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.

Simple and amazing!

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.



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.

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!

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

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

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.

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...

Nice simple tank design.

Thanks a lot.

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.

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!

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

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

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).



Awesome, thanks.




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.

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.

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

Wow!! you have a very beautiful reef

is that a red fungia? it's so purdy

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.

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!

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.



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.



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.




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

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.

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

Awesome, thank you so much. I just started this thread a week ago or so. I'm really loving all the nice comments, haha. I don't know why I never had a thread before, I could talk reef all day.

I got a lot of crap for taking some rock out and having so much swimming space, but once it all grew in no one had anything to say about it anymore... I love it now.

I understand how worried you are about treating your tank with interceptor. I have a Crocea in my tank as well and was most concerned with this. I can not express how glad I did the treatment that I am ! The polyp extension on ALL of my sps is off the charts after the treatment. I just used it let it sit over night and did a wc the next day. I also have a porcealin crab, bumlebee shrimp, boxer crab, and countless snails and the clam with lps too. I had now ill effects or losses other than the red bugs. I'm telling you do it. I am considering doing it once a month just to keep the tank healthy . Gl !

Wow really? Hmm.. The thing is I just noticed them recently, and I can only see them on two pieces. I have always had kind of poor polyp extension, probably having to do with the pygmy angel or six-line. Do you think it did something else besides just kill red bugs to get such a great result? I know someone who just dosed their tank and I think he was pretty happy with it. I would hate to lose anything in my tank after all this time...

Like I said before I have no problem removing the two pieces and just disposing of them, they are tiny and crappy. Or dipping them and putting them on a frag rack to monitor.

Even if you do remove the acros to dip you will still have them in your tank. I was concerned about my clam as you are and inverts pods, etc. I have not noticed any ill affects honestly after three weeks. Only difference is completely positive. My acros that were infested are popping with pe now. and the color is returning nicely. I even notice baby mysis sprining up in my tank all of a sudden after over a year of being established. I know not due to the treatment , but a sign of no bad effects imo. I discussed with a fellow club member about interceptor and we both come to an agreement that it's beneficial. Can't tell you why. Just the proof is in the pudding.

Yeah I figured it couldn't be that easy to just remove the pieces. Of course.
It's nice to hear all the positive results from people that have tried it, I am interested in trying it out now. I am going to read up on the dosage and contact a fellow reefer who had access to it recently to see if I could get a small amount.

Amazing acro colonies!

Simply magnificent!

Thanks a lot, they would be even nicer if I didn't currently have red bugs. I thought I would never have growing acro colonies when I started.



Thank you very much, I was super impressed with your tank when I saw it featured as tank of the month in January, so your praise means even more to me.

very cool. I would like to set up a 40 breeder one of these days

Thanks. The extra water volume is amazing for stability.

That's a really nice tank, and great pictures. The colors are well balanced as is the tank. Excellent.

You're too kind.

i REEEEEEALLY love ya your tank.
My jaw actually dropped. Outstanding
Everything looks healthy and the colors are great too.
I am so jealous lol

wow...your tank is awesome. very nice blend of color and variety of corals/clams. What is your dosing regimen? And do you just have 2 K2's?

Im not sure how i never seen this tank. But just wanted to say its awesome and great aquascaping. TOTM for sure

Excuse my language,

THIS TANK IS SOOOO ####ING GORGEOUS IT MAKES ME HATE MY LIFE...

The way everything is laid out is awesome... I Looooooooove that overhanging monti as the center piece. Much props dude, very inspiring to me.

Thank you very much. I am using Brightwell kalk+2 for my top off, and BRS two part. I am still dialing everything in but I am using 50ml of the two part right now. I have two K2's and the 500 GPH return from my sump. I could use 500 GPH shooting across the other side of the tank to really max out the flow. When I hook up the chiller I will have it probably.




Thanks a lot. I just posted my tank thread last month so it's still getting exposure. TOTM is a long way away but that's an exciting thought.



Much appreciated. The green monti center piece really came together, even I am surprised with how nicely it works there.

My power went out at like 3pm yesterday, and apparently this signaled two fish to jump out of the tank. The six line wrasse in this tank, and a tailspot blenny in the 55. Of course the six line would have eventually jumped out anyway I guess, but I have had it for about two years without any problems. I don't know what the tailspots problem was. Kind of sucks. Also I will never find the body of the six line because I have a new kitten so it will always be a mystery as to what happened to it. The tailspot ended up wedged between the back glass and the black plastic background on the 55. It was almost funny...

Beautiful Tank. The aquascaping is great. I see so many pictures of tanks were the rock is just thrown in with no real vision and the same with corals. I have tried to plan mine a little better than that and am pretty happy with how it looks, but yours is incredible.

