shaqdan Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I figured it was time to make my own thread regarding my little tank. I'm definitely no pro, but I am not looking to be one. The hobby is pretty relaxing, even if it can be expensive. In college (around 1991), I had a 55 gallon saltwater setup that was ghetto compared to today's standards. Back then, I knew nothing about flow, or the importance of water changes (and just clean water in general), or even the very basics, now that I think about it. It was simple. I had a tank, I had some fish (Yellow Tang, Naso Tang, a few others), and that was pretty much it. I ended up moving and tearing down the tank, and never set it up again. Fast foward many years later, and I finally decided to get back into the hobby in January of this year. I bought a 29 gallon tank and stand (which I immediately regretted - it was too damn small!) and all of the trimmings. I set the tank up with live rock and sand, waited out the cycling process, and started adding fish. Of course, I was a little too impatient and lost a fish along the way (only one fish, though), but overall, things went pretty smoothly. In May, I decided to get rid of the 29 gallon (sold to a friend), upgrade to the 65 gallon rimless tank in this thread, and transfer everything over. And I couldn't be happier. It is DEFINITELY still a work in progress ( I hate the current rockscape), but I keep reminding myself that it's not a race. Anyway, here are the details: Tank Specs Lighting: Hagen 36" GLO Dual T5 HO 2 x 39W Lighting System (x2) w/ ATI Blue Plus (2), ATI Aquablue Special, ATI Purple Plus; TrueLumen LED Lunar Lights (Blue) Protein Skimmer: CPR Bak-Pak 2R+ Reef Ready Protein Skimmer Filtration: 55 lbs Live Rock (more soon), Eheim 2217 Classic Canister Filter with Filter Floss, Seachem Purigen 100mL (2), & Chemi-Pure Elite Aquarium Filter Media (2) Substrate: Tropic Eden Miniflakes Aragonite Sand Equipment: Jager 150W Heater Circulation: Hydor Koralia Evolution 1050 Aquarium Circulation Pump, Hydor Koralia Evolution 750 Aquarium Circulation Pump Cooling: AQAUTEK ChillMaster Aquarium Cooling Fan 4 Fan Model Water Purifier: Mighty Mite 50GPD with DI Added Fish Blue Hippo Tang (Paracanthurus Hepatus) Kole Tang (Ctenochaetus strigosus) Lyretail Anthias x2 (Male & Female)(Pseudanthias squamipinnis) Melanurus Wrasse (Halichoeres melanurus) ORA Grade B Picasso Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma flavescens) Invertebrates Cleaner Shrimp Dwarf Cerith (20+) Florida Cerith (50+) Nassarius Vibex (15) Turban Snail (7) Turbo Snail (2) Corals Acropora Millepora Coral Bali Green Slimer Acropora Daisy Polyps Duncan Coral Euphylia Torch Coral Frogspawn Green Palys Green Pocillopora Orange Tube Coral Pink Star Polyps Toadstool Random Zoanthids Maintenance Routine Clean glass daily Top off with RO water as needed 10gallon water change every 2 weeks Clean Canister Filter & replace Filter Floss at the time of water change Replace 2x Chemi-Pure Elite & Purigen every 6 months Latest FTS (8/2/2011) New rock recently added from Reefcleaners, which explains the bright white rocks you see. Pictures ORA Grade B Picasso Lyretail Anthias (male) Lyretail Anthias (male& female) Kole Tang Link to comment
broxxor Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 LOVE the fish and LOVE the scape. Good job man! Link to comment
JoelRHale Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Love that anthias! I had a squareback pair with my first saltwater tank. I also really love the look of these rimless tanks, very sharp looking. Link to comment
Cam198 Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Great job! I love the Kole tang. I'm thinking about getting one for my 40breeder Link to comment
shaqdan Posted August 4, 2011 Author Share Posted August 4, 2011 Thanks for the comments, folks. It still needs quite a bit of work, but if there's one thing I have (allegedly), it's time. Great job! I love the Kole tang. I'm thinking about getting one for my 40breeder I really dig the Kole as well. He is always scrounging for algae in the tank (as you can see in the picture I took). The Yellow Tang rarely does it, in comparison. Link to comment
jprime84 Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 I am getting frustrated with the noise of my overflow/sump setup. Coming from a freshwater aquarist background I am really comfortable with canister filters. I also have a fluval 205. Are there drawbacks to using a canister filter as opposed to a sump? Does it matter that I basically dont have refugium? Yours seems to be working very well. Link to comment
