over precipitate on the aquarium walls so I scraped it off and took some (slightly) better pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry if all the pictures are annoying or anything.

[Paleoreef103]

Very nice pictures! Watch the clown goby. They munch SPS polyps. I think most people come to threads to see pictures so keep posting them!

[JustReef]

I'm unhappy with the last pictures I posted, but I can't seem to get my camera settings quite right still. I also hated the left over precipitate on the aquarium walls so I scraped it off and took some (slightly) better pictures.

 

Sorry if all the pictures are annoying or anything.

 

We need more pics of the clams. Is that a teardrop maxima?

 

You need to adjust the white balance on your camera. That's why all your pics are blue.

[Toomin]

i was drooling at some awesome photos of your tank when i entered NR.

[SpankythePyro]

Would it be possible to take the acros out to treat?

 

Also I have heard that some damsels eat them (fijian damsels), might be worth looking into

[youincolor]

We need more pics of the clams. Is that a teardrop maxima?

 

You need to adjust the white balance on your camera. That's why all your pics are blue.

 

I know but I can't get it to accept new settings when I try to white balance it near the tank. I have a Nikon D40 and I can snap a pic of something white to set it but I guess it's too dark or something. I'll have to work on it.

 

Yeah it's a teardrop. I'm going to do a water change tonight or tomorrow so I will try to snap some top-down pictures of them with the pumps off. They look awesome from above (like all clams).

 

i was drooling at some awesome photos of your tank when i entered NR.

 

Awesome, thanks.

 

 

Would it be possible to take the acros out to treat?

 

Also I have heard that some damsels eat them (fijian damsels), might be worth looking into

 

Yeah I could break them out of the putty I used to mount them. They are almost not even worth keeping, one is really tiny, the one the brought the bugs in (because I didn't dip it..) and the other is one of my first pieces and its so brown and deformed from me experimenting on it with water quality (or lack thereof). It's also not that big either. I could probably use the space for something I like more.

[youincolor]

Request for pictures of the clams: I did a water change today so i had the pumps off and snapped a few quick pictures in the automatic setting. I couldn't really reach the Maxima properly because it's right under the light, and the Crocea is as well so there is some reflection. Best I could do at this time.

 

Crocea, my first clam. I have had it for probably 20 months or so. Always has done very well in my tank/s.

 

Maxima, my second clam. I have probably had this clam for 18 months. Again, always has done very well in my tank.

 

Derasa clam. I bought this clam after seeing a bunch of awesome huge Derasas on some forums. I also wanted to try to collect all the clams I could keep in this tank. I will eventually have to upgrade tanks to keep this one and the Squamosa. It has grown about 1.5" of shell since I got it in January of this year.

 

Squamosa. Newest clam I have got, growing fairly quickly, probably put on two scutes (sp?) since I have had it, about 6 months or so.

[latteslave]

Your tank is SWEET!!! Especially diggin' the caps (and a little jealous)

[got2envy]

Wow!! you have a very beautiful reef

 

is that a red fungia? it's so purdy

[ajmckay]

Nice tank!

 

I really like your 'scape.... I'm hopefully going to be setting up my 40b soon, so I'm looking for ideas on how to set it up. I will also be using a 29g show for a sump.

 

I also really like your clams! I'll probably stick to a mixed reef though with maybe 1 crocea. I will be lighting it with a 250w MH set up with a 14K hamilton DE bulb.

[ap123]

This tank is breathtaking! The corals and clams are beautiful, but the way you have everything placed and growing in the tank is absolutely elegant.

 

And great photos!

[youincolor]

Your tank is SWEET!!! Especially diggin' the caps (and a little jealous)

 

Thanks a lot. I really like those caps I'm glad I let them kind of take over the center of the tank, it seems to be working out.

 

Wow!! you have a very beautiful reef

 

is that a red fungia? it's so purdy

 

Thanks. It's actually orange but my white balance is a bit off. It's one of my very first corals. It's not doing as great as it used to but I still like it. I don't see them much anymore.

 

Nice tank!

 

I really like your 'scape.... I'm hopefully going to be setting up my 40b soon, so I'm looking for ideas on how to set it up. I will also be using a 29g show for a sump.

 

I also really like your clams! I'll probably stick to a mixed reef though with maybe 1 crocea. I will be lighting it with a 250w MH set up with a 14K hamilton DE bulb.

 

Thanks, yeah I really like the 40b tank, I originally got it thinking I would upgrade soon but now I'm not in a huge hurry. Adding the 29g sump was a huge boost for the tank, makes me wish I had done it months ago. I'm a big clam fan, I started with the blue Crocea at first. Then I saw the rest and had to have them each time. They suck up amazing amounts of calcium I think.

 

 

This tank is breathtaking! The corals and clams are beautiful, but the way you have everything placed and growing in the tank is absolutely elegant.

 

And great photos!

 

Thank you. I didn't really have a plan on coral placement originally, but everything seemed to just come together in a pleasing way.

[reefer413]

beautiful tank! does your yasha goby hide alot?? i got 1 about 2 weeks ago and it only comes out to eat... kinda lame for 50 bucks

[youincolor]

beautiful tank! does your yasha goby hide alot?? i got 1 about 2 weeks ago and it only comes out to eat... kinda lame for 50 bucks

 

I only see mine every other day at feeding time if I am lucky. When I bought mine the kid rang it up as a yellow clown goby for $13, so I'm not too mad about it. My friends Yasha hangs out all day in the front of his hole, I guess it's just the luck of the draw.

[1337TANKHAX]

Where has this thread been?! I love the balance of your tank. Great aquascaping.