My question is do you trim (frag) your corals to prevent touching (specifically the caps). My tank is about 14 months old or so, and I am getting to the point were my caps are getting close to some things (like a hammer and some digi's) and one is also starting to shade some corals too. I am not sure exactly how to take care of this. Wondering what you did / do.

Thanks and again, GREAT TANK!!!

Thanks for the kind words. It took me a long time to get the rock where I liked it and corals placed, and after that everything just grew in.

I have fragged my caps a few times, mostly just to make frags for swaps or to give to people. I don't really have to get in there too often, but when I have done it I just grab the piece and break it off by hand. This may not be the best way to do it, but the caps are pretty fragile and break fairly easily. I am actually letting the green cap grow up and around a piece of m. digitata, and they are working it out on their own. I haven't seen the kind of aggression that LPS corals display where one will lose the fight badly and die. SPS seem to just grow away from each other eventually. Of course some pruning will be necessary for the health of the corals. The anchor hammer I have in the lower right used to reach up and sting the purple cap, I would break off the dead areas of the cap and eventually it grew away from the hammer, and the hammer quit sending out sweepers.

Wow this is a beautiful tank. I used to think that SPS was boring, but I am starting to really appreciate it. Do you have any suggestions for keeping it?

inspirational work here....A+

I am scared of grape calupera anywhere near my tank tho....wdyt?

Yeah first win the lottery, then you'll have enough money to keep SPS. All kidding aside, I never thought I wuould be spending so much time and money to keep these kinds of corals. Although I could do it half assed, but I can't, for me it's either do it right or don't bother.

Whew, that was a rant, on to something more educational... I am by no means a pro at keeping SPS, my tank has only looked half decent for a short time now. I think the best possible thing for SPS is the ability to keep calcium and alkalinity at a constant and stable level. I am barley able to do this with the equipment I have, I think my next purchase will have to be either a peristaltic pump, or a kalk stirrer, or both. Keeping constant levels seems to be key, as well as keeping P04 levels almost nonexistent.




I assume you worry about it going sexual. I have never really seen or heard of this happening much, although I am aware of it. I don't know what causes it or what would happen if it did, I guess I just choose not to think about it. The shop owner of the shop I frequent has kept grape calupera in the shops refugium for years without problems, and that is the same stuff I have from the same system. I had cheato for a short time, and still have some, but I don't have a small power head to keep it spinning so it yellows and dies for some reason in my tank, so I switched back to the grape stuff. Fingers crossed I guess...

I will probably add cheato again with a power head after my Bangaii babies experiment is complete. I have about 20 in there right now, just released a few days ago.

Edit: I forgot to say thanks for the kind words.

Oh man, I have obtained a used Oceanic 58, center overflow... I really want to transfer into it but I'm too afraid... I have moved the 40br across town once, and transferred into it once when I first set it up, but it was never this grown in and I am afraid to have to rearrange everything... This is the story of it the 58.

On my local Reef Club's web site there was a kid that joined who had gotten an Oceanic 58 for like $50 from a fire sale move in Sacramento. He was all pumped to start a reef, but then I guess planned it out or something and realized he wouldn't be able to afford it, so he put up an ad to trade the tank, stand, and 'sump', which was a half finished 20 long with all kinds of wrong sized baffles, for a freshwater setup (cheaper I guess). I had just turned my empty 29 into a sump for this tank (40br), but I had a bunch of freshwater stuff left over from it to trade. I offered him all that stuff, and some carpentry and painting (I added a top to the 36" stand to accommodate a 30" tank and painted it to match, I didn't need the stand). +$60 and the tank and 'sump' was in my possession.

When he started to load the tank into my car I realized the tank trim was originally an amazing golden oak color that had been halfassedly sprayed black...so I was stuck scraping, sanding, and doing it again. I used Krylon Fusion formulated for plastics, and did about three coats last night. The flash doesn't do it justice, it looks pretty damn good. I can't believe Oceanic was still making oak trim in 2006 (tanks birthday).


I sprayed the back too. I left the overflow open for...a reason I suppose. To look in? I don't know, it seemed like a good idea.


The tank came with home made plumbing but I will probably re-do it so I will know it will work right. I want to move everything into this tank soon because I think the way the 40 is set up now I am burning the corals and the extra height will help with that, plus more water volume, and center overflow instead of the CPR overflow box I use now. Does anyone know if a Mag 5 will keep up with the overflow? I read of one person using a Mag 5 with this tank but didn't find any info yet on the actual flow rate of it.

i really would love to see what you would do with this tank