lkoechle Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 FTS June 2017: FTS May 2017: FTS April 2017: All fish present in this pic FTS March 2017: Background (May 2016) Spoiler I have just broken down my 85 gallon shallow to move to Florida. Sold all of the equipment, fish and coral. Except for 6 pieces. Five zoa mini colonies and a large 10+ inches Mystic Sunset Monti colony. These 6 pieces were sold to my LFS for credit... And with that credit we ordered a IM 25 Lagoon to take with us to Florida... So, yeah, we were suppose to be out for like 5 years. Well, that didn't happen. lolPlans (May 2016)This tank is going to be a mixed reef. Most likely SPS heavy. We got bit by the SPS bug with the 85. The tank will most likely not be ready to run for 9 months or so. If everything goes according to plan, husband will get a job in the next few weeks, we'll move, build a house, move into said house and THEN put the tank up. So fingers crossed that all goes smoothly. There are a lot of potential things to go wrong.For livestock, I plan on clowns (was going to not have clowns, but my 2 year old started asking "Where Nemo?" when he saw a regal tang at the LFS... Hey! At least I can properly keep them! no judging ), a tail spot blenny, a shrimp goby (either a tangaroa or orange stripe), a YCG and either a 6 line or Gold Assesor. Possibly both, will have to see how the rest of the stocking goes and how I feel the tank fills out.I have also wanted a Tuxedo Urchin FOREVER and have never had one. Its going in this tank.For aquascaping, I'm planning on something different this time. I am going to do research into Iwagumi style. I'm also thinking about a "drop off"-esque aquascape. We'll see what happens.I'm planning on reusing some of the equipment I had on my previous tanks like our ATO and heaters. One big difference however will be the lights. We've sold the AI SOLs and will be using NanoBox for this tank. So that will be a big difference for me since we've used our SOLs over every tank since 2011. But, my husband wants to get his hands on some the new technology that's emerged (new light colors) since we got into the hobby. So there you have it. Equipment Display Tank Innovative Marine 25 Gallon Lagoon Circulation Sicce Syncra 1.5 MP10 QD Lighting NanoBox Duo Plus M Filtration Innovative Marine Ghost skimmer inTank Media baskets Controller 2016 Apex Bluefish for the lights Misc Hydor SmartLevel ATO with TOM Aqualifter (TOM not up to the job, replaced with IM Hydrofill pump) Ordered Hydrofill Ti ATO controller, Hydor SmartLevel had too long of a delay causing overfilling Neotherm 100 watt heater Apex DOS Stocking PlansFish All of the below were lost May 2017 due to a marine velvet outbreak. 2x designer ocellaris clownfish (added 3/7/2017, Helo and Athena) 1 gold assesor (no current plans for a 5th fish) 1 leopard toby puffer (added 4/6/2017, Makoto) 1 pink-streak wrasse 6 line wrasse (in lieu of psw that was pretty much DOA, added 4/7/2017, Rei) 1 yellow candy hogfish 2 chalk basslets 2 bangaii cardinals 2 hi-fin gobies SPSThis is the first tank where I've had enough experience to actually know what corals I like so I can plan! Hooray! Note: anything italicized is what has already been added, anything "uncategorized" and normal font is wanted and yet to be acquired Katropora Kittiyagi ORA Red Planet various monti caps montipora WWC Rainbow monti Red montipora (encrusting) Bubblegum digitata stylophora WWC Mint Stylo Tyree Rainbow Stylo seriatopora ORA Ponape Birdsnest ORA Neon Birdsnest WWC Purple Polyp Birdsnest acropora WWC Madman Austera Tyree Pink Lemonade Blue Tort WWC Blueberry Fields CB Pink Tip ORA Plum Crazy LPS leptastrea JF Spit Fire acan lords Rainbow Acan micromussa Inverts tuxedo urchin cuc money cowries fighting conch BTA (rainbow, maybe see if one of my colorado friends would be willing to ship a sunburst split) My life and my tanksI thought it would be neat to do a side by side of my tanks since getting in the hobby in 2011 until now and how my life and locations have changed. When I started in this hobby, I had gotten married a month prior and now starting my 4th tank, I'm 5 years and 2 kids into my marriage. lol Spoiler 20 gallon long, 2011, Phoenix, Arizona:Aqueon Evolve 4, 2013, Aurora, Colorado:85 gallon shallow, 2014, Littleton, Colorado:IM 25 Lagoon, 2016, Colorado/Florida: Thread navigation (ie Table of Contents): The "Official" Beginning The Fish Room Finally Wet Read and Re-read the Ammonia Label My Water is Wetter Apex Mounting First Feesh Early Hydrofill Ti ATO Controller Review 14 Quote Link to comment
ReefWeeds Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 YEAH! Glad to hear this 1 Quote Link to comment
