Yeah I'm pretty excited about getting it going. Should be soon, subscribe!

oh i will bro, count on it

When I switch tanks sometime this month I think want to remove the Coral Beauty and the two PJ Cardinals. I am going to put them in my fairly new 55g mixed reef since I only have four fish in there now. I won't miss the PJ Cardinals since they are boring to watch, but I will miss the Coral beauty flying around in and out of the rocks. I want to remove it I think because I have had good luck with it so far not nipping my clams, but I see it peck on the SPS every once in awhile. I do not have good polyp extension at all on most of my pieces, but I can't say for sure why. Do you guys think that the Angel is the reason for this? I know a lot of my pieces are stressed from too much light right now which is part of the reason I am switching to the taller 58 gallon. I just want to make the right decision once because I won't be able to catch it out of the 55 if I wanted it back.

Also, how many snails and hermits do you think I should have in a 58g? Right now in the 40 I think I only have two large trochus snails, and about three asterea snails. I have probably three red leg hermits, and two or three blue leg hermits. I used to have more hermits but I stopped replacing them if I noticed they were missing. I also have two or three emerald crabs to try to help control any hair algae.

Bump for questions above. Maybe I should start a new thread.

With regards to the polyp extension, I experienced much better extension when I switched from Koralia's to a Vortech pump. It was overnight improvement. If you have the dough, it's worth a shot IMO.

I love this tank!!

wow your tank is realy nice!!! i love all of the clams.. thats what i want to do with mine some day.. and all of your caps are beautiful.. now i have an idol and i know what i want my tank to turn out looking like!! good job with everything and i hope all goes well

that tank is amazing

That's an interesting observation, I would love to get an MP40. Thanks.




Much appreciated.



Thanks a lot. I used to try to find every 40br reef tank I could to try to figure out how they were doing it. The caps have really gone crazy and the clams have always been healthy from day one, I got lucky with those things.



Thanks!

What an awe-inspiring tank! JTumbleweed, in your post #11, what is the coral in the 4th pic from the top? It's gorgeous. I love your clams and your aquascaping too!

nice

Is that one clam up in the rocks glued down (it's at a nice angle)? I glued one of my maximas, but felt guilty the next day and pulled him down. That one just doesn't like high light for some reason.

Thanks a lot. That coral is a Cynarina lacrymalis, or 'donut coral'. It's always done great since the day I bought it. I think they might be hit or miss but when you find a good one it should do great.



I'm not sure which one you're referring to, but I didn't glue either of them down. I placed them where I wanted them to sit and they put their foot down and attached themselves. I don't think you're supposed to glue them anywhere, if they jump off the rocks they aren't happy and need to be moved somewhere else.

nice tank man you have some really nice growth and some nice corals in there!

Thanks a lot! I will miss being in the 40br club though...and with a 55 and a 58 I think my nano-reef license will be revoked. Although I am in discussions for a used 12 gallon nano cube atm...

Well as fast as I posted my tank thread, I decide to switch tanks. What ensues is the carnage of five hours moving tanks today:

Just getting started.


Last top down shot of the 40br ever.


Last full on shot of the 40br ever.


Getting more empty.


3.5 pissed off fish and corals.


Obligatory 'cat inspection' shot. Cats are so annoying.


That's it for the 40br as it was. I may use it again someday but I would definitely drill it for an overflow next time, and possible a closed loop system.


The return elbow looks so bummed.


New 58 Oceanic sitting on it's new throne. It hangs over 1/8" on both sides but its just the plastic trim.


Full of water and pissed off corals/fish.


A little clearer.


Looking fairly clear about three hours after the final touches.


I will be making a new build thread for this tank, look for it!

Looking good. A new tank is always a chance to put new knowledge to use Plus you gained some nice growout room!

Yeah I agree, I was able, in most cases, to place corals in more desirable positions depending on light and flow. I think these corals will have plenty of space to grow now. I didn't know what they needed when I first got most of them. Also I think that having the light further above everything will help all the corals not look so washed out. Some even got burned in the old shallower tank.