shaqdan Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share Posted August 24, 2011 I definitely couldn't answer that, since I have never owned a sump. I'd say the one drawback would be if you were lazy and didn't take care of the canister. I make sure to clean mine every 2 weeks, replacing the filter foam sponges in it, the filter floss, etc. I went the canister route because when I had the tank made, I didn't have him drill it. It was a choice I made and I can live with it. Perhaps I'll add a sump one day, but for now, I see no reason to fix what ain't broke. Link to comment
bwp Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I definitely couldn't answer that, since I have never owned a sump. I'd say the one drawback would be if you were lazy and didn't take care of the canister. I make sure to clean mine every 2 weeks, replacing the filter foam sponges in it, the filter floss, etc. I went the canister route because when I had the tank made, I didn't have him drill it. It was a choice I made and I can live with it. Perhaps I'll add a sump one day, but for now, I see no reason to fix what ain't broke. I see that you are located in Houston. Where did you get your tank from? I am in the market for a new tank (in Houston) and like the look of yours... -Bryan Link to comment
shaqdan Posted August 25, 2011 Author Share Posted August 25, 2011 I got it from a LFS called Fishland on Westheimer (love the staff there). They have a guy who makes them. Rimless, you can get it reef-ready (drilled with an overflow) or without the overflow. Stand included for around $325 (costs a little more if it has the overflow). You can pick the color of the stand (cherry red, black, etc). Link to comment
JNA_DESIGN Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Thats a steal at that price... With the stand too?!? I just paid 500 for a 75, tank only. And its only rimless on the top. Still has the ugly rim around the bottom lol. Link to comment
JoelRHale Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I got it from a LFS called Fishland on Westheimer (love the staff there). They have a guy who makes them. Rimless, you can get it reef-ready (drilled with an overflow) or without the overflow. Stand included for around $325 (costs a little more if it has the overflow). You can pick the color of the stand (cherry red, black, etc). What I would do to live in a place with a store like that. I was talking to my lfs about upgrading tanks and they weren't even positive they could get a 40 breeder lol. Link to comment
shaqdan Posted August 25, 2011 Author Share Posted August 25, 2011 Here is it on the stand. I opted for the Cherry Wood to match the rest of my furniture. It doesn't have tons of bells and whistles, but it's perfect for what I use it for (holding a tank and storing crap under it). Link to comment
pismo_reefer Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I really like it.... Simple, yet elegant. It's definitely a nice tank. Link to comment
shaqdan Posted August 28, 2011 Author Share Posted August 28, 2011 A few new pics: Picasso Radioactive Dragon Eyes, maybe? Pink/Purple Palys Dasies Frogspawn Pink Millepora Link to comment
shaqdan Posted September 6, 2011 Author Share Posted September 6, 2011 Added a Blue Hippo Tang because my tank needed COLOR! Here he is being cleaned by the cleaner shrimp: And here's another of the Picasso, just because. Link to comment
Twilton Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 Great pictures mate and nice tank. Everyones tank is a work in progress haha. Just wondering how do you find the canister on such a big tank? Iv always thought this would be to little filtration... obviously not haha Link to comment
shaqdan Posted September 10, 2011 Author Share Posted September 10, 2011 Thanks for the reply. As far as I can tell, the canister works pretty well. I clean it every 2 weeks, changing out the filter floss. My fish seem happy and the corals are doing good (although they don't grow as fast as I would like, but I have no previous experience to know if they are "slow" or "normal". I'm pretty content with how things are at the moment. The only thing I'd like to change is to get a new light fixture with 6 bulbs instead of my current 4. Maybe when I buy a house, I'll invest in something fancier. There's plenty of inspiration out there. Link to comment
shaqdan Posted October 1, 2011 Author Share Posted October 1, 2011 Added a Geometric Pygmy Hawkfish today. Very cool little fella. Link to comment
Gorgula Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Awesome Picasso! Where did you buy it from and how much? Thanks Link to comment
shaqdan Posted October 12, 2011 Author Share Posted October 12, 2011 Thanks! I actually bought the Picasso from another person on these boards. He had 2 and one had died, so he sold the one I got. I paid $65 (shipping included) for it. It's a great fish. Link to comment
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