ajmckay Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Nice choice on the lagoon - love those things. Sad the 85 is being taken down though - Time flies it seems like you set it up yesterday! Moving from CO to FL is a pretty big change - good luck. Also like the side by side pics, shows a nice story. IMO livestock plans for the new tank are fine. Not sure why all the clown avoidance lately. Yeah they're super common, but they're also super awesome. I wouldn't dream of having a reef tank without one! - On the new tank, will you be buying the IM stand or building your own? The stand was IMO one of the highlights of your 85, really stood out. 2 Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted May 19, 2016 Author Share Posted May 19, 2016 Nice choice on the lagoon - love those things. Sad the 85 is being taken down though - Time flies it seems like you set it up yesterday! Moving from CO to FL is a pretty big change - good luck. Also like the side by side pics, shows a nice story. IMO livestock plans for the new tank are fine. Not sure why all the clown avoidance lately. Yeah they're super common, but they're also super awesome. I wouldn't dream of having a reef tank without one! I grew up in Florida, my husband is the one who will have to deal with the change I'm going back to my natural environment. lol I think its just because clowns are so common so folks avoid them. But man, even your "natural" occys can be show stoppers when they have that beautiful black and vibrant rich orange. I was just going to make this a dragonet dedicated tank, then I got side tracked by clownfish again So those plans got scrapped lol 1 Quote Link to comment
ReefWeeds Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 ha. Your signature is hilarious. Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted May 19, 2016 Author Share Posted May 19, 2016 ha. Your signature is hilarious. seemed appropriate. It's the last post of my 85 thread. lol 1 Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted May 19, 2016 Author Share Posted May 19, 2016 - On the new tank, will you be buying the IM stand or building your own? The stand was IMO one of the highlights of your 85, really stood out. Undecided so far. We have to price out the IM stand versus building. The 85 stand was almost $500 (granted there were a few mistakes and it was SOLID). The IM stand is $300, so we'll have to price out materials and such to see what would be the cheaper option. We'd like to be able to keep a 5 gallon mixing bucket as well as a 5 gallon ATO jug in the stand with shelves for supplies. The standard IM stand can accomodate that so technically it fits our needs. But I really liked our electrical mounting board; however, we don't plan on having a controller and since there's no sump in the stand, salt creep concerns are negligable. It's hard to say. It's on our list of topics to "revisit". Quote Link to comment
Matteo Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Woah Woah woah. You're telling me I have to wait 9 months for a FTS? Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted May 19, 2016 Author Share Posted May 19, 2016 Woah Woah woah. You're telling me I have to wait 9 months for a FTS? No, I will post an FTS of the leak test just for you THEN you have to wait 9 months for the second FTS. lol 1 Quote Link to comment
Matteo Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 No, I will post an FTS of the leak test just for you THEN you have to wait 9 months for the second FTS. lol ???? 1 Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted May 22, 2016 Author Share Posted May 22, 2016 So, my tank isn't even here yet, it isn't getting set up for FOREVER (and thats a long time) but I'm already planning on scapes. Mock up one: Shall I be daring and break the waterline? Thoughts? I only have one scape for now. Everything else I came up with today was pretty craptacular... lol I'm sure there will be more. I have to do something for the next several months! 1 Quote Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 If you break the water line, how will you put it back together again??? 2 Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted May 22, 2016 Author Share Posted May 22, 2016 If you break the water line, how will you put it back together again??? With all the King's horses and all the King's men, of course. 3 Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted August 5, 2016 Author Share Posted August 5, 2016 OMG, finally the tank is in. I guess IM stopped shipping to small business and only ships to wearhouses now. So, that screwed up getting the tank in addition to my order coinciding with IM's new line of tanks coming out. But its in and we picked it up last night. We'll be water testing this weekend. My husband has his second interview this week, hopefully he'll recieve an offer and it will be off to Florida for us. Goodness, this process has taken so much longer than anticipated. The job market really sucks in Florida right now as far as tech is concerned. Then, we'll be in rental until our house in Denver sells (which should be fast, housing market is super hot here) and we close on a house in Florida. THEN we will be able to set up the tank. :'( So long until it gets wet... 3 Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted August 7, 2016 Author Share Posted August 7, 2016 Leak testing! 2 Quote Link to comment
