Fin's Reef Savvy 125

Fin · Sep 30, 2022

JoshH said:
MikeC has a beautiful tank, an awesome tank to aspire to. Sounds like a solid plan, anything better than Petco that's reasonably close? Or would it be a huge hike to get to a reputable store? I have had good experience online, in Canada anyway, I know it's not for everyone, especially when it comes to fish.

MikeC took his tank down a year or so ago.

I guess he had other interests. But it was one of my favorite tanks on here.

There is a store or two in Lafayette, about 70 miles from me. I just never know if they have anything when I go. I am about 2.5 hours from Houston and numerous stores. I don’t mind ordering corals online, but a little timid about fish. I won’t have any expensive fish though. I am not really big on collecting expensive fish.

JoshH · Sep 30, 2022

Fin said:
MikeC took his tank down a year or so ago. I guess he had other interests. But it was one of my favorite tanks on here.

There is a store or two in Lafayette, about 70 miles from me. I just never know if they have anything when I go. I am about 2.5 hours from Houston and numerous stores. I don’t mind ordering corals online, but a little timid about fish. I won’t have any expensive fish though. I am not really big on collecting expensive fish.

Well that shows how much I have been out of the loop lately. That is such a bummer to hear

So a bit of a trip to anything good. Atleast like you said, you don't have expensive tastes in livestock. I'm sure there are plenty of reputable fish vendors out there, you should be able to find all you need.

What kind of tang would you go for? Tomini?

Fin · Oct 1, 2022

JoshH said:
Well that shows how much I have been out of the loop lately. That is such a bummer to hear

So a bit of a trip to anything good. Atleast like you said, you don't have expensive tastes in livestock. I'm sure there are plenty of reputable fish vendors out there, you should be able to find all you need.

What kind of tang would you go for? Tomini?

Yeah sure hated to see MikeC tear that awesome tank down. At least there are still pictures.

I have actually gotten a few good fish at PetCo. I got a Purple Tang from there that was about the size of a quarter. I had him fat and happy in a holding tank when Hurricane Laura hit. Lost what few fish I had.

Not sure on the Tang. We will see what opportunities come up once the tank is functional again.

Chlorinated · Oct 1, 2022

Fin said:
It will likely be softies that are not as common. I loved MikeC’s tank and that changed my mind. I like the motion of soft corals. I am not afraid to cut them back to keep them under control. I know where MikeC got a lot of his corals and have already hit them up for frags and they are growing out in Pirate’s Reef.

Fish wise, mostly small fish. Probably a Copperband for Aiptasia control and a tang for an algae grazer. Some Chromis, Red Hawk Fish, etc. I only have PetCo here now, so I will have to travel or order online.

I loves Mike's tank. Was super sad to see it go. Do you mind sharing his source for corals?

Fin · Oct 1, 2022

Chlorinated said:
I loves Mike's tank. Was super sad to see it go. Do you mind sharing his source for corals?

Sure, he listed one of them in his thread. It’s the only one that I know of. It’s Pablo at Marine Farmers.

najer · Oct 1, 2022

I lost 90 % of my sps a couple of years due to equipment failures, love my softies.

Fin · Oct 1, 2022

najer said:
I lost 90 % of my sps a couple of years due to equipment failures, love my softies.

Very nice! I like the movement in the tank that they provide. I am sure I will have other corals also.

Fin · Oct 1, 2022

I need to build something to mount all my controls on. The one I had finished that was from IKEA got ruined in the flood. Pressed wood furniture and water doesn’t get along very well. I bought a shelf unit, but the wife doesn’t like it. She said it’s too big and it probably is. Back to the drawing board on that idea

JoshH · Oct 1, 2022

Fin said:
I need to build something to mount all my controls on. The one I had finished that was from IKEA got ruined in the flood. Pressed wood furniture and water doesn’t get along very well. I bought a shelf unit, but the wife doesn’t like it. She said it’s too big and it probably is. Back to the drawing board on that idea

What about the Adaptive Reef products? Made from PVC sheets so no issues with water, not really enclosed though so your equipment wont be hidden much

Fin · Oct 1, 2022

JoshH said:
What about the Adaptive Reef products? Made from PVC sheets so no issues with water, not really enclosed though so your equipment wont be hidden much

I did think about that, but I need something narrow and tall to fit on the outer side of the tank. Not worried about water exposure now, they just finished upgrading our drainage. We won’t flood anymore.

JoshH · Oct 1, 2022

Fin said:
I did think about that, but I need something narrow and tall to fit on the outer side of the tank. Not worried about water exposure now, they just finished upgrading our drainage. We won’t flood anymore.

Well that's good, kyle would certainly make something custom for you if you were still curious about going that route. I'm sure you'll find something that works though

Fin · Oct 6, 2022

Playing with the scape Version 2.0 from the last time it was set up, before the hurricane.

Top down

JoshH · Oct 6, 2022

Love it! Lots of nooks and crannies, ledges and varying heights.

Fin · Oct 6, 2022

JoshH said:
Love it! Lots of nooks and crannies, ledges and varying heights.

Thanks. I am going to stare at it for a few days. Not a lot of stacking and nothing cemented down - yet. Other than the arch I made for my 140, I haven’t really cemented any of my scapes before.

Fin · Oct 6, 2022

With lights on.

Fin · Oct 7, 2022

With Kessils only. No water yet though. One mounted on each side of the canopy. I have a third one that I might add to the back. I will have light overkill, so everything won’t be on full strength all the time. That is an 8 bulb ATI fixture on top.

Fin · Oct 29, 2022

At long last - salt water begins to enter the tank for a second attempt at set up.

JoshH · Oct 29, 2022

Fin said:
At long last - salt water begins to enter the tank for a second attempt at set up.

Man that looks SOOOO GOOD, you should just leave the doors off

Fin · Oct 30, 2022

JoshH said:
Man that looks SOOOO GOOD, you should just leave the doors off

Thanks. You are too kind - or blind.

I know the stand and canopy are not the “in style” type of thing you see today and it was actually built for a 30” deep tank. This tank is almost 6” shorter, so the canopy looks a little big, at least to me. No doors is a possibility. Depends on how much grief I get from the wife.

I am having to make water in two 30 gallon Brutes. I have two in the tank and one full of fresh water that will be mixed with salt and I will make one more, which may be enough to get the system running soon. I have one of those small Magnum filters with a pleated cartridge in the tank keeping the water moving and it is doing a good job clearing up the water.