Looking good man!
one thing though...
The tank seems to be a tad larger than the stand...
dont you think that with less contact space the tank could undergo physical stress?
might be a risky thing to have done...
i just dont want your tank to drain onto you floor,

Yeah I know it looks bigger but its just that the plastic trim is very 'decorative' and bulges out. The actual glass walls, hence all the weight, still sit squarely over the stand/sidewalls. I was a bit concerned too at first but I'm sure it will be fine.

I don't know how that tank is constructed, but on a tank like a standard AGA/Aqueon, where the black frame holds the glass up off the floor, it is very important that the entire frame be on a flat surface. Does the bottom pane of glass sit directly on the wood of the table?

congrats on the successful move. now I have another one of your tanks to drool at.

Yeah definitely, I built the stand myself, and the top area for the tank to sit on is about 1 5/8" wide on all four sides. Only about 3/16" max of the decorative trim hangs over the edges on just the left and right side. The trim on this tank is different then that of a standard Aqueon tank, like what I had on there before. Believe me, if I thought it looked sketchy, I wouldn't have proceeded without adding some additional support.


Thanks a lot, I am bummed I have to wait to watch this one grow in again though...

thats the fun part tho too. any big changes planned? new livestock?

awesome job, did u reuse ur sand, i plan on doing so but cleaning it before i do

I am going to be able to add a few fish which I am psyched about. I really like the fish in a reef tank, but I have always been kind of bummed on the average ones I had. I can't really afford to spend a lot on fish and corals though so it will probably have to just grow in for a while.


A fellow reefer in town had 40 lbs of crushed aragonite left over from a 120 build. I was going to try to reuse my sand if I didn't get the free sand, but I would really advise against it if your tank has been established for awhile, it's totally disgusting. It would have to be a total nutrient trap.

nice move.

Thanks! Things are already looking better, and my calcium and alk levels are much more stable.

Your tanks are awesome BTW.

ty.

You probably feel like you have so much room now. What are your plans going forward, as far as corals and fish.

All the extra room is amazing. Everything is so much further away from the blinding halides, everything looks happier. As far as stocking goes, I'm not exactly sure yet. I can't really afford to buy a lot of corals, or I would have more exotic ones already. I tend to have to just keep dosing 2 part and let what I have get bigger. Ever since I started with corals I have been selling the older, not so interesting ones and buying better, more colorful corals. I will probably have to stick to this style a whole longer.

I am going to go to Sacramento tomorrow with some people and check out the shops down there, so I am hoping to find an interesting fish or two to bring home. The tank is so empty with only a few fish, most of which hide all day (Yasha with shrimp buddy underground, clown hosting hammer, Angel in and out of rocks...).

Do you feel like you get enough spread of light from front to back with the sunpod? I'm thinking of switching from my TEK 6 bulb fixture on my 40 Breeder to a 2x150 sunpod. My tank is pretty SPS heavy.

Yeah I haven't noticed any problem with light spread at all. T5s have better spread of course, but I haven't had any trouble growing anything on the sides of the tank with the halides. The 40 is so short that the light doesn't have far to go as it fans out. I would go for it, but you'll have to find a used Sunpod because they are discontinued.

Thanks. I found one and have just been debating on purchasing it.

Hey man, hope things are going well with the 58.

Anyway, I've been thinking about upgrading my 29g BC to a 40 breeder. Any general tips/comments/things to be weary of etc.? I planning on mostly lps with a few sps corals so I was thinking of going with t5s...

Hey, thanks for asking, the 58 is great, I just came home with a new leopard wrasse for it.

With the 40 I would definitely go with T5s because I had trouble keeping any LPS in that tank without burning them. Other than the lighting I think you probably can get the rest going. I would suggest that you DEFINITELY drill the tank for an overflow and returns. I had the 40 for almost two years without a sump and let me tell you, being limited to all hang-on-the-back stuff SUCKS. Sumps are the way to go, for sure.

Good luck, let me know when you start a build thread!