Pinner Reef Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 Toes! Might need a leveling mat there as well 3 Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted August 7, 2016 Author Share Posted August 7, 2016 Toes! Might need a leveling mat there as well Yeah... We are selling this house. that uneven deck is going to be someone else's problem. lol 2 Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted August 15, 2016 Author Share Posted August 15, 2016 Woo hoo! My husband got a job in Jacksonville so the move is underway! One step closer to setting up this tank! 3 Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted October 13, 2016 Author Share Posted October 13, 2016 Nothing new to say here. We're in Florida, the house is on the market, we took an unexpected hurrication to my family's farm in GA and I'm trying to persuade my husband to let me have a pico in the apartment but I think I might only get a planted betta tank. On the plus side, I've been hitting the beach and there's a pond accross the street so I still get to play with some fishes! Taking my boy fishing. Great photo taken by my husband. The pond across the street. There are some huge bass in there but they are damn picky! Blue gill are always fun though and there seems to be some hybirds running around. Its a nice way to unwind from the day when my husband gets home. Went fishing on the jetties at my old stomping grounds of Ponce Inlet. With kiddos though I missed the best time to get out there. So it was dead, dead, dead. My friend caught a nice flatty though! Our first trip to the beach since we moved. My kids LOVED it. My mom also came up and we went to St. Augustine since I live so close now to my favorite city in the world. I'm really torn up about some of what matthew did to it. :'( 10 lb Channel Cat. Last cast of the day (isn't it always?) and my kids were LOSING it. Luckily, these nice teen boys helped me wrangle the fish and the kids. lol He was running through the pilings and everything. I only had a small outfit, planning on just catching some small stuff for fun. You can't do any real fishing with kids anyways. He was a nice surprise. Went panfish fishing with my 2 year old on the river and he wasn't paying attention so I left my line in the water while I was talking with another couple and he played with their son. Went to reel in my line when it was time to go and found a cat snoozing on the end. Boy was he surprised about his "free" meal! Needless to say that hook was WAY too small to get him all the way in. Still fun though Anyways, that's all the fish stuff I've got. Hopefully my house sells soon so we can buy and move in and then set up the new tank! I miss y'all but I can't be on here without a tank of my own I'm losing my mind without everyone tempting me as it is. I think we're going to start stalking some LFSs soon. Figure out who maintains quality over time vs happening to wander in on a "good" week. 3 Quote Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 that's a beautiful pic of you and your son on the pier. you can always start planning your next build now =). 2 Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted October 13, 2016 Author Share Posted October 13, 2016 that's a beautiful pic of you and your son on the pier. you can always start planning your next build now =). Which build? The one this thread is for and is already being planned, the hypothetical planted betta tank, or my next big tank? They are all already being planned! 1 Quote Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Which build? The one this thread is for and is already being planned, the hypothetical planted betta tank, or my next big tank? They are all already being planned! continue planning your IM 25 tank =P Quote Link to comment
ajmckay Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Bummer no tank yet! Surprised your house in Denver hasn't sold yet since as you mentioned housing is booming there. I'd buy the house but I'm not anywhere near ready to move LOL - but Denver is on the list! I was out there a few weeks ago and loved it. Anyways - I vote that you keep planning on the IM25. You have the tank - may just have to be a bit patient because I agree it would probably be easier to just wait until you have a house rather than try to set it up now and then have to take it down and move it again. Good luck Quote Link to comment
teenyreef Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 Following! Don't know how I missed your earlier threads, but it sounds like I'm getting on board just in time for the interesting stuff I love the FTS/family pictures, what a great idea 1 Quote Link to comment
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